to Altai: time for a shower

September 23, 2016

We have a mission today: get to Altai and a hot shower.

There is one more pass that stands between us and that goal. Yesterday afternoon we already gained a couple of hundred meters, this morning the steady climb continues up towards the mountains and a valley we could see from our campsite. We gain another 600 meters topping out at 2400 meters about 10 kilometers before Altai.

As we take some photos at the oovoo on the summit a cyclists rides up. He is a Frenchman on his way from Ulaanbaatar to Almaty, but he is not very talkative. We get that he rode the Uliastai to Altai section we want to do next, but he is not very forthcoming with information: bad road, there are some shops and little traffic. We try to ensure he is confident that he has enough water to reach Darvi as we have enough to give to him (he doesn’t seem to have much, and he will most likely have headwinds worse than us), but he says he is fine. Okay and adieu.

The temperature seems to be dropping as we ride into Altai. We make our way through town where the “nice” hotel with a good restaurant (pizza!) is supposed to be. As warned in other blogs the building looks a bit rough on the outside, but it is okay inside. Patrick explores the bowels of the two story building, but cannot locate any receptionist, and the restaurant is padlocked…. Not looking good.

We ride back and check out a brand new hotel. Very nice, slick and professional. A little expensive, but we’ll make good use of our room since it is still early today and we plan to stay tomorrow.

We have a nice lunch at the restaurant by just randomly picking two dishes. There is very strong and fast wifi in the restaurant and lobby so we upload many photos and catch up on our CGOAB blog. Almost.

Tomorrow a restday.

A brand new asphalt road, all the way to Altai.

The new road snakes its way between the dry hills. There is lots of evidence of flash flooding though, we'll see what this road looks like in five years.....

Last pass just before Altai. Another Oovoo.

This used to be the "nice" hotel in town. A little rough on the outside but okay inside. There is no-one to be found in the reception or restaurant area so we explore the town for other options.

Just before the main junction in town is this brand new hotel. You cannot miss it with its five stories and very steep driveway. The rooms are a little expensive at 65,000 T (about US$30), but they are worth it with hot water, good wifi in the lobby and a nice restaurant.

Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 22,869 km (14,202 miles)

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