The videos document my pilgrimage from Indonesia to the African continent by land (no airplane!). The route: 1.) Indonesia: Traveling through Sumatran Mountains and Prehistoric Sites 2.) Malaysia: Meeting with the Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula 3.) Thailand: Tracing the Southeast Asian Ancient Empires 4.) Laos: Experiencing the Lao-China Railway 5.) China: Backpacking the Tibetan Plateau to the Edge of the Silk Road 6.) Kazakhstan: First Contact with the Central Asians 7.) Uzbekistan: Pilgrimage in the Land of the Timurids 8.) Tajikistan: Lost in the Fenn Mountains 9.) Afghanistan: Visiting Afghanistan after the Taliban Takeover 10.) Iran: Surrounded by the Ancient Civilization of Persia 11.) UAE: Short Transit in Futuristic Cities 12.) Saudi Arabia: Pilgrimage in the Holy Land of the Muslims 13.) Jordan: Catching a Glimpse of Jerusalem 14.) Egypt: Ending in the Land of Pharaohs
Curated by: Bang Jago (174 videos)
On the 129th day I forced myself to climb Kaznok Pass (4,040 meters above sea level), a route that is known to be difficult because of its steepness. However, this is the shortest route from the Vertikal Alauddin Basecamp to reach the Sarytag Basecamp which can be taken in one day. Fyi, most climbers normally spend 3-4 days for this route. I forced myself to do this route in a day because I didn't bring a tent or sleeping bag. I needed to reach the basecamp before nightfall. The alternative was to go straight home from Vertikal Alauddin. Even that was also difficult because there are no vehicles and you need to walk 28 km. Morever, I already took that route to get here and not interested to go through it again. At first I almost decided to go home because a local guide discouraged me by saying that the route was dangerous for solo hiker because three days ago other hikers encountered a bear. If you're walking with at least three people, you're still safe. But if you're alone, you're likely to fall prey to a bear that wants to fill its stomach before hibernation. Two other locals also told me that it was impossible to cross Kaznok Pass in one day. Hikers need to stay overnight. However, my food was enough only for one more day because one of the bread I brought was moldy. After consulting with some local people who said there were no bears in the area and it was still possible to do this route in a day, I insisted on going. I just thought I'd try climbing up to Kaznok Pass first. If I arrived too late I could turn around and go back to Vertikal Alauddin. I left in the morning when it was still foggy. Even though people said I was crazy, I was encouraged by German climbers who shared their food with me. It will be for emergency supplies. I continued climbing southward and reached Mutni Lake. Here I met a guide who also told me that I was crazy. He showed me the route I should take. This was important because at this point my cellphone only had 15% battery remaining after continuously using it on the previous two days. He also said that nearing the Kaznok Pass the route would become very steep. Because of that, I forced myself to climb the steep cliff (almost 90⁰!) even though it turned out to be the wrong route. On this rock-climbin, my hands and feet slipped and the rock I was holding on broke and I started to fall. Only God's miracle allowed my right hand to somehow get grip so that I did not continue to fall. In this accident, I lost one of my very important water bottles. I climbed back up and arrived at what I supposed was Kaznok Pass at 4 pm. I wanted to go back but there was no way down other than the cliff where I almost died. Meanwhile, there was no way forward because I reached the wrong pass. As a result, I forced my way down through a small gap between two cliffs. I was forced to go over steep cliffs many times to get down. Finally, before dark, I arrived at a gravel slope (60⁰) where I quickly looked for the best location to sleep, between two large rocks. One protected me from the cold valley winds and the other protected me from potential rocks that might fall from above. I quickly rationed my food and ate a portion and took an emergency blanket to keep my body a little warm. Just so you know, I did not bring any tent, sleeping bag, and torch. Soon it became completely dark (the phone battery was dead!). Of course that night I couldn't sleep with the cold, a half-empty stomach, and a sip of water I had saved for tomorrow. ___ Stage 1 Route - Sumatra (DONE!): Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru Stage 2 Route - ASEAN Mainland (DONE!): Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China Stage 3 Route - China (DONE!): Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan Stage 4 Route - Central Asia (DONE!): Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan *Follow my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/obeysianipar/) for direct messages **Message me for sponsorship --- Music Credits: And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.