Tag Archives: roads

Last week, I left you with us in a schotel in Khayyr. Today…

…Things were getting decidedly more polar – no vegetation whatsoever, and flat white expanses all around as far as the eye could see – much like up around the North Pole! ->

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I left you yesterday with our arriving – on our (March 2024) Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk road-trip – in the village of Ust-Kuyga before lunch. We didn’t stop there, as we wanted to keep up the pace and crack on – all the way to Khayyr. And the pace was indeed kept up, for the road became a winter (ice) road upon the smooth surface of the frozen-over Yana river. And smooth = fast!…

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And so, it was farewell Deputatsky, and hello, once again, the long and winding road north. More of the same? Yes. We were ever bored? Yeah – right!…

But what made this day stand out from being “just another” day of wonderful whiteness were… the halos in the morning! ->

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You know the drill already: a new day on our Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk expedition means another early rise, another quick breakfast, and minutes later piling back into our cars and setting off again on our way. On this day we had around 300km ahead of us taking us from Syagannakh to Deputatsky…

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“The winter road won’t get us there on its own!”

It was with such words in our minds – or something along those lines – that we’d awake every morning on our Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk expedition. And this particular morning was no exception: time to get up and be off. So, as per, we were up at the crack, and back on our way northward…

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Hi folks!

So many business trips – so little time for… continuing my tales from the deep-frozen Siberian Far North side! But since flying back from China, let me get back to it. So, where was I? Ah – yes: arriving in the village of Sasyr after nightfall and, given there are no hotels or guesthouses to stay at, we were bedding down in the village school’s gym hall on rubber mats!…

Unusual circumstances? Yes. Original? Indeed. Uncomfortable? No!…

We were warm (here – crucial!), there was food, there was fuel at the nearby filling station (we drove there later), and – most importantly – there was table tennis. What more could you ask for?

The following morning – on the fourth day of our Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk road trip – after breakfast, we were back on our way on the winter/ice road. Next destination: the village of Khonuu (see the map at the very end of this post). And what an interesting and gorgeous day it was too…

First – warm-up pic:

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Hi everyone, from… ->

Having delved into my archives, I discovered that this trip to Japan is my 31^st! Yes, I love Japan – with all its… uniqueness, about which I’ve written plenty. But it was only on this visit that I realized I haven’t touched upon Tokyo’s road transportation system – particularly its special highway network. And it really does deserve touching upon since it’s one of the most striking features of the Japanese capital…

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All these business trips of mine and the corresponding blogposts of late have kept me from continuing my tales from the ultra-frozen side – from our Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk winter/ice-road expedition. That all stops here!…

So, where was I?…

Ah yes. Our original plan of heading north along the frozen Indigirka river had been scuppered since the Indigirka Tube had flooded. It was therefore decided by the more experienced among us to take the Arctica winter road instead. So, leaving the village of Ust-Nera, we did just that. Straight away – wonderfully wintery Siberian scenes ->

Our expedition leader – former long-distance trucker Alexander Elikov – had done the full length of this winter road plenty of times in both a trucks and Toyotas. His comments to us about it both soothed and instilled some worry at the same time: “It’s a fairly straightforward winter road; the only issue is that it’s so long and monotonous that by the end of it you’re bored silly”. Oof.

Early on, however, we were anything but bored – so enthralled were we by the passing scenery ->

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When you find yourself in Milan with a weekend to fill with non-work stuff – what do you? That is, if you’ve been there plenty of times in the past, the city’s parks and downtown highlights have all been strolled, and the top of Milan Cathedral has been climbed up to? When you fancy checking out Paternkofel in the Dolomites but the April weather just can’t be trusted – especially given the poor forecast (we attempted such a thing in 2021 and failed). Well, there are a few other options…

…One being – Lake Como! ->

And not just the lake, but the charming small towns along its shores too:

And that was that: decided. Time to rent a car and head on over there…

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Our next overnight stay on our Yakutsk-Tiksi-Yakutsk road trip was in Ust-Nera. As you can see on that Google Map – that’s a long way: 560 kilometers, which should take around 10 hours (!). However, all those 10 hours were to be spent on the Kolyma Highway, so, we were like: yes, bring it on!…

I’ve told you plenty of times already – this isn’t just a fascinatingly beautiful road-route to be taken through the deep-frozen Siberian countryside, this is a candidate for one of the most beautiful road-routes in the whole world! Yes, that is a bold statement; but it’s not as if I haven’t driven on some of the other contenders for that title around the world; therefore, I’m sticking with my boldness. I mean – just look! ->

Still need convincing? How about our decision to drive along Kolyma Highway already a third time in as many years? Still need convincing? Read on…

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