Day #110: Back Up the Duku Highway | China, Xinjiang, 14 Jun | Kuqa → Narati [Full]

I hope you enjoyed this episode. Should it ever generate a profit, all proceeds will go to supporting humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts, perpetually. By watching and spreading the word about it, you are contributing to that cause. Thank you! ————————————— Hello and welcome! This video is part of a long series that seeks to document a small experiment: It begins in China, in the summer of 2025, with a hike to a remote Tibetan village in the mountains, a curious-looking motorcycle I saw by the road, and these words I said to a friend then: "Imagine if I returned home with it". That moment gave birth to a dream, which led to this [...] ————————————— In today's episode, you will see the following: 0:00:00 - Leaving Kuqa 0:01:16 - Sunday bazaar in Kuqa 0:04:08 - Border crossing worries 0:06:02 - Sandstorm on the road 0:09:33 - Buying fruit from vendors 0:12:46 - Crosswinds and dust 0:22:30 - Canyon and mountain road 0:29:33 - Truck column and crosswinds 0:37:30 - Calmer road, rock walls 0:42:56 - New border crossing offer 0:45:39 - Riding with BMW motorcyclists 0:50:57 - Alpine lake stops 0:56:55 - Rain and cold in the mountains 1:06:21 - Job opportunity dilemma 1:09:56 - Grasslands and snow peaks 1:11:46 - Traffic queue, solar camper 1:16:57 - Open grasslands, video plans 1:22:14 - Experiences with local police 1:26:23 - Hunger and shaking from cold 1:32:24 - Engine heat idea 1:36:56 - Checkpoint, spare fuel top-up 1:44:54 - Closed road at dusk 1:53:58 - Snow patches and sunset 2:00:41 - Long mountain descent 2:07:54 - Ideas for a V2 project 2:10:22 - Police stop and road check 2:18:07 - Wrong turn, gas station 2:34:09 - Quiet night riding 2:42:34 - Chain derails, fixed 2:46:16 - Arriving in a quiet town 2:50:27 - Check-in and day wrap-up ————————————— I began recording and uploading these videos for my family and friends, and as a way to deal with memory storage limits. However, there is a chance that they may serve a greater purpose, so I decided to make these efforts public. The episodes follow a raw, unscripted, long-form daily format and seek to document the progress, setbacks and key moments of this project. That approach, ideally, should make you feel like you are almost sitting behind the wheel yourself, allowing you to experience the journey almost first-hand. I would love to have the time and skills to further edit these materials into "perfection", but alas, I am at least a light year away from that right now, so this will have to do. Currently, the best way to engage with this footage is to regard it as a livestream - one which you can join, pause, skip, and leave at will. You can also turn on the captions, a transcript to the side, and even listen to the same music and podcasts as me (more on that below). In line with this crude introduction, you can expect to see countless imperfections, many simple moments, hopefully-not-as-many annoying ones, and more than a few mistakes and embarrassing situations. But if you are willing to stomach those, then I promise that you will also find authentic scenes of wonder, laughter, reflection and joy; explore unique paths and places where no foreigner has ever been (and maybe shouldn't?); and discover a quote here and there that you might find not entirely forgettable. Above all, you will become part of a personal epopee that might actually have a non-zero chance of becoming history in the making. Wouldn't that be cool? Anyway, if you are reading this, then you are here for a reason. Click your way around a few times if you want to get a better understanding of what I am doing, and I would be glad to hear what you think in the comments. Lastly, if you like what you see and know someone else who also might, feel free to share this series with them. Peace! ————————————— Some links you might be interested in: → Connect with me on Instagram:   / iliya.kurtev   → Check my favourite podcast, keeping me company on the road almost daily: @StarTalk and https://startalkmedia.com/ → If you wish to get more involved with this project and help it succeed, you are welcome to consider some of the options here:   / peacevoyager   → For anything else, feel free to contact me here: peacevoyager13@gmail.com ————————————— #peace #ukraine #china #bulgaria #Europe #UN #travel #adventure #nature #challenge #explore #humanity #beautiful #journey #motorcycle #motovlog #moto #mountains #odyssey #iliad #HD #4k #world