Malaysian woman cycles through 'dust and light' for 45 days along the Silk Road

The writer was often stopped along the way by local families who wanted to take photos with her. — Photos: PASHMINA BINWANI

Someone once told me that travel is perhaps one part geography, and nine parts imagination.

I had set off for Kyrgyzstan in September 2019 on a cycling trip for 45 days with a Polish girl (Joanna) I connected with on a Facebook group for cycling with women. I had imagined launching from the outer banks and landing in the shifting dunes of the Silk Road, slowly pedalling one stroke at a time but instead, what I got was the conjuring of dust and light and a taste of what it is like to be a roving nomad.