Articles from this Category
31 July 2024
Hike cut short Breakfast was meant to be at 0700 and we were supposed to depart at 0730 for our hike. But breakfast ran late and we weren’t ready to go till around 0800. Then some confusion set in. Some thought we were meant to be driven in the car to the start of the […]
30 July 2024
Border crossing Today, we cross the border from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan at a crossing that’s closed to both nationalities but open to us foreigners, presumably to facilitate tourism. In fact, it was closed to all parties until more recent times. After breakfast at 0700, I settled my homestay bill and then proceeded to exchange my […]
29 July 2024
Above: Lake Karakol and the mountains in the background. Long break at Murghab We departed Alichur at 0900 headed towards Murghab, hometown of Altynbek, our driver. It is where we rejoin the M41 Pamir Highway, and also the largest town on the highway. The scenery had changed from desert to grassland in parts. And the […]
28 July 2024
Socialising at breakfast Finally, the altitude has started to have an effect on me, with a bad night sleep. I probably had only 2h of dozing. Apart from that, I didn’t have any other issues. It was a very social atmosphere at breakfast, like at dinner last night. Two Spanish guys whom we had run […]
27 July 2024
Nasty surprise With such luxurious ensuite, of course, I slept through the night without needing it. [Edit: in later parts of the trip, I go multiple through the nights when it is an outhouse!] We had been given a leisurely departure of 0900 today. Upon settling the bill, the Germans were presented with a nasty […]
26 July 2024
Roadworks and landslide We had been given a choice of starting at 0400 today or 0700. The earlier time was to avoid road works and Altynbek, the driver, didn’t seem to offer an in-between option. So, we chose the later departure, as 0400 is obscene! With delays settling up the bill at the homestay, we […]
25 July 2024
Yesterday Dushanbe isn’t exactly loaded with sights apart from museums. In this heat, I didn’t feel like wandering around repeating exterior visits to various governmental buildings or white elephants. I did walk around the Rudaki Ave area and beyond, quite early around 0800 to explore and try get rid of about USD5 of UZS. If […]
23 July 2024
Above: You could say these four men are having a good time in bed. Samarkand to border Today, I start my 2400 km overland adventure from Samarkand in Uzbekistan to Hotan in Xinjiang, China. Today’s portion is a relatively solo border crossing from Samarkand to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. After a good breakfast at 0900, I took […]
22 July 2024
Bibi Khanym The Jahogir put on an amazing breakfast this morning of hot items, lots of fruit and cakes/sweets. I don’t understand how the fruit here tastes so good compared to New Zealand. The nectarines and cantaloupe were dripping and super sweet. I walked to the Bibi Khanym mosque taking shade whenever it was possible […]
21 July 2024
Flying to Samarkand I was seated immediately after the exit rows on the A321 (version with only two window exits and four doors, no extra doors). I had received an email notifying that my original assigned seat was no longer available due to operational reasons (perhaps an aircraft configuration change). It turned out to be […]