After Vilnius, we headed west towards Poland. Steve was gearing up to write his GMAT exam in Warsaw right before heading back to Canada so we decided to spend a week in the mid-sized city of Białystok. It gave us a chance to experience life in a non-touristy city in Poland before heading to central …
So, where to go next after Central Asia? Most flights from Almaty depart for China, India, or Russia. We couldn’t go back to China because we only had single-entry visas. Same thing with India (and Steve pretty much vetoed that idea haha). Steve also needed to head back to Canada for a friend’s wedding in …
We spent our final few days in Central Asia in two capital cities – Bishkek and Almaty (technically a former capital). Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan and home to about 1 million people. We decided to skip the long drive across the country from Osh to Bishkek (10-12 hours in the car) in favour …
We had a full car as we departed Karakul and said our goodbyes to Tajikistan. In our 4×4 there was myself, Steve, Ashraf, Connor, the Belgian couple, and our Kyrgyz driver. Our luggage was strapped to the top of the vehicle that morning and we headed off down the gravel road towards Kyrgyzstan. The border …
After leaving the Lake Bulunkul area, we were nearing the end of our time in Tajikistan. The drive would continue into Kyrgyzstan but Orzu was not able to cross this border so we would be saying goodbye to him today and meeting our new Kyrgyz driver for the final days of the trip. We headed …
After leaving the villages behind, the next section of the trip took us through Badakhshan National Park, which is close to the Tajik border with China. Although it had a much more remote and deserted feel, we saw many transport trucks along this section of the highway bringing goods from China into Central Asia and …
Over the next few days, we passed through several interesting villages and towns. Khorog is one of the largest towns in the Pamir region with a population of about 28,000. We had a fantastic Indian lunch and a quiet night exploring the riverfront. The next day, we stayed in Ishkashim, a sleepy town full of …
The next day, we headed towards the Bartang Valley where we had planned an overnight hike into the Bartang Valley to the village of Jizeu. Orzu didn’t come on the hike with us but had organized our accommodation with a family in the village beforehand. He dropped us off at the start of the hike …
We departed Kalai Khum in the morning and followed the road along the Pamir River again. Day Two would see us travelling 175km in about 4-5 hours. Across the river, we saw many more villages on the Afghan side. Another interesting sight were the many Tajik soldiers we passed patrolling the road. Because the Pamir …
Picking up where Steve left off, the next few posts will cover our time in the next of the ‘Stans we visited. After we crossed the border from Uzbekistan, we headed to the capital city of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, where we had a quick one-night stop to prepare for our upcoming road trip. For this section …