Guides' blogs for Afghanistan

Dave back from the Wakhan Corridor (13/08/2010)

Not Dave actually, but Natalie... I have just been to meet Dave at the airport, as he has finally landed back after an incredible (but somewhat exhausting) trek through the Wakhan Corridor.  The good news is they completed the trek and made it to Chakmatine Lake despite a whole host of obstacles thrown in their way - they actually got a bit more trekking then anticipated as bad weather hindered the vehicles being able to reach the pick up point at the end of the trek, and they had to walk an additional 15k to reach them!  Just when they thought it was all over... The end journey sounded like a crazy adventure and I'll leave Dave's next blog to fill you in on the details.  In the meantime, all made it back safely - except for Dave's bag which is currently enjoying a holiday somewhere in Central Asia... bye bye paperwork & accounts!

 

Dave in the Wakhan - The push to Lake Chaqmaqtin (27/07/2010)

What a day! An old Russian base, Bozai Gumbez cemtery, an upside down rainbow (??), kissing camels and crazy yaks and we are camped 20mins from the lake. Very tired.

Dave in the Wakhan - bearing down on Chaqmaqtin (26/07/2010)

What an awesome day, an amazing trek, our first Kyrgyz settlement at Kashch Goz and the views from the campsite are breathtaking. The toilet tent nearly got taken out by a yak stampede! Tomorrow the lake, insha’allah.

Dave in the Wakhan - with better weather (25/07/2010)

(Sat phone blog) Good day, nice weather, lovely campsite, on schedule for Cheqmaqtin.

Dave in the Wakhan - where texts still work! (24/07/2010)

Made it to Zankuk, no problem, nice trek. Camp much better today. Amin Beg is a legend! Malang also great. I am tired but much happier today. Group are very easy to be with.

Mette in Afghanistan - sharing cake with the Commander (09/07/2010)

We have been delayed in Qala Panj due to a broken spring on one of the vehicles, so have spent our time drinking tea, eating chips and madeira cake with the police commander of the Wakhan. The main point of travelling here is far beyond being one of the few first. The hospitality of the people is amazing....It has got to be experienced.

Mette in Afghanistan stops for a game of buzkazi (08/07/2010)

We are having a game of buzkazi this afternoon on the banks of the Panj River. Just went to have our passports checked by a policeman who spent 2 months in a refugee camp in Calais. It's such a blast. I just feel so lucky to the chance to be here in this unique part of the world where tourism and communities have established a good relationship. Here you are not a tourist. Here you are a guest.

Mette - half way up the Wakhan (07/07/2010)

With my Wild Frontiers hat on I have run some interesting trips before, but I now think I have hit the most challenging. The Wakhan Corridor is a heavenly place, with fantastic people and otherworldly landscapes, but infrastructure is non-existent, most of the equipment left behind by WF's trip last year is either broken or 'lost' and accommodation is basic at best. It's the coolest and hardest thing I have ever done. Right now we're bumping along the worst road in the world (okay, I haven't been to the Congo!), with 10 tourists and a bunch of wild men from the mountains. Honestly, I love it!

Richard Dunwoody - in Afghanistan (22/06/2010)

 

Fortunately, I have seen a fair bit of Kabul during the last couple of days. Yesterday we had a drive over to the other side of the city to see the Darulaman Palace. This imposing building was built in the 1920's by King Amannullah to be used as his summer residence but was shattered by the fighting from 1992. In latter years it has been used as the Justice and Defence Ministries. Nearby is the equally striking Queens Palace although we couldn't get through security to get a decent look at it. On the way we home we paid a short visit to the zoo. Other than a couple of bears, a porcupine and a lion sleeping in the shade there was not a huge amount of wildlife to see. But there is a bronze of Marjan, the famous lion of Kabul, at the entrance. In 1993 an Afghan soldier thought it a good idea to jump in with Marjan and of course he was mauled and killed when he approached Marjan's lioness. His family came back to take revenge the next day and lobbed a grenade into the lion's pen. Thinking it was food Marjan pounced on it. He lost his eye and part of his jaw but amazingly survived the attack. At the zoo there is also one of the fastest Ferris wheel's I have ever seen! We also called into the heavily fortified and extremely plush Serena Hotel. Rooms here are advertised at around $400, but use of the gym, sauna and steam room and beautiful swimming pool is worth considering at $32 a day. The 5 star hotel was the scene of a suicide attack in early 2008 when 6 people were killed.Today, together with a couple of friends we travelled out of the city up to Qarga, home of the Kabul Golf Course. The greens are replaced by blacks and I wasn't tempted to pick up a club again! There is also quite a large reservoir here, where a lot of Afghans come to spend their Friday. The hotel on the shore is well worth visiting for lunch and the serene and shady surroundings seem a million miles from the frenetic pace of the city. 

I also got to ride a horse nearby although, despite my protestations, the 10-year-old groom was determined not to let me off the leading rein. I will find it very hard to live it down with Mark and Heidi who expected to see a proper jockey in action!

 

Richard Dunwoody - learning Afghan ways (21/06/2010)

Fairly relaxed day here after the previous night's festivities. Had lunch with Karen and a couple of friends at the L'Atmosphere, a veritable oasis in the middle of the city. The food and service weren't out of the top drawer but there is a really nice swimming pool and is a  must-visit when passing through Kabul. At dusk we went to do some filming at the notorious Olympic size pool on Bibi Mahru Hill where they also fly kites. It was built by the Russians and the top diving platform was used as a site for executions during the war. Bar one or two children and a couple of guards it was extremely quiet until suddenly one of the infamous Warlords General Dostum walked past tracked by about 10 armoured jeeps. At that point a friend of Karen's who was with us, told us the last time he had been in Dostum's company in 2002, Dostum had told him he would kill him. Fortunately the UN intervened and Dostum thought better of it. Luckily this time he didn't stop for a chat. We moved on to dinner at an Afghan restaurant Rumi where the food was excellent and then paid a visit to the bar at the Gandamack Lodge. This turned out to be a great place to watch the football and again if you get a chance to visit Kabul don't miss the pictures, prints and antique guns in the hotel reception. A fascinating insight into Afghan history.

Richard Dunwoody arrives in Kabul (18/06/2010)

After a Safi Airways cancellation I eventually made it into  Kabul about 9 hours later than planned on Thursday afternoon. It's been a pretty full on 48 hours since I arrived being Karen, my host's, birthday yesterday. An ex-pat party went on into the early hours at Relax on Thursday night and this was followed by a fairly gruelling and quite surreal 10k with the local Hash House Harriers  around the streets yesterday lunchtime. It was a very steady pace but the altitude and perhaps the previous night took it's toll! Climbing up to an old fort we had a great view of the historic Babur Gardens and then it was back through the streets of Section 7 to our start point. It was only at the end of our run did our hare tell us that this had been the area of the satchel bombings that had taken place about 7 months ago. Generally it does feel very safe here, there is security on every corner although I have to say it does have a touch of the Wild West to it. Hopefully when Karen's fully recovered from last nights festivities in the local Chinese, I'll get to see a lot more of the city today.

Jonny in London at the Dolman Travel Book Awards (28/05/2010)

If you would like to see Jonny being interviewed yesterday at the Dolman Travel Book of the Year awards - Jonny is one of this years' judges - just click here

Marc - WF's head of logistics - gives his verdict on the Wakhan Trek (17/08/2009)

So was this trip a success? This is a question that has been going round my head for the last few days and the answer will ultimately depend on what individual expectations of the trip were. On the one hand the answer could easily be "absolutely not" as other than Days 21-23 of the itinerary, not a single other day went according to plan. If you have been following Ade's blogs, you'll know that this was mainly due to the three-day delay in the arrival of the majority of the group, the unseasonably high river levels and also to the fact that getting accurate timings out of Afghan guides is no easy task! However on the other hand, although we never achieved the exact itinerary that had been intended, we did succeed in becoming one of the first groups in over 30 years to trek in the Afghan Wakhan. We saw some truly amazing scenery; we met some incredibly friendly and hospitable Wakhi people; we contracted the services of dozens of local Afghans injecting many dollars directly into one of the poorest parts of the country and I suppose, most importantly, we had a lot of fun along the way and all came back safely.

It hasn't been an easy trip, and everyone will surely have their "personal worst moment", which might change range from suffering from D & V at 4500m to being covered in yet another layer of dust on the long drive between Dushanbe and Sarhad. But Afghanistan has never been an easy destination, and will be unlikely ever to be so. All in all therefore, for me the trip has been an overwhelming success and now all we can do is watch what happens in the upcoming presidential elections and hope that whatever the result, it will lead to the peace that exists in the Wakhan being extended to an ever greater part of the country. I also need to start planning next year's trips to the region, which we hope will be eaqually amazing... Insh 'Allah

Ade makes it back to Ishkashim where the Afghan adventure began (14/08/2009)

It has been another day in the jeeps as we bounced and bumped our way along the rough road to Iskershim. After a beautiful star filled night we were all up early, raring to get going. It was a long hot dusty day in the jeeps, luckily the river crossing was quite uneventful as the river was low. In our convoy of 3 jeeps, a mini van and a clapped out old Hi Lux which had the camping gear, we moved steadily but surely along the road, arriving into Iskershim at 3:30pm. A nice leisurely 8 hours travelling. As soon as we dropped off all our gear most of us headed into the bazaar for shaves and shopping. Carpets, horse saddles bags and scarves seemed to be the favourite purchases and now there is a severe shortage of those items in town. Then back to the guesthouse for a lovely farewell dinner and sad goodbyes to our local staff: Gorgarli the guide, Sheriff his assistant and Aziz the wonderful cook. We cross back into Tajikistan tomorrow where we are all looking forward to hot showers, different food and most of all a beer… or 3!

Ade and the group start the long journey home (12/08/2009)

Just a quick blog today as we do not have much power on the computer. Last night we had a lovely farewell evening with our horsemen. The group donated many gifts such as boots, fleeces, thermals and quite a few smelly socks which we raffled off in a big thank you party. All the horsemen loved their gifts but the concept of a raffle was difficult to explain. Today was an early start on the road to Kali-e-Panja. We had a lovely visit to a local school and then a long, hot dusty drive but with awesome mountain scenery. The Hi-lux gear van had a few mechanical problems which slowed us down a bit. We are half way to Iskershim and have a crazy river crossing tomorrow. Group all well and looking forward to getting to Iskershim and civilisation.

Ade and the gang make it back to Sarhad (12/08/2009)

Back in Sarhad e-Broghil after another enjoyable and final days walk in the Wakhan. We were up early and keen to attack the Daliz Pass (4277m) before the sun really hit and it became too hot. It was really a lovely walk with a nice cooling breeze. We were greeted again by the local village people as we walked past there fields and by the kids who waved and cheered. We got to our guesthouse and there was a mad dash to the village Hamam, well, more a natural hot spring sulphur bath. I say bath, they are more like a tepid hot spring dribble, but never the less it was very welcome after nearly 2 weeks of washing from a bowl, or mountain spring or having a wet wipe moment. As we grouped to have some tea and biscuits everyone looked different. Clean. We had a fantastic dinner of lamb kebabs rice and veg curry, a mixture of the guesthouse staff and our cook team working together to produce a delicious farewell dinner. We leave tomorrow for the 2 day drive back to Iskershim which is the nearest to civilisation you can get around here.

Ade walks, while the girls ride yaks! (11/08/2009)

Another fantastic trekking day in the Wakhan today. We have been blessed with the weather, blue sunny skies and a nice cooling breeze. After a bit of a windy night we all emerged from a dusty campsite to the warming rays of the sun, and after another hearty breakfast we set off down the valley following the river on a high shoulder. We had a glorious photo session with a nomadic family moving on their Yaks from one grazing ground to another. We dropped down into the main Wakhan valley and had lunch by the river as a place called Borack. A quick snooze by some and we were off climbing up to our present campsite just below the Daliz Pass. On the way we had a lovely experience. We bumped into a family going to Sarhad to send the kids to school. It was the end of Wakhan school holidays and half the family will stay in Sarhad with the school children and the other half will head off in to the High Pamir. The ladies in our party - Kate, Mindy, Charlie and Tiffany - were offered rides on the family’s yaks. They quickly agreed and headed down the hill and crossed the river while the rest of us blokes had to walk down and then wade across the river in our sandals. Good to see that chivalry is alive and well in the Wakhan. 

At camp now and just finished dinner, last plod onto Sarhad tomorrow where we will hopefully meet our jeeps before the long drive back to civilisation. We’ll leave the Wakhan having had an extraordinary time but I could kill for a beer.

Ade and the gang have a fabulous day treking in the Wakhan. (10/08/2009)

We have had a fantastic day's trekking today. I was sad to leave my tent as I pitched it near the stream and had a peaceful night's sleep. I love falling asleep and waking up to the sound of a river or beaches. We ambled down the valley passing a few families in their mobile summer homes (similar to yurts), grazing their flocks of sheep, goats and yaks. We were greeted in such a friendly and warm way you had to pinch yourself to remember that you were in Afghanistan, a place that's usually so swamped in bad news. At lunch a local family gave us a bowl of tradition food that was very similar to rice pudding, that went down well with the group who I think need a change from happy cow cheese. After a few rock-hopping river crossings and a welcomed descent of a few 100 meters, we finally arrived at our campsite and hurried to put up tents and kitchen before the wind picked up too much. After tea, coffee and biscuits we were treated to an impromptu performance of Wakhi traditional singing and dancing by our horsemen and our local guide, quite wonderful to be here in this living culture in the Wakhan corridor.

Ade leads the gang back over Kofal-e-Qarabel pass (09/08/2009)

After a very relaxing rest day and a magnificent meal of Mutton Kebabs and chips which I finally got to use my HP sauce, we had to start to head back down. My main concern is to get back to Sharhad in time to meet our jeeps. The group are going well, some better than others as we crossed over again the Kofal-e-Qarabel pass 4820m. The views appeared even more spectacular as we viewed them from a different angle. Lunch was in an idyllic meadow, with alpine flowers all around. It was very relaxing as we eat our picnic of tuna & happy cow cheese and local naan, cooked for us by a nomadic family. Now we are in camp next to a gentle stream at a place called Barnoz. I don’t think you’ll find it on any map or even google earth. We have another early start tomorrow for a continuing descent through the Wakhan Corridor, so goodnight.

Kate Humble - Guest blogs from Afghanistan (08/08/2009)

We are sitting in a campsite of incomparable beauty.  At 4,500 metres it is the highest I have ever been.  Our tents sit in a meadow with rushing glacial streams on either side and we’re hemmed in by massive walls of rock and snow.  It is 6pm and the temperature is dropping dramatically.  I am writing this in my tent with the flap open to a view of a glacier, wearing a fleece, down jacket and my feet inside my sleeping bag.  Outside the horsemen, some in local hats, some in Russian fur cast-offs, hunch around yak dung fires playing cards and waiting for the kettle to boil.  There is furious activity in the kitchen tent.  A local sheep met a quick, efficient end this afternoon and is going to give us our first taste of fresh meat in over a week.  That and the discovery of a jar of peanut butter at lunchtime has made today one of untold luxury.  All are in good spirits, but altitude has taken its toll in different ways.  For some it is the usual symptoms of fatigue and headache; it has turned me into the elephant man.  I woke this morning with eyes and lips so swollen I could hardly see or talk.  Twelve hours later I still gave Marc a shock.  Luckily I have no mirror and can still manage a fiendish Su Doku so I’m not overly concerned.  Tomorrow we begin to re-trace our steps back towards a world where the word ‘Afghanistan’ means war and death and the Taliban.  But we now know that it’s not all like that; far from the ravages of Helmand and Tora Bora is a place we’ve been welcomed with overwhelming warmth and kindness and found a peace it is hard ever to find at home.

 

Ade reports from camp, having crossed the Kofal-e-Qarabel pass (07/08/2009)

Hi all from a beautiful campsite just below the pass. Today was a bit of a tough one for some as we climbed up to 4820m to the Kofal-e-Qarabel pass. We left early after a fond farewell from the family we were camped by and started the long walk to the pass. Fantastic views all the way up to the top of the pass, and even better view from the top. We had a lovely picnic lunch just off the pass with our herdsmen before descending into the Chaplak valley where we set up camp at the confluence of two glacial streams. I can hear them flowing majestically as I write this blog in my tent. The almost full moon and Venus is illuminating the valley spectacularly. We have decided to have a rest day tomorrow, as most are pretty tired after more than a week of constant travelling, is starting to show its effects. It won’t be a complete lazy day as we are planning a visit to a nearby Wakhi family. Goodnight.

Ade enjoying the Wakhan (06/08/2009)

What a day we have had. After a hearty breakfast of porridge and bread honey cheese and peanut butter we set off and crossed into the Madoff Valley. This is a huge open previously glaciated valley with a beautiful meandering river flowing through it. Soon we found amazing Petrogliphs dated from god knows when. There were many animals carved onto the rocks and there was even one showing a snow leopard eating a man. We continued up the valley and had lunch with a nomad Wakhi family while they looked after their sheep and goats, some of us had a chance to ride a yak. Back on the trail we trekked up the main section of the valley, as we continued up this huge open valley it reminded me so much of my treks in Western Mongolia... heh Jonny I think we should have a Wild Expedition there next year, what do you think? We are now camped next to another Nomadic Wakhi family and their local Wakhi yurt just below the 4820m Kofal-e-Qarabel pass which we plan to cross tomorrow. Wish us luck.

Marc gets stuck in the Wakhan (05/08/2009)

So we have hit a bit of a problem. All this glorious sunshine we are having and raised the water levels in the Wakhan river to a level that it is impossible to cross. We have been informed by some locals we met that a side river in between Borak and Langar is very high. So we sat down with our local guides and re-planned our route. So now we are going to do our original route in reverse and hope that the water levels have dropped by time we reach Kashch Goz. If not we will have to back track the way we have come. Such is life in the wilds of Afghanistan. Today’s walk was another tough one for most, and the heat and dust made the walk a bit tougher. But we arrived at our campsite which is a shepherd's summer home and enjoyed the last afternoon sun with a cup of local chai. After a hearty meal spirits where revived and a few jokes bantered around the mess tent. Carrying on further into the wilds of the Wakhan tomorrow, all in all things going well...

Ade and the gang, finally get some serious trekking in the Little Pamir (04/08/2009)

We had a tough and an amazing day today. It took a while to organise loads and hire horses for our first day's trek. The group did a lovely tour of the town guided by the local school teacher. Interestingly the school was built by the Central Asia Institute made famous by Greg Mortenson’s book “3 Cups of Tea”. After an early lunch we set off through the village. The entire village came out to wave us off and wish us luck, quite a touching moment. We were soon working hard as we climbed over the 4,150m Daliz Pass. This was quite hard work for some but we were rewarded with spectacular views of the Great Pamir and Hindu Kush ranges. We arrived in camp tired but glad to have finally stretched our legs. Best go to sleep and be ready for tomorrow...

Marc - A carry on up the Wakhan (03/08/2009)

It has taken us two very tough days but we are finally here at Sarhad e-Broghil in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor. It is literally the end of the road and from here we will start walking. After leaving the small village of Khandud this morning, we had to cross several rivers, repair a water hose with sellotape & an elastoplast and rescue one of the group, who prefers to be known only as Denzel (since he has not told his daughter that he is coming to Afghanistan) from being kidnapped by an elderly woman with a pot of tea. From our clean but basic guesthouse we can look due west down the entire Wakhan Corridor, due south to the Hindu Kush and Pakistan and due north to the Big Pamirs. Our route tomorrow takes us due east over the Daliz Pass (4277m) into the Small Pamirs – it may be an overused word but “stunning” is really the only way to describe it.

Marc and the group make it into Afghanistan (01/08/2009)

The plan for yesterday had been for me to meet the “Turkish 9” at Dushanbe airport at 5am and drive all the way to Khorog along the Pamir Highway to meet up with Ade and the rest of the group for a late dinner. Well that was the plan and it didn’t take long for things to start to go awry – first one of our cars overheated, then we got caught up in roadworks and then we got embroiled in an hour long debate over permits and visas. Effectively, this meant that by 9pm we were still some 4hrs away from Khorog so we decided to call it a day and crash out at a roadside chaikhana. Consequently it wasn’t until finally this morning that we all met up with Ade, who immediately won everyone’s hearts by giving us all access to some much needed hot showers. Then, for the first time as a full group, and only 1 day behind schedule, we set off under Ade’s leadership for the Afghan border. After successfully crossing into Afghanistan the group pretty much bought Ishkashim out of its (admittedly limited) stock of Afghan hats, scarves & jewellery. We rendezvoused with our friends from Mountain Unity, David & Angharad as well as Gorgali, who will be our head guide over the next two weeks. We were also treated to some masterful Afghani music after dinner, which left us all absolutely overjoyed to finally be here in the Wakhan, ready for the start of what is sure to be an experience of a lifetime.

Marc & Ade, now hold up in Lithuania (25/07/2009)

So we left Riga first thing this morning, for Vilnius, which is where we still are, having just been denied permission to board our flight to Moscow. Despite having been ticketed all the way through to Dushanbe, we have now been told that we cannot transit through Moscow's Vnukovo airport since we do not have transit visas and there is no transit area at that airport. Air Baltic admit it was their mistake, but this still does not help us very much as we are still several thousand kilometres away from the start of the trip. Anyway, such is life, and at least it is giving myself, Ade & Mindy, one of the group, who decided to fly out early with us, a chance to enjoy the charms of some of the Baltic airports. Given the fact that amongst several altercations with airline officials we have had about 1hr's sleep in the last 24hr hours, I think we are looking decidedly chipper! Watch this space to see if we ever actually make it out of Europe...

Marc & Ade stuck in Latvia (24/07/2009)

Ok, so the Afghan Wakhan Corridor trek was never going to be a walk in the park, I knew that. But I did at least expect to get to Dushanbe - the start - with relative ease. Sadly our flight from London to Riga, from where we were to catch a connecting plane to the Tajik capital, was delayed due to a security alert at Gatwick. This meant we missed our onward flight and are now stranded in Latvia. The next direct flight doesn't leave here until Monday – a day after the group arrive – so we are now re-booked onto flights tomorrow via Vilnius and Moscow. God knows which airlines they are but if it succeeds we'll arrive very early on Sunday morning. We're heading for a hotel now – provided by Air Baltic – and will have a beer if we can find one... The adventure begins!

Marc - An Afghan Meeting In The Mountains (04/05/2009)

I’d be slightly pushing artistic licence to profess to have spent the Bank Holiday weekend in Afghanistan, but I can at least say, hand on heart, that I spent it with four Aghans (albeit in Chamonix).

In fact the four Afghans in question - Gorgali, Malang, Amreddin & Afeytkhan - travelled all the way from their home in Afghanistan’s north-east, the “Wakhan Corridor”, to the Alps because they are planning on becoming the first Afghans to climb Mt Noshaq – Afghanistan’s highest mountain at 7492m – and were in Chamonix undertaking the final stages of their training.

I was there because after their climb, they are also planning (what some might say was a much more arduous task!) to act as local guides for Wild Frontiers’ recce trip to the Wakhan this July.

Not since the 70s has the Wakhan seen anything resembling tourism but now working closely together with our friends at Mountain Unity, the Aga Khan Foundation, Mountain Wilderness and of course Gorgali, Malang, Amreddin & Afeytkhan,  it feels like a very exciting time to be amongst the first people back to this strikingly beautiful country.

If you want to follow the progress of the climbers, you can visit www.noshaq.com
If you want to join us to visit them in the Wakhan, you’d better get a move on as I’m told that there are only a couple of spaces left…

Richard Dunwoody - Looking down on Pakistan from the Borogil Pass (10/09/2008)

By the time we'd finished a sparse breakfast of nan bread and tea, the horses I'd ordered were lined up outside the guesthouse. One pregnant mare and three scraggy ponies, each accompanied by a talkative Wahkani owner wearing wellington boots.  Once I'd allocated the animals to the others on size grounds, I mounted the minnow, unadjustable stirrups, one Lester length, the other John Wayne. My attendant grabbed the leading rein - language difficulties made it pointless to protest - and we were off, walking - or in the case of Wendy's pony - limping down the hill to join a couple of Bactrian camels and another horseman for the stony journey across the Wahkan river, immensely wide at this point with large stretches of turbulence. Off came the welllies as our guides skipped on wiry legs into the rushing waters to show us the best places to cross. In the interests of safety, I was then let off the leading rein. On the other side, we rode - or in my case walked - steadily towards the pass, crossing a huge grassy plain, then a gentle slope until we could look up at the Borogill where Pakistan and Afghanistan meet among the snowy peaks of the Hindu Kush. All too soon, it was time to return by the same route, enjoying the space and calm of this beautiful valley before starting the journey home. We stopped the night in a simple guesthouse in Sargaz, a choice improved by the village sulpher baths which allowed for a luxuriously hot soak. Back at the ranch, we ate supper under the relentless gaze of a resident mountain guide, sat up close and personal to Minty. Was he giving us the evil eye? Today we descend to Ishkashim  - and hopefully back into Tajikistan, an eight hour journey that will give us plenty of time to find out.

Richard and the gang have breakfast with the king (08/09/2008)

It's not often I'm served dinner by a king, but I don't think I'd have a problem getting used to it. Shah Ismail is lord of all he surveys in the village of Qala e Panja 110km up the Wakhan River from Ishkashim. His home is a guesthouse, no fee charged, though donations are both welcome and expected. Like all other passing strangers, we gathered in a spacious living room on several levels, sleeping on thick floor mats and eating in a central well. At 19.30 the Shah led out his minions, smiling broadly as he laid out a cloth, cutlery and a feast of Afghan rice, barbequed lamb, tasty friend onions and home made bread.  
 
His domain consists of a ruined fort, a ruined caravanserai and a ruined hunting lodge built by the late Zahir Khan, the last king of Afghanistan. Until he left the country in the early 1970s to spend the rest of his life in exile in Rome, his guests from friendly nations enjoyed central heating in massive steel radiators and a western bath tub as well as trophy killing, predominantly Marco Polo sheep.
 
The road to Qala e Panja was a six-hour slog, with rivers, rocks and cliffhanger tracks to negotiate. On the other side of the river, we could see Tajik villages with ruined forts, but the agriculture on the Afghan side is noticeably more energetic and productive. As it's harvest, it's all hands to the plough with men, women - wearing headscarves but not veiled - and children gathering the grain. Mixed teams of donkeys and bullocks circle the threshing floors ad infinitum, while the Bactrian camels - unemployed or unemployable – look on with patrician disdain.
 
Khurram, our Tajik guide, was adept at getting the appropriate bits of paper and persuading the officials that they should let us through the checkpoints, though he wavered a bit at Khandut when we were herded out of the Land Cruiser into the office.  We sat in a row on the floor as the chief leaned comfortably on a rolled up mattress, bare feet crossed at podgy ankles.  'Must be photocopied', he said amiably, peering at the travel document through gold-rimmed glasses. There was a long silence while we contemplated this impossibility. 'Or copied by hand', he added. Certainly not by us as it was in Persian script. Nor, it seemed, by his secretary who was absent or nonexistent. The silence lengthened ominously. Then, as suddenly as it began, the game was over – the cat let the mice go.
 
Unfortunately Khurram's history is not on a par with his admin. When was the fort built? '100 years ago'. 'No, probably 2000'. When did Marco Polo pass this way? ' 10th century'. 'No, the 6th'. With such wide discrepancies, it's hard to get an accurate handle on the crumbling stones. Instead we enjoy the immense friendliness of the Wakhani people, lean faces smiling as they hold out their hands for the ritual 'salom'. Today we made a further 80km to the end of the road at Sarhad-e-Boroghill. Tomorrow we ride toward the Pakistani frontier...back on horses after 4 days on the road.

Richard finds safe passage, into Afghanistan (08/09/2008)

Although it's only 200km from Lake Yashil to Khorog, the road is long when you have three punctures and only one operational spare tyre for two Land Cruisers. Mumbet and Kosta worked miracles, driving the good car over the bad tyre to separate rubber from rim so that the hole could be plugged but this was not definitely not Quik Tyres Inc. The police post 10km short of town didn't help either. Passports and documentation were swiftly checked. But...'these cars are too dirty to drive into Khorog'.  Conveniently police relatives were on hand with hoses, buckets of soapy water and sponges to put this right. 45 minutes later we were back on the road.
 
In Khorog, Shagarf, our occasional magician, reappeared, fed us chicken shashlik and cold beer, installed us in luxurious rooms in the Serena Lodge and conjured up guide and jeep for the Ishkashim frontier the next day. Although the whole town was plunged into darkness by a power cut, the bath water still ran hot. After more than two weeks of occasional immersion in glacial lakes, this level of cleanliness is about as high as most of us are likely to get. Over multi cultural snacks - tomato sandwiches, samosas and chicken patties - I learned that Belgium, a small divided country with neighbours who are comprehensively disliked, has much in common with Ireland. Wim scowled at the thought of Holland, 10km down the road from his home, and snarled at the mention of Germany a little further away. He didn't have much to say in favour of Britain either, but Ireland, visited with a mate 35 years ago, brought a gleam of pleasure. After shared shots of Tullamore Dew, we were on the way to being friends for life.
 
Before we set off along the turbulent Panj River that divides Afghanistan and Tajikistan, we visited a very clean shop that sold  vodka, beer, sausage, cheese and Western branded chocolate - M & Ms, Snickers, Mars.  Half for us, half as a gift for the border guards. Anyone who believes, as we did, that Afghanistan is a dry country is mistaken.  With Shagarf to ease our passage, our luggage and provisions were swiftly wheeled over the two bridges and, on payment of a $80 facilitation fee, loaded into a police pick up with a machine gun mounted on the back. In this, we rode in style past wrecked Russian tanks to a Norwegian funded guest house with spectacular views of downtown Ishkashim and the surrounding mountains.
 
In a predominantly Ishmali area on both sides of the border, the Aga Khan Foundation is the main force for progress, channelling money provided by the United States and the European Community into a variety of projects. Our guide, Khurram, who has worked for the AKF for the past ten years, explained that the initial priority was food, but there is now sufficient funding for clean water supplies, schools, clinics and minor engineering, mostly walls to prevent erosion washing away terraces used for agriculture. On a tour of the village, he greeted everyone by name, clearly well liked in a small and still quite impoverished community.  Wim's first video was of a goat having its throat slit, his second its skinning and dismemberment in the dusty butcher's booth.
 
On the terrace of the guesthouse, the mullah's eerie prayer marked the end of the day's Ramadan deprivation. In this area, the fast is still observed by the older generation, but the younger ones take a different view. 'When I am hungry, I lean over the wall and pick an apple', said Damir, the guesthouse owner's nephew, pointing at a tree laden with red fruit a few metres away. After dark, we lounged on richly coloured cushions and enjoyed Russian vodka, Belgian chocolate, French fries and Afghan rice.  As dawn has now broken, the road to Kala Panja beckons....