2017-06-28 The end of the Murghab era was there. One more diesel fetching session and Fanny (who was going to travel with me for a short while) and I left the town for Karakul lake and the border of Kyrgyzstan. On the way to Karakul is the highest pass of the country, the 4.655 meter high Ak-Baital pass. Again, the pass itself is not very impressive. There is a sign before you go over, but nothing Read More →
2017-06-21 We arrived in Murghab and went straight to the Bazaar, and then the Pamir hotel. There we took a room for 8 dollars and hung around for a while and met new people. All travelers that do the Pamir highway or Wakan valley (or go through Tadjikistan for that matter) got through Murghab, and most of them end up in this hotel. The place has hot showers twice a day, after a huge reservoir Read More →
2017-06-12 With a car full of supplies Daniel, Ed, and I headed Eastwards, in the direction of Khorog via the south route. We heard there was a bridge down so this was the safest option. After about 220 KM, well into the foothills of the Pamirs there was a small road to the right which we decided to explore. A few kilometers in there was a nice patch of straight grass to set up a Read More →
2017-06-03 At the Uzbekistan – Tajikistan border on the Fergana valley side it was really quiet. We (Daniel and I) arrived and there was no one waiting. For the 5 hours we were there not a single person came through. On the Uzbek side we were inspected thoroughly. They checked all the registration slips and the most of the car had to be emptied. A German Shepard went through and around the car and all Read More →
2017-05-20 Arriving in Khiva I stopped to look where I should drive first. Right away some dude stopped to ask if he could help me. I told him I wanted to check out the historical center so he asked me to follow him there. Once there we had a short talk and exchanged numbers. A guy from the ho(s)tel opposite to the entrance of the came up and suggested I could stay at their place Read More →
2017-05-13 Leaving Turkmenistan went reasonably quick. I accidentally left my dashcam running which they didn’t like very much. But a friendly soldier removed the images from the SD card and after a fast control I was allowed to leave. Also the Uzbekistan border went relatively fast. There was some confusion about which direction I was going. This was because there was no one on the going-in side so I (without knowing it) I went to Read More →
I have been writing, just not posting due to terrible internet connections and adventure mode in Tadzjikistan. 2017-05-09 After waking up near the border of Turkmenistan I exchanged some money and nervously drive to the Iranian checkpoint. The time spent on the Iranian part of the border crossing was rather lengthy. Lots of forms, going from counter to counter and people trying to help me out with some more forms that I didn’t know the Read More →
Back into internetland! (Kyrgyzstan – Osh). Here is the last part of Iran: 2017-04-27 On the way back from Qeshm Helena and I first went back to Hamed and Saghi in Bandar Abbas, where again we were received with much hospitality. I lost the pictures I made there but we had another great day and were invited to stay the night. My visa extension was waiting for me at the police office next day and Read More →
The last post ended in Esfahan and Suse and I were just about leaving the city to drive towards Shiraz. We found a spot in the hills on the iOverlander app that we wanted to try to find. But when we were close it was already quite dark and we had trouble finding the way there. Some meters off the road we were asked by a local what we were looking for and we tried Read More →
10-04-2017 In Tehran it was visa arranging time. But first I went to the palace of the shah, which was in the exact state is was when he and his family fled the country after the revolution in 1979. A beautiful place that I wouldn’t mind living in. There I met a British-Iranian woman who was back in Iran for the first time since the revolution. We had lunch and conversation together in the north Read More →
29-04-2017 So, a bit earlier than anticipated I entered Iran. On the border I changed some money into rial and asked for car insurance but nobody was able to understand me. The next part of the drive to Tabriz was without insurance. Iran seems to be stuffed with pretty landscapes. Taking pictures is almost always a disappointment because 2 kilometers down the road there will always be a better spot to photograph. There were a Read More →
After Goris (Armenia) I decided to drive in the direction of Sisian. Kate (American peace core) told me in Yerevan that it was worth visiting. I stopped close to Sisian and drove into the hills to check out a cave. The cave was a bit disappointing but the surroundings were quite nice. After that I drove on to Sisian where, after I arrived, I noticed that my fleece vest was gone. I left it near Read More →
Each time I want to stay in a city for just a few nights, I end up staying a few more. In Yerevan it became 4, again in an Envoy hostel. The 3rd day there I went to Geghart monastery and Gorni gorge with Jennifer. The day after Jennifer (Sgp), Jess (Aus), Steffi (De) and me went to Khor Virap. This is one of the many awesome Monasteries out there. Khor Virap means deep Read More →
2017-03-15 The border of Armenia was a little harder than expected. Going out of Georgia went fast, checking the car went fast and passport control went fast. But at the last check I was sent back to an office to do a temporary import of the car into Armenia. This costs €40 and was hard to explain by the border guard because of my poor knowledge of Armenian and Russian. In the end I got it Read More →
2017-03-17 Time for another update! From the monastery on a rock I started driving in the direction of Tbilisi. I saw on Lonely Planet that I would pass Chiatura, where Stalin’s cable carts, which were built in 1950, are still in use today. I had to take a look. When I arrived in Chiatura I took a little walk through the town until I found one of the carts. Apparently they were free so I Read More →