I cycled the Wakhan this season, too. Pity you took a lift across the section east of Langar, because it wasn’t particularly difficult – the sandy parts amount to only about five kilometers. In fact, that was by far my favourite stretch. It offered the first real solitude in Central Asia for months. No cars driving by, no crotch goblins running after the bike and shouting.
I had no photocopies at the Khargush checkpoint, but the bribe at the checkpoint is pretty easy to avoid if you simply aren’t in a rush and explain to the ridiculous 18-year-old conscripts that you know their game and you know how to contact their superior (he’s at the base in Langar). Frankly, it’s a tax for not knowing Russian or Tajik.
I cycled the Wakhan this season, too. Pity you took a lift across the section east of Langar, because it wasn’t particularly difficult – the sandy parts amount to only about five kilometers. In fact, that was by far my favourite stretch. It offered the first real solitude in Central Asia for months. No cars driving by, no crotch goblins running after the bike and shouting.
I had no photocopies at the Khargush checkpoint, but the bribe at the checkpoint is pretty easy to avoid if you simply aren’t in a rush and explain to the ridiculous 18-year-old conscripts that you know their game and you know how to contact their superior (he’s at the base in Langar). Frankly, it’s a tax for not knowing Russian or Tajik.
Wakhan was certainly special. You must be more resilient than the other cyclists we met! Where are you on the road now? Happy pedalling