Most Inspirational Moment
Literally too many to choose! Following the Afghan border through the Whakan Valley seeing the Afghans going about their daily business; watching the Panj and Bartang rivers crash through narrow canyons; views across the Whakan Valley into the snow capped mountains of Pakistan; the remoteness of Lake Zorkul and Bam-i Dunya (the roof of the world); Lake Karakul surrounded by snowy mountains; driving through the Bartang Valley; the walk up to the village and lake of Jizewdara Valley. Finally the friendliness and welcome of the Tajikistan people, especially in the home stays. Many certainly could not do enough to make our stay more comfortable and memorable.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Having stepped in on Day 3 after we had already started, Didorali did really well. He was well organised, pleasant and courteous. He worked well with all the drivers and made sure that we were all sorted at home stays, hotels, etc and at mealtimes before sorting himself.
The drivers were excellent and fully proficient in handling the off-road (and sometimes not even off-road) conditions and extreme weather conditions. Despite limited English they tried to engage in conversation and were good fun on the long days with their music and occasional dancing!
Advice for Potential Travellers
This is a truly adventurous off-road trip. Creature comforts were not always there, but many of the home stays exceeded expectations, having hot showers although a few had little more than a basin to clean up at. Everywhere we stayed had western style toilets, albeit sometimes only one, which might be a short trek outside and often with a queue! Much of the home stay and guesthouse accommodation is shared, not en-suite and sometimes not in separate private rooms; maybe just a corridor or a platform where a mattress could be placed, or even outdoors if you wish. Ear plugs were a necessity, especially if you were in the corridor leading from all the other rooms to the toilet, or to the kitchen when the home stay owners started to prepare for breakfast at a very early hour! On the whole the food at the home stays and guesthouses was good and plentiful, but was occasionally quite limited, especially some of the breakfasts, just bread and jam.
The drives are long, bumpy and dusty. Some days are very long especially the journey between Kalai Khumb and Khorog (on the way out and back) due to a landslide but mainly the planned roadworks that closed sections of the road for several hours at a time. Efforts were made to travel to avoid the roadworks (a very early start) but going the landslide meant this did not work and on the return the construction workers just decided to start work early! Be prepared to sit around for several hours. More often where we stopped there was no shade from the fierce sun, and with no opportunity to buy food or snacks. Meal times were quite random with often long periods between meals. I would certainly recommend bringing plenty of snacks or buying them in the market in Dushanbe, as there are little to no options after that except places like Khorog or Murghob.
The trip notes originally mentioned changing $200 to cover all expenses not covered (now states $100). There are limited opportunities to buy souvenirs, snacks, etc, so most people ended up having about or more than $100 left. However, this can be used for tips. Also note that changing US dollars with older larger denomination notes ($50 or 100) comes at a much inferior rate. If you have these then make sure that they are the latest version or use small denominations.
