In the deserts of Iran
We flew from Pakistan into the northeastern city of Mashhad in Iran. The two countries have a land border in Balochistan, but it’s dodgy. You need a special permit and an armed guard. We’re not […]
Silk Road
Postcard from Pakistan
We were the only people crossing the Attari-Wagah border when we walked across from India to Pakistan. The immigration halls on both sides were completely empty, apart from the staff who were overjoyed to see […]
Oil, fire and pomegranates
We were rudely awoken from our cabin on the Caspian Sea ferry and unceremoniously dumped in Azerbaijan at 4am. I was still asleep on arrival and would have really liked to just curl up in […]
From the Aral to the Caspian Sea
I hadn’t heard of Karakalpakstan (Qaraqalpaqstan) until I found myself here. It’s actually the ‘Autonomous’ Republic of Karakalpakstan but since having that name it’s been part of the USSR and now part of Uzbekistan. ‘Autonomous’ […]
The wonders of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva
There is no straightforward overland route from Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan to Tashkent in Uzbekistan. You have to go the long way ‘round – either all the way back down to Osh in the south and […]
First steps on the old silk road
It was an adventurer called Zhang Qian, between 100-200 BC, who is said to have started off the old silk road trade route, from China to the west. He keeps appearing in lots of different […]
Adventurous Hermit 