The Great Roadway Bazaar

Scott Brady

Scott Brady

Founder
It is about time for some Jimny shots.

Tajikistan: The Karakum Desert (Black Sand)

Morning near the Darvaza Crater. Just slept on the ground with the scarabs. Only a few nibbles. . .
Tajikistan_.jpg


Climbing out of the crater. Go Jimny Go
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This door was likely carved in the 1400s. Incredible.
Tajikistan_%20(2).jpg


Don't know when we will have internet again (as of tomorrow morning). We are off to the border with Afghanistan and then the Pamir Highway, which is reported to be washed out at the moment and under torrential storms. Oh, and Kyrgyzstan is on the brink of another political meltdown - good times are on the horizon.
 
franeuro

franeuro

Observer
expeditionswest said:
Don't know when we will have internet again (as of tomorrow morning). We are off to the border with Afghanistan and then the Pamir Highway, which is reported to be washed out at the moment and under torrential storms. Oh, and Kyrgyzstan is on the brink of another political meltdown - good times are on the horizon.
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Thanks for these beautiful pictures. All our wishes are with you. Take care!:)
 
AmericaOverland

AmericaOverland

Explorer
Bill Beers said:
Good luck you guys!

Post up as much as you can for those of us back here in our cubes.

-Bill
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I know you meant cubicles, but I would like to add that for me, you would be meaning ICE cubes as well, the way our fuel is being wasted in keeping office and retail space ice cold, at least a 25-degree difference between outside and inside temperatures.
 
LC4Dakar

LC4Dakar

Adventurer
9,000 +/- miles, depending on your route. If they can get through the Pamir Highway they could cover around 9,500-9,800 miles.
 
LC4Dakar

LC4Dakar

Adventurer
c.nordstrom said:
We ran into a few more teams who had arrived fresh from Iran (now that I think about it, I haven't met any other teams who took the Caspian ferry)
- Charlie
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I'm sure the horror stories of the uncertain waits and the filth of the ferries have discouraged that route. Most MCR ralliers are going through Iran (not easy for Americans this year) or through Kazakhstan then down on one side or the other of the Aral Sea. The road between the Caspian and Aral Seas down to Bukhara is mostly paved now, cutting the time from 5 days to 3 days.
 
AmericaOverland

AmericaOverland

Explorer
LC4Dakar said:
9,000 +/- miles, depending on your route. If they can get through the Pamir Highway they could cover around 9,500-9,800 miles.
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Godlomightie!! That is twice my distance!

Hopefully, they have traveled as much as possible during the day, at least the waking hours. For me, driving from Houston to Columbus, OH was grueling because I had to drive at night on the way up to escape the heat in Texas and Arkansas (AC failed south of Dallas, and it's hot 24/7 until you get to about an hour or so inside Arkansas on the west side, or until October rolls around). I have a fear of hitting animals not so much for car damage as for them dying or being seriously injured. If humans had a habit of crossing the roads at night, I would be just as concerned. I hate driving at night for this reason. On the way back, I had to drive straight through, with no hotel room but one hour breaks at rest stops, and the driving times kept getting shorter and shorter in between breaks. I got scared when I went through a red light at 4 AM in a Texas town and didn't realize there was a light until I saw the dang cameras flash behind me. I said "Nap time!" pulled into a shopping center, turned my hearing aids off, and put my eye blinds back on. Later, I woke up feeling punch-drunk and went in for coffee (something I have NOT done in what, 4 years?).

I never, ever want to drive during bed time, ever again. That is so dangerous, that feeling of, "Oh crap, I need sleep," and I'm tired, and that constant fear of realizing you fell asleep and the last thing you know is a concrete wall in front of your vehicle .383 seconds before impact. I hope you guys did not have to experience this while driving this kind of distance on some rough roads, even though you have each other to watch out for that moment. I've lived off and on with that fear for nearly 30 years of driving.

Be careful, and I want to see you make it in one piece at the other end. This is a hell of a journey! You got me stoked for another big one, done RIGHT, of course.

Stephanie
 
Scott Brady

Scott Brady

Founder
deafdrummer said:
Somebody find out who owns that yellow truck - I want to be on the will for the truck!

Stephanie
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It belongs to Patrice Ryder from Outback Imports in Europe. He has owned it for over a decade, and it has rear steer. Look for a complete article on the home page once I get back.

Patrice has been a long-time friend and was my sponsor for our win in the Outback Challenge in 2006.
 
C

c.nordstrom

World Traveller Extraordinaire
Regarding the guide situation: it is possible to see Turkmenistan without a guide, as long as you enter on a transit visa. These visas are usually limited to 3 or 5 days.

Guides are mandatory for tourist visas, which last up to two weeks. We opted for tourist visas due to the large quantity of unknowns that Scott and I could potentially face (mainly the ferry).

Guides are not required for any of the other 'Stans.

Today we're making the jaunt to Dushanbe, stopping for a couple hours, and hopefully doing our best to catch up with some of the other Pamir teams. It looks like the Pamir region has been receiving a lot of rainfall and floods have occured - this should be fun!
 
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