Miles driven: 219 miles
Time in Car:8 hours
Borders crossed: 0
We met the two other convoy rally teams at their hostel around 11 am and headed off to Khalai-Khum, a city separated only by the Panj River from Afghanistan.
Our convoy through the Pamirs
We left with a 4 car convoy - the Brits (Gus and Laura) who we had been convoying with since Turkmenistan, a two-man team of British residing Germans in an Opel, and two Australians in a 1999 Daihatsu (a now defunct car maker) Hi-jet van that looked worse for wear. We also picked up a fifth team in a group of 3 Norwegians - so we were 5 cars strong moving through Tajikistan. The drive into the Western Pamirs was beautiful. It was bumpy. And it was slow. Beautiful in that the mountains, pastures, and plateaus shone golden under the summer sun in all directions. Bumpy in that the road was decimated pavement lined with potholes and rocks. And slow in that driving in a pack of 5 cars through terrible conditions is painstakingly slow. If one car needs a restroom break, the convoy stops. If one car needs a bite to eat, the convoy stops. If one person wants to hop out and catch a picture, the convoy stops. Luckily, the Aussies has some walkie-talkies so 3 of the 5 cars had a way of talking to each other. It made for an easy way to signal for a stop and share some banter.
The drive into the Pamirs before entering the GBAO region
At around 5 pm, we made it to an official military checkpoint to enter the GBAO region of Tajikistan. GBAO refers to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. It’s the mountainous region that hosts the famous Pamir Highway along M41 in Southeastern Tajikistan. At the GBAO border, our convoy handed over our documents while we chatted with the very friendly and curious border guards. One guard challenged an Aussie to a pull-up competition on a rudimentary workout area. It was like a Tajik version of Muscle Beach. The guards looked at our cars in awe. They signed our car with sharpies, posed for photos, and even gifted us with bread. The people we’ve encountered since entering Turkmenistan have been nothing short of incredible and these guards were no different. From our research and stories of rally’s past, the Tajik Pamiri people are some of the hospitable and friendly of all of Central Asia. Because of their nomadic culture and religious beliefs, the Pamiri view travelers as gifts from Allah and often times they provide visitors with food, drink, and lodging when out-of-towners roll through. We shook hands with the guards, bid salam, and drove off into the GBAO and the Pamirs.
The friendly GBAO border guards
We thought our drive to Dushanbe was incredible. That didn’t hold a candle to what we drove through once entering the GBAO. We drove into a valley that the Panj River incised from the Red rock mountains. We descended hairpins back-and-forth to the valley floor allowing us to get incredible sweeping views of the mountain landscape at dusk. Across the Panj, gigantic mountains jutted skywards - Afghanistan. Yes, we were only a stone throw away or maybe a daring swim across the Panj to reach Afghanistan - a crazy thing to think about. We continued on through small towns with our convoy. Tajik kids waved, shouted, reached for hi-fives, and smiled as we rolled by - a scene we’ve become used to in Tajikistan but especially noticeable here given the remoteness of the region. Sunlight was dwindling and we kept pushing towards Khalai-Khum. We didn’t want to drive at night but we wanted to push as hard as we could. Another military stop took a good 15 minutes for documentation checks. Darkness was upon us so we stopped at the next town at a hotel, which was really a dorm room that also had food. The 5 teams spoke with the owner and cut us a deal for food and beer. A few teams including us, set up camp outside while the rest took mats in the dorm. After a tasty meal of plov, bread, and beer, we went to bed beneath with the Pamir mountains of Afghanistan looking down upon us - for the first time on the rally, it really made me think, damn, we are far from home. - FWY,
The Pamirs of Afghanistan
The Panj River separating Afghanistan from Tajikistan