We arrived in Ishkashim via Tajikistan. The moment we crossed the heavily secured border, we entered through a time tunnel into a different century. Fairly modern on the Tajik side, ancient and old fashioned 10 metres along. If it wasn’t for the AK-47 guns that everyone carries and the Toyota pickup trucks (and the knocked-out Russian tanks) you would not believe this is the 21st century. Certainly in the Wakhan it isn’t.
We made our way on foot to Sarhad which is a dead end surrounded by mountains on 3 sides. On our way we came across many people who welcomed us with open arms. Some of them had never seen a European. Being flabbergasted, they invited us for bread and yoghurt – it was all they had that day.
We got lice, fleas and God knows what else. In the end it didn’t matter because we got a glimpse of what a place looks like when time stands still.
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