The road continued to hug the river dividing Tajikistan from Afghanistan. The mountains look so barren, it’s hard to imagine life in these areas, especially in Winter. Many peaks were still covered in thick ice. The beauty and ruggedness of the mountains just overwhelms me, I would drift off for a while and then a new view would come into sight, more glorious than the one before.

We drove up to Yamchun Fortress, perched on a mountain with commanding views of the valley below. Not much left of it now, but it would have been quite a feat to construct twenty or so centuries ago! We met a young woman who was working in Australia and heading home to Poland, also on a motorbike and travelling solo, she had some hairy tales to tell…I’m not sure I would be brave enough to do this trip alone. There are a lot of empty spaces along the way; isolated and with no outside contact.

As we approached Langar, Daniyar pointed to the mountains…the first row was Afghanistan, the second was Pakistan and the third was the Hindu Kush! Some of my most longed for destinations (from the 70s!) just across the river! Probably the closest we will get for now!