Crossing borders

Salam salam guys,
On our way south we first crossed to Uzbekistan, since in the consulate in Termez in it seems to be easier to get a visa for Afghanistan than on arrival in Shir Khan Bandar.
The Tajik-Uzbek border takes time - on the Uzbek side you get a paper slip and need to collect stamps at different offices. They don't seem to take their job very serious as RidingKismet discusses with them, saying she's a female and the content of her panniers is not their business - and indeed, they don't bother us searching our gear.
On the way to Termez the traffic is funny. Apart from cute ZIL 130 trucks, all the vehicles are either white tiny Chevrolets or white microvans, the latter apparently wanting to kill us constantly.

Again, we arrive at the hotel in Termez in the dark and due to no vacancies, we are allowed to sleep in the family's living room. We must look wrecked, and the very friendly hosts give us a hot soup in the night and a small brekkie in the morning.

Our mission in Termez is to get the Afghan visa plus a road pass for Murghob and Kismet. The embassy is a dirty, boring place, but after paying half a liver each we finally get the sticker in our passports.
Let's go!Read more