Sat 3 Oct:  The border crossing was similar in design to the one of yesterday with passport control and customs offices at either end and a 3-500m walk and driveway in between.  All went well until the Tajik-side passport control, when I was informed that my passport and visa, which I had obtained online in…

Fri 2 Oct: Crossing the border proved a relatively straightforward process with minimal queuing; my new passport seemed to cause minor concerns as it was studied and flicked through by each side and one guy had to leave the kiosk and go and check with his boss.  Most peculiar, but we got through unscathed!  When…

– A landlocked mountain nation – elements of the Tien Shan range covers 80% of country with some dramatic peaks – the highest being Jengish Chokusu at 7439m. – In size it comprises 77,261 sq mi, making it 1.2 times smaller than UK; with a population of around 7.5M, it is one of the most…

Sat 12 Sep – Arrived at Almaty airport at 0800 – after a longish night involving two flights with Turkish Airlines, the first from LHR to Istanbul then another in the early hours on to Kazakhstan. Both flights were almost full with a duration of 4 and 5 hours respectively. I am glad that I…

The planning of this epic trip was done in conjunction with, but very largely by Wild Frontiers, who have been excellent in advising and undertaking all the bookings. Originally, I had planned to do this trip in Apr/May 26 but, anticipating the arrival of Isla-Rae, who was born 15 Apr, I decided to delay the…