The drive out of the lake provided hours of stunning mountain scenery. Grass covered slopes, snow topped peaks, mountains of deep red soil, the contrasts were spectacular. We also taversed one of the longest tunnels i have ever encountered. I would estimate about 5kms, 2 narrow lanes, zero lighting and drivers who were more than happy to overtake slower vehicles. All in all an interesting experience!! We arrived in Istravashan on market day. Chaos is the only...

Iskanderkul Lake in the Fann Mountains can only be described as breathtaking. The President has his holiday dacha here and it's easy to understand why. And whilst the road in is rough, the last 25kms takes about an hour, it's well and truly worth the drive. The mountain scenery is stunning. We're staying in "cottages". Think a row of 1960 motel rooms built from concrete. But they're comfortable and about 10 steps from the lake shore. About an hours walk from...

Today we cross into country No. 3 - Tajikistan. The border crossings are becoming more staight forward but the one constant factor is the distance you have to walk from one country's immigration building to the next country's building. On average it would be anything from 750 to 1000 metres. Tajikistan is the poorest of the 5 Stans that we will be visiting and it is noticable right from the start. Road conditions, vehicles and the people are all tell tale si...