Tragedy in Tajikistan !

Talk about being slammed against the proverbial brick wall !

I'd just turned on my PC this morning in OZ to be hit with the confronting news that 4 cyclists had been killed by a reported terrorist attack in Tajikistan just south of Dushanbe on the route that we will be taking !

The deaths of these people doing what they love was staggering enough but what was really confronting was the fact that I'd spent a fair bit of time pre trip convincing friends and family that the part of the world that I was going to in 3 days time was in fact safe and hospitable !

The rest of my day became a blur as I rang my travelling buddy Pete in New Zealand to see how he was reacting to the news and whether he was now having doubts about travelling.

For me sadly it was dejavu ! I'd been in a similar situation in 2015 3 days out from travelling to Pakistan when Coalition attacks on ISIS and the consequent reported threat to those travelling in the region resulted in self and 3 travelling friends cancelling our proposed trip along the Karakoram Highway !

After a day of numerous phone calls including one from the Redspokes tour Company owner, Pete and I were convinced enough to still go believing that genuine effort was underway to improve the security of those travelling to the country ! The irony of the fact was that 2018 was the year of Tourism in Tajikistan !

During my own internal debate one comment from one of our fellow travelers resonated ! John from UK felt that we owed it to the people of Tajikistan who are so dependent on tourism as a  source of income to go ! So with some reservation I decided to get on with packing my bags !

Out of my Mind !

What was I thinking ! I've been at altitude nearly a dozen times on adventures from Tibet to Ladahk to the Altiplano in Peru & the Everest foothills yet somehow I'd forgotten what it's like trying to function while having access to 40% less Oxygen !

Sure there's the obvious ! Trying to breathe when it feels like your lungs have forgotten how to inflate but there's also the "other" side effects - where food is marginally less appealing than dog puke &  where coughing is par for the course leaving you at high risk of herniating a disc or two !

The "all in one" combo though of diet, altitude, exertion and 3rd world super bugs can bring yet another dimension where you can easily spend many an hour on tour looking over the terrain for a suitable "evacuation" point !

So why then the Pamirs ?

This iconic and beautiful location (a former Silk trade route) is one of the least visited areas on the planet ! Make no mistake though the secret is out. The former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan is over run by magnificent splendor. Vast open plains, colorful Mountains that dazzle with the setting sun, high passes over 4,000 metres and a stunning eastern border with Afghanistan along the Wakkan corridor and the Panj River that once played host to Marco Polo. This is an extraordinarily beautiful area populated by some of the friendliest people on Earth ! Add on the challenge and freedom that adventure cycling provides and you have a destination that just can't be missed !