The videos document my pilgrimage from Indonesia to the African continent by land (no airplane!). The route: 1.) Indonesia: Traveling through Sumatran Mountains and Prehistoric Sites 2.) Malaysia: Meeting with the Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula 3.) Thailand: Tracing the Southeast Asian Ancient Empires 4.) Laos: Experiencing the Lao-China Railway 5.) China: Backpacking the Tibetan Plateau to the Edge of the Silk Road 6.) Kazakhstan: First Contact with the Central Asians 7.) Uzbekistan: Pilgrimage in the Land of the Timurids 8.) Tajikistan: Lost in the Fenn Mountains 9.) Afghanistan: Visiting Afghanistan after the Taliban Takeover 10.) Iran: Surrounded by the Ancient Civilization of Persia 11.) UAE: Short Transit in Futuristic Cities 12.) Saudi Arabia: Pilgrimage in the Holy Land of the Muslims 13.) Jordan: Catching a Glimpse of Jerusalem 14.) Egypt: Ending in the Land of Pharaohs
Curated by: Bang Jago (174 videos)
On the 137th day I planned to go to Takht-e Rustam, an ancient Buddhist complex in Samangan, but that didn't happen because the Samangan provincial Ministry of Information & Culture office didn't want to give me permission unless I paid 1000 Afghani (beyond the actual ticket fee). Because we didn't want to pay what should have been free, in the end three of my friends and I were expelled from Samangan province and had to go to the terminal to continue our original journey to Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province. Shared taxi from Samangan to Mazar-i-Sharif costs 150 Afghani by minibus. The journey took two hours through desert and canyons. We arrived at 12 noon in Mazar-i-Sharif, the fourth largest city in Afghanistan. There should have been a taxi to pick us up to go straight to the Info & Culture office of Balkh province. Since he didn't come, we made sure to have lunch first because according to previous experience, dealing with the Afghanistan officials in their office could take at least 2-3 hours. And indeed, that's what happened. Once again we were asked for 1000 Afghani per person for a permit in Balkh province. This time we were willing to pay the fee because we planned to stay 3 nights in this city to enjoy the interesting places here. Again, this was supposed to be free and after I reported this to Kabul, I heard they no longer charge this "extra" fee for the local permit. Next, we were directed to the registered hotel. We chose Rahat Guest House which charged 1500 Afghani. A bit expensive, but considering we could fit four people, I would say it's cheap. From the hotel we continued to explore the city center of Mazar-i-Sharif with its interesting bazaars. Right in the middle of the city there is a mosque complex and Imam Ali's Mausoleum (shrine). The armed guard asked for our permits and this time we weren't worried because we already had our permits. Inside the complex I took the photo of the Blue Mosque, the burial place for Imam Ali (Other Muslims claimed that the actual burial place is in Najaf, Iraq). The blue color is slightly different from the turquoise blue which was commonly used in the Timurid era. The blue of this building is mixed with green and feels bright because it fit well with the white marble floor. I circled the complex until sunset and saw many people coming to pray here. Tomorrow I plan to spend the day exploring the ancient city of Balkh. ___ Stage 1 Route - Sumatra (DONE!): Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru Stage 2 Route - ASEAN Mainland (DONE!): Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China Stage 3 Route - China (DONE!): Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan Stage 4 Route - Central Asia (DONE!): Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan Stage 5 Route - Afghanistan: Kunduz - Samangan - Mazar-i-Sharif - Balkh - Kabul - Bamiyan - Band-e Amir - Yakawlang - Lal - Chagcharan - Herat - Mashhad, Iran *Follow my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/obeysianipar/) for direct messages **Message me for sponsorship --- Music Credits: And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.