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 141st day, Duke and I finally arrived in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The bus journey from Mazar-i-Sharif took 20 hours due to a long detour over bad mountain roads. The Mazar-Kabul Highway was still closed for unknown reason. Entering Kabul, I found more high-rise buildings, although not much. Most of the population still lives in housing complexes perched on rocky hills that dotted Kabul. This time I stayed at the Chinese Guesthouse which actually only accommodates visitors from China. I got an exception for going with Duke. In this place I met several people from China and we decided to tour Kabul together. We visited Kabul Medical University and saw the book exhibition there. Right across it is Kabul University where women are not allowed to enter even though we are only foreign tourists. Coincidentally, we met Jibril Omar, a professor from Australia who had been a Taliban prisoner for 3.5 years. By this time he had converted to Islam and was sympathetic to the new government. He tried to help us get our female friend in, but it didn't work because the issue was still sensitive. Finally he suggested we visit one of the largest flags in the world flying on Wazir Akbar Khan Hill, Kabul. By taxi we passed through the streets of Kabul with its shops. We arrived at Wazir Akbar Khan Hill just before sunset. The Emirates flag flying there was indeed gigantic. Tomorrow I planned to apply for a blanket tourist permit in Kabul so I could continue my trip to Bamiyan. ___ 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/.