Tag: The Silk Road

The Turtle Expedition – Tajikistan

2017-10-18 / Downshift

Follow Gary and Monika Wescott as they travel in Tajikistan in July 2014 along the Silk Road on their quest to reach the Pacific Ocean.

The Tunnel of Death, Tajikistan

Visibility reduced almost to zero thanks to large sections with no lighting. Useless headlights which fail to penetrate the fumes. Carbon monoxide accumulation which has already claimed the lives of people delayed in the tunnel. All vehicles must have windows up and airflow on recycle. Potholes which seriously challenged ex-military trucks in permanent 4WD. Exposed reinforcing bars in the remaining concrete road surface had punctured the tires of 2 trucks whose drivers were changing them in the tunnel. Along the length of a mid-tunnel section there are holes as deep as 1.5 meters which are full of water. No roadworks signs and no traffic controls in this single-lane section or anywhere else.

Sounds like fun huh?

The Turtle Expedition – Uzbekistan

2017-01-30 / Downshift

Follow the story of Gary and Monika Wescott as they explore Uzbekistan on their quest to travel the Silk Road from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in June and July 2014.

The Turtle Expedition – Turkmenistan

2017-01-14 / Downshift

Follow Gary and Monika Wescott as they drive through Turkmenistan on their quest for the Pacific Ocean via the Silk Road in 2014.

The Door to Hell

Okay, we were now driving in Turkmenistan. Oh Boy! It had been a long night and a long frustrating day. Since our five-day transit visa had already expired we were essentially driving in the country illegally. We knew that fuel in Turkmenistan was a dollar a gallon. Even though we had to pay $100 fuel surcharge, we had arrived with empty tanks. After a quick drive around town to change money we found the only gas station had run out of diesel. Thinking there must be other stations outside of town, we headed for Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, some 324 miles away.