10
Murghab
2 days
After two hours of waiting along the Pamir Highway in Alichur we find a truck driver by himself. He is happy to take us to Murghab. And we are happy to sit on his spacious bed in the truck. He drops us off at the Pamir hotel. An appealing name for a, let’s be honest, not so appealing hotel. In the lobby we meet truck drivers who have been stuck in the hotel because the Chinese border has been closed for 5 days. They cannot wait to leave Murghab. “There is nothing here. It is a sad place.”
The next day we go to the only place that has wifi that day, the East Pamir Ecotours guesthouse. When we hear that they also arrange border permits to Kyrgystan, the reason we need wifi, we gladly take their offer. While we walk back to our hotel, the daughter rushes after us: the Kyrgyz government has a 12-day holiday so we cannot receive our permits. Then we will have to head into China just like the truck drivers. The more we think about it, the more we like the sound of that. Chinese food is just what we need after our time in the Pamir.
So far we avoided any run-ins with shepherd dogs. We walk along the main road when Jasper points at a cow’s hoof on the side of the road. All of a sudden three dogs appear out of nowhere - teeth bare. As the barking animals charge at us, we panic. One of the dogs aggressively runs closer, so Jasper swings his jacket with our heavy power bank at it. The dog startles from the impact of the blow and shoots off with his companions. A close call that makes me walk around with rocks in my hands for the remainder of our time in Murghab.