As regular readers of my blog will know I'm going on the last 2 weeks of the Roof of the World rally which will take me from the country who came in fifth place in Eurovision this year, Azerbaijan across several countries ending in 'stan' before finally finishing in Tajikistan.
We'll be encountering all kinds of wildlife along the way, including, wolfs, bears, wild boars and camels and of course not forgetting the most dangerous of the lot, the wild killer hamsters.
My adventure starts when I fly into Baku and meet the team who have driven all the way from London over the previous 2 weeks. Our first challenge is then to get across the Caspian Sea, on a boat that may or may not leave when it's supposed to.
I've had to obtain 5 visas for the trip, 1 for each of the country I'm visiting. It's the first time I've ever needed to obtain a visa before setting off on a trip, and especially as some of the countries are relatively closed to outsiders it was an interesting experience.
Once make it over the Caspian Sea (which is likely to take well over 24 hours) we'll be travelling across the desert of Turkmenistan heading for the Uzbekistan border and the city of Tashkent.
From here we start to climb into the mountains using loosely described "roads" towards Kyrgyzstan and Sary Tash at 9000 feet above sea level. Due to civil unrest in Kyrgyzstan we may have to make a detour, otherwise we head for the Tajikistan border and the second highest road in the world – The Pamir Highway in the Pamir Mountains.
This area is very remote but has spectacular scenery, so plenty of photographs will be taken, which are available to anyone that donates. We follow the China / Afghanistan border along to Dushanbe and on to the Children’s School at Quergan Teppa run by the Charity Sworde Teppa.
There will be some "dangers" along the way, such as dealing with the high altitudes, maybe having to give a small bribe to border guards and others along the way.
Although to be honest my 'fears' about the trip are smaller things, like how we deal with the heat - likely to be around 50c in the deserts; what we eat and drink and the risks of getting sick from it (I'm packing lots of imodium just in case!)
My target for the team is £1000, which is going to help cover some of my costs (including visa applications, injections, and flights).
After we get back I'm hoping to put on an exhibition of some of the photographs, and also to stage a charity auction where you can buy and own some of the more stunning images from our adventure.
I'm a bit behind in my target, so any donations would be much appreciated. You can donate via the Just Giving website link below.
http://www.justgiving.com/charityroadtrips
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