Uralistan: Bishkek to Kabul

Graffiti.


My Foreign Exchange man, He's got everything!


I've been reading recently a few exceptional RR on 'stans and area. This report certainly is another that gets me interested in heading in that direction.

All the photos are awesome. But a couple stood out because something seemed out of place.
That graffiti looks like the work of famed British graffiti artist Banksy. If its not his work then it's certainly his style.
For the Canadians, the money changer looks to have a 5 cent bill issued by Canadian Tire. It's in the second row from the front and third pile from the right. For non-Canadians its funny money issued by a Canadian retailer.


Looking forward to more!
Brian

LOL! That is quite some eye you have on you! I had a 5 cent one on hand to compare it to--you are spot on. What size monitor were you using when you noticed that? I had to turn the lap top on its side and squint at it. I've heard of Canadians pulling the Canadian Tire money trick in the US away from border areas and tourist areas--this is a new one. Some gall. Sandy McTire would be proud (or maybe ashamed?).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tire_money

Question for the OP--I was wondering, did the money changer have guards of some kind for security set up to discourage robbers? He would seem to be mighty vulnerable otherwise?

I have never seen any security around the money changers. There's a high level of morality and mutual respect for one another on the streets not just here I found but also in neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

Although I did see a man steal a watermelon from 2 kids on a donkey cart in Pakistan. The kids gave their cart to a by stander while they ran ahead and told an older shopkeeper, he came out and approached the man, after 30mins of arguing and having a bit of a fight the man realized he was in the wrong and apologized, they hugged and called it a day. The police officers watching didn't get involved, Instead they let the people work it out between themselves.

As for the money changer... He's got everything!

Hah!! I was like no way there's probably lots of money that look similar from a distance... Look at pic see nothing, count over to third pile :eek1 YES that is definitely familiar! Hilarious and intriguing. And here I am spending Euros in Afghanistan like a fool.

Haha, my monitor isn't anything extraordinary. The diamond shape around the 5 and the bit of red for the triangle in the middle caught my eye immediately. It's probably not too usually to see some Canadian Tire money floating around there considering the number of Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan. I wonder what the exchange rate is for Canadian Tire money is there?

Thank you for the story.

What an amazing adventure and an absolutely fantastic report and photos.

Beers are on me if you ever come up to Bali

Thanks Tourist !

I echo the same, you seriously have a talent for capturing......get some copyrights on these images, ever contemplated photography as a living?

Thats hilarious! Re the canadian tire money. Im dead certain it actually is. This RR is absolutely phenominal.

Many thanks everyone for all your positive & generous comments. Much Appreciated! Cheers

Tourist, I hope you are warm as toast somewhere and with a full stomach.
I have thoroughly enjoyed your journey, your pictures, and your dialogue.
I spent a Christmas in your country one year . I loved the silly hats and
the hospitality of the Kiwis. God Speed and thank you for sharing.
СПАСИБО БОЛЬШОЕ

Thank you so much, really enjoyed your report!

Despite beng a rider myself, I found this thread from a Fuji forum. I'd love to see what your X100S looks like after that trip, do you a photo of it after all the road wear? Also, I'm curious if you left it on auto, came up with presets or handed each photo individually.

Cheers

amazing story and photos! Thank you for sharing it!

The Fuji, did a pretty good job I'm happy with it. I came from a p&s so I was learning plenty along the way plus i didn't want anything too big, dslrs make too much noise. at times it did get filthy, my shoulder bag did a good job keeping most of the dust out, it got a bit of wear and tear. the rear directional thumb dial isn't quite working anymore, along with some battle scars.
Most of the time I used it in Aperture priority mode with AF, making adjustments for the subject or what I wanted to show. just low light performance wasn't quite what i had hoped for, I found the battery life really good although I was carrying 3 batteries.

If i was to buy a new rig I would be looking hard at the Omd-em1.

Nice adventure. I finished reading today. The Bartang Valley is great, I can wait to ride it next summer.

Subscribed here for the next adventure in Afganistan.

Regards,
Cristian / Bob

Tourist
Just caught this thread today and read every word.. Thanks for making my february a lot warmer...
Incredible journey and thanks for the ride!!
Cheers

amazing ride and report. Like most of the readers you break up my day at work , Im surprised anything actualy gets done.
take care.

Like all the other comments here, this RR is above and beyond, a class of its own.
Thanks for doing it, and I look forward to part 2, but its okay too if you decide to return to a quiet life out of the spot light. Much respect.

Mate, i've shared your write up with a few people now & would like to see the Fuji one you did. Can you post a link to that one also?

Cheers

Roo