Riding around the world on motorcycles is always most fun by going completely off the beaten track.
On our trip through Afghanistan we found a shortcut on the map leading from Mazar-e-Sharif/Balkh straight south through the mountains towards Band-e Amir National Park.
The road started off promising: the asphalt was… let’s say “medium good” but it actually rode pretty smoothly.
We kept passing small villages made of mud-brick houses. Hardly anyone on the streets, just kids and men on donkeys, waving and smiling as we pass.
Afghanistan keeps surprising us – with its calm, its vastness, and its warmth.
As the road got narrower and we took much longer than expected, it was getting late. Our goal: a beautiful lake to camp by.
After driving through the narrow alleys of a small village and far up into the mountains, we finally reached our destination. Only… the lake was gone. Completely dried up, no swimming, just grass, dust, and a lot of wind.
So we drove back down a bit and found the perfect camping spot instead.
In the evening and morning, people passed by with donkeys loaded with hay. No idea where they even found all that grass up there.
The next day, right in the middle of nowhere we ended up in a coal truck convoy. Hundreds of trucks, endless dust, and us stuck in between crawling through the mountains.
Sometimes the road was so narrow and dusty there was no way to pass. So… just breathe dust and keep going. Later I actually googled “dust lung”
At the top came the reward: another legendary Energy Drink with "massive power" and "Germany Flavor". No idea what that means – but we enjoyed it. (By the way, Energy Drinks are the thing in Afghanistan – you find them everywhere! Often there is no normal food or water but energy drinks and cookies are available 😁)
This shortcut took us 2 unforgettable days on one of the dustiest roads on this planet. But this is exactly the adventures we are looking for on riding around the world on motorcycles.