Silk Road Skate Trip - Afghanistan

http://www.vhsmag.com/column/laurence_keefe/afghanistan-en/

Abu and his crew.

The 9 domed mosque. One of the oldest on the planet.

Anti Taliban graffiti.

The blue Mosque.

The man himself. Paddy Wallner on Abu's roof.

Gosha.

In the Russian cultural centre.

Kenny with the Balkh Governor,  Atta Mohammed Noor.

That smoke is coming from a land mine that just went off.

Muydien told me - "My Kalashnikov is my internet."

Our police escort. 

. Shepherds.

Skate, don't hate.

Hanifa and Madina at Skateistan.

Visualtraveling - 'Meet The Stans' (Trailer) from Patrik Wallner on Vimeo.

Patrik Wallner's 'Meet the Stans' - Online premiere November 5th!

Silk road skate trip. Part 4 - Uzbekistan

By far the most troublesome of the Stans, Uzbekistan pushed the group to breaking point.  We patiently endured some of the toughest boarder crossings with the most absurd rules about having to declare everything you have at customs (to the last shoelace and every last cent in every currency), along with having to pay for a hotel just for a registration card while already staying in an apartment on the president's street (where we were told we would be shot in the head by snipers if we crossed the road while the president was coming home from work). We were cracking up to the point where Kirill was screaming at the hotel staff and throwing his clothes in their faces.

To top it all off, I projectile vomited all over the front of the Bibi-Khanym mosque, setting off a chain reaction of everyone on the trip getting annihilated one by one in some sort of bowel-loosening spew festival. Great fun on those all day car rides through the desert.... Sorry guys! I blame the chicken shit narcotics.

The future of skateboarding in Uzbekistan.

Bibi-Khanym Mosque at sunrise. The only time you can see it completely empty.

We paid the guards to let us climb the towers to take photos.

Handmade carpets.

Check Man!

Our driver. She was a real woman with a good set of gold fronts. The drove the whole way without her hands on the steering wheel, eating peaches, texting her friends and dancing.

Squint and see what it says.

Tobi

Big thanks to our guides Veronica and Arto! We wouldn't have survived without you.... 

Silk road skate trip. Part 3 - Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan. One of our favourite Stans. Seemingly one of the least corrupt, most welcoming and most difficult to spell of the Stans, we had some great experiences crossing the country.  From sampling nasvay (a drug made from tobacco and chicken shit) for the first time, getting to swim in beautiful turquoise lakes, getting stoned with pyramid scheming kids in an MMM office, eating kebabs and skating a lot of manuals, Kyrgyzstan was a good time.

Kenny at the Circus.

Thug life.

Kirill is adored by women all over the globe.

Alexey. The real photographer.

Signature moves.

Le Specs advert.

NASVAY. Central Asia's most popular drug, made of chicken shit and tobacco. This taxi driver gave Stas his first hit. (See below)

You stuff it down your gums and it makes you feel like shit. Dizzy and nauseous. Great! I'm convinced it poisoned me too. (It is made from a bird's fecal matter after all).

Patrik Wallner. The legend rocking the 'tash.

Kirill loves getting his junk out.

The driver and the minibus for our two day roadtrip through the mountains.

The shepherd and his flock.

Street warriors.

The commander. I bet he has some stories to tell.

Drugs.

Traditional dress. 

Yurts. Strangely reminiscent of Mongolia.

They invited me into their home and tried to feed me.