When I step off the coach, it’s not the altitude that is taking my breath away – although at 2700 metres above sea level the elevation isn’t exactly insignificant.
Nor is it relief at having emerged from the longest tunnel I’ve ever been through, the five-kilometre Chinese-built Shahristan project. No, it’s the panorama in front of me that has me breathless.
Kyrgyz couple in a nomadic tent known as yurt, near the city of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Credit: Getty Images
Framed by rows of rocky, snow-capped mountains, some standing more…
