Stories behind the scenes…

This story is all about taking a step back and trusting in the process.

It goes something like this...as I mentioned in my previous story, we spent a lot of time exploring the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau, North China. It is an incredible part of the world, but it was time to move on.

Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, here we come!

After spending a couple of weeks soaking up the Kyrgyzstani culture, it was time to catch the bus back to China.

This is where the adventure begins.

We caught a local bus from Osh (Kyrgyzstan) to Kashgar (China) via the Pamir Mountain range, some of the highest mountains in the world. It was an overnight trip.

At some stage during the evening, the bus stopped for a toilet break. I vigilantly took my bag with me as I raced out the door.

Those of you who have traveled in places like this know that bus drivers don't like stopping and can be damn impatient!

While I was running back to the bus, I tripped, dropped my bag, scrambled up, and jumped back on board.

We arrived at the border at sunrise, ready to line up and go through Customs. This was the time I realized that my camera, drivers license, and my PASSPORT were gone!

Every traveler's biggest nightmare.

I'm still not sure if they fell out of my bag during the night, when I tripped, or if they were taken.

Yep, the story just got a whole lot better. The harsh reality of the situation and how helpless I was. Basically, having no identity in a very dodgy part of the world!

TRUST.

What next? Keep in mind there were very few mobile phones, let alone landlines, especially in the mountains.

There was only one option...go back to Osh and try and search a small part of the area where we might've stopped, assuming they did fall out of my bag.

I had to trust that I was going to find my passport on the side of the road, and if this took a day of walking, then so be it.

Yes, this was a crazy idea, and wandering through the rugged landscape with no identity was making me feel pretty damn vulnerable, to say the least! Present one minute, gone the next .

This is just the beginning. Stay close and see what happens next