Some Things Never Change

As the Central Asian states slowly emerge from a near century long isolation under Soviet rule, the region is returning to its role as a meeting place for East and West. The ancient Silk Road routes are once again playing host to international trade and Move One's staff are on the front lines. While touring around in a Toyota 4x4 is certainly a step up from Marco Polo's camel caravans, our staff in the field face many of the same hazards that have plagued the journeys of Silk Road travelers for centuries. Badly deteriorated road surfaces, dangerous mountain passes, threat of banditry, massive gorges without barriers, sandstorms, snowstorms, six-meter icicles hanging from the tops of tunnels - these are just some of the obstacles that our drivers in the region are confronted with on a regular basis.

One of the few things that our drivers can count on not delaying them is construction and roadwork. Indeed, the roads in most parts of Central Asia have not seen maintenance in decades and our truckers covering the "Silk Road" today find that their progress is far from silky-smooth. In fact, quite often there isn't even a road. Each season presents its own challenges. When roads are covered in snow, frozen-solid rivers are sometimes utilized as makeshift highways. And come spring, a whole new set of challenges comes into play. Thawing snow can destroy the rare roads that do exist. Mudslides and roads caving in are everyday occurrences. Our manager in Afghanistan, Jay Cziraky, recalls seeing asphalt overhanging a gorge by two meters, the earth beneath the road having been completely washed away.

Bumper to bumper in Afghanistan

Another road hazard is landmines, an ever-present danger in previously war-torn Afghanistan and one that Alexander the Great certainly never had to worry about. Sometimes shifting sands can expose mines that were planted years ago. And flooding and mudslides can move mines from their original locations, bring them into driving areas.

Given the range of dangers that our drivers face it is perhaps unsurprising that Move One has lost 3 drivers while in the line of duty in Central Asia - one over a cliff and two in a terrorist attack in Southern Afghanistan. While the dangers posed cannot be eliminated, one driver lost is too many and preventing further casualties hinges on taking all the necessary precautions.

Prepare For The Worst

Just as the success of travel during Marco Polo's era was dependent on the techniques of caravan travel and the skill of the riders so too does Move One rely on the expertise, local knowledge and preparedness of its drivers.

When trucking across this region, proper planning is essential. All trucks travel in convoys, and undergo thorough inspections prior to departure. In wintertime, the lead vehicle is often fitted with a snowplow. As a result, Move One convoys often look more like mobile road-engineering units, equipped with portable bridges, shovels, picks, axes, chains and repair kits. Not to be overlooked, the staff's personal vehicles are outfitted with winches, roll cages and steel bush bars and give the impression of an SUV on steroids. Not the standard features people look for in their cars, but then again our Silk Road staff are not your standard sort of people.

Access to a reliable means of communication is also important to a shipment's success. All Move One convoys are equipped with mobile satellite units and check in on a regular basis with our Budapest control center. That center is staffed with native speakers from all over Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and most problems can be solved in a matter of minutes, assuming a quick connection is possible.

However, in many situations there is little the Budapest headquarters can do to alleviate a problem that is thousands of miles away, particularly if a vehicle requires serious repairs. In these cases, the drivers are truly left to their own devices. Well, not exactly. On more than one occasion, the ingenuity and helpfulness of local people has been an invaluable resource for our Silk Road staff.

Andy Taylor, Move One's manager, recently made a trip to the Paunchier Valley when the company Toyota's shocks blew out. With no electricity for hundreds of miles and an average of 1 person to every 50 km the situation seemed bleak. Remarkably, Andy managed to track down a local farmer who defied all expectations and managed to cobble together the necessary equipment to get the vehicle back on the road.

Toughing It Out

While the assistance of local inhabitants no doubt also benefited the caravaneers of days gone by, the costs of traveling the Silk Road eventually came to be seen as outweighing the benefits. The demise of the Silk Road's importance coincided with the discovery of of a sea route to India that made the risks of overland caravans unnecessary. However, overland travel has once again become essential. The region, indeed the international community as a whole, depends on overland shipping to allow for the delivery of humanitarian and military aid to remote areas. Additionally, land transport is beginning to provide an outlet to world markets for the region's wealth of natural resources. Although the going is tough, rest assured that Move One will continue to brave the bumps along the way in order to service both the needs of the region and our clients.