He Spent 21 Days at Sea, Worked in the Amazon for 30p an Hour, and Slept in the Same Room as the Taliban… | Part 2

Matt was riding a horse over a mountain pass above 3,000 meters when the weather turned and he ended up stuck in a snowstorm. What do you do when there's nowhere to turn back to? This is Part 2 of Matt Whitley's episode. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, go back and start there first, you'll want the full picture before this one! We pick up in Kyrgyzstan, where Matt's sister and dad fly out to join him for a month on the road. Remote valleys, hitchhiking with strangers going 120km an hour down dirt tracks, and that horseback pass turning into a snowstorm above 3,000 meters. From there he heads into Tajikistan and the Pamirs, riding some of the most remote bikepacking routes on the planet, before crossing into Pakistan over one of the highest motorable passes in the world. Then Matt cycles into Peshawar, gets his visa at a consulate run by the Taliban, and rides into Afghanistan with no guide and no real plan. What happens next takes some turns we didn't see coming. From there, we go into privilege, happiness, and what community really means… like why some of the poorest, most conflict marked places on his route made him feel more welcomed than wealthy Europe ever did, and what that says about what money can't buy. We close out with Matt's biggest takeaways from a year and a half on the road. This episode goes to some heavier places than Part 1. Can’t wait for you guys to hear it! CONNECT WITH MATT Instagram Fund a kitchen in Gaza CONNECT WITH SURF CASCAIS  Book Now! Website Instagram FOLLOW ALONG ON OTHER PLATFORMS Instagram KEYWORDS matt whitley, afghanistan travel, taliban interview, pakistan cycling, karakoram highway, pamir highway, tajikistan bikepacking, kyrgyzstan travel, central asia travel, kabul airstrike, bikepacking asia, solo cycling afghanistan, privilege and travel, happiness and community, capitalism and community, global south travel, adventure travel podcast, kindred roads podcast, mary goggin podcast, unconventional life, part 1 and part 2, solo traveler stories, human connection travel, poverty and happiness, taliban border crossing, extreme adventure podcast, cycling the world, rhea run vladivostok lisbon