DUSHARIN: In the morning, we got lucky. Meat was available in the market. We were seriously concerned about a food shortage. I was ready to pay whatever I had to pay to buy two rams. So we bought them.

Waiting for the meal Stoppage en route

From Yecheng, we went to Mazar where the caravan had been waiting for us. We had been driving for 9 hours and didn't see any people. The way the Chinese managed to keep the road in good condition in such a place was amazing. Nevertheless, it was impossible to drive the bus there. On our way, we noticed a shabby settlement. We stopped for a snack. The villagers spent a lot of time cooking the ram. While waiting, we were starving to death. We walked around the settlement and, to our surprise, we saw wonderful stone army barracks with a nice basketball court. The chinese had promised to take us to Mazardara. But after having gone several kilometers, they stopped. They thought the road ahead was flooded. We thought we could still go ahead and move further. So we tried to convince them to go several more kilometers. The liaison officer stated that he couldn't allow any accident to happen. In spite of all our protests, we had to go back to Mazar.

VOLKOV: I clearly understood one thing: we had given away the money and had absolutely no control over the situation. Nobody was going to provide us with the services we paid for. The Chinese were doing their job unhurriedly, in a typical Asian style. We had to solve our own problems. All night long we were preparing a meat stew. Everyone took a turn. We boiled the meat and poured melted fat in it. This would make sure it won't spoil.

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Volkov's diary

Dusharin's diary

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