All along the Wakhan Corridor the Norwegian government has funded small guesthouses to aid the nascent tourism industry and give NGO workers somewhere safe and comfortable to stay. The guesthouses are, by western standards, rather basic but they provide a welcome change from camping and the chance to get a hot meal.
Each guesthouse is of more or less the same design: there is a large, square living room with a skylight and bright rugs laid out on the floor; 2-3 dormitory rooms with single beds or a pile of rugs and carpets; and a simple washroom with a squat toilet and a tank of water that may or may not be heated from below by a fire. In every guesthouse we visited we were the only guests, curiosities that attracted an assortment of local residents as the evening drew in.
Guesthouses are an excellent source of revenue for their owners: guests pay $25 per person for bed and an evening meal, which is a huge sum of money by local standards. The hosts are genial and exceptionally helpful, chattering away at length even when you share not a word in common. On the guesthouse wall you'll inevitably find a picture or two of your smiling host with a local dignitary or receiving an award for tourism promotion or local wildlife conservation.
One of the key attractions of the guesthouses is the food. Standards differ, as you might expect, but fresh bread and hot tea are always plentiful and much appreciated after a long day on difficult roads. Those hosts with a culinary flare (or rather their wives) may also serve up tasty potato or mutton soup, copious pilau rice, dal and yoghurt. There is little variety in the type of food (ingredients are hard to come by in the Wakhan), but it is wholesome and reflects the local diet.
Each guesthouse is of more or less the same design: there is a large, square living room with a skylight and bright rugs laid out on the floor; 2-3 dormitory rooms with single beds or a pile of rugs and carpets; and a simple washroom with a squat toilet and a tank of water that may or may not be heated from below by a fire. In every guesthouse we visited we were the only guests, curiosities that attracted an assortment of local residents as the evening drew in.
Guesthouses are an excellent source of revenue for their owners: guests pay $25 per person for bed and an evening meal, which is a huge sum of money by local standards. The hosts are genial and exceptionally helpful, chattering away at length even when you share not a word in common. On the guesthouse wall you'll inevitably find a picture or two of your smiling host with a local dignitary or receiving an award for tourism promotion or local wildlife conservation.
One of the key attractions of the guesthouses is the food. Standards differ, as you might expect, but fresh bread and hot tea are always plentiful and much appreciated after a long day on difficult roads. Those hosts with a culinary flare (or rather their wives) may also serve up tasty potato or mutton soup, copious pilau rice, dal and yoghurt. There is little variety in the type of food (ingredients are hard to come by in the Wakhan), but it is wholesome and reflects the local diet.
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