Exactly, mm, memories, and travelling by car, you would've been even more suspicious to the Communists, 1960s? I remember my first journeys behind the Iron Curtain and being surprised that the "curtain" was not just between East and West Europe, but extended BETWEEN each "Iron Curtain" country. I recall hours at the Yugoslav-Romania border ("where is your car?") and even longer stuck at the Romania-Hungary border. After hours waiting to get out of Hungary, I have the enduring memory of entry into Austria -- one border guard standing in the middle of the road, waving us on (the car I was riding in had German license plates)!

To cyclist Colin, all of 16 years of age, our stories would seem unbelievable. (Though I understand that some of the border crossings between the Central Asian countries are pretty nerve-racking).