Through the Khyber in Comfort

The most comfortable place to ride a local bus through the Khyber Pass from Afghanistan to Pakistan in blazing summer is the roof. You feel the hot blast-furnace air, but at least there is a breeze. Due to Islamic tradition, only the men rode there. Below, where women and men mostly sat segregated, it was like a sauna. Riding the roof has its risks -- mainly low electrical wires and bridges, and in some areas fussy authorities. For those hazards, passengers learned to "duck and cover."

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