The Wagah border is the only crossing-point open to foreigners for travel by land between Pakistan and India. I was there but didn’t have the proper papers. Instead, I enjoyed the boisterous ceremony that demonstrated both the competition and brotherhood between these two countries. Hundreds of people on both sides of this border attend this daily occurrence around sundown for the lowering of the flags.

On a trip to Rwanda, I climbed up to Bisoke Crater Lake and saw this sign telling me I was on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I had a visa because my tour was supposed to include a hike in Virungo National Park but due to a kidnapping and deaths a few weeks before it was cancelled. When the guide heard about my desire to go to Congo, he led me past the invisible line!

Then there’s North Korea. I had booked a tour from Seoul to visit both the DMZ and the JSA which would get me as close as permitted legally. Unfortunately the JSA part was cancelled because South Korea was participating in war games with the USA at the time and consequently my permit to enter was denied.