Pottinger is a complete hero for that journey he made, along with Charles Christie who was his co-conspirator in those epic trips in the early 1800s. Pottinger's tale of getting called to lead prayers in Baluchistan and bluffing his way through is brilliant - and very British. I've travelled quite a lot in many of the places he went - and my copy of 'The Great Game' has been a welcome (and much battered) companion in my rucksack. It's the kind of stuff that if it wasn't true, you wouldn't believe it.
If you're ever in India or Pakistan, it's pretty easy to pick up cheap reprints of a lot of these early accounts by Pottinger, Burnes, Masson, Elphinstone etc. Although perhaps a little expensive to go just to buy them, and certainly not very kind on the luggage allowance!
Thanks for the link.