Blogs from Tajikistan, Asia
September 25th 2010
What was it that made me fall in love with the place? I like challenging and remote destinations, but here Soviet-constructed roads link every settlement to its nearest town; I like culture, but here much of that has, on the surface of things, been lost, men wearing T-shirts and caps, often drinking vodka and almost invariably leaving, at least temporarily, to work in Russia, the old pre-Soviet ways of feeding one’s family having been forgotten. The scenery here is stunning, with several peaks towering above 7000m, but scenery is never the reason I travel or something that endears me to a place other than as a secondary factor. It was, of course, the Tajik people that I found so amazing. Of the fifty five countries I have visited, only the people of Vanuatu and Yap State ... read more
PAMIR PART 3: COOL HOT SPRINGS TO AFGHAN MARKET
Published: October 19th 2010Asia » Tajikistan » Ishkashim
August 22nd 2010
The dirt road from the Khargush checkpoint to Langar brought us to some spectacular sights, the road winds around the mountain side and across the river is Afghanistan which we can't seem to shake off, it's just there. A quick peek of the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan brought excitement to us as we come across the thin strip of the Wakhan corridor shared by both Tajikistan and Afghanistan, all tall and mighty mountains one can only imagine the kind of weather they have in the winter, though Kevin our driver said you can walk across the frozen river(if they do freeze) to Afghanistan in the winter but then we reminded him there might me mines still lingering around. We stopped a few times to enjoy the view, we encountered a 4wd going opposite way ... read more
August 17th 2010
From Frichtamo homestay in Jawshangoz we slowly made our way out, as the path is bad, swampy bogs and dodgy bridge and river crossings, 2 locals jumped on the back of our 4wd to guide Kevin on where to go and which turn is safe to take, we made it to a gravel road and along the way we met up with a push biker, it's Ricky, the Kiwi dude we met in Pamir lodge in Khorog, we chatted a bit and then stopped at a small magasin where there is nothing worthwhile to buy, Ricky is heading towards the pass so we said bye to him. It was a long but gorgeous ride towards our target destination Turumtal Kul, an alpine lake at 4,202 meters, scenic drive it was, we felt like we are in ... read more
August 14th 2010
At the taxi stand a woman already in the 4wd jeep spoke perfect English and encourage us to join them 2 more person and they are off, we were lucky for they had been waiting for 2 hours to fill the taxi, but as usual it actually takes about 1/2 hour before we actually get on our way, we stop for gas, a few police stops, pick up some parcels etc. The police are in full force stopping everyone to the annoyance of the locals in the taxi, they told us, since these guys don't get paid well they make extra money by stopping cars and asking for bribes, average 5 somonis each time you get stopped apparently, poor driver, well poor us, the fare probably is now at 200 somonis to cover police bribes! We ... read more
August 9th 2010
Got up early to get ready for my long journey back to Dushanbe, Beha told me he will go to the share taxi stand and get a taxi to pick me up from their apartment, I told him I will go with him and take all my stuff and he can leave me there as i can manage to wait in the station, he and his mom had a conversation and for some reason they did not want me to leave the house, they made me sit and wait while Beha grabbed a taxi to take us to the station, it's like a door to door service and I feel like they are hiding me from someone, police perhaps, is their homestay needed to register and they have not done that? everything is lost in translation. ... read more
August 4th 2010
Very bad hangover from the potent Tajik vodka I had with Afred's father after the Fan mountain hike, I could not refuse his offer now I am suffering the consequence, I arranged with Nematov for a share taxi to Khojand, it came swiftly only for us to drive to the taxi stand and wait there for a good 2 1/2 hours before we left, the driver parked it in the sun so I have to get out and find a shade, almost everyone is going to Dushanbe and I am getting frustrated, eventually 2 men got on, a young man and an older gentleman, we stopped at this old man's house to pick up his things, then we picked up another passenger, a woman, we could not find her house, she would not answer her phone ... read more
August 1st 2010
The Tajik cognac still has it's effect on me,still a bit groggy I forced myself out of bed to get ready for a big day, I start my 4 day trek in the Fan mountains but first I have to buy food in the bazaar, I took a minivan marshrustka to the bazaar, It took me awhile to figure out what to buy, what I need, I started at the fruit section and bought the delicious mini pears from my favorite stall, this shy girl wanted to know my name but she can't express it in English, finally after giving me my change she pointed to herself and announced her name, so then I get it, nice to meet you, Gil in her broken English, all the while the whole fruit section watching us charade, they ... read more
July 29th 2010
From the Acted homestay we took a cab to the taxi stand across some cement factory, about 15 minutes from where we were staying, the cab ride was 15 somonis, lots of traffic police as usual, in almost every corner, and they are like sharks, stopping cars at every opportunity we saw yesterday how they blatantly accept bribes in the street, it's ridiculous how often vehicles here gets stopped by these sharks. We got to the taxi stand and immediately we got mobbed by the taxi drivers, the doors of the taxi flung open and our arms got yanked out of the taxi beckoning us to come with them, i left the negotiations to Tapio, everyone wants our business, we wanted to go with the car that goes right away, with people already in them so ... read more
July 26th 2010
Dushanbe (Tajik: Душанбе, Dushanbe; Dyushambe until 1929, Stalinabad until 1961), population 679,400 people (2008 est.), is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. Dushanbe means "Monday" in Tajik, and the name reflects the fact that the city grew on the site of a village that originally was a popular Monday marketplace. (WIKI INFO) For the last month or so I have been travelling with Russ and now we split as he takes on Uzbekistan while I have another week to chill in Kyrg. I had the intention of spending some time in Arslanbob, near the town of Jalalabad, I went online and had a look at things to do, the place sounds promising, walnut forests, waterfalls, great hiking opportunities but the problem was majority of LP thorn tree forum reviews on the CBT there was bad ... read more
July 4th 2010
Flip-flops and the Pamirs don't go together according to some, but I say there is no better combination. And to prove the point I have been using them in abundance while I visited the region. Most people called me crazy and if I had died and instantly preserved I am sure I would have caused quite a conundrum to future archaeologists. I can imagine the conversation going on: 'We thought these were mountains 2 million years ago, but here is a man in shorts and flip-flops, which would indicate the presence of a sea?' But of course I didn't die, instead I strutted around with purposeful strides through some of the most stunning sceneries I have seen. First we headed up Bartang valley, and with we I mean Danielle, Ricky and I, though only I was ... read more
