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