Best Eastern Tajikistan Dushanbe

... information on the prospects in Bishkek don't help to improve his humour.<br><br>After 3 hours I had almost given up and wandered into yet another computer shop. Yes, of course they had one. Elation. Back to the internet cafe. It doesn't work. Deflation. An angel appears in the form of Nasrud, a local whizz kid who runs his own business and after trial and error he gets ...

... climb up to Khaburabot Pass (3252m). I stop to take a few photos them I'm joined by two young cowherds. More photographs. Then a passing family stops. More handshakes, more photographs and then departures. There are two other checks on the climb but their all friendly and want to talk about the bike and where I've come from. There are often trucks on the piste but the only hazard they create are the clouds of dust they through up. The descent is equally exhilirating. The scenery is ...

... decided that he wanted to save on 10 minutes time and about 10 cents of petrol. At this point we were literally tearing our hair out &#8211; this habit taxi drivers had of agreeing a deal and then reneging was becoming a recurring theme. After a lot of arguing our driver carried on towards the middle of Dushanbe. Not for long however &#8211; it was pretty soon apparent that he had no idea where the middle of Dushanbe was. Again we stopped, this time to chat to a group ...

... and the fact that huge trucks also shared this route is amazing and I don't know what those truck drivers are paid but it isn't enough!<br>I will try to add some photo's soon.<br><br>I'm writing this from the Mercury Hotel in the capital city of Tajikistan, Dushanbe, and it was a real surprise to us all - the suite Pete and myself are in is fabulous and about the size of my house, with two double rooms, a huge lounge and two bathrooms complete with a shower room ...

... to tell the tale of the plane trip... Good idea to avoid them and as I gather road travel is generally a good way to go. Did I hear recently when the flight to Iran crashed that some of those airlines are not insured/insurable? I now understand why. Love and blessings Mum " So, hence my reply: "ah, apropos insurance of flight: I did actually check before hand that the flight was insured - or at least ...

... sieht aber auch immer schneebedeckte Berge (well, die sind nur 4000m oder so hoch:-) also nichts:-) Eigentlich eine Strasse fuer die man auch einen eigenen Wagen braucht, um auch Fotostopps machen zu koennen und nicht nur Teestops (habe einiges an Joghurt gegessen, der schlaegt mir zum Glueck nicht auf den Magen). Heute morgen in Dushanbe habe ich dann mein uzbekisches Visum besorgt, dass war erstaunlich einfach, ich hatte ein LOI ...

... the president and its cronies; etc... Tajikistan is the poorest country in the region and I am afraid it will remain just that for quite a while. After 3 days spent here (and having successfully obtain all the ridiculous and expensive permits and registrations required), I take another (very long) drive to Khorog, the main city of the Pamir Region, one of the most remote and beautiful mountain region of the planet.

... was for such a venture, I was not going to turn down. The old Colonel handed me his side by side 20 guage and we hopped in the car, drove to a nearby old swamp/industrial park, and hunted for about 2 and a half hours, while freezing our buts off. We did see a lot of ducks, and I took a couple of shots, but we could never get them in close enough for the range of the shotgun (we sadly ...

... happy. After some discussions about where we each were coming from, our previous assignments, history, etc., we went on to the Embassy. January 19, 2008 So, did I mention that there is a shortage of beer in the country? I guess that is rumor around here. Although, I have yet to see it for my own eyes. Not only do I have beer in my hotel room, but I was also able to order a Baltika 7 (Russian made beer) at the Indian restaurant that I went to this ...

... nicht ganz verstaendliches Tunnelstueck mitten in die Landschaft, die ganzen 100km bis Duschanbe sehen aus wie die Zufahrtsstrasze zu einem Schotterwerk und dabei handelt es sich immerhin um die Hauptverkehrsroute von Uzbekistan nach Tajikistan. Aber jeder faehrt ueber die Baustelle, da sie immer noch angenehmer ist als die ezistente Strasze. Es ist wie ueberall in Tajikistan, alles wird erst. Die Straszen, die Haeuser, sogar die Menschen sehen so aus als gaebe es noch ...