Hotel Turkmenistan Ashgabat

... where they are all about propagandizing the President.<br><br>We stopped for the night not far outside Ashgabat, in a clearing characterised only by a pile of rubbish and a stray dog. It was unpleasant. A microcosm of Turkmenistan, or at least our experience of it. So far it has been pointless, disorganized, corrupt, dirty, tacky, and expensive. The only upside was the policemen that gave us ice cream. They were nice.

... am not allowed to put new beers in the fridge as they are warm. Helen and i risked our lives by taking the beers in a crate with slotted sides to the river - yes I know you don't normally get rivers in the desert but we are in Turkmenistan and everything is possible in wonderful Turkmenistan- the water was warm but i thought it may have an effect on the liquid refreshment. It did - the crate sank in the mud - as did we and then it got dark and no-one wanted to get the ...

... to Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan Wednesday 18th June Caspian Sea - Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) The seas are pretty calm overnight, and up the bow where we are, it is quiet, as we are a long way from the noise of the engine and the vibration of the propellers. Dawn finds us with clear skies and 360 degree of calm green sea. A few fish, and a isolated tanker which crosses our path. First sight of land is some large high-rise ...

... die groesste Moschee Zentralasiens gibt sowie das Mausoleum d** Familie, welches **staunlich bescheiden ist... Was we***** bescheiden ist, ist die Inschrift auf d** Moschee, "Ruhnama is a holy book and the Koran is Allahs book." Das Ruhnama (ein schreckliches Buch von Turkmenbashi geschrieben) vor dem Koran im gleichen Satz? Was wohl die Mullahs dazu sagen? Gruss Ralf

... older than me - I held his passport and driver's license for a while. The son, with broken legs, was in pain. Our tour guide (God bless her) ordered some other drivers to take him to the next village a few hundred miles away. Our guide and driver then found a couple of towels and covered the father's body. We waited next to the wreck and the dead body for the next two hours - no police or ambulance came despite the numerous messages that were passed along to the drivers ...

... farm for Mark, followed by a swim in a lake 60 meters underground, and a stop at central Asia's largest mosque (which no one actually attends because its cursed). The haggle with the travel agent was frustrating, but I won't get into details... for anyone travelling to Turkmenistan in the future, just beware Stantours and the rude little cow who's their representative in Ashgabat. We ended up getting a much cheaper driver for the whole trip ...

... secret police's network is apparently extensive, and Ashgabat is a very odd place as he constantly remodels it. We were warned that the authorities keep a close eye on foreigners, bugging hotel rooms and restaurants etc., and we were followed by a not-so-subtle secret policeman (accompanied by much tying and re-tying of invisible shoe-laces on his flip-flops!), as ...

... have been authorised for. Apparantly there was an assasination attempt on the man himself in 2002, which was used as grounds for blood-letting of Turkmenbashi's political opponents and placing of restrictions on civil liberties. Oh yeah, and apparantely hotel rooms, restaurants and offices are bugged. Internet is not available ...

... also have partnered out with a local English club to start up a new language center in my town. We will have all the students come there for extra English lessons and I will hold my own courses there. The progress is slow, but eventually I think the remodeling will be finished and classes will start. I have about 30 kids signed up for classes and I am just waiting....I guess that is what this is all about. But during the waiting, I have started up an amazing sports ...

... Ashgabat airport to be faced by disorganized chaos. Search after search and confusing paperwork meant it took us 4 hours to clear customs and immigration. They are not quite set up for the pressure of one whole flight every other day! The pre booked hotel pick up was there waiting for us - an old banger of a car from the 50s. John, a bit of a classic car fan enjoyed it thoroughly, I was just grateful to get to our hotel in one piece. The guy totally ripped us off ...