stmaus

That's pretty funny because it happened to me also. You think there's going to be the usual arrivals hall through those doors just after the customs (non)check, but no, you just exit the building onto the footpath and then the taxi drivers are onto you! It all happens within minutes because the airport arrival process is so efficient.

Once I realised this, I just went back inside and back through the customs area to the baggage reclaim area (yes, they are reasonably casual and understanding because I was a dumb tourist) where there was a currency exchange booth where I changed some USD (as well as those two ATMs you saw). The other trap for young players, as you noted, is not keeping your currency exchange receipts (or at least one of them). You need one of these so you can change back your som to USD at the airport (before passport control).

roadwarrier

[QUOTE=stmaus;31071191. The other trap for young players, as you noted, is not keeping your currency exchange receipts (or at least one of them). You need one of these so you can change back your som to USD at the airport (before passport control).[/QUOTE]

On my first trip, I stayed at the then Sheraton where I changed money - no receipts!!!! So, although my hosts were hospitable, I did need some folding money for some meals, (and paying for a 3 day old NYTimes from the lobby shop ).
Anyhow, the day before I was due to leave the barman at the hotel asked if I had leftover currency since I needed to prove when I exchanged my US$. Obviously, I had no proof, and, not wanting to incur the wrath of some petty Official, but feeling undeterred, went to a supermarket and stocked up on various bottles of Vodka. (Read: Moonshine - but the bottles were pretty). Also, having some cherries left over as part of a huuuuuge fruit selection my hosts insisted on getting for me, I had a novel idea.........

After dinner, (now, I had to be at the airport at 5 AM for my flight to Moscow), I thought that it be wise if I decanted some vodka and added de-pipped cherries into my various bottles - hey, they would make a nice addition to my booze cupboard.

Well, the Archimedes Principle came into play and I realised that I had more cherries than I thought - needless to say, I consumed enough Moonshine awesome Vodka to keep me ticking for the next few days. Thankfully, this was a Thursday night and the flight was on Friday, so I only needed to see Clients on the Monday.

First and last time I would do that. Once I got home, those bottles stayed in the cupboard for a few years before they were gingerly taken out, a little at a time, for consumption.....

swingaling

Thanks! Yes, there was quite a lot of it. Though I'll admit the Timurid style buildings do tend to become a bit of a blur after a while.

Thanks for reading!

Well noted. While I do like to see that aspect of places I visit, I tend to be a bit reserved in photographing strangers without their express consent. It's something I need to work on.

Yeah, it's not the most intuitive setup for arrivals. I also fell into the currency exchange trap at the airport because none of what I'd read before going made any mention of keeping receipts.

Hahaha. Well, that's certainly the most creative use for leftover Uzbek Sum I've come across. I suspect Uzbek rotgut would also be a good engine degreaser...

stmaus

The Uzbek vodka is actually pretty nice. We had a few bottles around 24,000 to 30,000 som (3 to 4 USD).

roadwarrier

Especially after soaking for a few years with a cherry infusion......

@swingaling - yes, it was " a good engine degreaser... " Thankfully, only several hours later once I got to my hotel in Moscow.....

mad_atta

Typical - there are no Central Asian trip reports for an absolute eternity, then two come along at once! Never mind, I loved them both - your report is fantastic, with fabulous photos. Thanks

I'm fascinated to see desert places like Ashgabat so wet and green. I didn't think it ever got like that! When we were there in midsummer it was 40+ degrees and looked very different indeed.

Although we drove across a lot of Central Asia when we visited, we missed a few of the capitals, so we never got to see Tashkent or Bishkek. The former looks like a pretty enjoyable city; Bishkek does look pretty rough around the edges and blighted by a lot of ugly architecture (there's the spectacularly ugly post-Soviet stuff, then there's just the dreary decaying concrete style, and Bishkek sadly seems to have plenty of that). I do think that in both Kyrzygstan and Tajikistan the real appeal is getting out of the cities into the incredible natural environment, so I'd heartily recommend that if you're ever back int he area (and if that's your thing). We *did* make it to Astana (sorry - Nur-Sultan) and I have to say that was a weird and intriguing place... a little bit like Ashgabat but without the almost North Korean vibe or the sense that all the amazing looking buildings are empty and just for show. Also worth a visit!

swingaling

Glad you enjoyed following along! And I do apologize for the inopportune timing of my trip.

I was also really surprised by how green it was in Ashgabat. The amount of greenery in Turkmenistan was fairly exceptional due to the rains. By the end of April, they'd already received 25% more rain than they typically receive in a year.

In the previous reports from @ironmanjt and @DanielW Ashgabat (and surrounds) was basically bereft of greenery, so I was expecting much of the same. The contrast between our photos of Nisa is especially striking.

Nisa from roughly similar viewpoint on my trip.




My guide mentioned that the rains had caused flooding in Iran, with places like Golestan province receiving 70% of their average annual rainfall in a single day. Some 1,900 villages and cities in Iran experienced heavy rain and unprecedented flooding (and loss of life) as a result of these weather systems.


I definitely agree with you on Tashkent. It was the most cosmopolitan city I visited in the region. Bishkek is quite green and has its own charm, but there's certainly a fair amount of urban decay. Outside of the city center, the buildings are more ramshackle and there's little urban planning. In other words, lots of poorly built shacks in a maze of narrow alleyways.

I'd very much like to travel the Pamir and see more of the Tian Shan, but time was a limiting factor on this trip. They're definitely on my list for any future trips to the region. When I eventually go to Afghanistan, I may do it as a short side trip overland from Tajikistan.

mad_atta

Another thing that struck me from your report was the evident investment in large new buildings etc in Dushanbe. Tajikistan is the poorest country in the region and ranks very low by GDP per capital (down around the level of Tanzania) so I didn't expect that. Maybe the current regime prioritises big showcase buildings as symbols of national pride.

hauteboy

We did the full overland of the -Stans in 2012, Almaty to Ashgabat, including Osh to Khujand to Samarkand. We missed Dushanbe as that was a bit too far south of a detour, and the Penjikent border closest to Samarkand was closed at the time of our visit. Our Caucasus trip was in 2005 so it would be interesting to go back now, especially Baku has changed considerably since then.

Central Asia Stans and Iran (or not...), Iraq and the Balkans

Unfortunately looks like my photos disappeared with travbuddy.. need to relink with Flickr at some point.

swingaling

There was a fair amount of construction going on, though perhaps not compared to other cities in the region. I suspect a good amount of the construction work was being sponsored by foreign money, though apparently the Navruz Palace was funded by local kleptocrats businessmen (i.e. relatives of the president) entirely with "private" funds. They also received a lot of aid from the US, so I'd imagine some of those funds made it to these projects. Unfortunately, they've also been demolishing a lot of older buildings with genuine historic value and replacing them with new junk.



My initial plan was Dushanbe to Samarkand overland via Penjikent, but uncertainty of mountain road conditions (on a tight timeline) deterred me. Given the rains, I think I made the right choice. The flight was also cheaper and less complicated than hiring drivers. That said, the drive would have been a infinitely more scenic and interesting than a 40 minute night flight.

I'd love to see the photos from your trip to get a sense of how much (or little) things have changed in the intervening years.

Gardyloo

When I visited Dushanbe during Soviet days (the mid-70s, actually) it struck me as being by far the poorest of the towns we visited (Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Urgench/Khiva) and our minders were stricter by far than in the other places. We were herded past a few monumentally ugly buildings, forced to watch a "folk dance" entertainment that wasn't, and made to tour a textile factory with brightly-clad young women busily sewing away under Russian language posters exhorting one thing or another and all under the watchful eye of blonde supervisors. This was in utter contrast to most places we visited in Uzbekistan; it felt quite colonial.

mad_atta

I know you were talking to hauteboy not me, but if you're curious to see our photos from driving across the 'stans during the 2012 Mongol Rally, you can take a look at the photo gallery on our team Facebook page - see links below. (In case the links don't work, just go to Facebook, search for 'Khan-Tiki Tours' and you'll find our team page, with photo albums organised by country.)

• Turkmenistan: https://bit.ly/2w7DpYV
  (We drove in from Iran, stayed in Ashgabat, then north to camp at Darvaza gas crater, then north then east to the border crossing near Khiva)
• Uzbekistan: https://bit.ly/2HpNSFl
  (We went from Khiva to Bukhara to Samarkand, then across the border towards Khujand, Tajikistan)
• Tajikistan: https://bit.ly/2HG0kzI
  (First stop Khujand, then over the path heading south via breathtaking Iskanderkul lake to Dushanbe, then east to Gharm, and on to Kyrgyzstan, through a border crossing usually closed to foreigners but opened because the entire GBAO region got closed down to tourists due to a drug war kicking off)
• Kyrgyzstan: https://bit.ly/2VxGsDN
  (We drove through the high valley to Sary Tash, then north to Osh, then way up into the mountains to the stunning Song Kul lake, then to Issyk Kul, then into Kazakhstan via the border closest to Bishkek (which we bypassed))
• Kazakhstan: https://bit.ly/2WSySp0
  (First stop Almaty, then an epic drive across the steppes via Lake Balkhash to Astana, then via Karagandy to the Russian border, heading for Barnaul).

***Shameless plug alert***
If you're curious to read about the trip, check out the trip report here: You're driving THAT? to MONGOLIA?! for charity?!? | Mongol Rally 2012

swingaling

I saw a description of your trip to Central Asia in the other recent trip report (if memory serves). What you describe is so very different from my own experience. Though Tajik is certainly the poorest of the five stans, Dushanbe didn't feel like an especially poor city. It (subjectively) felt somewhat more affluent than Bishkek, despite Kyrgyz being a richer nation. The recent building spree in Dushanbe probably contributed to that.

In contrast to your experience during Soviet times, as a tourist in Dushanbe, I felt completely welcomed. People were universally friendly and I got the feeling that they were glad I was visiting their country. There were no indications that they were at all suspicious of the foreigner. Even immigration and customs officers were friendly. It was very similar to the attitudes I encountered in Timor-Leste, for example.

Turkmenistan, on the other hand, was almost the opposite. People were basically friendly, but most were standoffish and generally wary of me. Police were not so friendly and I didn't get the sense that tourists were wanted all that much.

Sounds like an epic trip. I'll definitely take a look!

RCyyz

I read this thread with great interest last year. I was impressed with the whole thread but for some reason I remembered in particular the visit to the Darvaza Crater aka Gates of Hell. I guess that part just make an impression on me for some reason.

So it was this thread I recalled when I read just now that the President of Turkmenistan wants to try and extinguish the Darvaza Crater. Personally I think that's a shame, but it's pretty easy for me to say that from where I sit. Anyhow, I guess we'll see what happens.

And belatedly, thanks for posting the Trip Report! It sounds like it was one heck of a trip!

Loose Cannon

Fascinating Trip Report. Thanks for the pictures.