Found a nice hotel in Dushanbe and were given a huge room called the family suite, not because we wanted it, but because it was the only room left when we applied online. However it was a great place to catch up on laundry, make future bookings, contact the family, and firm up our plans for Turkmenistan, and catch up the blog on our Pamir Highway trip.
The decorative ceiling in the room.
We farewelled Mark who flew off to Almaty and was headed for Nepal and India before going back to the UK in November.
The hotel is near several hostels and it has been fun talking to the cyclists and motorcyclists who come through the place. Guests go back and forth through the hostels looking for fellow travellers to join them on tours. We saw more cyclists than motorcyclists on the Pamir Highway so there are some pretty fit travellers.
A Swiss couple on two motor bikes lost one of their number plates in Uzbekistan and it took them a week of visiting their embassy and talking to Switzerland to sort out how to get a replacement one. In the end they found a guy who printed a new plate with computer cut graphics and mounted it onto hard plastic. They were getting so much trouble from the police that they had to sort it before leaving for the Pamirs. Just before they headed off they realised their licence for their bikes in Tajikistan was due to expire before their visas so they would have to hurry.
We met a couple of English guys who had entered the Mongol Rally. They had a VW Polo and other than clutch problems they were doing OK. We saw several cars near the hostels nearby also from the rally. When we looked on the website to see where the teams were it was a mass of lines with cars all over Russia, Central Asia and Europe. I looked at the website and it said there are three rules for the event. The vehicle had to be under 1000cc. The entrants had to fund raise and donate half to a charity of their choice and the other half to the rally's chosen charity. The third rule seemed to say they needed to stay alive and manage everything by themselves, visas, breakdowns etc. Originally cars were left in Mongolia but I am not sure what they do with them now. Poor Mongolia must look like a wrecker's yard.
Also met a couple of Brit Kiwis from Wellington who spent a couple of days getting over their jetlag before heading to the Pamirs. Luckily for them a driver was staying in the hotel and had been waiting for a couple of clients to arrive. The clients never showed so the women were able to go with him to Osh. .These are the only Kiwis we have met so far in Central Asia.
We have also spent the time eating up all the extra supplies we are carrying that are left from the Pamir. We have been able to fire up our MSR stove and use it in the kitchen where their gas cooker does not work. The staff and guests use the outdoor gas stove that leaves the pots looking like it has been on an outdoor wood fire.
We have visited the Green Bazaar to buy fresh vegetables and fruit and are slowly getting our digestive systems sorted out after on and off bouts of diarrhoea and I have had to dose up on pretty strong antibiotics we are carrying to get mine under control. I carry a flowchart of symptoms and it helps me sort out what treatments I need to use which is very helpful. The last bout I had left me with a urine infection as well so I hope the antibiotics can sort that too.
The musical fountain which is crowded in the evenings with families, couples and ice cream sellers.
A chameleon we think.
We have had to look at flights for our return home and have taken India and Sri Lanka off our plan to visit as we have still a bit to see in Central Asia. We will now fly to Dubai from Ashbagat and then onto visit a cousin and a Couch surfing friend in Singapore.
The hotel cooked a meal for all its guests one night which was really great. It seems they do it once a month so we were lucky to be there on that night.
Our grandchildren, Tyler 3 and Charlotte 1, had a joint birthday celebration so we were able to chat on Whatsapp with them and find out how it all went. Tyler insisted that he was only one and did not want any presents , just cake. He was adamant about it too.
It gets into the mid to high 30 DegsC here so when we go visiting any sights we try to head out before it gets too hot and then retreat to our air conditioned haven. The parks in this city are leafy and well set out. There are loads of fountains and trees and gardens. They love roses which grow really big and tall in this weather. They also love statues of their heroes, poets and old leaders.
They claim the world's tallest flagpole at 165 metres.
The National Museum is a relatively new building with a lot of archaeological displays. There was a huge section dedicated to the gifts the president has received from other world leaders as well as archaeological discoveries.
We tried a local Tajik restaurant near the hotel a couple of times for dinner and it was hit and miss as to what was on the menu and what was in the kitchen. The restaurant was set out in three parts. It had tables at street level, then a middle section of private padded booths, and finally a courtyard setting with a waterfall and caged parrots, and quails. Pigeons flew in and out to their nesting boxes above the waterfalls. We have not enjoyed the Tajik food and find it fatty and oily and it has caused us to chew through too many loperimide tablets.
A couple of times we visited the Delhi Darbar Indian restaurant across the other side of town and also brought takeaways back to reheat and enjoy some flavoursome vegetarian food. If only Tajik food could flavour their dishes with anything other than dill.
Tajik people love to sweep. Everyday they sweep the streets even if they are dirty and potholed. The footpaths run in front of the houses and then there is a berm area where people plant grape vines or apricot, apple or cherry trees. They water these from the deep open drains beside the road. One local near the hotel grew eggplants, chillies, capsicums, zucchinis, and cucumbers on her berm and they were doing really well. We spotted her one evening watering and checking her produce by phone torchlight.
We have a few days before our Uzbekistan visa can start so John has been pricing a driver and car to tour the Fan Mountains in the north west of Tajikistan. After trying some online companies the hotel offered to find us a driver and as the price suited us we took up the offer.
The hotel
The decorative ceiling in the room.
We farewelled Mark who flew off to Almaty and was headed for Nepal and India before going back to the UK in November.
The hotel is near several hostels and it has been fun talking to the cyclists and motorcyclists who come through the place. Guests go back and forth through the hostels looking for fellow travellers to join them on tours. We saw more cyclists than motorcyclists on the Pamir Highway so there are some pretty fit travellers.
A Swiss couple on two motor bikes lost one of their number plates in Uzbekistan and it took them a week of visiting their embassy and talking to Switzerland to sort out how to get a replacement one. In the end they found a guy who printed a new plate with computer cut graphics and mounted it onto hard plastic. They were getting so much trouble from the police that they had to sort it before leaving for the Pamirs. Just before they headed off they realised their licence for their bikes in Tajikistan was due to expire before their visas so they would have to hurry.
We met a couple of English guys who had entered the Mongol Rally. They had a VW Polo and other than clutch problems they were doing OK. We saw several cars near the hostels nearby also from the rally. When we looked on the website to see where the teams were it was a mass of lines with cars all over Russia, Central Asia and Europe. I looked at the website and it said there are three rules for the event. The vehicle had to be under 1000cc. The entrants had to fund raise and donate half to a charity of their choice and the other half to the rally's chosen charity. The third rule seemed to say they needed to stay alive and manage everything by themselves, visas, breakdowns etc. Originally cars were left in Mongolia but I am not sure what they do with them now. Poor Mongolia must look like a wrecker's yard.
We have also spent the time eating up all the extra supplies we are carrying that are left from the Pamir. We have been able to fire up our MSR stove and use it in the kitchen where their gas cooker does not work. The staff and guests use the outdoor gas stove that leaves the pots looking like it has been on an outdoor wood fire.
We have visited the Green Bazaar to buy fresh vegetables and fruit and are slowly getting our digestive systems sorted out after on and off bouts of diarrhoea and I have had to dose up on pretty strong antibiotics we are carrying to get mine under control. I carry a flowchart of symptoms and it helps me sort out what treatments I need to use which is very helpful. The last bout I had left me with a urine infection as well so I hope the antibiotics can sort that too.
The musical fountain which is crowded in the evenings with families, couples and ice cream sellers.
We have had to look at flights for our return home and have taken India and Sri Lanka off our plan to visit as we have still a bit to see in Central Asia. We will now fly to Dubai from Ashbagat and then onto visit a cousin and a Couch surfing friend in Singapore.
The hotel cooked a meal for all its guests one night which was really great. It seems they do it once a month so we were lucky to be there on that night.
Our grandchildren, Tyler 3 and Charlotte 1, had a joint birthday celebration so we were able to chat on Whatsapp with them and find out how it all went. Tyler insisted that he was only one and did not want any presents , just cake. He was adamant about it too.
It gets into the mid to high 30 DegsC here so when we go visiting any sights we try to head out before it gets too hot and then retreat to our air conditioned haven. The parks in this city are leafy and well set out. There are loads of fountains and trees and gardens. They love roses which grow really big and tall in this weather. They also love statues of their heroes, poets and old leaders.
They claim the world's tallest flagpole at 165 metres.
The National Museum is a relatively new building with a lot of archaeological displays. There was a huge section dedicated to the gifts the president has received from other world leaders as well as archaeological discoveries.
We tried a local Tajik restaurant near the hotel a couple of times for dinner and it was hit and miss as to what was on the menu and what was in the kitchen. The restaurant was set out in three parts. It had tables at street level, then a middle section of private padded booths, and finally a courtyard setting with a waterfall and caged parrots, and quails. Pigeons flew in and out to their nesting boxes above the waterfalls. We have not enjoyed the Tajik food and find it fatty and oily and it has caused us to chew through too many loperimide tablets.
A couple of times we visited the Delhi Darbar Indian restaurant across the other side of town and also brought takeaways back to reheat and enjoy some flavoursome vegetarian food. If only Tajik food could flavour their dishes with anything other than dill.
Tajik people love to sweep. Everyday they sweep the streets even if they are dirty and potholed. The footpaths run in front of the houses and then there is a berm area where people plant grape vines or apricot, apple or cherry trees. They water these from the deep open drains beside the road. One local near the hotel grew eggplants, chillies, capsicums, zucchinis, and cucumbers on her berm and they were doing really well. We spotted her one evening watering and checking her produce by phone torchlight.
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There is a lot of renovating of old buildings and many cranes on new buildings in the city. They are working on repaving walkways and upgrading old roads and drains in the city and we have seen them work from early morning into the night seven days a week.We have a few days before our Uzbekistan visa can start so John has been pricing a driver and car to tour the Fan Mountains in the north west of Tajikistan. After trying some online companies the hotel offered to find us a driver and as the price suited us we took up the offer.
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