Panjakent buying snow

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Panjakent buying snow

Bukhara was a lot more busy than little old Khiva. We were surprised at how developed the tourist infrastructure was, plenty of people spoke English and there were many hotels and tourist shops. The only thing that was lacking was the ability to get local currency. We then went on another hunt for a currency exchange where we were finally able to get Uzbek Som. It should not have been that hard. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the ancient Madrassas Religious schools and old markets before deciding that we would get a train to Samarkand rather than cycle in order to limit our exposure to the coldest part of winter later on in Central Asia. We got a taxi ride to the train station with local Bukharan called Ali who was an ethnic Persian and spoke Farsi as his mother tongue As well as Tajik, Uzbek, Russian and English. His English was pretty good and he explained to me how much he loved Bukhara and how there were many ethnic Tajiks and ethnic Persians living here. He sorted out our train tickets at the train station in about 30 seconds skipping the queue of people. He later told us he knew a guy at the ticket office which was pretty handy! It was really modern and such a contrast to our previous train experience in Uzbekistan. When we got off the train in Samarkand, I went to another carriage to take off our bikes and Josephine took all our bags off. When I finished with the bikes and went over to help her, she was surrounded by about 30 Russians aggressively screaming and shouting at her to hurry up because they wanted to get on the train. They were trying to barge past her to get on the train before she had even got all our bags off. So unnecessary. Samarkand was a very big city and not our favourite in Uzbekistan. Most people we encountered were lovely but we had several experiences of people trying to rip us off. We managed to find more apricots at the bazaar though. We bloody love these things. They are al over Uzbekistan and are the perfect cycling snack. Sweet and juicy! We also found Josephine some thick gloves and bought ourselves some big insulated boots for the cold mountain passes we would be going through in Tajikistan in the coming weeks. Josephine also got a chance to go into her first mosque and see people praying which she found fascinating I will continue with Josephines fascination with Islam in a following blog post. After using up our last Uzbek Som on plov and lagman soup classic Central Asia dishes we bashed out the last 40 km of Uzbekistan to the Tajik border on more horrific gravel roads until we reached the border with Tajikistan. I wonder why he thought we were Malaysian? The guards asked us to bring our bags in to be scanned and when they came out and saw them all on our bikes they just sighed and said forget it! This happens to us at every border. After crossing 15 international border our bags have only been checked once when leaving Azerbaijan. We glided swiftly through the Tajik side of the border and were greeted by an array of locals asking if we needed a taxi. They are just trying their luck for a bit of money I guess. The Tajik roads were perfect, and we rolled into the first town where a young boy, named Asqar, cycled along side us and spoe to us in good English. We told him we were trying to get to the river as we wanted to camp and he led us along a mud track past many houses of curious locals until we found a grassy patch. It was getting dark now and was freezing. After we put our tents up with Asqars help and put the stove on for a cuppa Asqar also helped , some of the elders from the village approached us surrounded by kids and said we simply could not camp a it was far too dangerous. They were genuinely scared for us and were offering us a bed and dinner at their places. As much as we argued they simply were not going to leave until we accepted their offer of a bed. So after almost an hour of explaining that we had been camping for months all over Asia and Europe and in the cold without ever encountering problems, we took them up on their offer and spent another hour repacking all our camping stuff. Meanwhile, Asqar had also offered us a bed at his house which we thought would be better as he spoke good English and we cycled through the dark cold evening air back to his house where his family made us a delicious meal and gave us a bed in a warm room. It is also worth mentioning here how much bread is revered in Central Asia. They have bread for breakfast, lunch, dinner and with tea. It is holy and is never under any circumstance wasted or thrown away. It is even considered rude to place your bread upside-down on the table which Josephine accidentally did, and it was immediately turned the right-way-up by Asqar with a friendly smile on his face. The next morning we exchanged contact details with Asqar and stressed to him we would be more than happy to help him improve his English whenever he wants. We cracked on heading East past the market town of Panjakent and into the Tajik mountains which we had been excited about for months after the flat lands of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. I am Tajikistan! Josephine and I got the impression that this area saw very few tourists as the Uzbek-Tajik border only opened to foreigners in mid The next few days were fantastic cycling with winding roads hugging the river, gliding through narrow valleys and seeing eagles souring high over the mountains. There were plenty of places to stop to buy fruit and have a warm tea after freezing cold down hills. We met up with the southern highway heading to the capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe and started getting our first glimpses of snowy, meter peaks. The weather was starting to get very cold now and we were always wearing our buffs, gloves and thick socks. Another thing that caught our attention in Tajikistan was the number of photos and posters of the Tajik president everywhere. It was a bit overwhelming and to be honest we got very sick of seeing his face on every street corner. To get to Dushanbe it is necessary to go over the Anzob pass m and through the Anzob and Varzob tunnels both which are dark, unventilated and narrow. Before the climb up to this pass, we stopped for lunch in a warm valley with the road snaking high up behind us into the mountains. After stuffing ourselves with eggs, bread and fruit we slogged it up into the mountains where the wind got stronger, the temperature got colder, and it started to snow. All the while, fully laden coal trucks were chugging past us filling our lungs with black sooty smoke and cars with bags towering 2 meters high on their rooftops were wobbling past us down the windy mountain road. Near the top. When we finally reached the top just before the tunnel entrance a man in army uniform came over and told us we could not cycle through the tunnel as it was too dangerous, and we had to hitch a lift through with our bikes. This was actually our plan all along, we had no intention and risking our lives through this 5 km tunnel of doom. Josephine flagged down an old Soviet Kamaz coal truck and two legendary guys Kamal and Mohammed stuffed our bikes and bags into the truck and drove us through the tunnel. When we popped out the other side it was pitch black and we were greeted by a howling snow storm. Couple this with sheer cliffs just feet from the road edge and this made for exceptionally dangerous even suicidal cycling so we let the guys drive us to the bottom of the mountain where we had marked a good camp spot on our map. The drive was horrifically uncomfortable and slow. By the time we got to the camp spot marked on our map it was raining heavily and they guys insisted we could not camp as it was too dangerous. It is hard to explain to people in Central Asia why we want to camp. They see no other reason for it. Whereas for us, we do it because we LOVE it. We love cooking on our stove, we love the sound of the river from inside our tent, the mountain views in the mornings with our cups of coffee etc. But for them, they just do not see the appeal. Coupled with the language barrier, this misunderstanding is a little bit frustrating. Despite our disagreements, the coal miners were super friendly and bought us dinner and drove us all the way to our hostel in Dushanbe arriving at midnight which was a massive detour for them. They were proper legends though and it was a real experience driving in their old Soviet truck for 6 hours. We witnessed this blatant bribing of police officers during our whole time in Tajikistan. We even saw a guy approach a cop from his car, put his hand on his shoulder and slip a note into his pocket in the city centre. It was so blatantly obvious! But they ALL do it! We arrived in Dushanbe and the first thing to do on our list was get ourselves an Indian visa. There is the option for us to get an e-visa for India. However, this would be insufficient for us though, as our planned route involves 3 entries into India 1. From Nepal into Sikkim, 3. From Bangladesh into Meghalaya. The embassy in Dushanbe was not taking visa applications for the first 4 days we were in Dushanbe due to Diwali festival, so we had to wait until the following Monday to submit our application. We heard from several people that they were rejected an Indian visa in Dushanbe as they only issue visas to Tajik citizens but when we turned up at the embassy, they did accept our application albeit, reluctantly and said it would take up to 7 days. Unfortunately, the first morning both Josephine and I woke up with horrible stomach pains and diarrhea and therefore could not manage more than 20 km a day before needing to stop and rest. After 3 days of this mess, we returned back to Dushanbe and rang the embassy on Friday to be told to ring again on Monday. We hooked up with Obid, a local guy on couchsurfing and hung out with him for the weekend which was cool. He was a really open-minded guy with loads of questions about our religious beliefs and our lifes in the UK. He was also married to his cousin and had 2 children with her…Apparently this is not uncommon in rural Tajikistan, nor illegal. Monday came, and Josephine and I were still not at our best health we would actually be ill on and off for almost our entire stint in Tajikistan however we arrived at the Indian Embassy bright and early to be told to come back at 5pm. At 5pm we returned to the embassy and were told it would be ready in 30 minutes. Half an hour later we were allowed into the embassy to collect our visa. Triple Entry! Duration 3 months, Perfect! But the bloody visa started on that day and we were not flying to India for another 6 weeks. This meant we would have to apply for another visa in Kathmandu effectively making our entire Dushanbe visa endeavour completely pointless. What kind of visa starts from the day you pick it up? How stupid. Time to leave POOshanbe! Good riddance! Skip to content. The inside of one of the Madrassas in Bukhara. Asqar and his family near the town of Panjakent in Tajikistan The next morning we exchanged contact details with Asqar and stressed to him we would be more than happy to help him improve his English whenever he wants. The road leading from Panjakent towards the main Dushanbe highway. A brilliant road with nice asphalt and very little traffic. A typical image in rural Tajikistan, snowy peaks with a quote from the president, Emomali Rahmon. The state emblem of Tajikistan in Dushanbe. Dushanbe also has the largest public library in central Asia, the largest tea house in Central Asia, the largest flag pole in Central Asia and soon to be built the largest mosque in Central Asia. Subscribe Subscribed. Going in Circles. Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Loading Comments Email Required Name Required Website. Design a site like this with WordPress.

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Panjakent buying snow

Stretching more than 1,km between the cities of Osh in Kyrgyzstan and Dushanbe in Tajikistan, the Pamir Highway Road Trip travels through savage wilderness, ranging from high desert to snowy mountains and crossing passes of more than 4,m. It is likely inhabited by more snow leopards and spiral-horned Marco Polo sheep than humans are. Stay with local people along the way and experience the Pamiri culture. Enjoy panoramic views while doing short hikes on your tour. Travel to Tajikistan General Info:. In , Tajikistan government introduced a unilateral visa-free regime from January 1. Visa-free regime applies to citizens of the following countries for 30 days: 1. Australia 2. United Arab Emirates 3. Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 4. State of Brunei Dorusalam 5. State of Kuwait 6. State of Qatar 7. New Zealand 8. United States of America 9. Iceland Canada Swiss Confederation Malaysia Hungary Austrian Republic Argentine Republic Federal Republic of Germany Dominican Republic Republic of Indonesia Italian Republic Republic of Korea Republic of Cuba Republic of Latvia Republic of Lithuania Maldives Republic of Poland Portuguese Republic Republic of Singapore Turkish Republic Republic of the Philippines Republic of Finland French Republic Republic of Croatia Czech Republic Republic of Chile Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Republic of Ecuador Republic of Estonia Hellenic Republic Principality of Liechtenstein Principality of Monaco Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Kingdom of Bahrain Kingdom of Belgium. Kingdom of Denmark Kingdom of Spain Kingdom of the Netherlands Kingdom of Norway Kingdom of Thailand Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Kingdom of Sweden Jamaica Japan Brazil Bulgaria Vatican City Serbia Romania Ireland Who needs visa? Well, all other foreign citizens not listed on visa-free countries need visa. Tajikistan has electronic visa. You can obtain it online. It has more required section where you will need invitation letter. Some sights as Bibifatima hot springs in Wakhan Valley charge entrance fees. All in all, it is recommended to have USD per trip. Please, know that you need cash. Homestay might not have a change to give you back. Traveling Tajikistan needs your patience and understanding of poor infrastructure, particularly, in Pamirs. Ho mestays have shared rooms with beds in one room. Private rooms can be available upon request with some extra price. You should inform your company or driver to have private rooms if you are not willing to share the room. Most of the homestays in Pamirs have flush toilets except for Alichur and Karakol villages. They have outside Turkish toilets, not flush. But, all the homestays in Pamirs have a shared showers. Some have small saune-like rooms for showers as in Alichur village. No good cafes on the way in Pamirs. Most of the time you do a picnic lunches. So, bring dry fruit, nuts, biscuits. However, you can ask your driver if you really need cooked lunch. They can arrange it on the way by ordering in advance at homestays. The drinking water system is not developed in Pamirs. The best way is to buy a big 10 litter bottled water from big cities and put in a car. You can refill your small bottle when necessary. All the homestays in Pamirs take water from springs for drinking and cooking. The spring water is not filtered, but boiled before cooking. We encourage all of our homestays to boil a water before using for cooking. Dushanbe, Khorog, and Murgab village has shops to buy your food and other items. Try to do shopping in Dushanbe or Khorog city since the price gets double or triple in Pamirs. Tajikistan has the best mountains ranges to do multi-day treks. The most scenic one is Fann Mountain Range not for from the capital. Fann Mountains can be easily reached either from Dushanbe or Penjikent city. A trek there can do done as self-guided or by a travel agency. The most popular and scenic trek to get the best of Fann Mountains is a 4-day trek starting from Penjikent city. You can see the trek on this link. There are many short day-hikes included in our itineraries so that you get the best mountain views while traveling Pamir Highway. You will do the hikes without a guide. We have GPS of all the hikes in the itinerary to navigate in the mountains. Just get app MAPS. ME on your phone and use to follow the trail. There is electricity at all homestays except for Jiseu village at Bartang Valley. Homestays in Alichur village takes electricity from solar panels. Cars have also USB chargers. However, you can buy a local sim card and get access to internet use at least to check your emails and WhatsApp. The best mobile operators in Tajikistan are Tcell and MegaFon. Welcome to Tajikistan! Tajikistan Travel Info. General Info. Visa - Free Countries. How much money should I bring with me? Hikes and treks. You can see the trek on this link There are many short day-hikes included in our itineraries so that you get the best mountain views while traveling Pamir Highway. Internet en-route. Recommended packing list for Pamir Highway. Looking for a group to join? Kyrgyzstan Tours. Uzbekistan Tours. Silk Road Tours.

Panjakent buying snow