Pamir shared taxi stand in Dushanbe at 6am

An die Herren der Michel + Jenni AG aus Belp: falls sie einen ihrer LKW vermissen, er steht am Pamir taxi stand in Dushanbe

All cars going to the Pamir are four-wheel drive Mitsubishis, Land Rovers or some other similar brands. While prices are fairly fixed (based on which seat you choose), there is no cooperative. And in this case I think it would actually make sense. Because here every driver tried to fill his car. I just chose the car that had the most luggage already on top, figuring it would leave first. But while I was passenger 5 out of 7 and we quickly had number 6 as well, we waited and waited. And then for some strange reason which I never understood (again due to my lack of Russian language skills), we waited some more. We finally left at 8.45am. Other cars did not leave much before us, so it was clear that we’d arrive in the dark for the last part of the journey.

Preparing the car for a long drive

We followed the A385 south with beautiful scenery. Unfortunately I sat in the very back with tinted windows and was not really able to take any decent photos. The car had a 2-3-3 “seating configuration”, so there was the driver and a passenger in the front, three passengers in the middle and three in the back. Yes, it was very cramped. Apologies for the bad photos that follow, its the best I could do.

Nurek Reservoir

Old fortress somewhere along the A385

After about three hours we stopped at Kulob for some very good lunch.

Lunch stop in Kulob

We followed the A385 east and then north, joining the river separating Tajikistan and Afghanistan. For the next several hundred kilometers we drove along the border. Afghanistan at times was just 20 meters on the other side of the river and it was interesting seeing how much simpler houses and roads were on the other side. Eventually the road also got very bad on the Tajikistani side. At this point the drive started to get annoying and the mixtape of Tajik love songs and Reggaeton (which for some reasons seems to be very popular in Central Asia) started to repeat.

One of the countless checkpoints

And another checkpoint. Not sure what they check because nobody ever wanted to see my passport or permit for Gorno Badakhshan

View from the back window. Afghanistan on the other side of the Panj river

A day later I talked to some Germans participating in the Mongol Rallye. Appartently a day before we passed the region, they were doing road construction on the Afghanistani side. This was doing using explosives. The Germans’ car was hit by a fist-sized rock, fortunately on the roof. At least it was just a rock flying over from Afghanistan. I guess you could say they were just a stone’s throw from Afghanistan.

After a long six hours since the lunch break, we stopped again for a snack. It was a beautiful terrace overlooking the river and the Afghanistani shores. But by this time I was completely exhausted and we still had three hours ahead of us. Fortunately the road got slightly better. And without anything further worthwhile mentioning, we made it to Khorog shortly before 9pm. Finally. A “taxi” dropped me off at the homestay “Lalmo’s” where I was greeted with a filling and tasty dinner and met several other travelers.

Panj river

View from our last stop – Afghanistan on the other side of the river

Few hours to go to Khorog

Another roadblock, at least this time no police

While Uzbekistan was full of over 50s tour groups from Italy and Spain, it was nice to meet some individual travelers in Tajikistan, most of which are on epic trips and have exciting stories to share. Over a bottle of Tajik wine, I learned about some of their adventures.

Tasty meal after a long day on the road

My first impression of Dushanbe was positive. I can’t compare it to any other Central Asian capitals, but it is clean, not too much traffic and generally laid back.

The main goal for the Dushanbe stay was to secure a ticket on the flight to Khorogh, capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. Tajik Air flies during good weather and the choice is either a <one hour flight on their An-28s or a >12 hours drive on bad roads. It was an obvious choice and I went straight to the Tajik Air main office to put my name on the list for two days after. They told me to come back the next day when it would be clear whether the weather is good enough for the flight to operate. The next morning it was cloudy and raining so I figured the flight was cancelled and all passengers bumped to the next day. I still went back to the office and was told the flight wouldn’t operate for the next three days. Bummer. 12+ hours road trip it is. The folks at Tajik Air aren’t particularly customer focused by the way. But I guess you can afford that if you have an monopoly on the route and only compete with day-long car ride alternatives.

Once the weather cleared up, I walked around Dushanbe. Compared to Uzbekistan there are a lot more flags and portraits of the leader, Emomali Rahmon, who has been in office since 1992.

Building in Dushanbe (forgot what it was)

Presidential Palace

Inside the city’s main department store – Tsum. Not running at full capacity.

Old and new terminal at the airport. A few flights a day to Russia and neighboring countries. Few flights a week to Dubai, Istanbul.

Train station with connections to Russia. I was yelled at for taking this photo.

Ecuadorian bananas at the market in Dushanbe… global trade.

Ismoil Somoni – ruler in the 9th/10th century

Somoni Statue

Parchan National Monument

New Presidential Palace (?) with…

… the world’s second tallest free-standing flag pole in the world (thanks, Saudi Arabia for taking the record)

The flag pole again

National Museum

Dushanbe is nice for a day. A laid back city with some unique monuments and good restaurants. But a day was enough and while unhappy about not being able to book the flight, I was curious for the drive to Khorogh.