Bring on Tajikistan
3 AugStephen and I leave before the other teams are out of bed. They are heading north to Tashkent, only 300kms away. We are going towards Dushanbe. There is a short 300km road, across the Fan Mountains, and a long road, some 500kms. The Tajik border is only 50km from Samarkland on the short road, and we don’t know whether it is open on Sunday. The following 250km are supposed to be hard going. The other road has the Tajik border only 50km from Dushanbe, on the flat. We decide to go the long way, as whether the border is open or not, we’ll only be 50k’s on good road from Dushanbe.
Car outside our hotel in Samarkland. The hotel marked a change in our Uzbek fortune.
First we have to find water and fuel. We drive for 30 minutes up and down the motorway, but most places that say they sell 93 are either out of stock, closed, or when pressed for information, admit it’s actually 83 (that was just one station). We met another team in town who had filled up with 80 by accident, only to find it was 50% diesel, and clogged their fuel injectors. Finally we find a place, and then a bit further on we buy 18L of water from a market stall. Another quirk of Samarkland is that it’s almost impossible to buy still water.
We’re told this road is boring, so we’re prepared for 500kms of eye spy. However we are pleasantly surprised. Out of Dushanbe we climb for around 30 minutes to the top of Tantaqaracha Pass. We cross little streams and pass small villages. The temperature and humidity drops, and we’re loving it! Here are some pictures from the top:
Then we drop down onto the plains on the other side. The descent it long with switchbacks, and I roll down in second gear, braking occasionally. It straightens at the bottom, and I select 4th, but I have to slow first for a stray donkey, and then again when a herd of cows start to cross. I stop again at the bottom to inspect the brakes. The pedal is spongy, and when I stop the brakes are smouldering. Some thought is required about this before the Pamir highway.
The plains are hot, and it is really windy. For an hour it’s like driving through a sandstorm. We stop under a lone tree in a village and cook 2-minute noodles. Then it’s off again. We’re heading south towards Termiz, which is the border town with Afghanistan. The closer we get, the more checkpoints we find, and the less casual they become. We were planning to go all of the way south to Termiz, and then head back north to Dushanbe, in a triangle. The scenery is now a bit like being in Arabia, with loads of sandy hills. One of the border guards tells us we should take a short cut road across the triangle, so we do. The scenery is amazing. Check out some of these pictures:
Enough road warnings? Glad Stephen was driving so I could disregard all that!
This type of terrain gives way to rich flat farmland, and about 100km of townships, string one after the other, so it’s constantly inhabited. We stop not far before the border to buy some bread, and we find the people very friendly. A cluster collect around the car, some of them drinking Piva, or beer. We’d love to stop, but we need to keep moving.
When we arrive at the border crossing to Tajikistan, it’s around 6pm. The Uzbek side let us through, and although they check our car carefully, it is all over quickly. There was no queue to speak of. The Tajik passport office are friendly, and that only takes 10 minutes. Customs are surprised to see us, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone around to process our form. They are all dressed in plain clothes and are ready to go home. They charge us US$25 to import our car. I’m not sure if this is a standard charge or not, but it doesn’t seem negotiable, so we pay it. Only $75 left in our stash!
Less than an hour after entering, we’re out the other side. This helps with the pain of the last crossing into Uzbekistan. It’s almost dark, so 40km from Dushanbe we find a spot to camp in a disused mud brick quarry. That finished what was a very enjoyable day.
