Home to some of the most remote areas of Central Asia, Tajikistan is a great place for those who want to get WAY off the beaten track. But this remote-ness comes at a price. Tajikistan, especially the Eastern regions, is rather difficult to travel. You either have to be patient, lucky or rich. But the rewards make it worth it. There are spectacular mountain ranges, amazing treks and not to mention a unique culture.My journey into Tajikistan began in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. There is no public transport into Tajikistan. The only way in is to share a taxi. However, as i was travelling near the end of the tourist season, it seemed there was no one to share with. I was going to have to fork out the entire $200+ !! Ouch! Holding back the tears i headed to an internet cafe to try some traveller chat rooms. I mentioned my situation to the
cashier guy, who started telling me about his friend who was heading to Tajikistan THAT DAY!! In a blurr of activity i ended up in an old soviet van doing a supply run exactly to where i was going for only $20. I took nearly an hour of circling around Osh before we were finally on the "highway". However, there was one more stop, just outside town, at the driver's house. We loaded in a few more things like a barrel of petrol, roofing tiles, ghetto-blasters and other essential things. But once we tried to leave the fates stepped in. The van wouldn't start. Fruitless efforts to fix it meant we were stuck for the night. The family put all the passengers up and fed us. And i bunked in for the night. The morning had everything fixed and we were again on our way. The road was rough and slow going but eventually we reached the border. It's an obvious border too with the mighty Pamir mountain range rising out of the meadows. Border control was rather easy, but it was getting late again. As night fell it was getting too dangerous to drive anymore, so we stopped at the first village on the Tajik side of the border.The small village of Karakol was our refuge for the night. It was pitch black by the time we rolled 
in. My driver hooked me up with a local family so i could get a proper nights sleep. They fed me. And though it was cold they had blankets thick and heavy enough to suffocate an elephant. I was told we'd be leaving at first light. So i set my alarm and went to sleep. I got up for sunrise as i had heard Karakol was a pretty village. Man was it ever. Nestled on the shore of a lake, oddly enough named Lake Karakol (title picture), the village of Karakol was 
to be the most scenic part of my journey. It's inhabitants are mostly herds, sheep, yaks, tourists and other such creatures. There is no electricity and little running water, but it doesn't seem to matter, the happy folk who live here were welcoming, all greeting me as a strolled around the village in the early morning light. With enough photos taken i set off to look for my driver. But couldn't find him. It annoyed me to think that he had left without me. In the end, he was just fixing the van again, and about an hour later, we were once again on the Pamir Highway in the final leg of a severely over extended journey.
in. My driver hooked me up with a local family so i could get a proper nights sleep. They fed me. And though it was cold they had blankets thick and heavy enough to suffocate an elephant. I was told we'd be leaving at first light. So i set my alarm and went to sleep. I got up for sunrise as i had heard Karakol was a pretty village. Man was it ever. Nestled on the shore of a lake, oddly enough named Lake Karakol (title picture), the village of Karakol was 
to be the most scenic part of my journey. It's inhabitants are mostly herds, sheep, yaks, tourists and other such creatures. There is no electricity and little running water, but it doesn't seem to matter, the happy folk who live here were welcoming, all greeting me as a strolled around the village in the early morning light. With enough photos taken i set off to look for my driver. But couldn't find him. It annoyed me to think that he had left without me. In the end, he was just fixing the van again, and about an hour later, we were once again on the Pamir Highway in the final leg of a severely over extended journey.
is not the most scenic I've been on (the Karakorum Highway China/Pakistan, and the Friendship highway Tibet/Nepal are better) it certainly made the 40+ hours (it should have taken 12 hours) in a cramped van worth it. FINALLY, we reached the town of Murgab. Murgab is the closest thing you'll find to a city this far out in the Pamir region of Tajikistan. But it is remote. Marco Polo once marched through here saying, "Dude, this place is 
remote!" However, with improvements to the Pamir Highway and extensions to the Chinese border, the tiny town of Murgab is seeing a bit of a surge. You can also guarantee that ANY tourist passing through the region will stop here. Virtually every home is a guesthouse. Allowing you to get up close and personal with the local people. But the city itself, doesn't have anything to offer. You can walk across it in a matter of minutes. The market is rather depressing with noodles, expired Snickers bars and a few undesirable items of clothing the only things for sale. The attraction lies in the surrounding 
mountains with springs, petroglyphs and the infamous Marco Polo sheep waiting to reward the gung-ho trekker. I am not a trekker, and at 3,500 meters above sea level, I was content just sitting at a cafe drinking tea with the local men. After a couple of days of not travelling in a cramped old Soviet van, i was ready to hit the road again. Here's where the luck/patience/money come in. The way it goes is you wander down to the market and see if anyone is planning to go in the direction you're heading. If you're lucky there is, if 
not you try the next day. I did find someone! I, however, was unwilling to hire the whole vehicle myself, meaning I had to test my patience and hope that someone else wanted to go too. After a couple of hours, both luck and patience were rewarded and I was once again on the road, the Pamir highway to be exact. The plan was to go from the the far east of the Pamirs to the far west. From the remote to the civilized. The drive was once again pretty, passing grazing yaks, tiny villages and scenic mountain peaks. And after only 2 minor break-downs, we reached my destination.
The city of Khorogh is by far the most developed city in the region. Shoved into a tiny valley, it 
has excellent universities and schools, making it one of the most highly educated cities in all of Tajikistan. Most of this development is supplied by the Aga Khan, Imam of the Ismailis. The Ismailis are a branch of Islam and the Aga Khan could be compared to the Dali Lama of Buddhism (but not really). This influx of money means that you can find most things you might need in Khorogh. Hotels, internet cafes, ATMs and even an Afghan consulate. This last one was my main reason for coming. As a first order of business, i headed to the consulate. After they asked three or four times "Are you sure you want to go to Afghanistan?" they gave me a visa same day with relatively little 
hassle or paperwork. I spent a day or two wandering around the city, checking e-mails and any other city-type stuff i hadn't done for a while. I even ended up doing a TV interview as i was the only tourist who seemed to speak a little Russian. Overall, it wasn't a bad city. It even has a stop light, although it didn't actually work. But having exhausted all of the towns resources, I was once looking for a way to greener pastures. Once again the luck/patience/money principle of travelling through this region. I was hoping to go to the Wakhan Valley. Transport was going to cost in the hundreds again and they told me there was NO public transport. Not being one to believe salespeople, I headed to the market and lucked into the once weekly matsrutka (van) heading exactly where i wanted to go. And a seat was only $5 (tourist price)It only took five hours or so. And at one point we had 25 people shoved into a van meant for 6 or 7. But I made some new, "close" friends.
The Wakhan valley is certainly worth it. Tajikistan saw the 
worst violence of any of the former Soviet republics when the U.S.S.R. collapsed in the early '90s. Most of the fighting of this civil war took place in the Pamir region, officially known as the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). Farm land was left unattended. Money was (and still is) withheld by the central government. And NGOs are few and far between. But the Wakhan valley has become the bread basket of the region. The valley itself is separated by a raging river on the north side Tajikistan, on the south Afghanistan. 
Essentially all jobs in the area are in the agricultural sector. But it's hard to find men here. 33% of Tajikistan's GDP is supplied by Tajik men going to Russia to work as labourers. These men then send the money home to awaiting families. So most of the people working the fields are women. I ended up staying in some village, whose name i never did find out. The home stay was again lovely. But with ABSOLUTELY nothing to do, i was ready to leave the next day. Again the luck/patience/money factor was enacted. There was NO 
transport going back to Khorogh for 4 or 5 days. So i opted to hitchhike. One day 1, one vehicle passed me, and it was a big truck taking workers to the fields. Day 2 same story. There was no traffic heading in my direction. While the town was peaceful and left me a lot of time with my thought, it turned out i didn't have so many thoughts. With all other options exhausted, I ended up paying some guy 10 times what it cost me to come in the first place. Not to mention i was only going half way back. But whatever. It's all part of travelling in Tajikistan. The expense was still worth it as I found the people to be warm and friendly. Not to mention, wonderfully photogenic!
worst violence of any of the former Soviet republics when the U.S.S.R. collapsed in the early '90s. Most of the fighting of this civil war took place in the Pamir region, officially known as the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). Farm land was left unattended. Money was (and still is) withheld by the central government. And NGOs are few and far between. But the Wakhan valley has become the bread basket of the region. The valley itself is separated by a raging river on the north side Tajikistan, on the south Afghanistan. 
Essentially all jobs in the area are in the agricultural sector. But it's hard to find men here. 33% of Tajikistan's GDP is supplied by Tajik men going to Russia to work as labourers. These men then send the money home to awaiting families. So most of the people working the fields are women. I ended up staying in some village, whose name i never did find out. The home stay was again lovely. But with ABSOLUTELY nothing to do, i was ready to leave the next day. Again the luck/patience/money factor was enacted. There was NO 
transport going back to Khorogh for 4 or 5 days. So i opted to hitchhike. One day 1, one vehicle passed me, and it was a big truck taking workers to the fields. Day 2 same story. There was no traffic heading in my direction. While the town was peaceful and left me a lot of time with my thought, it turned out i didn't have so many thoughts. With all other options exhausted, I ended up paying some guy 10 times what it cost me to come in the first place. Not to mention i was only going half way back. But whatever. It's all part of travelling in Tajikistan. The expense was still worth it as I found the people to be warm and friendly. Not to mention, wonderfully photogenic!
But for some reason, they would never, EVER smile for any picture taken of them!! Soviet thing i suppose.
taxi, i headed back in the direction i came. But instead of going all the way back to Khorogh, i stopped half way. As the region is rather seismically active, it is a hotbed of hot springs. So i decided to check one out. Bibi Fatima is the most famous in the area. Mostly for women hoping to boost their fertility. Well, that wasn't my intention, but decided to go anyway. One problem though, the hot spring is at the top of the mountain, and i was in another crappy... i mean classic soviet van. So, naturally, after a few breakdowns, we managed to make it up. Quite frankly the hot spring itself was rather disappointing. But it was fun getting naked 
with my driver and the others. The best bit for me was actually the view. Being on top of the hills, it gave me a clear view over the Wakhan Valley, across to Afghanistan and beyond to the impressive Hindu Kush (killer of Hindu) mountain range in Pakistan. On to of one of the mini peaks was one of many ancient forts. The mountain side are littered with them. It is easy to understand the strategic importance of the sites with clear 360 degree views, they'd be easy to defend. They were even used during the soviet times. They are now a dim shadow of their once mighty brilliance, but a sight to be seen none the less. With the sun quickly falling it was time to find a homestay for the night. 
Quite easy as i mentioned it was the end of the tourist season. I found that the homestays were often the best part of the trip in the Pamirs. They are all traditional buildings with traditional food. Language difficulties are inevitable, but luckily I've picked up enough Russian over the years to have simple conversations. So with yet another comfortable nights sleep, in the morning i headed down the hill with intentions of getting back to Khorogh. It wasn't long before i was picked up, as traffic was much "heavier" in this area. The driver was nice and brought me right back to my hotel. As i had pretty much done Khorogh to death, I started looking for a way to Dushanbe.
Dushabe is the capital of Tajikistan, and without question the most esthetically pleasing of the 
Central Asian capitals. The wide tree-lined streets are bordered with pastel coloured goverment buildings. There are plenty of parks and recreational areas to relax and people watch. It is easy to see the persian influence here. Most women are modestly dressed. The stautes and monuments are to persian heroes. The most frequent is that of Somoni. The one time "king" of the area and the namesake of Tajikistan's national currency. Not to mention Tajik is the only non-turk langague in the 'Stans. But other 
than checking out parks and monuments there isn't really much to do in town. Hence the reason for so few photos. Especially considering it's the capital. Supposedly, the theatres and ballets are cheap, but they were in season when i was there. There are a couple of bazaars, but they're nothing to write home (or a blog) about. So for most of my time there, I found myself wandering the streets. Drinking lots of tea. Watching the world go by. But there are a couple of things to check out while you're wasting time. The facade of the Writers Union Building is kind of cool. But it's just a collection of more statues really. And to be honest, i'd never heard of any of the writers! One other thing worth checking out though, is the National Museum. It's resonably priced and an excellent diversion for an hour or so. 
While not THAT large, it has a surprisingly good collection of antiquities from the area. It's kind of fun as the musuem workers walk behind you turning of the lights in the last room you visited. Environmentally friendly/cost efficient i guess! But the highlight of the museum is probably a massive reclining Buddha which you're not allowed to take pictures of (that my picture of it below). 
I entended my stay in Dushanbe a little longer than usual so that i could witness the independance day celebrations. It had been nearly 2 decades since independane from the former U.S.S.R. I had seen previous celebrations in other republics, but was a littel disappointed in Tajikistan's. No giant military parade. No big fireworks display. Really nothing much to speak of other than a small performance in front of one of the museums and another, slightly larger, show in 
the park at night. but everything ended rather early due to imposed curfews. But i guess beggars can't be choosers. So in the morning did my best to find out where the transport to my next destination was. "Where was that?" you might ask. Well, Afghanistan of course. But that's another story...Tips: These tips are for budget, individual travellers.
Budget a few extra days if travelling through the Pamirs. Transport is unreliable. If hitch hiking budget an extra week or bring a lucky rabbits foot.
If travelling along the Wakhan valley, go no further than Bibi Fatima. Further along the road the traffic becomes exponentially scarce making non-arranged transport VERY difficult.
As with any mountain region, be prepared for all weather. I could be freezing at night and boiing in the day.
My Views: Tajikistan is probably the most difficult of the 'Stans to travel. And easily the poorest. However, the genuine hospitality of the people goes a long way. That being said, if you're not a trekker, it offers very little to the average traveller. It is interesting to see the contrast between the Turk 'Stans and the Persian one. And while I certainly would not advise against a visit, i really can't recommend one either.