It is bedlam at the border. Guides are not allowed to cross with you . They wave goodbye,tell you they will miss you and send you on your way. The distance between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is not much but two siblings Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have had a falling out so you have to travel through the top part of Uzbekistan.

Need to change money, eat buy a gift, you can do all of these just through the border crossing. Once you and the guide have found each other, it’s back on the bus and off again, You could not negotiate the travel without a guide as English is limited here and I don’t know about you, but my Russian is nonexistent.

Although agriculture is the main industry,the land is dry and flat. Most of the harvest has been completed. Many of these are harvested by hand with scythes like the good old days before machines. A tractor just bundles it up and then is used to plough the field.

Women were sweeping along the roadside. They don’t seem to be improving the condition of the road, the amount of rubbish or reducing the dust.

Dust seems to hang in the air. That’s not bad photography, it is actually dust making the sky appear hazy. Excuse me…just got to blow my nose again…..,…..many of us now have hay fever. You seem okay.

 

 

Next border at Kyzyl-Bel.
This one appears empty. Bags out. Bye driver and guide. Through one side….walk……through next passport control. Get the stamp, show the guard at the gate and meet your next guide. Load the bags, let’s go to Khujand . You are now in Tajikistan.

Khujand is the second largest city in Tajikistan. We are going to see a  mausoleum to a poet and ruler of the region,Sheikh Muslihiddin and the historical museum.It is like a fortress. It is an impressive building. The ruins of the original building are at the back of the reconstructed fortress.

The bazaar was colourful. People buy large quantities for their multigenerational household. A boy trolleys it to your car….all umpteen kilos. We leaving. Sorry no time for more photos.