A Place Both Wonderful and Strange – Tash & Ricki's Career Break Travels

We had experienced so much in the first two countries of the Silk Road, that it was hard to believe we were only just over a week into the tour. 

The crossing to Tajikistan felt like a significant line in the sand. The Five Stans tour can be broken down into several component tours, for those who don’t want, or cannot, do the full five countries. Ben and Heather’s holiday was up, so they became the first to leave the Coach Trip. Our CEO, Ivan, would also be seeing us off at the airport, his endless knowledge, energy and humour to be greatly missed. 

Thankfully, despite Tajikistan’s attempts, these would be the only losses. One delayed, and one even rejected, visa application from the group was facilitated with an “expedition fee”, and the remaining fourteen of us emerged into Dushanbe International Arrivals to meet our new CEO, Siyovush. The poor man should have run while he had the chance.

Before we’d even touched down, I already owed a lot – well, a £50 Amazon voucher to be precise – to Tajikistan. It helped me contribute to a team victory in a quiz at work last year. I pass the trivia to you, reader. There are 7 countries in the world which contain the letter “J” – can you name them? Answers in the footnote.¹

Istikol Monument, Dushanbe – so large, I can’t fit it in Instagram’s required square frame

Other Tajik learnings came straight off the bat, as we were transported directly from the airport to a national history museum. It wasn’t our preferred schedule, but needs must as the museum was closing at 2pm. Siyovush had to sweet talk the staff to let us in at all, and continued to ignore them as they tried to shoo us out every 10 minutes, switching the lights out in every room behind us. What a warm welcome.

That evening, we embarked on a city tour where the lights were well and truly left on. On paper, the tour description – “mosque and administrative buildings” – didn’t exactly scream excitement.

Dushanbe Grand Mosque – with a capacity of up to 150,000, this mosque is the largest in central Asia

But for one of the world’s lesser known capital cities, Dushanbe was a real surprise. As Erik put it, Dushanbe certainly “punches above its weight in bling”. We marvelled at how on Earth they were funding it all.

As we neared the end of the tour, we passed through a park which by comparison felt rather dark, like one I’d avoid if on my own. The joke hit several of us all at once – this could be where the funding gets orchestrated!

Instead, we made it out in one piece, and on to a different type of hostage situation – dinner at a local restaurant, completely unprepared for a group of our size and varying demands. 

Perhaps I’m not the only one who takes badly to poor dining. Or perhaps the change in tour group composition and resulting decrease from two buses to one led to some tensions and bickering the next morning. 

Sadly that one bus was also a downgrade from Mirlan’s Sprinter. You know your vehicle is slow when it’s getting overtaken by dump trucks. Perhaps it was struggling under the weight of various passenger attitudes.

Either way, this would make for a long day of driving, as we had a lot of ground to cover. At least we could get some fresh air at Iskanderkul.

We were also amazed when we looked at our phones’ step counts on days like this to see counts of 17-20,000 steps. Quickly we realised the bus was so bumpy, the drive was registering as steps.

Named after Alexander the Great who possibly visited here, or whose horse possibly drowned here

Another comfort break followed later at a petrol station. I looked on bemused at differing attitudes between cultures, as our driver nonchalantly smoked a cigarette standing next to a LPG tanker. Where’s the fun in health and safety anyway?

Fann waterfall walk

Speaking of H&S, despite normally being happy with heights, I wasn’t a huge fan of this viewing platform which made a horrible clunking noise as you stepped on it

Despite this, we eventually arrived in Gazza Valley in one piece. The distance we had travelled was apparent, as this rural town with minimal phone signal felt like night and day compared to Dushanbe. The further we got from big city civilization, the more we felt welcomed though, as throughout the journey, locals of all ages and occupations had stopped to wave at us. Of course Ricki had to ask whether I thought I was Queen Elizabeth as I waved back from inside my “carriage”.

After so long in the minibus, our itinerary for Gazza wisely included plenty of walking for those that wanted it. After a night in our homestay, a group of us took an uphill walk into the village centre.

Built into the hillside, the roofs of homes effectively became the streets of the above terrace, and as we wandered between the buildings, it wasn’t uncommon for a small child to appear above and greet us.

We had an appointment to get to though – we would be having tea with Hezbollah in Gazza. And that is something I hadn’t anticipated saying we’d do this year. Hezbollah is the village French teacher, and has quite a view from the porch of his house.

Photo credits: Trish Glynne

Another character encountered was the village blacksmith. With a village-wide power cut in force, there wasn’t much he could show us other than some faux metal striking. He was most impressed with Ricki’s, so at least we know where to send him if he can’t find a job on return to work next year.

With the power cut persisting into the late afternoon, it was just another incentive to keep out and moving.

Meanwhile, further trouble was brewing back at the guesthouse. Having mentioned to me that her social batteries were draining, poor Grace had a “careful what you wish for” moment and ended up in solitary bed rest after feeling unwell and dropping the C-word – covid. With Cherie following suit a day or so later, a wave of trepidation spread through the group. Remember when a clear covid test was required before you were permitted travel to most countries? Well upcoming stop, Turkmenistan, is one of very few that hasn’t moved on from that state of affairs.

The view back to town from our afternoon walk. Our guesthouse was the large yellow building you can see towards the bottom of the frames

There was no point in panicking at this stage though, as we still had one country between us and Turkmenistan. Not to mention the final days in Tajikistan… if Siyovush’s tether could last that long.

Hazrati Shoh mosque at Istaravshan, where a worshipper or member of staff insisted we share some bread

Mug Teppe fortress at Istaravshan

Reaching Khujand, Grace ended up checking into a hospital for help recovering and Siyovush had to spread himself between his home, the pharmacy, the hospital and this hapless group of tourists. There was one moment I feared he was going to have to walk away for some deep breaths – or maybe that was me projecting my own exasperation. Despite swearing we wouldn’t join another optional group dinner following the experience in Dushanbe, we went against our better judgement in Khujand and tried again, finding ourselves in yet another restaurant who didn’t seem to have any concept of how to handle a large group with various dietary requirements. What is it they say about the definition of insanity?

Despite the dining, Tajikistan offered us unique experiences which we can look back positively on. Now it’s more than just a winning quiz answer for me!

Mosque Jami and Mausoleum of Sheik Muslihiddin

Tash’s Treats

Although we had already tried a basic (and rather bland) version in Kyrgyzstan, while we were in Gazza Valley, we got to try plov again. Rice is fried with meat, in the fat of the meat, and is enjoyed throughout central Asia – another dish where the countries compete over who invented it and whose is best. Perhaps being served between two walks was the optimum dining time, but it has swayed me into thinking Tajikistan’s may come out tops!

As we headed to Khujand, lunch was served at a canteen. With no labels or English speaking staff, this resulted in some panicked pointing and hoping for the best. But I was rewarded with one of the nicest soups I’ve ever had, mastava, a spiced meat and spiced soup served with sour cream and dill. The baklava was also pretty impressive.

1. The seven countries are: Azerbaijan, Djibouti, Fiji, Jamaica, Japan, Jordon and, of course, Tajikistan ↩︎