T(r)ajikistan.....

A punny title for this brief post...

From Samarkand I moved on steadily to the border with Tajikistan and pulled in to the parking just on the Uzbek side. Compared to other borders it was all surprisingly quiet and before long Frank and Andrea rumbled in in their 28 year old ex fire truck now repurposed as an expedition truck. They kindly invited me to join them for dinner so I had a good chance to look at the inside which was fascinating. Three large fridge/ freezers, induction hobs and so on all running off a large solar set up on the roof meant they were gas free and a diesel heater added to the refinement.

As we discussed our plans to cross the border jointly the following day the heavens erupted with dramatic thunder and lightning preceding torrential rain. Neither of us had received any response to our evisa applications, despite emails acknowledging receipt of both the applications and $70 pp fees. We decided to try anyway as Andrea had heard that one person had received their visa after crossing containing the photo taken at the border.

After a wet night we were up and away by 7 to drive the 100 yards to the first gate. A guy approached me offering to change money in to somoni so mindful of the poor rate and rip off at the Kazak border I just did $50 and nipped back to give Frank half to see us through any issues.

Our next step was to get the vehicles cleared at Customs with a friendly guy having a good look round inside my van and pretending to give the drugs dog my salami from the fridge... I was told to get a form stamped in the office where after a short delay the official showed me a video still of my van with accompanying writing which turned out to be a traffic violation the fine for which needed settling before I could be cleared. He took a photo of the screen with my phone and directed me to another building with a cashier point. Of course not having any som left I asked to pay in dollars as their card machine didn't work - after conversion fees and the fine itself the total was £12.......

FnA were ahead of me now but I met them at the Tajik Customs office having paid £4 to a small office part way across the Nomansland. Frank had already paid his $100 dollar vehicle tax and said I would probably pay less with a smaller vehicle. Once processed I was charged $70 and sent round to the Passport Control where the problems started. Their system showed no evidence of any visa and despite me showing the guy the relevant emails and screenshots of the online application he said my only option was to get a visa in person at the Embassy in Tashkent.... 200 miles away.

So I returned to the van to consider my options and decided to be more persistent with the Passport guy who had been quite friendly. He made a few phone calls and asked me to wait ten minutes so I sat outside watching a steady stream of tourists and locals walking between the two borders as taxis and busses merely drop people off. Andrea came back to see what was what : they hadn't actually needed a visa as EU countries are exempt : yet another Brexit bonus to add to my ever growing list.

She wanted to give me the money back anyway so I wished them well and after a couple of hours decided to tackle the Passport guy again, he looked surprised that I was still here, made more phone calls and then an officer gestured for me to follow him to a large building across the yard. Inside dozens of staff were resting, eating or praying and one with good English came over to say I should apply for an evisa. I explained I already had and had been waiting 3 weeks with zero response. He insisted it would only take 2/3 business days and that was that.

With no other option but to drive back to the Uzbeki gate I set off but was told to get my Tajik vehicle import document stamped out.....as I'd not even got in I asked for the $70 dollars to be refunded but was told this was not possible. Hey ho methinks, all part of the adventure so I drove back to the Uzbek Passport Control and then couldn't find my passport. After a thorough search I drove one more back to the Tajik gate, approached the Passport guy who sheepishly produced my passport from within his scanning machine, a daft oversight on both our parts.

So finally I was back through Uzbek Passport Control who asked why I had only spent 24 hours in Tajikistan..... On looking at my passport their colleagues had forgotten to change the date on their stamp first thing that morning so I had been stamped out the previous day, thus neatly highlighting how unwieldy and ineffective the whole system is. After a chat with two friendly Customs guys and a £10 entry fee I was back in Uzbekistan (come on now keep up, you think you're confused ?) with a plan to head back to Samarkand with more reliable internet and apply for another evisa.

By chance Liz and Colin were there so we met up and had an excellent meal at the Hotel Diyor again, interrupted by a dramatic hailstorm that saw everyone rushing inside, travelling in I had sheltered under a tree from another gigantic downpour as I feared the huge hailstones might crack the screen and passed through deep floods. Colin said they had experienced similar the previous evening arriving from Bhukara. We discussed the evisa situation and they had decided to do the 500 mile round trip to Tashkent, apply in person for visas and enjoy the winery accommodation I had recommended thoroughly.

I applied for a second evisa online to be met with the automated response that my details were already in use as part of a previous application so could not proceed further : a total Catch 22. Follow up emails over the last 3 weeks had elicited no replies and as there was a question mark over RHD vehicles even being allowed in I have reluctantly decided that Tajikistan will have to be left for another time.

Thus I am heading to the Fergana area of Uzbekistan which is rarely visited by tourists but has much to offer and will lead me to Kyrgyzstan where I will spend a month and hopefully do their section of the Pamir highway.

I stopped at Buka for some shopping and cash from an ATM, had a fried rice and beef lunch washed down with a coke for £2 and then moved on to north of Piskent where a spring by the roadside enabled me to fill my tank using the 10l empty water bottles that I then gave to a local who was delighted.

Not far away I turned down a track to a grassy spot by a river and found perfect shade under a large willow tree. Two calves were tethered in some long grass, their mother's returning to give them a feed, a donkey and its young foal wandered around and a few locals dropped by for a walk or swim and were all both friendly and fascinated.

It was a quiet night once the lorries taking sand from further up the river bed went home and I slept well. It's a shame about Tajikistan but it clears the way for a full month in Kyrgyzstan before the long haul across Kazakhstan as part of my journey home. I will have time to detour down to the Mangestaw region, which will be a bonus and also see Grozny in Russia and the Svanetti in Georgia. Equally returning through Turkey in late August will allow a journey through the mountainous north which was under heavy snow when I passed through back in April.

No extra pics this time as border rules are to be respected....