Tag: September
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The Beginning of the Pamirs
If you thought that was it, that my last post was enough of an emotional roller coaster, you (and I) were wrong. I thought that, after making it through the first stage (over the Anzob Pass to Dushanbe) and overcoming one major emotional struggle (my irrational fears), things would get easier from here. And, at…
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Tajikistan—Up into the Mountains
“Welcome to our country, miss.” With these words and the friendliest smile of any border police officer I had encountered so far, I got my passport back with the entry stamp to Tajikistan. Everyone greeted us warmly from the side of the road, and children came running into the middle of the road from the…
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Uzbekistan
Time to slow down—not in terms of distance, but in the impressions to take in.After traveling for so long, a kind of saturation had set in. An impressive building started to feel like just another impressive building, a stunning ceiling like just another ceiling. Even a welcoming smile or a friendly invitation could blur into…
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Turkmenistan
“Closed!”, “Delete!”, “Show picture! Delete!” Crossing the border from Iran to Turkmenistan truly catapulted us into a completely different world. The contrast couldn’t have been more striking. The cities in Iran were crowded, with small streets lined with even smaller shops. Almost everyone wanted to take pictures with us (with very few exceptions) or offer…