Winter came early to Central Asia today. This was quite a surprise since when we left the mountainous areas of KZ and KG we were told we could jettison any cold weather clothes we had brought. Many left items behind for the local people. I didn't really have much to leave; what I'd brought I wanted to keep and boy was I glad to have it today! Woke to rain and very chilly weather. I wore a fleece sweater, my super-warm ScottVest and a waterproof rain jacket all day long and was stiff cold.
Today's program was a drive across the border to Tajikistan, with a visit to the nearby town of Pendjikent. It rained all day long and was overcast and gray, so we couldn't really see the mountains that give Tajikistan the moniker "the Nepal of the 'Stans" which were close by as we drove. At the very end of day the clouds broke a bit and we caught a glimpse of fresh snow on the mountain tops.
Much of the day was spent doing border crossings. When you depart UZ you have to tun in a customs declaration form that itemizes the amount of money you are departing the country with (each type of currency must be itemized) and this gets tricky because there's the possibility they might randomly search you so you must be carrying what you declare. Having everything on you is important because when you re-enter UZ later in the day, you will fill out another identical form. This form has to be presented again when we depart for Turkmenistan in a few days. The amount of money declared today cannot be less than the amount we have on us at that time or we could be thought to be illegal traffickers of some kind or having sold things and received payments. All of this form-filling-out wouldn't necessarily be so complicated except that we were standing outside in the rain trying to fill these forms in with nothing to write on. Plus there's a set of TJ forms to deal with. there's one set of forms to fill in and then when entering TJ another set. I forgot to mention you also have to itemize each electronic device you've got so this (for me in particular) took a bit of extra time.
Each customs and immigration booth was really a small cinder block building. There were many humorless officials inside wearing camouflage uniforms. One man would check your visa and give you a stamp. He was in one building. Move on to the next in the cold and rain and the next man would have another look at your passport and write things down. He'd pass you on to the next station where they'd inspect your customs declaration and sign it in a flourishing script, circle areas, stamp the front side, then do the same on the reverse. We had to fill out two copies of each so this goes on for both copies. Obviously this took quite a bit of time for 24 people to complete. Our feet in particular were very cold standing there waiting.
In the town of Pendjikant, streets were a river of water. We visited the town mosque and got the opportunity to meet its Imam who welcomed us warmly. Walked through the very interesting bazaar where Scott bought pistachios. In general, those who could speak English seemed interested in striking up a conversation. People were very friendly. I enjoyed seeing the local women. They wear multi-patterned housecoats and headscarves. The currency of the area appears to be gold teeth which are seen often in both men and women. A peculiarity I noticed was a liking among several older women for a prominently drawn-on "uni-brow", a la Frieda Kahlo. This plus all of your front teeth in shining gold makes for an intriguing look. Had a tour of a small museum where I photographed many suzani.
Lastly visited the archaeological site of Bunjikath, a Sogdian (early Persian) city that predates the arrival of the Arabs in the 8th century. Normally I would have done the entire 30 minute walk with my umbrella, which Scott did, but given the rain and the cold I looked over the edge and called it quits.
Couldn't wait to return to a warm bus after going through the immigration process to return to UZ. Of course, just at that moment the weather began to clear and we witnessed a spectacular sunset as we drove back to Samarkand. One moment that will be forever in my mind's eye (because we couldn't really stop the bus to take a picture) was the biggest field of sunflowers I'd ever seen, entirely BACKLIT by the setting sun. Their faces were oddly turned away from the sun and petals were ablaze. It was magnificent.
Lunch was at a huge "Friendship" restaurant large enough for local wedding parties. Main course was essentially beef stew. Dinner at the hotel.
I am sure Scott has some choice comments about border guards and crossing!
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