UZBEKISTAN / TAJIKISTAN

ROUTE from samarcande to duchambe

IN SAMARCANDE:

HOTEL: bahodir guest house, 6 dollars for breakfast plus dinner = great place

BIKE: around stadium: vladimir can help for impossible bike repairs but nothing to buy

INTERNET: net city, 500 som, was so so

SHOPPING: cover market, great place for food

MONEY: cash advance in nation bank of uzbekistan, 3.5% commission for visa, 4% for master card

CASH EXCHANGE: change money in penjikent: 1 dollar = 3.28 tjk

PRICES: bread 0.5 tjk

ROUTE:
- leaving samarcande along registan road toward east, always straight on towards tadjik border after 40km.
- no trouble except that uzbek want to see all receipt for money but no registration papers are asked
- bad road till khojan road, cross road, up and down quite slow
- food in ayni, no water problem till duchambe
- pass starts at about 2300 for 15 km step on dirt road till 3200m, then down till duchambe with really good road in the end
- duchambe malohat band b close
- find some help in "bactria cultural center" with friendly people (you can buy a really expensive but good map for GBAO, it's useful for water points)
- acted GH: 10 dollars, nothing cheaper, acted is the street in front of the theatre (rajabov) then dead end on the right after the second crossroad
- great game company, they arrange gbao (but then stole me money on my credit card!), difficult to find the office behind varzob bazar

VISA:
- visa extension impossible without agency. they said it cost 45 dollard for a week and 50 for two with minimum 3 days delay
- china visa very easy: 50 dollars for 90 days, 2 days delay, china embassy on rudaky, 30 dollars for one week waiting

MONEY: exchange rate in duchambe 1 dollars = 3.3 tjk
1 euro = 4.14

- don t buy the cheap tuna-fish in black and yellow box, it's impossible to eat!
- no bike shops around

TRANSPORT: bus 1 and 8 are useful to move on rudaki

retour