Day 173 (Tajikistan): Dushanbe (visa games yet again?)

daily distance: 25km
total distance: 10,359km
riding time: 1-2h

After a good night’s sleep and a quick breakfast with Sonja and Heike I set out to head to the regional office of German Agro Action here in Dushanbe. We looked at the city map and found a street which was way down south. Guess that’s where I had to go. At least it is a bit closer to where I have to head eventually. Once there, I was in the right street (asked a range of people), but couldn’t find the place. I called Nodir and he confirmed my hunch. “You’re in the wrong part of town. Go back to where you were.” The area hadn’t looked the place, too many drab old apartment buildings and too much of an industrial area. Alright, all the way back uptown and uphill. Once at the meeting point with the local German Agro Action staff I met a British tourist who couldn’t quite believe that I had biked here from Germany. Turns out that he worked for Lonely Planet. I asked him whether by any chance he knew where to get a hold of a copy here. Ian takes his backpack off, opens it up and hands over his copy. Figures that he could do without or ask someone else he is traveling with. Thanks a bunch, Ian.

I eventually arrived at the office and the passport handing over game started. And then the waiting. Remember that the decision over whether I had to pay a $400 fine was still outstanding. I couldn’t do anything but wait. Updated the website and so forth in the office and around mid-afternoon Akmal came back, said everything is settled: Kyrgyz visa - check, Pamir permit - check, Tajikistan registration - check as well. With that out of the way I can now head to where I want to and apart from China (if I want to get an extension), I don’t really have to worry about visas and the like. Hoooray to that.

The staff at the office here are just as great as the people in Ayni - a big thank you to them. I spend some time over dinner with other development workers from other organizations and was then invited by the head of German Agro Action to spend the night at their place (unbeknownst personally as she was out on business - in Veshab) and was greeted very warmly by her partner with whom I had a good long conversation about Tajik idiosyncrasies and some realities of the place.