I arrived from my epic road trip pretty late at night, and unfortunately, I hadn’t had internet for the last few days, so I was at the mercy of my travel book for a place to stay. It mentioned that there weren’t really any hostels in this town yet (…) so I opted for the cheapest hotel listed. Upon arrival they wanted to charge twice that amount, I talked them down (didn’t know I could do that at a hotel haha), and I was relieved I at least had a place to stay the night. The wifi was functional…but the water wasn’t (?!). Really too bad for a pricey hotel.
Today I woke up, and took a walk around the city's botanical gardens next door, which was the one convenient things about his hotel. Beautiful morning, and a gorgeous park with about 4 weddings going on in random places. So nice to see! Then I caught a taxi to the hostel I found online.
Park/Garden, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Hostels are a tricky business. I can’t imagine running one (OK maybe I could a little), and people certainly have an idea about how they are. This usually involves imagining 50 20-somethings screaming at the top of their lungs, smoking cigarettes into the vents, and throwing furniture out windows. While, this may rarely be the case (that was an actual description of a hostel I stayed at in Barcelona), most are pleasant places to recharge and meet other travelers. Occasionally we stumble on a really, really comfy place that has a naturally refreshing feel to it. Today I found such a hostel. It’s spacious, comfortable, quiet, and the travelers here are all on pretty cool journeys with really great perspectives. It’s nice to be in good company and a clean, comfortable oasis.
For the first time on this trip, I met a fellow American traveler (not expat). We had that shared "hey-thats-MY-accent moment", and we hit it off just like the red white and blue on our flag. A California gal with a classic valley accent (sorry had to throw that in there =P), we chatted about our travels in the area, our thoughts on the people, cultures, soviet influence (don’t expect this theme to disappear), and how american’s perspectives are limited in this regard. It was a great conversation! We decided to hit up the city and take a look around.
Dushanbe exceeded my expectations (which, weren’t really anything, cause I had nothing to go on). It has a beautiful surrounded-by-hills setting, and is chuck full of beautiful parks, cafes, monuments, and of course, a sweet bazaar. I appreciate the muslim influence in the city, as that makes people considerably respectful and easy to get along with. Amy and I put food on the priority list, and meandered over to the bazaar, where we split/explored about 6 different variations of meat and cabbage fried in dough. We then headed to the fruit section, where we decided we were both lacking various vitamins in our recents diets. A purchasing of clementines (tangerines? idk), cherries, grapefruit, and pomegranate juice ensued. A special shout out to the pomegranate juice maker, who, after our ordering, had to take the extra time to put on his juice-making jacket, button it up, and get to work. It was hilarious in the moment. We then found a popular little stall with another fried something situation, and what can only be described as, well, corndogs. People were crowding this stall and destroying said corndogs with this lady’s special dipping sauce. Who would’ve thought? Well, naturally, I joined in the feast. Finally, we tried theTajik street food version of fish and chips, which had surprisingly good fries, and remarkably bony fish (kind of expected). We topped it off with some cherry juice, and a general prayer to hope that today’s food-venture won’t result in our eventual sickness, dehydration, and deaths.
Downtown Dushanbe
THE food stall
Feeling well fed and generally anxious regarding our culinary decisions, we walked to the city center. Here lies a collection of massive statues, government buildings, and (what was…) the world’s tallest flagpole. The grounds of the park were beautiful, the sun was out (OK it was kinda brutally hot), and we generally had a nice time (even though our hunt for chocolate ice cream was in vain). And I have to mention, this flag pole is remarkably tall. I couldn’t stop standing underneath it with my neck craned up; it was ridiculous, and I loved it. After the park, we found a nice cafe to sit and relax while we waited out a sudden and unexpected thunderstorm, and then it was back to the hostel.
541' Flagpole
All in all, I love when a place exceeds what I expect of it. Of course, this is easy to accomplish when our expectations are limited in the first place. And that brings up the thought that so much of traveling places is having an idea of what it’s going to be like, and so much of our experience is based on how reality meets up with that expectation, both for good or for bad. I guess what I’m getting at is that it’s much more enjoyable to be excited for a place, but to go at it mostly with a clean slate. Dushanbe is such a beautiful city, and I’m really glad I swung by this way.
This is also the first time that I’ve met multiple travelers in one place, as opposed to just one or two. There are two Croatians, a Chinese guy, two Tajik guys (have interviews tomorrow in Dushanbe), a Korean girl, and of course, the two Americans. There is something refreshing, enjoyable, and really fun about meeting and swapping stories and travel advice. The majority of travelers (especially who make it out this direction) are generally laid back, enjoy-the-moments kind of people (with a touch of street smarts and problem solving), with a great body of perspective that makes for fantastic conversation. We spent the night eating, drinking and talking about government systems, language, education, cuisine, history, eachther/our hobbies, and everything in between. There’s a common thread and it’s a blast to be a part of it.
I guess this is all just another lesson that travels reminds me of- here’s to good friends, and unexpected places we love. I hope I can continue to find the time to enjoy wherever I’m at, take a look around, and find people to make that experience better. Enjoy the Journey!
-BK