And so we had survived the crossing and made it to Turkmenistan. The first hurdle was to clear customs and passport control. There was a lot of sitting and standing about in blazing sun - at least 2 hours before we started getting processed. After that we were called forward one by one to be processed and to put our bags through. In total it took around 3-3.5 hours. By this point it was getting on to dinner time and we were all getting tired and hungry. Finally we were all through but we had to wait on the truck. Teresa asked us if we wanted to eat in the restaurant at the customs point - it was met with a resounding yes as no-one knew when we would get to eat otherwise as we would have to wait for the truck, find a bush camp and then cook dinner. It was our first taste of plov, the local dish of central Asia. It is rice with carrots, veg and meat. It was a nice meal and whilst we were eating the truck got through customs so once we were finished eating we loaded on and headed off to find a bushcamp. We knew we only had an hour or so of daylight left so the race was on! When looking for somewhere to camp Simon and Teresa are looking for somewhere relatively flat for the tents but with some bushes or cover for calls of nature. The landscape had noticeably changed since we had got off the ferry. All greenery and mountains had disappeared and we were now in the desert and also now officially in Asia :-)
We found somewhere to camp and quickly got the tents put up. We had 'evening news' which we have most nights. This is where Simon and Teresa give us an update on the plans and travel times for the next day etc. In Turkmenistan we had to register as foreign aliens within 24 hours of arrival so it was a priority to get this done first thing in the morning. The plan in Turkmenistan was to head to Ashgabat, the capital, but it was at least a 13 hour drive so we were going to break it up with a bush camp. Next morning we headed off and stopped in the town of Balkanabat to register. Whilst that was being done we stopped at the local market where we were able to change money from locals with carrier bags! We also had a wander round before heading back to the truck which was surrounded by local schoolchildren who were very interested in us. Simon, ever the joker, told them that Alex was a famous popstar and they started shouting for him to come out of the truck. Once he came out he was met by a round of applause! Very funny.
The market.....
After Artem, our local guide til Ashgabat, had collected our passports and registration documents it was time for us to hit the road - and what horrendous roads they were. Hours of driving in boiling heat and majorly bumpy roads took its toll on everyone - including Calypso as one of the taillights fell off and had to be strapped back on!
Nothing to see on these roads other than desert
And the odd camel
Later in the afternoon we stopped off at a little town for Calypso to have a power wash - the truck would not be allowed into Ashgabat if it was dirty! They did a good job - we could actually see the colours again!
We got back in to continue our journey. It was a long day and to pass the time myself, Louise and Julie played 'Jules Jukebox' where she would sing along to a song from her ipod and we had to guess what it was - harder than it sounds considering she hardly knows any of the lyrics :-) Good fun though.
Jules and Lou playing Jules Jukebox
We eventually got to where we were going to bushcamp and it was beside an underground thermal pool. It was getting ready to close but Artem asked them to stay open for a while. They agreed to stay open for another half an hour and some of the group went for a swim. I didn't bother as it was quite expensive and I was only going to get about 15/20 minutes in the water so I stayed and helped start dinner. When they all came back I realised I hadn't missed much as the main feedback about it had been around bats flying about and bat poop in the water, nice.
Desert campsite near the underground pool.
Next day we were off to Ashgabat, the capital. We headed off quite early as 3 members of the group had to get their Uzbekistan visas there and so needed to visit the embassy. The rooms weren't ready yet so we got a few hours to wander and we found the Russian market.....
As you can see I managed to get a few photos taken but some of the group were stopped from taking photos - this would be a recurring thing through our time in Ashgabat. It is very much a police state, there are certain places you are not allowed to walk or take photos off. The police or soldiers are on every street corner and you are not even allowed to cross the road if there is an underpass! A lot of money has been spent on Ashgabat - almost every building/monument/statue is made of white marble with gold decoration of some sort. There are almost no people on the streets though - soulless is the best word I could use to describe it. Definitely weird.
Anyway, we got checked in and I spent the afternoon going to a shopping centre and arranging laundry and lunch. The shopping centre was the only place with Internet and I was going to use it until I discovered that I needed my passport to use it. I had left it at the hotel so couldn't use it. Talk about Big Brother watching over you though! I headed back to the hotel and caught up with a few people in the group and discovered that there was pretty much only one place to go for dinner - the Pizza and Burger place outside the hotel so we all headed there then back to the hotel. There is an 11pm curfew for tourists in Turkmenistan so we had to be back in the hotel before that anyway.
Views from hotel room balcony
Next day we set of on a bit of a tour of the city. First we went to Independence park. It was 9am on a Saturday morning on a beautiful day and the only people in the park were us, the groundsmen and some soldiers. Where are all the people??? Once again this park was similar to the buildings in the city - white marble monuments and everything was perfect. We were allowed to take some photos here....
After that we headed off to the cable cars for a panoramic view of the city.
This was the view lol - so not worth it
Our final stop was the Arch of Neutrality. This commemorates Turkmenistan's neutral status and has a gold statue (of course) of the former president Turkmenbashi on top. We had all read about how the statue revolved so that he was always facing the sun which we found hilarious. Unfortunately it no longer revolved but it was worth seeing anyway.
In the afternoon it was too hot to do anything however I had gran plans for the evening - the hotel was next door to the opera house and there was a show on. I had bought me
ticket for the extortionate amount of £1 and was looking forward to it. Warren, Anna and Simon had also got tickets so we headed off. When it started I burst out laughing, it was not an opera! It was a variety type show with comedy sketches alternating with bad singing performances. It was so bad it was good, even though I couldn't understand what was being said. I thoroughly enjoyed it - partly because the audience were laughing and enjoying themselves - it was the most natural I had seen since I'd arrived in Turkmenistan.
Up til we got to Ashgabat we had stayed in 9 different places over 9 nights so I had been looking forward to 2 nights in the same place. I have to say though, I was glad to leave Ashgabat the next morning!
On the way out of the city we stopped at the market, apparently the largest in Asia for a few hours of browsing. Here you can buy pretty much anything...
Camel anyone?
On the way to bushcamp we passed another mud volcano, this time in a crater. Phil was warned to stay away from the edges!
Upon getting to bushcamp we had arranged to do a thorough truck clean. Everyone mucked in and all plates, cutlery, fridge, windows and inside the truck were given a thorough going over. After finishing that and polishing off a tasty stir fry for dinner we were ready to head off to the gas crater.
This was something we had all been looking forward to, the photos form previous years' trips had looked amazing. Basically the area we were in is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of 70 metres. To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided the best solution was to burn it off. Geologists had hoped the fire would use all the fuel in a matter of days, but the gas is still burning today. Locals have dubbed the cavern "The Door to Hell".
WikiMiniAtlasIt was a pretty special sight to see in the middle of the desert, definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far......
View as we got out the car
Doing the conga...
Me, Mary, Mahala, Anna, Jo and Kelly
View as we left
Next day we headed off to Konye Urgunch, near the border with Uzbekistan. It is another UNESCO world heritage site (we are ticking off a fair few). Unfortunately I don't have photos yet - there was a camera fee and so only a few people took photos and I haven't got them from them yet. Will try and post later!
Anyway, that night at camp Simon, who is on fire duty, decided to try and build our biggest fire yet - it over to about 9m high we reckon! The guide also informed us that the border crossing was likely to take a long time the next day as a few days previously a gun had been found on a truck trying to cross at the same border point we would be using. But that's a story for another day.
Overall for Turkmenistan the highlight has to be the gas crater. Other than that I have the passport stamp to say I've been - I won't be in a hurry to come back!
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