As border crossings go the Iranian/Turkmenistan border wasn’t unusual. It took us four hours to go through the rigmarole of getting our passports and countless other documents stamped at various offices situated strategically in the furthest distance away from each other. What was great though was the border is situated in the Kopet Dag mountains, which meant that although the sun was in a cloudless sky it was still relatively cool. On the Turkmenistan side of the border this was a godsend. As soon as we crossed ‘no-mans lands’ Chrissy’s hejab and manteau that she had been wearing for the past two weeks came flying off. Not long after entering the ornate marble building (with a large picture of the president on the front) Chrissy and I were split up because drivers have to wait with the cars and passengers have to navigate through the maize of offices. Dotted around the border where young army privates (dressed in camouflage and wide brimmed hats) that where directing the trucks and passengers to various parts of the border post. The young man that was stationed where I had parked the van had a particular superiority complex and made all the drivers sit out in the sun. Every time you moved towards the shade you’d get barked at by this young Hitler in the making and you would have to move back into the sun. If you want to travel in Turkmenistan it can be a tricky affair. First of all you need a letter of invitation and if you enter on a tourist visa you have to be accompanied by a guide. Thankfully, we had hired the services of a agent from Stan Tours who met us on the Turkmenistan side of the border and made the whole process a lot easier and before we knew it we where weaving down the twisting road towards Ashgabat 50 km away in the distance.
Ashgabat is pristine, orderly and ornate and sits serenely at the base of the Kopet Dag Mountains and just before the Karakum Desert begins. Within hours of being in the city I started to suffer from what I have called ‘Post Iranian Driving Syndrome’ and after talking to several Mongol Rally drivers it turns out that I am not the only one who has experienced this syndrome. Basically once you leave Iran and enter a country were they drive normally you get the most intense feeling that you are out of your comfort zone. Having got used to driving through red lights and ignoring every road rule ever invented and expecting my fellow drivers to be doing the same it is very unnerving when a car in front of you actually stops at a red light, a round about or for a pedestrian on a zebra crossing. As a result you feel as paranoid as a chronic dope smoker having spent a week in Amsterdam getting a mariju
ana fix. You start to feverishly look around for any vehicle or pedestrian about to stop their car or walk out into the road and the final ‘cold turkey’ moment comes when you experience an intense craving for the smell of car exhausts and the sound of car’s horns ‘just to let you know they are passing’. The grip of this syndrome only began to ease after lots of team talks with myself - ‘You can do this Col. Be strong!’ and I finally started to ease back into normality.
As it is mandatory to stay in Government owned accommodation we ended up staying in a monumental hotel during our stay in Ashgabat. This was one in a row of equally monumental hotels that Niyazov had constructed as part of his grand plan. The front of hotel resembled the curved wall of a coliseum in Rome. Inside it was very luxurious in a soviet era kind of a way but it made us miss sleeping in the van and it was a far cry from the picturesque campsite in the Kopet Dag the night before. Nevertheless it
did have two trump cards. The first was the very friendly Russian staff (including a guy who launched me accidently out of my chair) and the second was air conditioning, which provided relief from the afternoon heat. We met two excellent individuals during this time and both of them worked in the Korean Embassy that was attached to our hotel. They were Serdat and his secretary. They both were extremely welcoming and meeting them was a great start to travelling in Turkmenistan.
Picture 1, Ashgabat at night. Picture 2, Soviet hotel in Ashgabat. Picture 3, Colin & Chrissy with Serdat.
Ashgabat is pristine, orderly and ornate and sits serenely at the base of the Kopet Dag Mountains and just before the Karakum Desert begins. Within hours of being in the city I started to suffer from what I have called ‘Post Iranian Driving Syndrome’ and after talking to several Mongol Rally drivers it turns out that I am not the only one who has experienced this syndrome. Basically once you leave Iran and enter a country were they drive normally you get the most intense feeling that you are out of your comfort zone. Having got used to driving through red lights and ignoring every road rule ever invented and expecting my fellow drivers to be doing the same it is very unnerving when a car in front of you actually stops at a red light, a round about or for a pedestrian on a zebra crossing. As a result you feel as paranoid as a chronic dope smoker having spent a week in Amsterdam getting a mariju
ana fix. You start to feverishly look around for any vehicle or pedestrian about to stop their car or walk out into the road and the final ‘cold turkey’ moment comes when you experience an intense craving for the smell of car exhausts and the sound of car’s horns ‘just to let you know they are passing’. The grip of this syndrome only began to ease after lots of team talks with myself - ‘You can do this Col. Be strong!’ and I finally started to ease back into normality.As it is mandatory to stay in Government owned accommodation we ended up staying in a monumental hotel during our stay in Ashgabat. This was one in a row of equally monumental hotels that Niyazov had constructed as part of his grand plan. The front of hotel resembled the curved wall of a coliseum in Rome. Inside it was very luxurious in a soviet era kind of a way but it made us miss sleeping in the van and it was a far cry from the picturesque campsite in the Kopet Dag the night before. Nevertheless it
did have two trump cards. The first was the very friendly Russian staff (including a guy who launched me accidently out of my chair) and the second was air conditioning, which provided relief from the afternoon heat. We met two excellent individuals during this time and both of them worked in the Korean Embassy that was attached to our hotel. They were Serdat and his secretary. They both were extremely welcoming and meeting them was a great start to travelling in Turkmenistan.Picture 1, Ashgabat at night. Picture 2, Soviet hotel in Ashgabat. Picture 3, Colin & Chrissy with Serdat.
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