Since arriving here in Tajikistan on Saturday morning, one thing of signifcance to my trip has struck me...that there are literally no motorcycles on the roads. Realising that this had the potential to impact my trip significantly, yesterday I went to the Girpozem machine bazaar - Dushanbe's car (and hopefully motorcycle) market. The car bazaar is quite a remarkable place, with thousands of cars lined up for sale, all seemingly privately (photos to follow). Sadl...

I've arrived safely in Dushanbe. Largely uneventful flights except I had a man with truly remarkable-smelling breath sitting behind me on the route from Riga to Dushanbe. So powerful was the emitted odour that it prevented me from sleeping at all, for the duration of the 6 hour flight. The centre of Dushanbe very much resembles the new parts of Tashkent - (mostly) ugly soviet architecure, and wide tree-lined avenues. The main difference being the snowcapped Fan ...