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). Sadly however, amongst the thousands of cars, there was only one motorcycle - a locally produced (probably in one of the other C.Asian states) 125cc machine, which was brand new. The asking price was $700. However with my experience of 350cc machines and the trouble they have mustering the power needed to get both luggage and passenger up hills, with the reduced oxygen of high altitude, I decided against it. This means that I no longer expect to be travelling by motorcycle.

The next stage of the trip is to travel north to the Fan mountains, which are around an 8 hour drive from Dushanbe. Here I think I will do some short treks, before heading south to the Pamirs, via Dushanbe again.

This evening I am going to a Tajik culture show at the Dushanbe's opera house, which promises to be interesting.