Tomorrow we are saying goodbye to our favourite vowel-challenged republic and heading on from Osh to Tajikistan. I posted a map of the border becausue it is the most ludicrously complex thing I've ever seen. Those green bits are all enclaves (left to right are Tajik, Uzbek, Uzbek, all surrounded by Kyrgyzstan). There are some enclaves in the other enclaves. The road (and the bus) goes through all of them.
We're not sure what happens if you accidentally cross a border at an enclave (presumably you get stuck in the enclave, having used up your single entry Uzbek or Tajik visa, and unable to re-enter Kygyzstan as that visa is also single-entry). We've hired a driver to 'skirt around the enclave checkpoints' and get us to the actual border at Isfana. We'll let you know how it goes.
Fact-finders: designing these borders was Stalin's job before he got famous for all that Communist stuff. (Although I can't actually find a source for this fact, other than Trevor, so it may or may not be correct)....
Gems
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Here a Stan, there a Stan, everywhere a...
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2 comments:
Hi Gemma!!
So happy that the trip is going well - Definitely reads like a lot of fun! And great job keep it up-to-date!
Cheers & have a great journey into th enext stan :)
Harpreet
Hi - glad you're all still alive. I had Sushi in Urbana-Champaign, because it was a long way from the sea, and it was terrible. It was cheap, though
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