Day 62. Dushanbe.
First thing I took the bike in to have a fork seal replaced, luckily I brought 2 sets with me.
The man was very nice and I could tell straight away he knew what he was doing just by the way he handled his tools. I offered to prep the bike by removing the fork leg but he was having none of it. Made a really good job, bike all back together 200 Somoni or $31NZ and would not take a penny more. So big ups to Aziek Rabiev of Bike House Dushanbe.
We spent most if the rest if the day with chores. Robyn started to wash some of our clothes and decided to include the bike gear. Filled up the bath and watched the water turn into a black hole. The cleaning lady arrived just then and saw the bath. No no no no. I will do that for you. So out of the bath comes this black sludgy thing and this afternoon returns brand new bike gear. Two months of road grime adds up, especially in this part of the world.
We then went off in search of money and SIM cards. ATM in the Hilton hotel, why aren’t we staying here, the air conditioning actually works. The reason apart from the money is these little guest houses and boutique hotels are so damn friendly. We have had such fun in some of them.
OK money sorted, taxi to the T Cell shop. Very nice young man sorted us out and we’re all SIMed up.
We have noticed a glaring omission in our technology, it is impossible for Robyn to take a photo from the back of the bike. Her good camera is too big and too hard to manipulate whilst the bike is moving. The phone is a bit slow, by the time you get it ready we’re down the road 10k’s also tethering is a bit of an issue and we’ve lost one IPhone already in this trip!
So we spent most of the rest of the day looking for a nice little compact camera. Google maps is not entirely accurate when it comes to finding camera shops. After maybe 8 or so taxi rides we bought a lovely little Sony camera from the shop we visited first! So stay tuned for action shots. A bonus of this running around is that is like a city tour. There are many parks and gardens and lovely tree lined boulevards especially in the central area. Some of the Soviet era apartment blocks look a bit grim but there is heaps of building activity going on and mostly apartments by the look of things. Most of what we have seen is really nice, the roads are good and the views to the mountains which are a backdrop to this city are spectacular.
Tomorrow we begin the Pamir Highway. You may not hear from us for a few days.
The man was very nice and I could tell straight away he knew what he was doing just by the way he handled his tools. I offered to prep the bike by removing the fork leg but he was having none of it. Made a really good job, bike all back together 200 Somoni or $31NZ and would not take a penny more. So big ups to Aziek Rabiev of Bike House Dushanbe.
We spent most if the rest if the day with chores. Robyn started to wash some of our clothes and decided to include the bike gear. Filled up the bath and watched the water turn into a black hole. The cleaning lady arrived just then and saw the bath. No no no no. I will do that for you. So out of the bath comes this black sludgy thing and this afternoon returns brand new bike gear. Two months of road grime adds up, especially in this part of the world.
We then went off in search of money and SIM cards. ATM in the Hilton hotel, why aren’t we staying here, the air conditioning actually works. The reason apart from the money is these little guest houses and boutique hotels are so damn friendly. We have had such fun in some of them.
OK money sorted, taxi to the T Cell shop. Very nice young man sorted us out and we’re all SIMed up.
We have noticed a glaring omission in our technology, it is impossible for Robyn to take a photo from the back of the bike. Her good camera is too big and too hard to manipulate whilst the bike is moving. The phone is a bit slow, by the time you get it ready we’re down the road 10k’s also tethering is a bit of an issue and we’ve lost one IPhone already in this trip!
So we spent most of the rest of the day looking for a nice little compact camera. Google maps is not entirely accurate when it comes to finding camera shops. After maybe 8 or so taxi rides we bought a lovely little Sony camera from the shop we visited first! So stay tuned for action shots. A bonus of this running around is that is like a city tour. There are many parks and gardens and lovely tree lined boulevards especially in the central area. Some of the Soviet era apartment blocks look a bit grim but there is heaps of building activity going on and mostly apartments by the look of things. Most of what we have seen is really nice, the roads are good and the views to the mountains which are a backdrop to this city are spectacular.
Tomorrow we begin the Pamir Highway. You may not hear from us for a few days.
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