Flying over the roof of the world

Above: View flying from Dushanbe to Almaty. The view was absolutely was gorgeous. It didn’t look any different from flying over the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand but the difference here is the scale: it’s the expanse and reach. The expanse is such that these mountains were in sight the entire 1h50 flight. And the highest peak (7495m) is about double the height of Mount Cook (3724m) … or a little less than double of Mount Kinabalu (4095m).

Today I fly from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan via Kazakhstan.  I took it easy before leaving the hotel at 0945 for my 1230 flight to Almaty, with a self-connect to Bishkek with 2h45 in between.

I managed to hail a taxi on the road for TJS15 which meant that I would have about USD1.50 leftover to finish-up. Arriving at Dushanbe airport more than 2h before departure, check-in wasn’t open yet. But by the time I spent my money on snacks, the counters were ready for me.

Mild panic as I had put my stamped Tajik e-visa in my pocket separately from my passport, and had to find it as I headed to the counter. Fortunately I found it got to the counter before any queues had formed.

They gave me my boarding pass to Almaty but couldn’t give me the one to Bishkek. Fortunately I had an mobile one for that sector so that would hopefully mean I can go to the transit lane.

Exit customs stopped me and asked how much money I had. I retrieved my Uzbek declaration which listed what I had, and subtracted what I had spent approximately. Actually, he was more interested in any Somoni; he asked if I was keeping any for future trips or as souvenir. I showed him the snacks I had bought with the last little bit and he let me through.  I was good to go.  “Have a nice flight” he said.  I guess he was only doing his job and perhaps things seem a little harsh with the language barrier.

Immigration was swift but security found something of interest in my bag using the scanner but when I opened it, they couldn’t find anything.

Finally I got airside about 1h45 prior to my 1230 departure. With all the formalities sorted, I was going to put on the “Cabin Baggage” label that I was given at check-in. But I couldn’t find it. Because I’m mildly OCD, it upset me as I could have dropped something else instead or as well. But fortunately , this isn’t India where the label is necessary at the security checkpoint as it is stamped as evidence of the check [edit: actually they don’t do it any more]. Losing it at any stage would be a headache: if before security, one would have to go back to the counter to get another one; and if after security one would have to be re-screened.

There were a few kiosks selling food and drinks. How does one pay if you’re not supposed to take Somonis past the customsm checkpoint? Maybe there’s a certain amount beyond which you have to declare.

The plane arrived shortly after for a long 1h30 turnaround, especially when it was a little Embraer. Time went quickly. The flight took a little less than the 1h50 scheduled time, passing through snowy peaks for largely the entire flight.  The actual flight path was not available on the internet for my particular flight. And it didn’t follow the straight line path shown on the WiFi entertainment on my phone. [Edit:  Flightradar24 shows previous flight paths are slightly S-shape flying over Bishkek.]

The view was absolutely was gorgeous. It didn’t look any different from flying over the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand but the difference here is the scale: it’s the expanse and reach. When I was on the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan, I said the same.  The expanse is such that these mountains were in sight the entire flight. And the highest peak (7495m) is about double the height of Mount Cook (3724m) … or a little less than double of Mount Kinabalu (4095m).

OK, I couldn’t go to the Pamir this trip. But I was lucky enough to sit on the correct side of the plane flying over the area originally dubbed “The Roof of the World”.

Text continues after this gallery.

My self-connect went smoothly. We pulled up to the terminal bus bus. I went into the transit lane. I showed the lady by onward boarding pass and she printed me a real one. I could have done it without a mobile boarding pass too I reckon, as long as I didn’t have luggage.

The departure hall was buzzing today whereas it was very quiet the last time I was here. As I would probably miss dinner or have a late one, I decided to buy a sandwich. I had plenty of KZT from my last visit and I was still coming back. The sandwich was about USD7 and the green tea over USD1. Ridiculous prices for Central Asia but it is a captive market. Very delicious though.

Time past quickly and it was time to bus to our Boeing 757 at a remote gate. Unfortunately two other flights were boarding from the same cramped area and staff had to stagger it a little to avoid people getting on the wrong buses and hence the wrong flights.

This 757 had the same blue light decor as the one I took from Hong Kong. But it had newer seats (not just seat covers) and were equipped with personal TV. The 55 minute flight was only 30 minutes in the air. It was rather quiet by the engine whereas the last two 757 flights this trip were rather noisy by the emergency exit slightly forward.

We landed with the dim blue cabin lights on. I always thought it was a requirement to have the lights off during night takeoff/landing … or perhaps just on low is fine? I was out within a couple of minutes as there were no queue for passport control, and I had no luggage to wait for.

The hostel’s taxi driver was slightly late. Another taxi driver rang the hostel. The hostel asked him to tell me to continue waiting but he told me that the hostel said to go with him. Fortunately I didn’t believe him and managed to confirm with the hostel once I got myself on Wifi via WhatsApp.

The ride to the hostel was quick even though the airport was about 30km out. I arrived  around 2000, which is the roughly the time I would have arrived if I had come by bus from Almaty (ie. fly from Dushanbe to Almaty, then taxi to town to catch a bus across the border).  But I decided that it would be less hassle flying since I was at the airport already.  As it turned out, I think it was a good choice as there were issues with the border during the surrounding few days.

I was given a nice big room, bigger than many hotel rooms. Big bathroom too! The receptionist did try to sell me tours in the days before my arrival and also when I was checking in; but they were very nice about it.

I popped out to the adjoining restaurant (which also adjoined the city’s Western Bus Station) for dinner before going to the supermarket for some water and a few items. Three “stans” in one day … Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan via Kazakhstan briefly.