Home » Turkmenistan » Turkmenistan

This is a report of a solo-trip to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, undertaken during July/August 1994.

Turkmenistan

Pierre.Flener
2004-04-03 19:02:45

Displayed times (last time: )

purchase a "VIP" ticket, and check in on the next flight. Boarding is the expected fun, due to a complete lack of discipline and the absence of seating assignments: everybody is holding seats for some cousin, who is actually holding a seat for them in the other half of the cabin. The stewardesses give no safety instructions as we roll to the runway, and I am the only one to fasten his seat-belt. It's a no-frills flight (just a glass of water), and as far as I am concerned, we could just as well have flown over the moon, the desert being indeed a most desolate place.

Unboarding and checking out in Ashkhabad is a matter of a few minutes, this being a domestic flight. It then takes me a long time to haggle a taxi-driver down to a still shameful $4 so that he drive me around until I have found a place to stay. Ashkhabad is very widespread, and one of the hottest towns on Earth. My first attempt is at Hotel Jubilienaya (two-star), which is, at $10, the cheapest place in town according to my October 1993 guidebook. The only alternative is the Intourist joint Hotel Ashkhabad (also two-star), which is already known to be one of the biggest rip-offs this side of the universe. The taxi-driver eyes me and my backpack suspiciously as I motion him to the former hotel, and I'm soon to find out why: over the last few months, the management has single-handedly multiplied their price for foreigners by twelve! "What?!" I croak, "You said $120? Dollars?" The receptionist actually manages to say yes without blushing. This is nothing else but twice the average yearly income of Turkmens! I'd die to see the reaction of a Turkmen/Uzbek in my country when the receptionist says that, s/he not being a citizen of the European Union, s/he would have to pay $60,000 for a night, in a two-star hotel! My reaction is probably equally priceless, because I am literally fighting for air. Some countries are obviously not ready yet for ...