Day 21: 12th June, 2012 - Ashgabat to Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan

Asgabat, Turkmenistan

I woke up next morning at 7 am. Last night's sleep had been very comfortable and refreshing, a neccessity after very long drives. Everyone had to leave for work by 8 am so I took a shower and was ready by 7.30 am.Dilnar prepared a variety of items for breakfast after which Meret drove us to pick up Nazar and Bahar. Then, the first to be dropped was Bahar, Meret drove the car. Nazar and Bahar also came. The first to get down was Bahar, whose office was in a different part of the area. This area was where Meret lived and was called the White Ashgabat because all the buildings were white from the outside. I remembered cruisng through this area last night, the roads were very well lit. The next to be dropped was Nazar. As we arrived, he got the news that his new truck had got damaged on its very first drive. As we waited for Meret to wash the car, I felt bad for Nazar's lost. His Workshop was rustic; everything was make shift. I bade goodbye to Nazar and Meret drove me through a part of Ashgabet. He took me to the Indian Embassy where two staff members were from my college who were employees of the Embassy. I then met the Ambassador, Mr. Sunil Jain and he was excellent. He knew Youth hostelling and had done the Kishtwar trekking programme in 1978. He offered tea not just to me but to Meret too. He shared his experiences of trekking in parts of the Himalaya, particularly of the Rupen pass and the Kailah Mansarowar Yatra. After tea, we bade goodbyes with a warm hug and he asked me to get a picture of us clicked with the Indian Flag. He told me that he felt very inspired by me and wanted to join me in my journey. The words had a very refreshing experience on me and left a mark of their own; even Meret could not stop smiling.  He drove me to the park with statues of the National Heroes. We stopped for a while and took some pictures.

Mr. Sunil Jain, Indian Ambassador in Turkmenistan

He got a call and had to go to Turkmenabad urgently. He had spoken to Maya the women I met yesterday. She met us at Wakzol the railway station.I bade goodbye to Meret and went to the left luggage room with Maya. There she introduced me to her friend who told me that she would get my tickets. I gave her 40 mannat and followed Maya to the Railway station restaurant. After lunch, we met her friend again who gave me my tickets. After they left, I realized that I had been cheated, that the ticket cost only 15 manat. Anyhow, I decided to stay at the waiting room which was cool. At 5pm I went to the restaurant again and the cook there prepared 2 vegetable sandwiches for me. At 7 pm, I boarded the train to Turkmenbashi. My compartment was the last one and I found that a thick blanket, bedding and linen were already kept on each birth along with a pillow. I made my bed and rested for some time. The train started and we were soon pulled out of Ashgabat by the big Chinese engines.  Our train passed through Cotton, wheat, onion cultivations and grape vines. The thick bedding was comfortable and I soon went off to dreamland.

Mary, Turkmenistan