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A serp2000: Being in Tajikistan	Wandering_Dan	::	2009-01-04 22:18
Privet, Serghei - Jean and I were on a 3-week trip to Central Asia; we went as a group of 16, which is not what I prefer to do, but it worked out fine, and there are places (like Turkmenistan) where you cannot get in without a licensed guide. We were only in Tajikistan for a few hours, to see the ruins at Panjikent and the modern town nearby (same name); we spent about half the trip in Uzbekistan. See the travelogue I set up. One of the weirder experiences of the trip was at the Tajik border. We were waiting for our guide to fill out some paperwork to get us back into Uzbekistan. There was this Tajik flag flapping in a stiff wind, and I really wanted a picture of it - but of course you're not allowed to take pictures at border posts. However, I knew just enough Russian to be able to ask the guard if I could take a photo of that flag. He agreed, and I got out my camera. When the rest of the group saw me, they shouted that it was forbidden, but I told them I'd asked the guard - so they all got out their cameras to take the same photo. Then the guard came out of his trailer, grabbed another guard, and came over to me. And they both demanded of me - in Russian - that I should tell them who was going to win the American presidential election. (This was at the end of October.) I told them Obama, of course, and they could not quite believe we would elect a Black man. (I found out later that чёрные can be a pejorative in that part of the world.) We had a great time. Best, Dan			TajikistanTajikistan A Peanut Vendor Wandering_Dan (3265)
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Enchaînement de réflexions	Nom d'utilisateur		Date
A serp2000: Being in Tajikistan	Wandering_Dan (3265)	::	2009-01-04 22:18
:Re: To serp2000: Being in Tajikistan	serp2000 (9637)	::	2009-01-07 06:47

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