Took bus 83 to the terminal and got on the 7.20am bus (8000 Iranian Rials~USD0.80) to Qujan. Arrived at Qujan at around 10am and then took another cab (6000 Iranian Rials) to a different terminal for shared taxi. From Qujan to Bajiran, it’s around 75km on mountain road.

Got to the Iranian border at 11am and then crossed to the Turkmenistan side.

There is an entry tax of USD$12 at the Turkmenistan side. I heard some bad stories about the border gurads in Turkmenistan but the border guards seem quite polite. Spoke with a soldier and he is just 19 years old. Every Turkmen male has to join the military for 2 years after high school. After spot checking my belongings, there’s an official van that took us down the mountain. I think it’s around 20km to the foot of the mountain.

I heard from some travellers before that the ride should be free but the driver will ask for $15-$20 from passengers. True enough, the driver wanted $15 from me. I think that’s just a bribe because I didn’t see the locals paying anything. I tried walking away but the driver tried to grab me. I managed to free myself, walked some distance on the highway

and hitch hike to the city, Ashgabat.

The time here in Ashgabat is 1.5 hours faster the time in Iran. Met a Turkmenistan guy at the bus station and he wanted to help me find my way around. Like in Iran, the money changer just want brand new USD notes. Since my notes are a little crumble, they gave me a bad exchange rate. Spent 3 hours walking around the city to find a budget hotel. All hotels are more expensive than stated in lonely planet. Locals pay much less than foreigners for hotels. Finally got to a Avanov homestay, after haggling, the owner aggreed at 20 New Manat, around USD$7. (1USD~2.85 New manat ~14,000 Old Manat).

Russian Bazaar

Night View

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