The last time I ran the Chicago Marathon, I passed the halfway point and angrily ripped off my timing band and turned off my Garmin watch. I slowed to a fast walk, my knees wobbling as I struggled to convince myself to keep going. I had trained well all summer for my fourth marathon and …
Why Traveling Through Central Asia is Like Running a Marathon Read More »
I was nearly giddy as my taxi pulled up in front of the Hotel Uzbekistan in Tashkent. After a month of homestays and shabby hotels in Tajikistan, I was staring at a real hotel again. A hotel with a bright, shiny lobby and air conditioning. A hotel with a concierge, 24 hour café and souvenir …
I resisted the urge to turn around and smile. But I couldn’t help smiling to myself as the Uzbek immigration officer moved a metal barrier aside and ushered me past the dozens of Tajik women who had tried so hard to keep me from the front of the immigration line. And I smiled again when …
Upon arriving in Baku, Azerbaijan, my first mission was seemingly simple: head to the embassies of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to apply for my visas to both countries. Easy, right? Not so much. Both embassies are located outside of the center of the city, off the Badamdar Highway. The addresses themselves were weird, with …