Leg 28: UTDD (Dushanbe, Tajikistan) to UAFM (Manas, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)

Date: 24 June, 2004
Time: 11.20 - 1.19pm
Distance: 391.9nm

So this past few trips we've been travelling throughout central Asia; today we're going to Tajikistan, yet another former member of the USSR. And we have a new plane! I've been using the default Beechcraft King Air 350, and now we're now going to use a slightly smaller plane, but constructed with more detail, the King Air B200 from FSS/Aeroworx with a United Nations livery.

And the way to pronounce today's destination is not easy (as I've only just realised) because there is no vowel in the first part of the word. (pr. kergiSTAN)

Taking off Tajiskistan. I'm expecting mountains and deserts to greet us again today.

I'm reading Kyrgyzstan's entry in the CIA World Factbook, and it starts off with an introduction quite unlike those for other countries or the usual way a spy agency would speak of a country. "A Central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions..."

Landing at Bishkek... I think what the CIA writer might have experienced was probably the kind that greeted me at the airport. One side of it is a long range of mountains, it is indeed very pretty...

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