1. DCM DOUG ARCHARD AND MILREP COL LARRY LAMBORN DROVE TO TASHKENT FROM ASHGABAT TO MEET WITH COUNTERPARTS AND GAIN FAMILIARIZATION WITH THE AREA ENROUTE. FOLLOWING IS A SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS OF THE ROUTE ITSELF, TRUCK TRAFFIC, CROPS, POLICE AND SECURITY CHECKPOINTS, AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST.
2. EMBOFFS PROCEEDED BY THE MOST DIRECT ROUTE TO TASHKENT. ON THE TURKMEN SIDE THE ROUTE PASSES THROUGH TEDZHEN AND MARY TO CHARDZHOU. IN UZBEKISTAN THE ROAD PASSES THROUGH BUKHARA AND SAMARKAND TO TASHKENT. BY THIRD WORLD STANDARDS, THE ROAD IS ABOUT AVERAGE. IN PLACES, NOTABLY BETWEEN TASHKENT AND SAMARKAND, THE ROAD IS QUITE GOOD AND RELATIVELY FREE OF POTHOLES AND RIDGES. IN OTHER PLACES, FOR EXAMPLE, BETWEEN BUKHARA AND SAMARKAND ON THE M-37, THE ROAD IS BUMPY AND ROUGH. MUCH OF THE ROUTE IS FOUR LANES, THOUGH IN PLACES THE ROAD NARROWS TO TWO LANES. THERE ARE ROAD SIGNS, BUT THEY ARE NOT AS WIDESPREAD AS AN UNFAMILIAR MOTORIST MIGHT WISH. GENERALLY, SPEEDS OF 50-60 MPH ARE SAFE AND AT LEAST MINIMALLY COMFORTABLE. THERE IS NOT A GREAT DEAL OF TRAFFIC ON THE ROADS, EXCEPT IN AND NEAR CITIES. ROADMAPS ARE AVAILABLE, BUT NOT COMMON.
3. PERHAPS THE GREATEST NATURAL OBSTACLE ALONG THE WAY IS THE LABYRINTHINE APPROACH THROUGH CHARDZHOU TO THE GREAT FLOAT BRIDGE ACROSS THE AMU DARYA. IT IS VERY POORLY MARKED, AND REQUIRED EMBOFFS TO SEEK FREQUENT GUIDANCE FROM LOCAL RESIDENTS. THE BRIDGE IS A CONNECTION OF LARGE METAL PONTOONS CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING HEAVY TRUCKS. WE OBSERVED QUEUES OF TRUCKS AT EITHER END OF THE FLOAT BRIDGE SEEKING CLEARANCE TO CROSS. CHARDZHOU ALSO PROVIDES A NUMBER OF TRUCK PARKS FOR THE LONG-DISTANCE HAULERS.
4. EMBOFFS OBSERVED SEVERAL HUNDRED TURKISH AND IRANIAN TRUCKS BETWEEN ASHGABAT AND TASHKENT. THE MIX WAS PERHAPS 60& TURKISH AND 40& IRANIAN. SOME IRANIAN TRUCKS MAY CROSS INTO TURKMENISTAN FROM IRAN AT SARAKHS, BUT WE BELIEVE THAT MANY IF NOT MOST ENTER NEAR ASHGABAT. THE IRANIAN TRUCKS CONSISTED PRIMARILY OF VOLVO, SCANIA, IVECO, AND OLDER MERCEDES-BENZ TRUCKS, BUT THERE WERE CONSIDERABLE NUMBERS (SAY, 20&) OF U.S.-BUILT WHITE AND MACK TRUCKS, AND AN OCCASIONAL DAF TRUCK. MANY OF THE TRUCKS, INCLUDING THOSE OF U.S. MANUFACTURE, LOOKED FAIRLY NEW. ABOUT 80& WERE SEMI- TRAILERS; THE REST WERE MORE TRADITIONAL-LOOKING THREE AXLE TRUCKS. THE IRANIAN TRUCKS VERY OFTEN CARRIED ISLAMIC LOGOS AND PERSIAN LETTERING. ABOUT ONE IN FIVE IRANIAN TRUCKS CARRIED CONTAINERS, AND EMBOFFS NOTED GENSTAR AND OTHER AMERICAN CONTAINERS AMONG THEM. TRUCKS GENERALLY MOVE IN SMALL CONVOYS OF THREE TO SIX VEHICLES. EMBOFFS SPOKE WITH A TURKISH TRUCKER WHO SAID THAT THE TRIP BETWEEN ISTANBUL AND TASHKENT USUALLY TAKES TEN DAYS. HE WAS CARRYING DETERGENTS. OUR IMPRESSION IS THAT MOST TRUCKS CARRIED CONSUMER GOODS. WE SAW NO HEAVY MACHINERY OR CARGO, AND ONLY ONE IRANIAN AND THREE TURKISH CAR CARRIERS.
5. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN CROPS ON THE TURKMEN AND UZBEK SIDES WAS STRIKING. EMBOFFS STOPPED TO SAMPLE WHEAT IN TURKMENISTAN AND FOUND IT DRY AND PUNY; THE FIELDS OFTEN WERE PATCHY OR FILLED WITH A TOUGH GRASSY WEED. IN UZBEKISTAN, EMBOFFS PASSED FIELD AFTER FIELD OF BEAUTIFUL WHEAT READY FOR HARVEST. IN ADDITION, THE UZBEK SIDE APPEARED TO HAVE MUCH MORE COTTON AND FRUIT THAN TURKMENISTAN. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TWO SHORT PATCHES OF DESERT, THE ENTIRE ROUTE FROM THE UZBEK FRONTIER TO TASHKENT WAS A GARDEN. THE UZBEKS CULTIVATED FIELDS AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE FROM THE ROAD, AND THERE WAS LITTLE WASTAGE OF CUL TIVABLE LAND. ON THE TURKMEN SIDE, ONLY THE TWO OASES OF MARY AND TEDZHEN WERE HEAVILY PLANTED. THE KARAKUM DESERT, OF COURSE, WAS BARE. HOWEVER, THE SEMI-ARID STRIP FROM TEDZHEN TO ASHGABAT WAS ONLY PARTIALLY PRODUCTIVE. ON THE RETURN TRIP, EMBOFFS OBSERVED HARVESTING UNDERWAY IN BOTH COUNTRIES. FOUR NEW CASE COMBINES WERE SEEN ON THE ROAD BETWEEN TEDZHEN AND ASHGABAT.
6. POLICE WERE OMNIPRESENT IN BOTH COUNTRIES (INDEED, THE POLICE WEAR THE SAME BADGES AND UNIFORMS IN BOTH COUNTRIES, AND CONDUCT THEMSELVES AS IF THERE HAD BEEN NO POLITICAL CHANGE SINCE 1991.) EMBOFFS WERE STOPPED AT A BORDER GUARD POST NORTH OF TEDZHEN (COMING AND GOING), AT THE UZBEK FRONTIER, AND FOR SHORT PERIODS BY POLICEMEN WAVING THEIR BATONS AT THE CURIOUS FOREIGN VEHICLE PASSING BY. IN MOST CASES, A CHEERY "SALAAM ALEIKUM" WAS SUFFICIENT TO STIR A GOOD RESPONSE FROM THE POLICE, WHO CUSTOMARILY SHOOK HANDS WITH EMBOFFS. THEY CHECKED THE PASSPORTS AND THEN WAVED US ON. AT THE UZBEK BORDER, HOWEVER, THERE WAS A FIFTEEN TO TWENTY MINUTE DELAY (BOTH ARRIVING AND DEPARTING) AS OUR PASSPORTS WERE TAKEN INTO THE CENTRAL BUILDING AND LABORIOUSLY STUDIED. THE DATA WAS COPIED BY HAND INTO A LARGE LEDGER. (THERE WAS LITTLE FORMALITY, HOWEVER, ON THE TURKMEN SIDE OF THE BORDER. THEY SIMPLY CHECKED THE PASSPORTS AND THEN WAVED US THROUGH.)
7. FUEL PRESENTED FEW PROBLEMS. THE DCM'S VEHICLE, A TOYOTA HI-LUX, USES DIESEL. EMBOFFS QUICKLY DISCOVERED THAT DIESEL IS THE FUEL OF CHOICE FOR EMBASSY VEHICLES. AT THE GREAT MAJORITY OF PUMPS IN TURKMENISTAN, AND AT A FEW PUMPS IN UZBEKISTAN, THERE WERE LONG LINES OF CARS WAITING TO BUY "76" OR "93" OCTANE GASOLINE. HOWEVER, THERE WERE NO OTHER TAKERS FOR DIESEL. WE SIMPLY PULLED IN, PAID A RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICE PER LITER, AND PUMPED AS MUCH AS WE WANTED. WHILE THE LINES OF GAS-SEEKERS INCHED SLOWLY FORWARD, WE QUICKLY CLEARED THE PUMP AND RESUMED OUR TRAVELS.
8. HOTELS IN BUKHARA, SAMARKAND, AND TASHKENT WERE OF THE OLD SOVIET MODEL. RECEPTION DESKS WERE AMBIVALENT ABOUT SERVING PAYING GUESTS, DESK CLERKS INSISTED UPON RETAINING OUR PASSPORTS, AND THERE WERE DEZHURNAYAS STATIONED UPON EACH FLOOR TO ISSUE KEYS AND SUPERVISE THE GUESTS. THE HOTELS WERE ADEQUATE, BUT PLUMBING WAS SUBSTANDARD, AND WATER SUPPLIES IN BUKHARA APPEARED CONTAMINATED. EMBOFFS NOTED SULPHUR AND RUST IN THE WATER THAT WAS ONLY CONCENTRATED BY THE USE OF AN IMMERSION HEATER. ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, PRICES RANGED FROM USD 50.00 TO USD 75.00 FOR ROOMS. CREDIT CARDS WERE READILY ACCEPTED IN TASHKENT.