27 April in Dushanbe again

Hello all! Up at 5:00 this morning to leave Nina's at 5:45. Her house is literally a 10-minute walk from the airport. Got there to find the flight'd been delayed for an hour. Lovely, thanks for making up your minds at the last minute. So the tires on Tajik Air are NOT bald, I can report, just a little...um, uneven in tread. I made sure to get a window seat and snapped lots of pictures of the gorgeous snow-covered mountains...probably just under 10,000 ft. but I'll have to check. Apparently the tallest ones are in SE Tajikistan, near Kyrgyzstan/China/Afghanistan. Got in at 9:00, Malik The Great met me and hauled the heavy suitcase to the car. To Michelle's for a blessed shower--aaah!--and off touring with Malik. Dushanbe from the air is big. In the city center, I get a totally different feel, as of a very small, contained capital city. As I've said in other posts, my first impressions are just those, and often reformulated with more exposure. Duh. (If only I could remember this more in my regular life!) So Malik and I went to the national museum, which takes up 3 floors of a long building. It's part natural history, modern art, Tajik history, and agrobusiness. It's really interesting. I wish they'd had a bookstore. Then to the very cool indeed Botanical Gardens. I don't know why, but I always think those are going to be boring, and they rarely are. This one has lots of walking paths and a dozen (?) open pavilions made of gorgeous carved wood. They're not small, and they're a perfect retreat from the broiling sun. It is HOT in Dushanbe, and it's only April. The women seemed to have switched to their summer outfits, matching pants and an overdress, usually in a bright pattern, often with high heels. And the men are still in slacks and leather shoes, although some have changed over to cream-colored leather. I have been noticing the decorative range of men's shoes here...quite something. I think American men would look pretty snappy in leather shoes, fewer tennis shoes. But I wonder how I'll feel in a week or so.
I saw schoolboys walking home today, and some of them still had their navy blazers on. Wow, that's discipline.

Malik and I stopped for tea (and ice cream...a bizarre flavor, the only kind this place makes, and they're famous for it) before meeting up with Michelle. She and I did some shopping, lots of walking, then met two of her colleagues for dinner. We're both stuffed and exhausted now, back at her place. What a wonderful and generous woman. She is offering me Tajik outfits, but I'm too spent to take on more luggage weight. Turkish Air's website was tough to decode. The charges tomorrow will be a surprise!