Border Shakedown at Tajikistan

Tajikistan -- Border Shakedown and Balloon Animal Zoo

Having just endured a brief encounter with an AK-47 toting soldier at the Tajik-Afghan border (our guidebook neglected to mention that the 2500 year-old fort we hoped to visit also served as a heavily-guarded military border post), we were ready to stop for the night.

Seeking an authentic Pamir Mountain experience, we inquired at the only store in town about a place to sleep. The shopkeeper, a middle-aged Pamiri woman with a kind smile and a brightly colored headscarf, invited us to her home to stay the night with her and her six children.

Our fellow travelers had packed an animal balloon kit. After our requisite Tajik and Pamiri language lessons from the children (the only word we all learned to say was "watermelon"), a competition ensued as to who could bend and twist the best balloon dogs, bears and swans. The elevated floor of traditional Pamiri house was soon covered with a rainbow of animals whose shapes didn’t at all resemble those in the instructions.

Although the balloons barely approximated animals, the children gazed, tugged and twisted their newly acquired toys in engaged perplexity. To amuse the children even more, our instincts drove us all to make animal noises and play charades. Everyone enjoyed a good laugh.

It didn't matter that we didn’t share their language; we all had a great time creating a cultural exchange of our own. While we won’t forget any time soon having an AK-47 pointed at us, we’ll remember our time making dog noises with these children much longer.

Georgia -- Beware of the Hospitality

Our guidebook assured us that a shared taxi ride from Zugdidi to Mestia (the regional capital of Georgia’s Caucasus Mountain region) would take only five hours. What its writers apparently didn’t take into account were the requisite hospitality stops for free food and drink along the way.

Although the folks from Svaneti possess a tough exterior and have a reputation of driving away outsiders, they seem to yield pretty easily. Take, for example, the two families piled into our Soviet jeep. They were a quiet group until the first breakfast stop, which included khajapuri (cheese-stuffed bread), kubdari (meat and onion stuffed bread), and four rounds of rachi, the local moonshine.

As we crept further up into the mountains and dropped off passengers, we were invited for more khajapuri and some variant of alcohol, including fresh Svanetian berry wine. With five to six people at each gathering, toasts became progressively longer and more poetic.

Nine hours later we rolled into Mestia. Though we were four hours late, we were well fed and well introduced to the culture and hospitality of a region of Georgia that until recently had been considered dangerous and off-limits. The only danger we encountered during our week there was to our livers and stomachs.

When it comes to planning transport, accommodation and eating, sometimes it's just better to throw out expectations -- and the guidebook -- and just go with the flow. The unexpected will likely be the most memorable.

Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott are two curious Americans making their way around the world, exploring photography, food and personal growth through travel. You can find out where they are and what they have been up to recently at www.uncorneredmarket.com.