Time to leave Turkmenistan

To leave the country, there are three options:

- Drive back from Dashoguz to Ashgabat on the same route, but in reverse. Another 8 hours on dirt roads? No thanks!
- Fly from Ashgabat Airport, which, like all the city’s buildings, is extremely beautiful. We decided against it because the national airline was on the European blacklist until a few years ago due to safety standards falling below international requirements.
- The last option is the overnight train that runs alongside the desert road. It departs from Ashgabat at night and arrives in Dashoguz around 8 a.m. We chose this option.

My travel companion said the train moved a lot and was extremely noisy.
I, after having a decent pizza offered by our guide, slept soundly, exhausted from three days of adventure in the strangest country in the world.Read more