At our arrival in Dushanbe, we are surprised to see suddenly so many Islamic headscarves. In Uzbekistan there were none, it seems it’s not very well considered there (something like that), and in the North of Tajikistan, on the countryside, of course, all women have long dresses and many wear a headscarf, but tied in the neck like everywhere on earth on the countryside. Also, on the countryside, not many fast for Ramadan.

And we arrive in Dushanbe just for the festivities for the end of Ramadan. Which means that on our last day in Dushanbe almost everything is closed and we bring home barely any souvenirs … but it’s of course a great opportunity to learn a bit about the local habits and customs for this occasion. Early in the morning, plenty of kids pass by the guesthouse asking for sweets … and we laugh and think “this we know as well”. Later, we bike down Rudaki (the main avenue of the city), and we are stopped by two policemen who offer us boiled eggs and explain that this is a local habit. And then of course, everyone is dressed up, strolling along Rudaki, and particularly in the beautiful Rudaki Park. The local fast-food, desperately empty the day before, is full of youngsters coming here in groups of girls or guys for the first lunch since a month.

It’s our last day. We spend the evening in the guesthouse with all the bikers who have still many months to go, and by midnight – the pieces of cardboard we could find to kind of pack up our bikes well fixed on the panniers – we leave for the airport, where another adventure waits for us …