Sunday 9th, September 2018
4 pm
While cycling along the M41 from Jelondy going west, Pheng saw a simple blue sign saying "Petroglyphs Vibist". It was almost the end of the day so we decided to go see something touristy for once. We pushed our bikes up a sideroad hoping it's not too far away.
4:30 pm
The road took us further up and we remained clueless where the petroglyphs are. A father runs over to us, saying "it is too late now to go see it – the petroglyphs are 3km up the mountains." He was very welcoming and we asked about camping on his yard. He offered us his home, saying we are his guest.
The house was filled with everyone: grandparents, aunties, kids and visiting neighbours. Everyone was interested in our travel, so we told them our story and show them the map trail. Soon after they brought out some tea and a delicious potato dish (accompanied with bread as always).
5 pm
Soon after we were invited to see the inside of the house. We were very interested because the Pamiri people are one of the ethnic group of Tajikistan. The house is made of wood and dirt for the walls. The ceiling was architecturally beautiful.
7 pm
We settled down after tea and watched some television with the kids. The dad brought in a few English textbook and we helped him work through his book. The boys had some practice too.
8 pm
On the TV we saw a big concert featuring lots of Tajik artists and traditional costumes. The special concert was for Tajikistan's 27th year of independence. We watched most of it and it featured the president quite often. It certainly had a big budget, perhaps almost as big as an Olympic opening ceremony.
Monday 10th, September 2018
8:30 am
After a nice salted tea and bread breakfast, we set off with the father and his oldest son. The track was a steep climb alongside the river climbing over rocks. We didn't bring water or food because we weren't sure how far or high it would be. Both of us were absolutely unprepared for this hike. Luckily they packed a large bread and we would occasionally drink from the river.
9:30 am
We see our first petroglyph. It was a big black rock with stick figures, letters and shapes. We could tell it was old from its faded yellow colour. Newly etched ones were whiter and had Cyrillic letters. We walked a bit further and found a treasure trove of them. Our cameras started going to work!
Our local friend made this when he got married back in 1995, now they have 3 kids
10:30 pm
After an hour enjoying the petroglyphs we went back down. But there was more! We walked into a snow cave that was carved by the river. It was chilly but pretty impressive.
12 pm
We arrived back home, tired as ever. The family gave us a delicious lunch and we rested inside for the rest of the afternoon.
What an experience we'll never forget. And to think it all started with that little blue sign.
Next day...
We left soon after breakfast and everybody was there to say goodbye. We took plenty of photos and promised to post some back. The raincoats we got from New Zealand which wasn't being used anymore finally got passed on to the father. He really appreciated the gift.
Taken directly from our personal blog https://pedallingcontinents.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/lets-go-see-the-petroglyphs/