changes

I am in Dushanbe again, and many changes are taking place. They have built a new presidential palace, on the tail end of the new park. There is a nice, new roard leading to Vorzob in the mountains outside of Dushanbe, where the Tajik president hosted the meeting 10-15 days ago with all the presidents of Central Asia, Medvedev, and China. They built these beautiful chalet-like houses, each with a different theme, and this glorious huge conference hall.

Manwhile, the water and power go on and off for ordinary people all the time.

Meanwhile, informal payment, corruption, and poverty is rampant. 

I'm fearing a cult of personality thing is starting to happen in Tajikistan. The president's portrait is suddenly appearing everywhere (not just hanging on certain buildings, but also in people's offices) and he has changed the constitution to stay president for the next 15 years or so. Not a good sign.