Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are both paranoid police states, and they don't like each other. A sizeable Uzbek minority lives across the border, and the Turkmenistan government is perennially worried about uprisings.
As a result, the border is heavily fortified, even compared with others we have crossed. The Uzbek exit post was relatively straightforward with none of the problems we had heard of travelers being shaken down for bribes. But then we needed to cross the no-man's land, a strip of fenced-off desert about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) wide with land that is left empty on each side of the real border line. Especially on the Turkmenistan side, the road is lined with barbed-wire fence and the surrounding land is probably mined. With trucks backed up the whole way across this area, we had no choice but to walk, fortunately a pleasant day on a cool autumn morning.
A picture of the smiling face of President Berdymukhamedov greeted us above the Turkmenistan border station. A former dentist, he is the second of Turkmenistan's independent presidents, the first being President Niyazov, who created such a bizarre personality cult around himself that he renamed the months after members of his family (so did Caesar Augustus, I suppose). He was the undisputed eternal ruler of Turkmenistan's new “Golden Age” until December 21, 2006, when he suddenly died of a massive heart attack. President B, as I will call him for brevity's sake, took over in a surprisingly smooth transition, and has continued most of the building spree, though toning down some of the more bizarre programs of his predecessor. So far, he has contented himself with large pictures of himself rather than gold statues.
Our guide was waiting for us at the Turkmen border station, and he helped us through the entry process. Because of the packaged tour, we were able to get our visa on arrival at the border upon payment of $65 each in US dollars. A Turkish truck driver told me his 6-mointh multiple-entry visa had cost $800.
And then we were suddenly on the road in Turkmenistan.