ashgabat through my sweat-streaked lens: white marble and desert vibes
man, ashgabat's messing with my head. arrived yesterday and my weather app’s screaming 9 degrees Celsius but DRY AS BONE DUST - humidity at 55% feels like walking through sandpaper air. hope you dig that desert crispness, ‘cause your skin’s gonna know it. trying to shoot this crazy marble jungle before noon light turns everything into a blinding nightmare reflector. seriously, every damn building looks dipped in bleached sugar cubes. stumbled across the Neutrality Arch at sunrise - someone told me the elevators inside give surreal city views but they weren’t running (shocker). grabbed trash coffee from a street cart that tasted like asphalt, but caffeine's caffeine when you've got dawn light to chase.
heard gossip that the Akhal-Teke oasis farms south of town grow mutant-sized melons, but all i’ve seen is dust and Soviet-block toughness vibes. locals? reserved as hell - this ain't a place for street portraits unless you wanna get yelled at by cops. and earthquakes? yeah, the 1948 wreckage still whispers underfoot - trippy shooting knowing the ground could shimmy. if you get antsy (and have a visa), apparently Mashhad over the Iranian border does killer kebabs according to TripAdvisor reviews, but good luck navigating that bureaucracy.
been hunting textures: cracked earth against marble walls, rusted pipes near glittering fountains. golden hour? king here. sunset bleeds pink over the Kopet-Dag range and that reservoir glows like mercury. pack lenses wipes - karakum sneaks into every crevice. desperately searching for authentic plov tonight; Lonely Planet’s guide is basically scripture in this info-blackhole country. shoot me recs if you’ve got ‘em.
oh, and that Guinness record for most marble-clad buildings? legit feels like an infinite bleached labyrinth. almost missed my bus back because every corner looks identical. catch sunset at the Arch - trust anonymous Reddit threads on that.
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