u/Anxious-Leadership95

Hey everyone,
We are traveling to Tajikistan next month, and we're really curious about the markets located right on the border with Afghanistan. We'd love to get some insights from anyone who has been there recently or knows the current situation on the ground.
Specifically, I have a few questions:

1. Which border markets do you actually recommend visiting?
2. Are these markets currently open to tourists? I'd love to know what's actually open right now and what is closed.
3. Are they safe to visit?

Any tips, recent experiences, or general advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

We are two travelers and photographers (around 40 years old) planning a 10-day trip to Tajikistan. We’ll be flying into Dushanbe, staying there for our first 2 days, and then heading out for a road trip across the country.

Our travel style is relatively relaxed: we are looking to travel independently by hiring a private driver with at least basic English, who can also help arrange good, clean accommodations for us along the way. We aren't looking for intense trekking—mostly just short and easy hikes. Ideally, we’d like to keep our driving time to about 2-3 hours a day, though we understand there might be a few days where longer drives are unavoidable.

We have a few questions and would love to get your advice:

• Drivers/Agencies: Do you have any recommendations for a reliable company or a specific driver for this kind of trip?
• Itinerary: Based on our preferred pace, do you have any suggested routes or must-visit places we should prioritize?
• Afghan Markets: We've heard there are some very unique Afghan markets along the border. Do you have recommendations for the best or most photogenic ones to visit along the way?
• Safety: Is it currently safe to travel along the Afghan border?
• Weather: What kind of weather should we expect around late September to early October?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Hi everyone!

We are two travelers and photographers (around 40 years old) planning a 10-day trip to Tajikistan. We’ll be flying into Dushanbe, staying there for our first 2 days, and then heading out for a road trip across the country.

Our travel style is relatively relaxed: we are looking to travel independently by hiring a private driver with at least basic English, who can also help arrange good, clean accommodations for us along the way. We aren't looking for intense trekking—mostly just short and easy hikes. Ideally, we’d like to keep our driving time to about 2-3 hours a day, though we understand there might be a few days where longer drives are unavoidable.

We have a few questions and would love to get your advice:

• Drivers/Agencies: Do you have any recommendations for a reliable company or a specific driver for this kind of trip?
• Itinerary: Based on our preferred pace, do you have any suggested routes or must-visit places we should prioritize?
• Afghan Markets: We've heard there are some very unique Afghan markets along the border. Do you have recommendations for the best or most photogenic ones to visit along the way?
• Safety: Is it currently safe to travel along the Afghan border?
• Weather: What kind of weather should we expect around late September to early October?

Thank you in advance for your help!

I’m an construction project manager, and I’m trying to use Gemini to automatically extract data from typical residential floor plans provided as PDF or JPEG files.
The drawings usually contain only a limited number of dimensions, but enough to calibrate the drawing’s scale accurately. My goal is for Gemini to identify the building outline (excluding balconies) and calculate values such as:

Gross floor area
Core area
Apartment areas
And other geometric data

So far, I haven’t managed to write a prompt that produces reliable results. I’d be happy with around 95% accuracy, but everything I’ve tried has been far from that.

Does anyone have ideas for a better prompting strategy? Has anyone successfully used Gemini for this kind of architectural plan analysis?

For example, for the attached floor plan (floor-to-floor
height = 3.15 m), I’d like the output to include the annotated floor plan on the left and a table on the right containing:
Gross floor perimeter (excluding balconies)
Total façade area (perimeter × 3.15 m)
Gross floor area
Efficiency ratio (façade area ÷ gross floor area)
Any suggestions, prompt examples, or workflows would be greatly appreciated.

The attached plan is only an example of the type of input I’m working with.

Any editing? What would you do in lightroom to improve the quality of this photos?

Hanoi

Why do we say چی بخوریم؟ instead of چی می‌خوریم؟

Is there a reason to use a subjunctive form of this verb?

I just heard someone asking her friend چی بخوریم؟.

Why is it بخوریم and not می‌خوریم?

Is there a reason to use a verb in a subjunctive form?

مرسی

I’m looking for Eurovision songs where the audience started clapping before the song had actually finished because they thought it had already ended.

I can think of Cyprus 1992, Lithuania 1999, and France 2000.

Anything else in your mind?

Hey, I just will be in Hanoi on April 30th and May 1st.

1. Any special ceremonies on these days?

2. Is everything open on these two days?

3. Street parades?

4. Any traffic to take into consideration?

5. Something interesting/unique to watch as a tourist?

Thanks!

Hey, I just will be in Hanoi on April 30th and May 1st.

1. Any special ceremonies on these days?

2. Is everything open on these two days?

3. Street parades?

4. Any traffic to take into consideration?

5. Something interesting/unique to watch as a tourist?