To Samarkand

Day 31 286km ( 10229 km total)

 

About half way in distance now, 31 days on the road and 14 borders crossed. Oh for being with my family, sleeping in my own bed, walking the dog and vegetables with my meal ;-) ... Ah well its all downhill now as they say.

 

- - -

 

A lovely breakfast at the Chor Minor this morning.

And then to make the start of the day even more pleasant, a chat with the delightful Dilnoza whilst I packed my bike.

 

Then with a cheery farewell to the ever enthusiastic Mr Sultan I was off again, ti find Russ, who has stayed somewhere else. That done we hit the road, found some fuel and headed towards Samarkand.

 

Decent roads today and little natural scenery, so I took a few snaps of other road users. Donkey & cart.

Donkey & man

Lady in red dress

 

Tractor

 

 

Lorry load of sticks

oh yes & this is the Uzbek version of a contraflow

 

Definately a lot more water here in eastern Uzbekistan, plantations abound & fruit & veg being sold by the road side

A relatively short 4 hour trip today, so soon hit the outskitprts of Samakand

And into the town

Tonights accommodation at the Hotel Lux was a real disappointment, from the 'cant be bothered' guy on reception, to the broken shower lack of hot water, brown wallpaper, carpets, sheets & curtains & wifi that only woks in the mornings! Still its only $20 & one night (same price as last night's though which was lovely)

 

Quick whizz around Samarkand. It had some nice sights, but didnt have the same feeling as Khiva or Bukhara. Maybe I've just seen too much now as wikipedia says ..

 

Along with Bukhara, Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and the Mediterranean (Silk Road). At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of Central Asia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tashkent tomorrow mear the border with Kazakhstan.