Tashkent - no internet on Independence day

Day 32 325 km ( 10554 km total)

 

A relatively short & easy ride today north to the capital city of Uzbekistan. Some news from Alan & a possible route change.

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I got news from Alan in the morning that he was in Shymkent & desperately needed new tyres, so was going to look there or Bishkek as there was some doubt overvthe set he had orderd in Almaty. Alan has crossed the Caspian sea by ferry rather than riding around and skipped Khiva & Bukhara so was now about a day ahead. All this meant it was probably not going to be feasible to meet up in Almaty. In addition as Russ & I already had our tyres, there was'nt any great need to go there any more.... Possible route change, but we decided to wait & see how Alan got on during the day and make a call in the evening when we got to Tashkent.

 

So Off back onto the Uzbek roads

 

After the delights of Khiva, Bukhara & Samarkand I was finding it hard to get enthusiastic about the surroundings, it just seemed more of the same as I searched around for something inspiring to photo or write about.

I even resorted to taking pictires of place names, when I found them more unusual than normal ...

The road at one point carved its way up through some low mountains

 

 

And on the plateau on the top there were lots of lovals selling fresh honey

 

And later roadworks forced us into a contraflow on the other side .... But this clealy gave more room for the goat herds

 

Quite bleak up here

 

The donkey's sure have to work hard

And horses, though I didnt see many of those

Donkey again - what happened to all the camels?

And again ...

Looks like this guy has to pull his own cart, oh no there's a donkey hiding in the background

 

 

This baby didnt want to wave, so his mum & grandmum made him!

 

'And another donkey please Rachel' .... Oops I drifted into an episode of countdown!

 

All Donkey'd out and in danger of arriving too early, we stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe with a water wheel

 

The usual Shashlik, bread tomato & onions ... But they were able to come up with some very nice tea too for a change.

 

Then it was on through the outskirts of Tashkent

And into the city ... No old silk road forts here .. Tashkent is home to about 2.3million people, and it felt strange riding through miles of inner city roads.

 

Accommodtion for the night looked very promising at first, a little boutique hotel with a small garden & swimming pool. But then we discovered the wifi wasnt working (because it was independance day!) and the pool was dirty, the restaurant was closed and there was no beer ... So it became coke o'clock & commincations by satellite tracker only.

 

I went out cor a walk to try and find a local eatery, but ther was none - lucky we had eaten a big lunch.

When I got back to the hotel, however I was joined by 6 Uzbek men who were living & working in Kazakgstan but were back in Uzbeck for a holiday and in a party mood. They had beer (good) parts of a dead sheep (not so good) and Vodka (oh dear!)

After a couple of beers, nibbles at the various sheep body parts & braving two rather large shots of vodka, I beat a quiet retreat as they started to order in local women for the night. Friendly guys though, they offered to share these too - time to leave!

No wifi, meant no messages received from Alan - so we decided to move onto Shymkent in the morning in Kazakhstan & try to reccomect with him.

 

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.

 

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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.

And onto Bukhara

Day 30 452 km (9948 km total)

 

Another fine Silk Road City, and another hard ride to it.

 

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Not long after leaving Khiva we were stopped at one of the many checkpoints. Out with the oassport & vehicle registration documents, it all gats copied by hand into a log book. Then they want to ask about the bikes, here them revved etc etc. its all friendly emough but wastes a lot of time.

 

On our way again, but soon after another stop point. This one was more unusual.

There was a long bridge to cross a tiver, butbthe bridge was shared by the riad & a railway line. So we had to queue about half an hour to wait for the train to come over before they would let the cars.

And then it was onto open road again, not a very good road at first.

This bit looked like a canyon, but its just where they had cut through the sand to keep the road level.

 

 

Every so often there would be a river or some other body of water, which immeditely made things greener & logically tended to be where the settlements were.

 

Then we rached a new section of road, which is both good & bad. These road construction projects are massive in scale and bypass any signs of habitation. That means they are largely empty, have no fuel, food or water stops - but at least your average speed can increase.

Until you reach a bit they havnt finished yet anyway!

 

Saw a tell-tale 5 litre plastic container with brown liquid in at the side of the road, near an old shack. This signifies black market fuel for sale, so stopped & bought 15 litres each. The guy has it buried in a hole nearby covered in rocks.

And off again, as we neared Bukhara, the greenery arrived

 

And landscaping ...

 

And arrived at my hotel for the night. A really lovely spot the Chor Minor. Fantastically decorated rooms, a hugely friendly owner Mr Sultan, who spoke no English but more than made up for it with handshakes & enthusiasm. He also prepared for me a freash malon & cup of green tea on arrival - lovely.

A quick shower & change then I shot out to some of see the sights, before the light went. Bukhara & Khiva are both places I had delibertely diverted from the shortest route to see & really glad I did. They both warrant a longer stay, but unfortunately I dont have the time in this trip.

 

Wikipedia say's of Bukhara ...

 

The history of Bukhara stretches back millennia. It is now the capital of Bukhara Region of Uzbekistan. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the golden age of the Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosques and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites.

Bukhara has been one of the main centres of world civilisation from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was a part of the Persian Empire for a long time. The origin of many of its current inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.

And here are some of the sights within a 30 minute walk of the hotel.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow its back on the silk road & off to Samarkand, which I think is more of a commercial hub. Rumour has it the fuel situation should start to improve as we head into the more populated reas too.