Centre of the Silk Road

At 10.30am on 28^th May we arrive at the border crossing into Uzbekistan.  By 1.15pm we are part way through & get out of Turkmenistan into No Man’s Land.  We drive across this barbed wired area covered by watch towers.  Coming back the other way are the European couple in their Range Rover Evoque who were ahead of us.  It seems they had not been let into Uzbekistan!

At the other end of no man’s land there are still Turkmenistan soldiers.  One boards our truck to check our passports.  He is not happy as Julies exit stamp has smudged.  Back we are sent across No Man’s Land!!!

We then have to wait until 2pm for it to be re-stamped as the border guards are now on lunch!  We start to get out our lunch tables in No Man’s Land whilst waiting – but get told we can’t.  However, that speeds up the process & soldiers take away Julie to stamp her passport before 2pm.  We drive again across No Man’s Land for a 3^rd time & are held up at the Uzbek side as they also seem to be on lunch.  However, we are allowed to have lunch on this side.  So, we have lunch in No Man’s Land.  We finally get into Uzbek at 4.45pm.  This is a record border crossing so far of 6h 15m.

We drive to a town called Khiva.  Along the way I notice cafes don’t have tables & chairs but wide square hard beds with a shallow table in the middle where people sit with their footwear off.  This becomes the norm throughout Uzbekistan.

 

 

I have $ changed into the local Uzbek Sum.  The highest value note is 1000 which is 26p.  No joke, people walk around with carrier bags of cash.  I changed $50 which gave me one hundred & twenty two notes.

 

A group meal of Plov follows, which becomes the staple diet for much of the group throughout Uzbekistan.  This is rice & mutton.

Khiva was a historic walled town.  The entire town was a museum containing minarets & madrassas.  I really felt I’d arrived on the Silk Road Route.  We had a guided walking tour (which we also did in the next two Uzbek towns).  There was a festival going on in the town where we saw goat & cock fighting (nothing too nasty, it was just a sample).

Anna in our hotel next to a cotton plant-Uzbek produces this that's why there is not Aral Sea

Our hotel

Now I am allowed to take photos of the town!

 

Thur 30^th May was a 9 hour drive through desert in 40 degree heat.  Our truck has no air-con or even curtains at the windows.  The journey was awful for me as I had sickness & diarrhoea.  I’m so glad for Imodium.  We arrived at the centre of the Silk Road, a town called Bukhara.  I bought a silk scarf from a silk weaver.

Comrade Day

The offending kebab which I think made me ill

 

 

Sat 1^st June 5h drive to a town called Samarkand.  I had yet another bout of sickness & diarrhoea.  According to Lonely Planet Samarkand has the world’s oldest Madrassas as they have not been destroyed by Genghis Khan in the 1100/1200 or destroyed by earthquakes.

I was so glad that throughout Uzbekistan we had to stay in hotels as camping was not allowed.  They were all very nice hotels.  However, the tourism here all feels very controlled.  You have to have a guide from an approved tourist agency (just like Turkmenistan & many of the other countries we will be visiting).  Maps are printed showing all the sites, but many non tourist buildings are missing.  Still, it was a nice change to be based in hotels & towns for this week in our 6 month journey.

Tue 4^th June 4h drive to the capital Tashkent.  Another former Soviet city I did not find the centre of.  Lots more posh empty buildings & many fountains.  Also, more bazaars.  Our Lonely Planet Guide was a 2007 edition.  Lots of things mentioned seemed to no longer exist.  This was the same in Turkmenistan.

More Plov

Yet more Plov.  Too much & you'll look like this bloke

 

Taskkent had an underground train network that had grand stations, but I could take no photos as they were not allowed.  The police on EVERY entrance, stairs & platforms would put a stop to that.  Uzbekistan was another police state – just like Turkmenistan.  These former Soviets are paranoid.  There are so many rules & regulations.  Everything is right or wrong, there is no in-between.

Our final afternoon in Uzbekistan was spent at the Tashkent Aqua Park.  It had been boiling all week, yet when we got out the changing room there was a storm.  Glad the water in the wave pool was warm – even though the wave machine did not work.  At least the 6 slides were working.