Samarkand to Tajikistan

I was very excited to be in Samarkand. It's the city I was looking forward to visiting most on the trip. The buildings sounded amazing and the history as a major trading city on the Silk Road makes it sound so special. I wasn't dissapointed! The hostel was full of other travellers including Damian and John, I'd met in Bukhara and Marc and Camille again. Was great to see them and we had a few days to wait over the weekend until my package arrived. There were about 12 other cyclsists there, Samarkand is on everybody's route through Central Asia.Over the weekend we visited most of the sights. The Registan with it's huge medrassas and tilting minarets, a huge mosque, the tomb of Timur and an avenue of tombs with amazing mosiac tiles.

One night we bribed the gaurd to let us up one of the minarets in the Registan at sunset. It was an amazing climb up a spiral staircase in the dark and then there was only room for us to poke our heads out the top one at a time for an incredible view over the ancent city. I read a poem in the lonely planet guide which really captured the moment and the jourey so far. Apologies - I'm not usually into poetry but this one was perfect for that moment!

"We do not travel for traffiking alone
By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned
For lust of knowing what should not be known
We take the Golden Road to Samarkand"

My parcel finally arrived on Tuesday and Paul and me planned to leave the next day. I got stung by a bee and my arm swelled up and was very painful especially when I cycled over bumps in the road. We had a goodbye meal with Marc and Camille and a Swiss couple and left early the next day with a Portuguese couple who were also on the way to the Pamir highway.

The ride out of Samarkand was beautiful, quickly the road started climbing up a moutnain road with small villiages and people everywhere. We stopped at a shop and bought eggs to cook for lunch then slept for a couple of hours during the hottest part of the day. Over the top of the pass, the road was amazing, looking down we could see it snaking its way down to a plain to the cirty of Shahrisabz, Timur's birthplace. Paul and me stopped for a Chai before riding down to the city where we arrived at dusk. We were offered a place to sleep by an old man who we followed on our bikes to his beautiful house. They grew all their vegetables in the garden and had a cow for milk. His wife quickly made us some food although we'd already eaten and we slept outside under grape vines.

After an early breakfast we went to Timur's tomb, which was built for him but he wasn't buried in it because the mountian pass was covered in snow when he died so he was buried in Samarkand instead. There was an amnazing mosque and ruined palace with the same architecture as Samarkand, but unrestored. We headed out of the city across the plain and again slept through the hottest part of the day. The next couple of days were great. We didn't cover much distance but ate lots of food and drank huge amounts of Chai! One night we stayed in the garden of a Chaihana, and the next in a farmers field. All the time people offered us food and one even gave us money despite our protests. On the last full day in Uzbekistan we crossed an amazing desert near Boysun, with rock formations, canyons and huge mountains. It was a tough day with lots of climbing but 100km later we arrived at the farm, having been given 3 melons, 6,000 sum (about 3 dollars) and some bread.

The next day we set off at about 5 and passed the city of Denov, a bustling market town which was infuriating. I looked after the bikes while Paul went to get his passport copied for his Kyrgyzstan visa which he needed to get in Dushanbe tomorrow. Within 5 minuted I was surrounded by a crowd of about 200. It was unbelievable. They were all over the road and the cars couldn't get past. They just stared at me until some policemen came and moved them away. It was only so they could have a look at the tourist though! Not many cyclists pass this way because most cross the border between Samarkand and Penjikent. It's closed at the moment though so we had to detour this way.

After this unpleasent experience we escaped from the city and got to a Chaihana 10 km from the Tajik border. My love of Uzbekistan was restored when we were invited over by 3 old men who bought us a huge lunch and tried to give us vodka although we resisted!

10 km later we were at the border and crossed it easily, with no fine for our lack of registration papers.

Uzbekistan was an amazing experience. Infuriating at times but on the whole great. Lovely people, amazing cities, desert, mountains, good cycling company, visa sucess and unbeatable hospitality (unless you go to Georgia!). The downside was intrusive staring, being treated like an attraction rather than a person, unbelievably bad driving, bad food, terrible heat and illness. That's travel though and the good definately outweighed the bad!

Tashkent - The visa nightmare stage 2!

Everything went to plan on the first day. I arrived on time at the Tajik embassy with my application form filled in and was called to the front of the queue because I was a tourist! The ambassidor showed me to an office around the back of the embassy where I had my passport photocopied and was helped to write a letter on a Russian form saying how wonderful Tajikistan is and why I wanted to go there. I handed in my passport and was told that I'd get it back at 5 with a visa and GBAO permit for the Pamir Highway. Unbelievable! The rest of the day went well too, I found the DHL office and was told my parcel containing bike spares was on its way and if it wasn't here by Friday then I could redirect it to Samarkand. I found a great bazaar for lunch and managed to get some dollars for a very cheap commision rate. I picked up the visa at 5 then went to meet Paul, a Dutch cyclist that I met at the Uzbek embassy in Istanbul. We kept in touch and arrived at Tashkent at the same time. We plan to ride the Pamir Highway together.

We enjoyed a meal and a beer then I left for a sleep! The next day I headed to the Russian embassy with A LOI I'd bought from Stantours, a Central Asian travel agency. Stantours were incredibly helpful and have given me loads of free advice which has worked out great, Unfortunately on this one they got it wrong though. I went to the Russian embassy and was told that British people can't get a Russian visa here or anywhere abroad. I explained that I couldn't get one in the UK either because you have to apply less than 3 months before entering the country. The staff were nice and as helpful as they could be but they couldn't bend the rules and I left feeling very down. I didn't know what to do next - the options were:
1. Try again for the Russian Visa in Dushanbe, Osh, Bishkek and Almaty (unlikely I'd get one though)
2. Send passport home for visa and stay in Tashkent for 2 weeks (not really an option because don't have time and it would be too expensive to stay in a city that long and can't leave Tashkent because need passport for police checks)
3. Scrap the idea of going through Russia and fly over the small bit seperating Kazakhstan from Mongolia (not ideal because I've got this far only using my bike and it's been bloody difficult! I don't want to have to use a plane.)
4. Scrap Russia and Mongolia and cycle through China crossing either from Krygyzstan or Kazakhstan

I decided to go to the Mongolian consulate and see if I could get a visa before making a decision. I found the consulate after cycling halfway across the city to the wrong address from the internet, then took a taxi to the consulate. They don's issue any visas in Tashkent and the guy helpfully told me to go to the consulate 1,000 km away in Almaty in Kazakhstan. He did give me a cup of tea though!

That made my mind up, Mongolia would have to wait, I'd go to the Kazakh embassy tomorrow, if I could get a visa in 1 day I'd go through Kazkhstan to China, if it took more than 1 day I'd scrap Kazakhstan and cross in Krygyzstan. I'd prefer to cross from Kazakhstan though because it would give me more time in Krygyzstan and I could see Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan.

The next day I got my Kazakh visa and the following day I got a 3 month Chinese visa. Fantastic! My path around the world is now set and I don't have to deal with any more stupid embassies. The last night in Tashkent was fun. Paul and me went to a few bars, including an appalling imitation German beer hall and a great place with the Wimbledon semi final on. Predictably Murray lost to Nadal - better luck next year! We ended up in a rock bar with a Swiss guy called Rene, who worked in Tashkent. He was a very interesting guy and we had a great night with him. I lost Paul at about 1 and walked back to the hotel thinking he'd gone back there. At 5 o' clock I woke up and Paul still wasn't back. I was a bit worried - we had a train at 7 to Samarkand! At half 5, a very merry Paul turned up, having slept in a field in front of the President's house for a couple of hours! It was hilarious going to the train at 7, at least we slept for most of the journey!

We pulled into Samarkand early afternoon and I cycled to Bahodir B&B, the cheapest place in town!

Bukhara to Tashkent

The day off in Bukhara was fantastic. What an amazing place! The buildings are incredible, huge Medrassa and minarets and an old fortress. Unlike Khiva, Bukhara is a bustling city, full of life, although it has a great central square with a large pool with restaurants all around it. I spent the day wondering around the amazing buildings, eating good food and I had a couple of beers too. I met a few other travellers in the cheap "B&B" I was staying in. I used quotation marks because there was no bed or breakfast. You sleep on a mat on the floor and the owner seemed surprised when I asked if breakfast was included! He was an interesting guy though an ex-Soviet olytmpic sprinter and trainer.

After a day off I was feeling great again and I managed 105 miles towards Samarkand. It was a fairly uneventful stretch although I met a team of amazing Chinese runners. They are currently running the silk road from Istanbul to Xian, China. It will take them 5 months and they are averaging 70km per day. I chatted to their Aussie medical support team for a while and it sounded amazing. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to run 70km in 45 degree heat every day. Those guys were seriously fit - good luck for the rest of the trip, their website is http://www.runsilkroad.org/home/en.

That night I stayed in a Chaikana (tea house) and provided entertainment for 6 kids who were amazed to see a crazy dirty smelly British cyclist turn up at their quiet village tea house! I ate tasty Jasliq (sheep meat kebabs)  and slept in a back room. The toilet was the worst one yet though and I had to hold my breath when I used it!

The following day I had about 50 miles to get to Samarkand and it took me until 2 o' clock despite setting off at dawn. I fought a headwind all day and climbed through some hills along a beautiful road. I was getting frustrated because I needed to get to the train station in Samarkand in time to get a train to Tashkent that evening. It was Sunday and I needed to go to the Tajik embassy on Monday (I'll take the train back to Samarkand and continue riding from there next week). I was in a very bad mood when I arrived in Samarkand, mainly thanks to some absolutely extraordinary driving. Blind overtaking around corners, swerving randomly across the road, pulling alongside me for a chat and holding up a line of very impatient angry drivers who are forced to make a dangerous overtaking manouver rather than waiting 10 seconds for a safe overtake - not to mention the constant refrain of horns doing their best to deafen me. The Uzbeks have definately won the 'worst driving in the world award' so far, but I hear the Chinese will give them a run for their money!

Anyway - I got to Samarkand train station about 2:30 and bought a ticket for a train at 5. It was supposed to take 3 1/2 hours so I should have arrived at 8:30. After a 5 hour breakdown, I got into Tashkent at 1:30, without a hotel booked. They train journey was very interesting though, I sat in a carriage of very friendly Pakistanis, one of whom spoke excellent English and we were able to talk for about 3 hours! I was welcomed as their guest so I wasn't allowed to pay for any drinks or food on the train - amazing people. I talked to Amjedali about Pakistan/UK relations. He told me that in general the UK was viewed well in Pakistan although there are a minority of extremists who are very anti-UK. The Pakistanis are grateful for the infrastructure the British built during colonial times and many older people remember a better life back then. Unfortunately due to corruption in Government, the country has gone backwards since then. They are looking over their shoulders at much more successful India and frustration is growing with the current regeme.

He also told me of the problems that relations with the west (particularly America) have caused. Terrorist attacks are common from Afghan and Pakistani extremists due to collaberation with NATO forces and the country has become much more unsafe due to them working in partnership with NATO during the Afghan war. He found it incredibly unfair that Pakistan have had bad press over the possible sheltering of Osama-Bin-Laden, but admitted it was very unlikely that someone in Government didn't know he was there.

We talked about America and the opinions in Pakistan. Some of the things he was saying about America were the result of anti-american propoganda, which he acknowledged but in general the view of America in Pakistan is basically hatred. I found myself defending America and although I'm against the war, I talked him round to agreeing that we do need a way of policing countries if things turn bad, i.e. Libya and that George Bush had to do something after September 11th, even if what he did do was possibly not the best casuse of action.

Enough of that - but it was a very interesting chat, I enjoyed learning more about Pakistan, which is a country I'd love to go to if things settle down in the future.

The breakdown of the train was hell! There was no information of how long the wait would be, I was getting worried about turning up in Tashkent after midnight and having to find a place to stay and secure the bike. The worst bit though was that the air conditioning was turned off. The power saving didn't stretch to turining the appalling Uzbek pop music off though so I was sitting in a sweat box with an assault on my ear drums for 5 hours.

Eventually the train started moving with a round of applause from the much-more-patient-than-me other passengers and we pulled into Tashkent at 1.30 am. Luckily there was a very cheap hotel in the train station ($7/night) where I stayed for the next 5 days. I got to sleep about 2 and planned to get up at 7 to go to an internet cafe to print of the visa application forms and cycle to the Tajik embassy for 9.