Sunday April 30th-Friday May 5th
Sightseeing in Bokhara in the AM.We climbed 105 worn stairs up a 12th century minaret that exactly resembled a pepper grinder. From here we had a splendid view over Bukhara including the sinister fortress known as the "Ark ". It was here that in 1848 Charles Stoddart and Arthur Connolly, those stalwarts of the Great Game, were dragged from the verminous pit in which they had been imprisoned by the Emir Nazrullah and beheaded. In the PM we drove to Samarkhand. I broke my previous record by being stopped twice for speeding in one day. Actually not my fault as it turned out that our guide, Bek, didnt know what the speed limit actually was. He redeemed himself somewhat by handling the negotiations and getting me off once and only paying a $1.50 "fine" for the second offence. On the way we saw many road side vendors of various commodities.However, unusually these included dead snakes that were waived at us by small boys ! We arrived in Samarkhand and checked into a huge, ugly, soviet-era, tourist-bus hotel.That night we drank two bottles of Uzbeki white...( I'm getting just a hint of urine here darlings, with the merest soupcon of diesel...) One of these was donated by the chubby and charming German hotel manager, called Dieter, in exchange for being forced to take the fuel tanks off the roof of the car.
Next day we toured Samarkhand, perhaps the most famous trading city on the Silk Road. Like many tourists before us we gasped in awe at the mighty Registran, a square flanked on three sides by madressehs and mosques, whose domes, minarets and gateways are all tiled in mosaics of the most dazzling blue. In 1888, Lord Curzon, before becoming Viceroy of India described it as " the noblest public square in the world " and Samarkhand as " the wonder of the Asian world ". We thought it was very nice. Also nice was the tomb of Emir Temur, or Tamurlane or Timur-the-Lame, who conquered all of central Asia, Persia, and Turkey with side trips as far north as Moscow. All this with one leg 5 cm shorter than the other. No wheelchair ramp for him then.
On Tuesday we drove to Tashkent, which was completely rebuilt in 1966 following a huge earthquake. Weirdly the road crossed Kazakhstan for 10 km or so, which caused a mild dose of border angst due to our visas being single entry only. No problem as it turned out, but even weirder we came across a young and solo Brit biker, called Henry, whom Bek was able to help through the formalities as well. We the arrived in Tashkent and checked into the 5 star, international standard Meridien. As we had got ahead of schedule ( again ) we decided to stay here for 4 days of well-earned R&R. And so for the last 4 days we have gotten up late, had fried chicken and cold beer in the sun for lunch, loafed by the pool in the PM and eaten in a Korean resto for dinner. Tough job, but someone has to do it. Back in the car tomorrow (unfortunately) and off to Kazakhstan properly this time. Weve been going for 8 weeks today (Friday) and want to know when were going to get there, Mummy.
Saturday May 6-Sunday May 7
We sadly left our 5 * hotel and crossed heavy duty border no.8, which was annoying, frustrating, threatening and humiliating. As usual, Alex was asked for " souvenirs", as usual, by very small men with enormous military hats. We have formed a theory that the size of the hat is in inverse proportions to the size of the penis, but are unwilling to prove this theory. Into Kazakhstan, where I am stopped again for speeding !! This time I was able to get myself off with my fluent Russian...thank you Vlada !! Spent the night in Taras, which is famous for its vodka, sampled by self, and has wonderful grand late 19th century municipal buildings, all painted in pastel shades. Very Russian. Interestingly, Kazaks are much more Asian looking, but Russian is spoken and written to the exclusion of Kazakhi. Also, happily we are back in the land of cash machines and credit cards, so we have loadsa money.
Sunday and its nasty border no.9...the last but one. This one was good. We saw some Brits on a rally ahead of us and by pretending to be with them we jumped a huge queue. Slid out of Kazakhstan and into Kyrgyzstan like a knife through butter. One of the Brits ahead of us though had a lump of hash planted on him by a Kazakhi border guard, who was obviously after a "souvenir".This guy had a fake UK police warrant card on him, which he flashed, and the border-guard vanished back into his oversize hat...along with the hash. Lucky escape and a moral that one doesent take ones eyes of these fellows for an instant. Drove on into Bishkek and passed 7 speed traps in 50 miles. Good grief, its worse than Hampshire. My theorey is that its what off-duty cops do on Sundays to make some extra "souvenirs". As Alex, the goody-goody teachers pet that he is, was driving, we werent stopped once. I shudder to think what would have happened had I been driving.
Its been 3 countries and 2 borders in 24 hours and thats enough. Its the bar for me.