Blogs from Mary, Turkmenistan, Asia

BORDER CAMP TO DESERT CAMP. 17 AUGUST 2016. My stage 4 TDA stage 77 Distance: 80.3 Kms SubT. Kms 474.1. kms Road Condition: 50% broken road/deep potholes, 50% decent bitumen. Weather: 39c blue sky Time in Saddle: 3:20:29 hrs Av Speed: av. 24 kph. Av Cadence. 66 Rpm Elevation: 255 m up; 225 m down Calories burned : >5000. Ate Breakfast at 6.30, departed at 7.30, entered Border Post, 50 m away at 9am, left border at 2 pm. Endless bureaucratic nonsense on Uzbek side, checking you had declared all money spent, retained against what was brought into country. Then on Turkmen side, thorough x ray and baggage and vehicle checks. On road in heat of day. rode to a hot restaurant lunch, not bad, but didn't entice afternoon riding! Road in afternoon average, the broken ... read more

Geo: 37.6621, 61.7596The roads deteriorated fairly rapidly,, the buildings looked decidedly different and nothing was obvious. We had some direction from a cyclist indicating we could get local currency in a Paint shop in the next village. Sure enough we followed his directions, got some money and were on our way. Iran was hot, Turkmenistan is hotter, wow indescribable.We drive slowly to Mary as there are next to no street signs and our mapping software has no details for Turkmenistan. The Russians have built irrigation channels all thought the border sections of the country which look pretty inviting. We pull up near one and there are some locals swimming. Still reeling from the Islamic thing it is weird to see people relaxing in not full clothing, we strategically sit in the shade and wait for them ... read more

Early morning rise and checkout, and then a quick transfer to the airport. The flight is at 6.40, the check in procedure is chaotic and after the worst security inspection on this side of the new millennium we yet again carry our own bags to have them loaded on the waiting AHTOHOB AH-24 turboprop. At least the commotion helps ensuring that I don't doze off and sleep through the flight missing out on the fun. We are headed to the eastern city of Mary where we will do some sightseeing before boarding a bus and drive towards the Uzbek border and make it to Bukhara sometime in the evening. I have a fun if somewhat limited conversation with a girl named Nadja who is returning home from a holiday trip to Iran. Apart from her stylish ... read more