Blogs from Uzbekistan, Asia - page 7

The drive west to Khiva let us see the development taking place here in Uzbekistan, but also highlighted some of the challenges. Although it's not finished yet there are now a few hundred km of smooth concrete road through the desert which makes a massive difference to the journey (concrete is used because it doesn't melt in the heat). Our driver told us that for one section of ~100km the journey time has been reduced from a bit under 4 hours to about 1 hour, but then when we needed to fill up with gas - most cars, minibuses and vans run on methane or propane as Uzbekistan has it's own gas fields – the only station for kilometres was closed. We were lucky as he had some petrol but we saw others who'd run out. ... read more

The dreaded border crossing turned out to not be at all dreadful - it was fast and easy, the border guards were friendly, and the personal inspection didn't involve anything more than a quick frisk. It once again showed us that every experience is individual and unique. The road to Samarkand took us past field after field of cotton, one of Uzbekistan's main agricultural crops but also one of the main causes of the shrinking of the Aral Sea. It's mind blowing to know that most of the billions of cubic metres of water we day after day saw roaring down the Panj River between Tajikistan and Afghanistan don't make it as far as the Aral Sea. Finding solutions that balance the various needs is difficult and it's a sensitive subject here, supposedly one of the ... read more

The border from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan turned out to be the worst experience of the trip! It's just as well today has been one of the best. The border ended up taking 19 hours in total and for no apparent reason. It could have been longer too, but the fact we were tourists seemed to get us to the front of some of the queues (a bit embarrassingly). We got through the Kazak side relatively quickly, and then pretty much spent the whole night camping in no mans land in a pen in between the two countries. When morning came around we managed to get through the Uzbek border after a few car and bag searches. We then spent the whole day driving to Khiva, a small mud walled town I'd been really looking forward to. ... read more

A different breed of foreign visitor is found in Uzbekistan, following on the heels of English language menus. Olive uniformed soldiers guarding the capital’s metro stations, curious locals haggling in the bazaars, and youths wandering the back streets, practice their English, and enquire, “Touriste?” The alpinist satiated on Pamir and Tian Shan, the traveller weary of daylong journeys crammed inside a 4x4 with teasing glimpses of astounding landscape privy only to those with the strength and time to cycle, or the resources to afford private transport, are reduced to sight seeking, caffe latte consuming, photo snapping, gewgaw shopping 'touriste'. The wannabe explorers, centuries late and addicted to WIFI, sympathize with each other, ‘this is the cultural leg of the journey.’ On the plus side, bowels have found a sort of equilibrium, though it remains a risk ... read more

The final part of the trip was visiting one of the oldest cities of Uzbekistan - Bukhara. When sightseeing, I got to visit the Museum of Water Supply. As you might already know, this part of Central Asia is arid and in the 13th-18th centuries, people suffered from lack of water needed for irrigation and melioration. I learned that very simple wheels made of wood and attached jars were used in order to elevate water from lower to higher levels. Geometric calculations and constructions were used at the time for making bridges over channels and rivers. What also amazed me about Bukhara was that in almost all historic and architecture memorials (madrasas - schools for men, mausoleums, and mosques), I could see tessalations involved in decorations made of stone and ceramic. So, enjoy the pictures and ... read more