Following the Silk Road

Leaving the Pamirs behind, we ride down to the Uzbek plains. We meet many incredibly friendly and warm people all along our way. After our visa run in Tashkent, we set sail to the South, to the mythic cities of Samarkand and Bukhara.

Bike route 2 277 231 - powered by Www.bikemap.net

After two days in Osh, we exit Kyrgyzstan without problem at the border nearby. On the Uzbek side, a lot of locals are waiting for immigration procedures. Nobody is really standing in a line, officers are shouting and the whole place looks messy. However, we are lucky: an officer checks our passports outside by our bicycles, and hands them to his colleague inside. After about 15 minutes, we are clear to go.

The ride to Andijon gives a preview of what we will experience throughout the country. Most of the scenery is flat, with fields crissed-crossed by irrigation canals. People are incredibly friendly and wave at us from the side of the road or from their car. When we stop, a small group gathers around us, looking at our bikes, taking pictures with us and asking us the same question in Russian: "Откуда?" (From where?).

Our first lunch in Uzbekistan
(the restaurant owner is patiently waiting for her employees to get back to work)

At a mobile phone shop

Trying to pronounce a few words in Uzbek during a break

Now we know how the Aral Sea was emptied 

Foreigners have the obligation to be registered at the OVIR (foreigners and immigration police). This means that we are forced to sleep in hotels, that of course take advantage of the law by charging us the foreigner price... Registration slips might get checked and violators could be fined or deported. So when we arrive in Andijan on the first night, we directly look for a hotel.

On the second day, we've got 130 km to cover to the next hotel in Qoqon.

We ride in an open-air oven

Fortunately, drivers stop to give us cucumbers!

In the afternoon, we have a break at a grocery store by the road. The owner offers us a juicy watermelon that we eat under the amused gaze of old villagers.

As we are looking for a hotel in Qoqon, a car pulls over and two men comes to us. Abdurahim, who studied English philology in Tashkent, and his friend wants to help us. After a small chat, we exchange our phone numbers and they leave. Later on, they take us on a small tour in his hometown. Our friends bring us to a concert and invite us for dinner, while chatting about life in Uzbekistan! Many thanks to both for their moving hospitality!

With Abdurahim and his friend in Qoqon

When time comes to pay for the hotel, we exchange dollars for Uzbek soms. Since the biggest Uzbek banknote is worth 0.50 USD, this is what we get:

60 USD in Uzbek soms...

After a day of break, it's time for a big chunk. We have a 150 km ride with 1'900 meters to climb in order to get to the next hotel. We are on the road short after sunrise and are already in the climb when it starts to get hot. Luckily, there is a stream flowing along the road so we often stop to pour water on ourselves and keep cool.

After a long climb and two tunnels, the road finally winds down

We arrive in Angren after riding for 9h30.

At dawn, the city looks creepy, with its coal power plants and furnaces

There is no public lighting and we soon end up looking for a hotel in the dark. By chance, we meet two locals who guide us to the city dorm. However, foreigners are not allowed so we have to ride a few kilometers more to an other hotel. When we get there, we are told that there's no room left because of a huge road and railroad construction project in the region. Indeed, all foreigners consultants, some Spaniards and apparently 700 Chinese, are sleeping in this hotel. After some discussion with the receptionist, we can sleep for free on a sofa in the lobby, but have to leave at 5am and won't be registered.

As we are starting to relax, a man walks to us and asks some questions about our journey. He is the Uzbek guide of the Spanish consultants but is also a Spanish/Italian professor at Tashkent university. We then all switch to Spanish and chat for a while. When he hears that we haven't eaten yet, he asks the hotel staff to bring us some fruits, bread and tea. At some point, we talk about the necessity of the registration system. Our friend then very seriously explains us that his president is right to protect the country against foreign spies, that could be persons like Sébastien with his beard.

On the following day, we arrive to Tashkent in the afternoon.

Slaloming in the urban traffic

Thanks to our letter of invitation, we get the Iranian visa in 3 hours. Still, we have a small interview with the consul. Funny detail, the interview is done in Spanish!

Séb's Iranian visa

For the Turkmen visa, things get cumbersome. After filling the application form, we are told to come back in one week. At the aforementioned date, the guards inform us that the embassy is closed until Monday. Indeed, we are close to the Eid al-Fitr, an official holiday for the end of Ramadan. We take advantage of this time to get Sébastien's freehub fixed. Indeed, his rear hub blocked from time to time forcing him to pedal at the wheel speed like on a fixed-gear bicycle.

Igor fixed the freehub in his workshop for free!

On Monday morning, we are told to come back in the afternoon. In the end, we have our visa to enter Turkmenistan on August, 24.

On August, 13, we start from Tashkent through plains that are frankly boring. Fortunately, temperatures have dropped and people are still very warm and welcoming.

You can go anywhere from Tashkent!

On the highway to Samarkand

The famous Lada also exists in a 4WD edition

My first puncture since Geneva

After 3 days, we arrive to Samarkand where we rest for a day.

The Registan, Samarkand

Ceiling detail in the Registan

Another two days of riding and we are in Bukhara. The old town is impressive, even though it is packed with tourists.

The Ark citadel, Bukhara

The Kalon mosque and its minaret, Bukhara

Mir-i-Arab medressa, Bukhara

As we are visiting a mosque we meet Kyoji and Hadicha, who is guiding him in the city. We all get along well and spend the rest of the day together, chatting about Uzbekistan and being invited at Hadicha's place. Thank you very much for guiding us through the town!

With Hadicha and Kyoji in the Kalon mosque

The clock is ticking and on August, 23 we hit the road again towards Turkmenistan. Too bad because the family of the B&B we were staying at was starting to celebrate its son's wedding!

Women of the groom's family getting ready to leave for the bride's home with musicians

We are now preparing ourselves to cross one of the world's most closed dictatorships. Looks like with only 5 days to ride through almost 500km of desert, things will get pretty sporty.