Uzbekistan to Kazakstan. We entered at the pedestrian only crossing 25km past Tashkent. Maybe we would never have crossed the border had it not been for the guards clearing a passage for us through the surging crowds. The guards were not so gentle, at one point grabbing a man by …
Whether we are in London or the Uzbek desert, or somewhere in between, the bamboo bikes have always stirred attention. (Well maybe not in Azerbaijan where the bamboo was ignored in place of the golden coloured chain which matched the majority of the locals’ smiles.) Is it bamboo? Bambou? Bambus? …
It’s rained overnight, the second time in Uzbekistan. I was half expecting snow after a day of cold and mist which was not unwelcome adding to the mystery of Samarkand as we sought out ancient ruins rather than the majestic restorations that adorn the city. We will likely get snow …
Our mood has continued to flow like the bleak landscape, rays of sunshine and warmth followed by ice cold gusts and grey drabness. But this is not Uzbekistan. It is cold here…..not so, so cold, and the desert has continued for a thousand kilometres. Not much between our journey, train, …
13/11/13 Our bodies are able…..’ish’…..but our minds….emotions?…..the past few days have been a roller coaster. Never, in what is almost 8 months on the road have either of us contemplated giving up…. Not seriously and not into a whole day, or several days of grief. It is today that these …
Will we survive the cold in Central Asia? Will we enjoy it? Is it possible……passable? On the ferry to Kazakhstan. “You are the last for the season”……well not quite as we know Ross and Laura other Brit and Aussie cyclists are not far behind…..hoping to catch up if visa dates …
After a few hiccups we did not leave Aktau until 3pm. Not such a big deal as we had already planned to stay until noon making the most of our hotel. We pedalled off on a lesser road to Shetpe. Travelling along what felt like an industrial waste land, the …
We spent 3 days and 3 nights on the ferry to Kazakhstan. Despite being rowing distance from the port for a large part of the final day, we didn’t dock until about 3pm…..and finally we were allowed to disembark and go through passport control as the sun was telling us …
Catching a ferry from Baku to Aktau appears complicated. Li my hero navigator has researched, read many, many blogs…..and attempted to read the finer details on line, in Azeri and Russian……even with the difficulty of translating…..there are no finer details. So the process……we arrived in Baku as quickly as our …
We did not see much of Azerbaijan. One month visa but the necessity of keeping 2 weeks free in Baku meant a relatively hasty ride to the capital once leaving Georgia…..no detours to natures delights. Though we did a 6 km detour to Bum. Off the main road, but joining …