Hammer time

Bishkek treated us well, the beer was on tap at the German beer house for a mOcktoberfest, the Uzbekistan Embassy processed our visa applications in hours with little fuss and the city felt alive with markets, shops and sites.

Great Soviet hats

Fun with the locals

Interesting parking

Dave making some friends

Hotel under construction out of old containers

Leaving Bishkek we had a full days drive over a stunning mountain pass, climbing up to 3,500m, a height we thought we’d left behind in Tibet. Looking out of the window you could see the road cut steeply into the mountainside. Time to look for a bushcamp, unfortunately the wind built up and the sun disappeared behind clouds making each of the four turn offs we scoured for a suitable camping spot more unattractive. Curtailed by time and light, we settled for a riverside spot. It wasn’t quite as pretty as it sounds, as well as being riverside it was also roadside, increasingly blustery with a lot of litter around, must be a favourite lunch and loo stop for the locals… Springing into action, the group rushed around claiming the cleanest corners for their tents and cook group produced an epic dinner of massaman curry and poppadums, after devouring it huddled in the shelter of the truck we were all in bed by 9pm.

Stunning scenery south of Bishkek

Snaking road

Rogs berating himself for a sub-standard bushcamp

Mark clearing a bit of rubbish from his driveway

Beautiful lake enroute

Impromptu loo stop Olympic games - fencing with Rich & Tan

Stone throwing competition

Linc on the javelin

Anna and new family!

Mark in the market with a (vodka fuelled) friendly chap

Vicky having a laugh

Anyone for some vodka?

Cheese balls, hmmmm

Great monobrow

A shorter drive the next day, stopping at a bustling market town on the way to pick up some more freshly cooked bread and a few of the meat and onion pasties which we have become quite partial to. We dropped down into the fertile Ferghana Valley where we redeemed ourselves with a splendid camp for the night. A 200m wide dry riverbed alongside some hills gave us plenty of space to spread out and explore, in Erkin’s case going fishing, sadly coming back empty handed from the small murky river that still snakes through the valley, a result of the huge dams built further up stream. Instead his offering was a sack full of cow dung patties to fuel the fire. Some inquisitive locals rocked up at camp in the famed Lada Niva, Tan couldn’t resist and they were most obliging in letting her get behind the wheel and take if for a spin. Lisa had an eventful afternoon stroll, coming across some small bubbling mud pools and then a very lucky escape from some quicksand!

Now that's more like it for a bushcamp

Adrian & Bruce sharing a beer

Lisa's bubbling pools

Erkin off fishing

Tan takes over the Lada

Off she goes!

Friendly Lada owner

Cheerio!

A bubbling lasagna, garlic bread and salad for dinner to start Barb’s birthday celebrations a day early, as the next day would involve a lengthy border crossing. The corks popped with sparkling wine, creamy cake was gobbled up and then the night really went off with a bang when Bruce put on a firework display.

Erkin

Rae, Anna & Judy

Sunset from the bushcamp

Layering up the lasagne

Erkin adds fuel to the fire

Barb's birthday feast

Happy birthday Barb!

The next day it was a short drive to the border, just past the city of Osh, where it was time to say another goodbye, to Erkin this time. He was an absolute pleasure to have with us during our time in Kyrgyzstan, fitting in perfectly with the group, unassuming yet experienced, quietly assisting wherever needed. He would catch a plane that night from Osh back to Tashkent and his wife and two young children. His wife he’d kidnapped and married nearly exactly three years ago, and he told her they were just going fishing! (Kidnapping your bride is an old Kyrgyz tradition still practiced today)

Entering Osh

Bye bye Erkin, and thank you!

Bye bye Kyrgyzstan

Entering Uzbekistan was one of the most amusing border experiences we’ve encountered to date. We did attempt to sneak through leaving all our bags on the truck at first but were of course rumbled and sent all the way back round with backpacks for x-rays and searches. Thanks apparently to a couple of Americans who had recently passed this way under the guise of tourism and were later found with hundreds of CDs containing religious material, we were under suspicion of missionary activities. Everything was inspected, USB sticks, kindles, cameras, laptops and DVDs. Dr Bruce managed to have a lengthy conversation on “what is art?” as the customs inspector perused his photographs, confused as to why he would take pictures of water pipes. “Please, in Uzbekistan, don’t take pictures of pipes”. Last in the queue a few hours later was Vicky who was treated to a hand drawn picture in her sketch book by the female customs official, crouching down by the search desk she picked out one colour after another from Vicky’s oil pastel set and spent a few minutes completing a flower. Standing back to look, she was pleased with her work and finally Vicky was free to go. The truck search was just as thorough, even eggs being brought out of their boxes and into question about their religious intentions with an interrogating shake at the ear.

Out the other side and into Uzbekistan we drove on to Ferghana city for a brief night stop. The crew though were not to rest their heads at the hotel for long, they had an exciting stealth mission to undertake. An overnight drive to Tashkent across the Kamchik Pass, a road normally forbidden to large passenger carrying vehicles. We would travel the route without the group who would follow the next morning in a fleet of taxis. A few hours after arriving in Ferghana, a quick power nap and freshen up and we were ready for the challenge. Setting off under cover of darkness, first finding our way out of the City and then slowly up hill towards the pass. We held our breaths when pulled over at a checkpoint. A severe looking official swung open the driver’s door before we’d even had the chance and climbed up to have a look around. Seeing no one in the back he waved us on. One more quick stop to register as foreigners crossing the pass and we found ourselves in the tunnel at the top. Having been a clear night so far we were startled to exit the tunnel and hit a wall of thick fog. Our speed down to 15kph, we crept down the hill, our eyes straining through the white out to see the lane markings to help us stay on track. Many weeks spent in the Alps surely helped us with this particular challenge. In the early hours we pulled over in a layby to have a celebratory beer and snatch a few hours sleep before driving into Tashkent in daylight the next morning. Mission accomplished.

Hello Uzbekistan...

...and an interesting currency

Quick headlight check

Escaping the city

Misty views from the roadside camp in the morning

Waking at 8.30am, somehow having slept for six hours through the rattle of trucks thundering past we jumped in the cab a little more refreshed. Looking forward to perhaps a cup of tea along the way and a meat pie we turned the key in the ignition, and nothing. The solenoid on the starter motor had decided to stick, luckily it needed nothing more than a good whack with a hammer to cajole it into action. Later on sticking again, Rogs was forced to lie down in a large puddle at the fuel station to give it another hit. We’ll be retiring the starter motor in a few days and replacing it with a new, shinier and healthier spare that we carry on board, until then… it’s hammer time.

Not part of the stealth plan...

Breakfast enroute to Tashkent - meat and onion pie

Ladas queue for fuel

The group had an exhilarating ride over the pass in their convoy of numbered taxis, visiting a silk factory and Khan’s palace on the way and encountering snow at the top of the pass. After all being reunited in the evening we then spent a couple of nights exploring Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent, riding the ornately decorated metro, wandering the cosmopolitan city, visiting museums, markets, art galleries, a railway museum, drinking in a sub-street level Bierhaus, eating Korean food, pizza and even sushi.

Group visit to Silk Factory

Khan's Palace

Snow at the top of the pass

Sunny and autumnal Tashkent

The Soviet side of Tashkent

And the modern

Rogs playing train driver

Tashkent Railways Museum

Hels finds giant sushi

Thanks to Rog's GPS!

The Tashkent Metro

A metro station, would you believe it?

Dodgy dog wear Part II

Sweeping the street in her Sunday best

Navoi Opera & Ballet Theatre

Svyato Uspensky Cathedral

The group had a spacious truck on the drive to Samarkand. When given the option to experience Uzbekistan’s railways a few intrepid jumped at the chance and were in Samarkand hours ahead of us, whizzing along the tracks in just a few hours.