Continuing along the Silk Road.

Richard and Jude's travels continued
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After our tour around truly spectacular Kyrgyzstan we rejoined the fabled Silk Road in Osh and continued our ride west in Uzbekistan and through the ancient trading cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
When we were planning the journey over a year ago these three cities stood out as places well worth a visit and to spend some time in and we have not been disappointed.

Although much of the amazing architecture in these three cities is not totally original it has, as an estate agent might say, been restored sympathetically and with not much effort you can still see many original parts of the cities dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. The striking blue tiled minarets, madrassas, cupolas and mosques stand out and make you wonder how these must have seemed back when they were built. Dig a little deeper and you will find some great museums, large and small, that provide a great insight into the history of these cities, its culture and peoples.

The roads in Uzbekistan have been pretty good (sounds like it’s going to change for the worse soon); some sections are badly potholed with heavily patched surfaces which shakes the bike and the two of us so at the end of a days ride you are glad for a rest. Goats, donkeys, camels and humans wonder across the highways while traffic passes at high speed.

We have shifted back to our “high heat” riding plan we all adopted in Indonesia leaving at dawn to ride during the coolest part of the day. Temperatures can reach 40+c around 11am and a few degrees cooler makes all the difference.

The scenery is mostly flat farmland and desert, which as we head further west will turn mainly to desert. The drivers on the roads, although very friendly indeed, can set your nerves on end as they come so close to you trying to squeeze past you at high speed within inches of us. It’s not surprising that we have seen more serious traffic accidents here in the short time than any other country.

One thing that is very noticeable when you enter Uzbekistan is the number of Chevrolet cars on the road, mostly white. In 2022 over 94% of all cars sold were Chevrolet! Turns out it’s a state monopoly with a joint venture between the government, 75% majority and GM.

We are now making our way towards Aktau / Kuryk in Kazakhstan to catch the ferry across the Caspian Sea to Baku in Azerbaijan.
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Richard and Jude.
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