Just after uploading my last post in Turkistan, including the photos, my phone died leaving me in the Catch 22 of being unable to translate the messages from Beeline, the network provider to see what the problem was. I nipped across to a hotel to see if WiFi was available and the friendly young receptionist said he would try and sort it out. He rang Customer Service and explained , as I had suspected, that my data had run out. He then very kindly topped up my balance with his card and I reimbursed him with cash including a decent tip which he was initially reluctant to accept.
The following morning I was away south heading to Shymkent but in that city had an unfortunate encounter with the police. Having pulled out of a junction I had to stop sharply at a set of lights and as they changed a patrol car pulled alongside, lights flashing and siren blaring. A very irate driver indicated I should pull over which of course I did. His colleague seemed rather embarrassed by the incident and indicated I should get in the car. The irate guy began yelling and pointing but of course I didn't understand the issue even though he showed me a tablet listing what I presumed was a range of offences and the relevant fine. I used my phone to ask what the fine was for at which point he took it, tried unsuccessfully to reply and then extracted all the notes, considerably more than the penalty he was pointing at. I considered asking for the matter to be dealt with at the police station, or at least to be given a receipt but he was getting more and more irate so after taking back some of the notes he had stuffed in his dashboard, which still left him a hefty profit, I decided leaving it at that might be prudent. I thought perhaps I had been in a bus lane but then so were many other drivers and in fact it was only a bus stop and I think my transgression was pulling up sharply for the lights and unavoidably straddling a pedestrian crossing. Anyway my planned stay for the night was nearby so I pulled in, took a walk out to a monument and then decided as it was only early afternoon to push on to Uzbekistan stopping for a diesel fill up at 40p a litre as it's 70 in Uzbekistan.
I chatted briefly to a trio of German expedition trucks and then headed on only to find that Google Maps had taken me to an HGV only border crossing. Eventually however I reached the alternative crossing point which was the usual chaotic melee. I stopped in front of a barrier to a road full of currency exchanges and SIM card sellers and a guy came over and said he could let me through for a fee, which I declined. A woman also approached asking if I wanted to change money. I said I wanted $500, gave her the 50 $10 to check and she said no one wanted the smaller notes : contrary to general advice. The fixer also came back, opened the barrier and waved me through saying I would be stuck all day if I didn't pay him : as it was only a tenner I handed him the tenge after which it all became rather chaotic as a policeman tried to turn me around, the woman kept asking me for bigger denominations and I rather lost track. In the end both policeman and fixer had a big row, I was told to move on through the second barrier and the woman handed over the Uzbeki som as I approached the passport control. Here the 3 German trucks had been through the same place only to then be told they would have to go to another crossing point 80km away as their vehicles were too large. Fortunately I was allowed through and had the usual friendly and helpful experience as I was stamped out of Kazakhstan, had a cursory vehicle check and crossed the short area of nomansland before joining the green customs channel. Whilst sat in line I checked my som and found that I had been short changed by a fair margin but of course it was impossible to go back - so irritating. On approaching the Uzbek side I had to hand over all details to a pre check office who then put a Q Code on my phone. At passport control my photo was taken and then it was on to Customs who asked for the Q Code and the document I had received when entering Kazakhstan from Russia. The Customs guys had a good look round and seemed happy enough, many other vehicles were having to empty out all their luggage for scanning. I was then told to go to another office with a form for insurance but they couldn't find my details on their computer so it was back to the first office who brought up his screen, added some text and told me to photograph the screen and return to the insurance guy. I think the problem was mixing up my O's and 0's on the number plate, a common enough occurrence and don't even get me started on the joys of a V5(C) which is my bilingual vehicle registration document..... Anyway he asked me for an amount in Kazakhstan tenge equivalent to about £20 for two weeks cover so having handed that over I was good to go. The final irritation of the day was that the insurance in Uzbekistan som was only actually £15 as printed on the certificate : another disappointing rip off to round off a dispiriting day.
Anyway we are hugely privileged to be able to travel as we do and in the scheme of things the amounts were insignificant so I set off towards Tashkent grateful to be in yet another much anticipated country. P4N showed a spot to stay a few miles off the main road and I was soon tucked under the trees in a grassy valley in the small village of Rabat. A family was picnicking nearby and the kids came running over for a look round and later Mum brought me over some fried chicken, salad and tea which restored my faith in people at large. It was a lovely spot and later on hobbled cattle and horses stumbled by heading home. It was a bank holiday so a nearby house was hosting some kind of party with lots of traditionally dressed children heading that way for an evening of music and dancing.
After a very quiet night I was soon entering Tashkent which is a large modern city with a centre completely rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in 1966. I found the P4N parking and got under some shade before walking round to the bizarre Disney style Magic Shopping Mall complete with artificial lake, scores of shops selling everything from candy to haut couture and clearly very popular with families. I found that the nearest Beeline store was a couple of miles away so decided to walk there and see the city - my Kazakh SIM had sent a message saying 24 hour roaming would cease at midnight. In the store I got a new SIM with 200Gb of data valid for a month for £6, a passport is required as is often the case.
Walking back the Mall was still busy but the carpark quietened down after 10 pm and I slept well. At some point a dozen or so Chinese plated camper vans heading to Europe had arrived and they were all cooking noodles outside in the warm sun. I had decided to explore the underground which contains some fabulous tiled artworks that define each station : you can use a Visa card and it costs just 11p a journey, whatever the length. Thus I rode a couple of lines jumping off to take photos and eventually emerged at the stop nearest the Chorsu market. This is large and vibrant and enthralled me for a couple of hours including a visit to a phone booth for a power pack where the currency confused me again - 200,000 som initially seemed a lot but is only £12 and the lad was amused by my initial offer of a 20,000 note.
A delicious kebab and a coke set me back £3 in a small cafe after which I dived back underground, changed lines once and emerged at a stop adjacent to the TV tower. Here after a rather disorganised system I obtained a ticket and was soon whisked up to the 7th floor for wonderful views across the city and was able to trace out my planned return walk along the Ancor Canal. For some reason the lift took me up another floor to a rather fancy restaurant so I decided to treat myself to a meal and a beer whilst doing some onwards planning. I looked up at one point and thought I was losing it as the entire bar had vanished along with the cashier and kitchen door.Then it dawned on me that the dining area arranged in a ring was actually rotating at a snail's pace around the central structure : very disorientating.
I enjoyed the walk back along the river and returned to the van to charge up everything before a final indulgence on the metro where at Kosmonaut the tiling was remarkable. Back at the surface a torrential downpour had cleared the streets and back at the van all was well apart from some damp where the bouncing rain had come in through the open roof vent.
I left the city after an enjoyable couple of days and headed northeast towards snow covered mountains on a good road before turning off in to the Ugom Chatqol National Park. I stopped at a small shop for some supplies and filled up the water tank from a piped spring supply. Nearby was a possible P4N close to a cable car so I opted to give that a go and was soon floating up towards the mountains. The ticket included the second lift to high above the snow line and I had the pod to myself as it rose through thick cloud. At the top a shiny chrome restaurant and a few food shacks were seeing some trade and eventually the clouds lifted allowing a glimpse of the surrounding summits.
Back down at the halfway point I had a large and delicious samosa served straight from a clay oven before returning to the van. Down at the Chorvoq reservoir I followed a rough track down a steep gradient to reach a parking area where a family ran a small cafe and were happy for me to stay overnight for a fiver. It was an enchanting and peaceful spot and the van did well climbing out the next day.
I was heading back to Tashkent and the promise of a night on the Uzumfermer vineyard with van servicing facilities and eventually arrived in front of two solid steel gates with a sign instructing you to call a number. Fortunately another car pulled up and he dialled it at which point the gates opened. He said parking was on the far side of the main building so I drove round to a large steel shelter supporting solar panels that provided a shady parking place. A young Italian guy called Michael was working on his ancient overland truck and happily showed me where things were. He had tackled the piste from Mangystau in wet weather and the truck had sustained some damage which he was fixing. I tapped in to his extension lead for power: remarkably they don't charge people to stay or for the electricity and Michael had been there for a fortnight...
I called at the hotel reception to confirm I would eat later that evening and also left my laundry to be done, all bedding, towels and 3 weeks clothing done for £20, not cheap but necessary. After a chat with a German couple I had seen in Qizylorda I then dealt with the van domestics, gave it a good sweep out and then took a look round in the cooler late afternoon. In the beautiful Japanese garden a wedding company was doing a photo shoot and I had a look round the fishing pond and some of the 40 or so acres of vines. The business was started in 2008 with just 2 acres and is still family owned, organically run and the recipient of numerous awards from around the world. I paired a glass of Merry Tash with a beef bourgignon, roast vegetables and home made bread all enjoyed on the top floor restaurant as the sun set.
I could have stayed on but decided to get going having collected the laundry which had all been ironed and meeting the owner Rachid who spoke excellent English and was taking his grandson round on an electric scooter.
I had applied for my evisa and GBAO permit for Tajikistan but it could take up to a fortnight to be issued so I figured I could be in Uzbekistan for up to a month which would mean getting insurance for longer and more cash. Thus I headed back to the border, parked well out of the way and walked down to the barriers. Nowhere seemed to be promoting sygurta so I popped in to a SIM shack where the young guy said he could do it. He took my documents, entered all the relevant details on his phone and then disappeared out of the front door returning a minute later with a month long policy for £5, presumably he has a contact with some hidden broker. A proper bank money exchange outlet gave me 2,400,000 som for my 200 dollars, just right, and I was away to the far side of town to visit the excellent railway museum which contained numerous Soviet era steam and electric locomotives as well as carriages and other waggons. Driving away I was hailed by Mathew and Emma from Aral but couldn't stop easily.
A P4N recommendation for gas cylinder filling came to nothing so I will dispose of the two Turkish cylinders when they are empty. My gas consumption has plummeted anyway as the tank water is warm enough for a strip wash, it's too hot to cook and the bread too good to toast so really the only usage is for the fridge overnight as hot drinks have gone by the way as well. At Jissax a planned stop was now fenced off so I carried on south turned off east and found a cracking spot by a small lake for a quiet evening.
Turning north for a few miles and then east down a gravel track put me on the shore of Lake Aydarko which stretched away in to the distance. A few families were down on the beach and I parked up grateful for the strong breeze. Remarkably a couple of coaches arrived at the small hotel further along but the occupants stayed near to the buildings and I had another quiet night.
Today has been a long haul, fortunately on an excellent road to Khiva which is on the Turkmenistan border. From here a long run north would take to you to the temporarily closed border post in to Kazakhstan and the Mangestaw region which explains a) why the road is so good, b) why it was almost empty which in turn explains why the road from Atyrau to Aktobe and south to Turkistan was so busy. An electrified railway also runs that way and one heads west deep in to Turkmenistan.
So I am parked up under trees fortunately right alongside the mud walls of Khiva old town with the intention of resting up for a couple of days although the location is a bit busy and I may seek a quieter option not far away tomorrow. Uzbekistan has astounded me with its variety with modern cities but a rural scene that seems far removed from the neon lights where life must be hard. The simple roadside stalls, isolated shepherds and huge stretches of barren desert give much cause for thought and will I suspect contrast sharply with the rapidly expanding tourism that will accompany me tomorrow and beyond in Buxoro and Samarkand.
