Chapter 9: The Modern Challenges of the Silk Road (Sarakhs, Iran to Dushanbe, Tajikistan)
My bike all ready for the beginning of the Turkmen Dash, loaded with 11 litres of water57 degrees in the sun, and 43 degrees in the shadeThe long broken up, potholed track across the scrublandThis road had long been left to deteriorate, yet it was the quickest and shortest route for me across TurkmenistanScarpering for somewhere to camp as the sun sets and I start traversing bleak marshlandsPortraits of the current president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, were a common sight all over TurkmenistanSome of the many outrageously fancy buildings and statues in MaryA comparison between the brown, earthy water from the petrol station and the same water after filteringA lonely wild camp in the Karakum DesertCamels wandering along the road in the midst of the desertThe broken tarmac road traversing the Karakum DesertMy final wild camp in the Karakum DesertA shepherd leading his flock of sheep across the dusty plains of south UzbekistanThe black market rate for each of these 1,000 som notes was €0.25. It was nice to have my wallet bulging for once.Chor Minor Madrassah, hidden down the backstreets of BukharaThe intricate tilework of Nodir Devonbegi Madrassah in BukharaThe nearby Devonbegi Khanaka in the centre of BukharaBukhara’s Kalyan mosque and minaret, built all the way back in the 1500s when this Silk Road city was boomingThe stunning facade of Mir-i-Arab Madrassah in BukharaThe friendly Uzbek gentlemen who invited me for bread… and vodkaThe chattiest of the men demanding one last parting toast!Leaving my bike in Qarshi, I took a quick side trip to see the Registan in SamarkandThe ornate golden ceiling of one of Samarkand’s many stunning madrassahsUzbekistan competing with Moldova for the laziest health and safety standardsThe dry, golden hills of eastern Uzbekistan as I close in on the Tajik borderThe massive feast the kind Uzbek factory workers laid out for usMy stained mattress in the Uzbek granny’s derelict caravan where I had to fight off her unwanted advances!
Irregular Adventures 