Day 145 (Uzbekistan): Chorvador - Samarkand

daily distance: 103km
total distance: 9212km
riding time: 6h

The sunrise was extraordinary and given that I had been sleeping outside, I enjoyed it as I was packing up. It made for some good foto ops too.

The wind had been OK the day before, but now it was back where it had been for days on end. I cycled right into it - while at the same time going uphill. I had been promised a long uphill, with a long downhill to Samarkand to follow. That one never came and so I kept slugging along into the wind until I turned a corner where things became a bit more pleasant. All the while feeling pretty exhausted and not well at all.

When I got to Samarkand, I was already stacked out with Islam’s relatives who were waiting for me there. We met at the Registan and took the necessary picture before heading to eat something. I should maybe say that I have been here a couple of times, so the usual tourist thingy didn’t really apply. But here is one of the welcome comittee with my bike at the Registan …

I was also pretty exhausted overall and just wanted a day off and not much inbetween. What I did want to do was upload some pictures and update the website (I am woefully behind in posting, I know). The first two internet cafes were no good. They allowed nothing, the third one was also restrictive, but has what I consider lightning speed. I haven’t seen anything like it anywhere. The uploads were blazingly fast and that’s why you have been and will be inundated with pictures from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan until Samarkand.

Islam’s relatives were simply great, they received me in their home with open arms - and plov, slightly different from the one I had enjoyed with Feruz’s family, but likewise delicious. A big thanks to Eljor and Fedya who - both in their own ways - made Samarkand a great stopover on my trip.