2017/09/11

Day 44: Duschanbe - Samarkand

My stomach isn't okay in the morning, but during the day it's getting better.

I'll get some more money, so I can refuel before crossing the border to Uzbekistan. I do not know exactly how it will work with gasoline in Uzbekistan. 

The distance to the border is only about 65 km, but I need a quite a while because of construction sites, closures and a navigation system that is a bit confused for these reasons.

It's a very small border crossing and it's not very busy. The Tajik side is done quickly. For Uzbekistan, I have to specify my foreign currency exactly and fill out to copies of the corresponding form. At customs, I have to turn on the computer and enter the password. The customs officer wants to look pictures. Since I have not stored them in the standard gallery of my computer, he's not very successful. The other customs officer meanwhile searches my mobile phone. There is probably nothing interesting. Finally, the first customs officer still wants to go through the photos on the camera. Fortunately, he does not want to look at all the photos, otherwise it would have taken a quite long time. The whole procedure takes about three quarters of an hour. After the border, a police officer wants to check the helmet camera, which I stupidly left on my helmet. But the battery is low since a while and he does not get far with it after switching it on. I can not help him either ;-)

The ride to Samarkand is very exciting: at first cotton fields, which are picked by large groups of women who seem to be in a really good mood. Later it gets barren, at the same time hilly and even a bit mountainous.

Along the road, there are a lot of stationary police checks, in almost everyone I have to register, passport number, visa number and whatever else are entered by hand in a notebook. Not everyone will be stopped as often as me, I'll find out later. Antonio and Antonia, the spanish couple, only have to register once. 

I just manage to arrive in Samarkand at dusk. The biggest driving challenge of the day is to get into the courtyard of the hotel, because an approximately 25 cm high threshold has to be overcome. First we try it with a wooden board that does not withstand the load on the rear wheel. So they have to get some stones - and then it works.

I still walk to the Registan, the central square in Samarkand. It is lit up nicely but unfortunately with scaffolding or bleachers installed, so that you do not have a really good view. And compared to the information in my travel guide from Lonely Planet, the entry prices have now doubled to around 5 Euros. Whereby the money sums here are curious, you always move in the five-digit range.

Insert: I realize that Uzbekistan is apparently wealthier than the other countries. There are a lot of natural resources, cars are powered by gas and not oil/benzine needs to be imported. The houses and schools are in good condition. And people are, as so often on my trip, absolutely friendly. And it seems to me that people are doing well here.

I happened to get into a wedding party - and it is immediately offered to participate. But I rather see that I leave as soon as possible, I do not have an Uzbek booze.