Today was one of the typical transit days on bicycle. First, we needed to leave Turkmenistan as our 5-day transit visa expires today and second we wanted to reach Bukhara in Uzbekistan because there is really nothing in between. The total distance to be covered is slightly more than 115 km.
Passing the borders
We reached after 16 km of cycling shortly before 9 the Turkmen post. There was nothing too spectacular happening there, the lady at the customs was a bit curious by inspecting some of our bags, but everything was fine. After a little less than an hour we were out of Turkmenistan.
On the Uzbek side it went even a bit smoother, we did not have to open a single bag, answer 1-2 questions and we were through with it. After in total 2 hours we were officially in Uzbekistan.
Cycling through the flat towards Bukhara
The ride between the Uzbek – Turkmen border and Bukhara however was as unattractive as it can be. The road conditions were horrible for at least half the distance, sometimes leaving you no choice than to cycle trough big holes or riding through sand. In addition, we had some moderate head wind which did not add much to the enjoyment and all I wanted is to finally reach Bukhara, in the hope the roads would get better when approaching the city. But that was not the case, 1 km before the city limit we were still running through holes and sand. I really hope that not all of Uzbekistan’s roads are like that, or we are going to have a tough time ahead for the next few cycling days.
Tomorrow sightseeing in Bukhara
After almost 400 km of cycling in the past 3 days, the planned sightseeing day in Bukhara is very welcome. Lucie will meet her friends who flew in from Switzerland and spend a week with them, I will continue to cycle with Anne who joined us in Bukhara for a week before Lucie joins us again.
Detailed Track
Max elevation: 250 m
Min elevation: 188 m
Total climbing: 563 m
Total descent: -504 m
Total time: 11:04:31
