Samarqand to Khodjand
One more border down, two more to go over the next two days!! Well we are all refreshed from our stay in Samarqand and all itching to ride again. It has been a great three days on the road so far, and I hope it is safe to say that maybe the headwinds (for now anyways) are behind us. We have been traveling on mostly flat roads, but we did ride over a small mountain pass two days ago, and I can say that I was happy to be climbing again since there has barely been even the slightest incline since the beautiful city of Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan. Two great camp sights the last two nights, the first night out of Samarqand we slept beside an old shut down Restaurant/hotel which looked as if it has not been open in 20 years, and last night we camped in the shade of a very secluded restaurant just off the main road, but it was just a small plot amongst the thick of the trees.
Today we crossed the border into Tajikistan our 5th country now, and just when we thought things were going smoothly...we all were able to exit Uzbekistan in less then an hour but when we all made it across the half kilometer of 'no mans land' to enter into Tajikistan, they tried to convince us that the border there would be closed until tomorrow!! With patience and another 3 ½ hours of hanging out with the soldiers at the gate, the riders were on the open road in Tajikistan and on their way to Khodjand!!
Next two days… two more border crossings - Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan!
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Posted September 11, 2008 by Ben Shillington
Tajikistan |
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