Being entertained by a local ,Bollywood movie at a local grocery store and an example of a long endless road on our journey.
Had to take extreme care,not to be stopped for speeding by the cop cars

Left Khiva for Bukhara in Uzbeckistan at 9.15am via visiting visiting on route first,Guldursun Qula – a big empty fort .Built in the first century(2000 years old!!!)
Arrived at 6pm having travelled about 350 miles – another full day of driving
It was a long drive fairly uneventful ,with the usual long stretches,extreme pot holes and duel carriageways which regularly criss -crossed – so had to be attentive of on coming vehicles.

Our hotel in Bukhara was located in a square called Labi-haus Cente .Its buzzing and appeared cosmopolitan looking with lot of tourists.Russians have a vast area to have their holidays in,when you consider their history with these regions ,French and other Europeans too

22nd day Sat 3rd May
Left Nukus at about 11.30am for Khiva via Urgench and ancient Khorezm.Going to be a pretty light relaxing day.Started to see the terrain starting to change on this short journey today,can start to see mountains and a subtle change in the greenery.much more pleasant to the eye
Tomorrow want to reach Bukhara ( then Samarkand and Tashkent , thereafter making our way out of Uzbekistan and into Kyrgyzstan)
It was also very noticeable the change in the way ladies dressed – salver chemise type,very symmetrical features and very well dressed

KHIVA – additional information – First Ancient Town we have visited
A very interesting place

I found it to be a very sleepy town,with young population.Did not see one single dog ,stray or otherwise !

In the early part of its history, the inhabitants of the area were from Iranian stock and spoke an Eastern Iranian language called Khwarezmian. Subsequently the Iranian ruling class was replaced by Turks in the 10th century A.D, and the region gradually tuned into an area with a majority of Turkic speakers.

The city of Khiva was first recorded by Muslim travellers in the 10th century, although archaeologists assert that the city has existed since the 6th century. By the early 17th century, Khiva had become the capital of the Khanate of Khiva, ruled by a branch of the Astrakhans, a Genghisid dynasty.Khiva is an important and often overlooked historical site on what was once a small trading post on the GREAT SILK ROAD.Famous for its long and brutal history as a slave trading post

In 1873, Russian General Von Kaufman launched an attack on the city, which fell on 28 May 1873. Although the Russian Empire now controlled the Khanate, it nominally allowed Khiva to remain as a quasi-independent protectorate.

Khiva is split into two parts. The outer town, called Dichan Kala, was formerly protected by a wall with 11 gates. The inner town, or Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Present-day crenellated walls date back to the late 17th century and attain the height of 10 meters.

The LARGE BLUE TOWER in the central city square was supposed to be a minaret, but the Khan died and the succeeding Khan did not complete it.Construction was thus halted and the minaret remains unfinished to this day.

The old town retains more than 50 historic monuments and 250 old houses, mostly dating from the 18th or the 19th centuries. Djuma Mosque, for instance, was established in the 10th century and rebuilt in 1788-89, although its celebrated HYPOSTYLE HALL still retains 112 columns taken from ancient structures.

Khiva was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990

3 weeks and going strong!

The best or should I say challenging aspect of early morning was going to have a shower and finding out – no electricity and no running water in the shower .But before that as I was just about to brush my teeth ,saw a dung beetle pointlessly struggling in the sink.For obvious reasons it had to be removed before It drowned in Colgate – no I wasn’t brave enough to remove it.Managed to convey to the guy who owned the house to put some water in a metal bucket I had found and heat it up on the gas stove in the kitchen .That sorted ,went to the bathroom ,to face the hurdle of washing myself in the dark – remember no electricity! Managed to position a mini touch I had brought with me from the uk ,in a direction I could see what I was doing.This ,plus managing the outside loo,I was already exhausted.Anyway the guys were still asleep,oblivious of my little adventure – loo (sorry)and accommodation photos attached!
Journey to Nukus,was relatively uneventful the roads were pretty good. For the first time on a duel carriageway we saw people and vehicles ,could easily be coming at you from the opposite direction . Our other dilemma was after nearly 300 miles of travelling we had not found any diesel selling petrol stations – not quite desperate yet but needing top up.From talking to someone at a petrol station,one thing led to another ,as seems to happen ,often in our travels.We had to follow a car,which took us to someone (not a petrol station) who was selling or is it wholesaling diesel – ladies were in charge of helping to get the fuel from behind some big metal gates and for collecting the money in the end
Finally reached Nukus and a hotel with a real shower, and a comfortable bed for the night.Also completed a milestone today of passing 5,000 miles travelling

Morning wash was an event as can be seen from Kirit’s face!
Heading for Nukus in Uzbekistan at 9.15am
36121 and got another 140 miles to have travelled 5000 miles (36,261 miles)
Uncomfortable drive to the border,reached at 11am and a mega queue of vehicles greeted us – could see this was going to be a very long process
It’s been a pretty frustrating day at the border,it’s now 5.30pm and we have been here nearly seven hours.There appears to be no movement of vehicles whatsoever ever.We managed to use a v basic – I mean v basic toilets on the Kazakstan border.No partition and six holes in the ground!
Spent most of the afternoon in the vehicle ,sleeping and nibbling at what ever bites we had.
After two check points we had to go through on the Kazakhstan side ,we were finally approaching the first of three check point on the Uzbekistan side – as ‘tourists’ we managed to pass ,I would say at least a couple of hundred cars – the locals were absolutely fine and in fact some helped us.
We were finally coming to the business end of this particularly memorable (not for anything good) part of the journey.
Whilst waiting ( now on the Uzbekistan side) we managed to wash the utensils ,using a hose with running water in preparation of the distinct possibility we may have to cook and tent it today.
Customs guy took a particular liking to some of the photos I had taken of the trip and this took up a further hour.He made me delete a couple of photos I had taken of the immigration area. ( but not all – for some reason) but then he insisted I delete a number of my Ukraine(Kiev) photos and a few video’s I had taken there .By now I was in no mood to do anything but delete whatever he wanted.
Even at the final check point we had to go back because we had not been given completed documentation for the car.We finally were given the all clear,with a welcome to Uzbekistan from a customs guy.Thanks ! After a 9 and a half hour wait and no proper sanitation
Started to become dark – being 8.15 pm with no accommodation / food.On route to town – guess what ,we had to go through one more checkpoint on some off main road track.Now we needed some luck – thankfully we got it.
A casual knock on a random house in a village close to the border we had just crossed led to a contact being made ,for us to have an evening meal ,accommodation for the evening and the help of a local who spoke English – Great ,the tent will have to wait for another day.
The blue container looking premisses is where we purchased our car from

Our accommodation for the evening was one room – four people
From Russia to Kazakhstan you could see the changes in facial features of people as we crossed the country – distinctly Mongolian looking,all have been equally friendly as in previous countries we have visited.
After our epic day in Uzbeckistan customs we will be heading for Nukus tomorrow morning – wondering what surprises we will encounter.Perhaps on our European leg we were in the predictable zone but with the start of the Asia phase ,has already brought a few unexpected surprises .

19th day Wed 30th April
Started the day going grocery shopping with Manvir,unsure for the first time on our journey where we would be spending tonight – remote town or in our own tent? So we needed adequate food provision. – onward….
Not a particularly scenic journey,so flat and dry ,extremely windy and can feel it where ever we stopped.Its almost as if the tide has gone out of this region and forgotten to come back ,leaving behind dry ,dusty land with no greenery what so ever
Pretty warm day
Reached Beyneu – a remote town! Managed to find some accommodation – word v basic comes to mind – but better then pitching up in the wilderness in very windy conditions in the dark.
Walked around town,into the market place – v friendly – good way to break the ice ,take a photo and show the result- always brings a smile to their faces
Managed to find a bar,yes a bar which served cold draught beer and which was extremely refreshing .Quality of the beer has been excellent throughout our journey.
Stayed at this place and had dinner to – BBQ chicken,v tasty and cooked on something I use at home ,plus we doused it with our own Nando sauce
Finished off the evening ,with all of us watching a movie -12 angry men ,in our small confined room.At some stage all 4 of us have to identify ,which one of us most closely resembles one of the characters in the movie and what is the view of the others on our choice – will be interesting when this discussion takes place
Unusual day,but fun.Look forward to tomorrow morning and the use of the communal bathroom and I think for the first time the squat position will be in operation !!
Will be hopefully crossing into Uzbekistan tomorrow

Safe but stuck in between the Kaz and Uzbekistan border – started journey this morning at 9am from Beyneu in Kazakstan. Quite an event trying to get ready this morning. Reached border and customs process started at 11am and now 1.45pm! Got through Kaz border but really hot!

18th day Tues 29th April
Last day in Russia ,made our way from Astrakhan to the Kazakstan border,fairly straight forward drive to the check point .Crossed a bendy bridge – moments of tension!
Border control ,both from the Russian and Kazakstan sides was fairly straight
forward .Making our way to Atyrau
Driving through V dry ,v flat land accompanied with a wicked sweeping wind – and oh my god,mega pot holes on the road for some distance ,travelling time was pretty slow.Rainy and quite cold. This region was meant to have been under the sea ,some time back in its history ,explains the sandy ,dry endless terrain
Reached at 8pm – long difficult driving day,Peter at the helm for a fair bit.Infact because of our journey,we lost another hour GMT – we are now 4 hours behind
The city of Atyrau ,like many others we had seen in the recent past was pretty modern.
Attached ,proposed journey plan for tomorrow

Brief information :It seems the place has quite a history and a pretty bright future

The city is located on both sides of the Ural River. The history of the area and the city has for many centuries. The first mention found in the III – IV centuries BC, and the city begins its chronicle in 1640.
The land is harsh, but generous. The Caspian Sea and Ural River is rich in fish and the depths of the oil. And so the main richness red fish and black caviar, oil and gas. No wonder the crest of the city of sturgeon and oil derrick.
Today Atyrau – the main hydrocarbon region of Kazakhstan, the largest center for oil and gas, a promising market investments. Well, black caviar from Atyrau well-known in the CIS and Europe.