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A wedding and enough desert

Lørdag d. 11. november 2017 - Mandag d. 13. november 2017          (Update 20. januar 2018)

Nukus - 30 km før Kungrad 87 km
30 km før Kungard - Kungrad 34 km
Transport fra Kungrad til Kazakstan grænsen

Følelsen af at cykle i Central Asien var ved at sætte sine spor og det gjalt for os alle tre. Den konstante opmærlsomhed fra befolkningen havde trættet os og de monotome lange lige vejen, hvor naturen ikke bød på den store variation gjorde også sit til at vi var uinspireret.
På en cafe restaurant på vejen mod Kungrad, hvor vi sad og fik os en kop kaffe, var der en fuld mand der blev ved med at afbryde os imens vi sad og snakkede sammen. Utrolig irreterende og til sidst blev vi eninge om at ignorere ham fuldstænding og dem der havde stedet, kom med ting vi kke havde bestilt og virkede egentlig meget mystiske.
Da dagen var på sit sidste ville vi finde et sted, hvor vi måske kunne slippe for opmærksomheden. Det blev et stykke fra vejen og gemt bag nogle huse. Der kom en lille flok mennesker senere for at se hvad vi lavede, men de blev kun et kort øjeblik, så det var dejligt. Nu kunne vi nyde en smuk solnedgang og ude i det fjerne kunne vi se at det regnede.
Da vi nåede Kungrad efter at have cyklet en lille distance på 34 kilometer, blev vi noget skuffet. Alle var opsat på at skulle finde en cafe´ ligende cafe´ cinamon i Nukus. Vi havde set på maps.me at der lå en cafe der hed Romantic Cafe´. Så humøret var højt og vi havde stor forventning til Kungrad. Men vi blev noget så skuffet.
Kungard viste sig at være en trist, ucharmerende og støvet by. Meget meget langt hvad vi havde set i Nukus. Vejene var ødelagte med store huller og alt var dækket i en støvdis.
Da vi var kommet os over den først skuffelse, blev vi enige om at kigge efter et sted at bo og så derefter gå på jagt efter mad.
Maps.me havde angivet 4 hoteller og vi cyklede til det første sted. Stedet virkede ikke indbydende, så vi fortsatte til næste hotel. Det viste sig ikke at være et hotel, men et skatte kontor. Manden som var på kontoret, mente der var et hotel bag ved den lokale fodboldbane, så nu gik turen derhen. Dette skulle vise sig at være et hospital. De andre to hoteller eksisterede ikke, så hvad skulle vi vælge????
Vi var alle sultne, så istedetfor at søge efter hotel gik jagten ind på at finde et spisested. Det gik heller ikke ret godt. Efter et par steder uden held kom vi forbi et stort sted, hvor der stod Cafe Olympic. Der var massevis af mennesker, så vi ville se om der ikke var plads til os også.
Vi stilte cyklerne udenfor, men inden vi kunne få lov at gå ind, var der en mand der kom hen til os og sagde vi skulle vente. Ud fra hans fagter, forstod vi det var fordi et bord skulle gøres klar til os.
Udenfor sad en stor flok ældre mænd og som fulgte med i hvad der skete og de fik sig en god snak om vind og vejr over et par flasker vodka og noget mad.
Efter kort tid kom en mand hen til os og sagde vi kunne komme ind. Til vores store forbavselse, var vi havnet midt i et bryllup. Men vi var velkommen og skulle bare sætte os hen til en stort rundt bord. Her stod vi i vores svedige cykeltøj og uvasket hår. Vi følte os mildest talt noget malplaceret. Men manden sagde at vi var velkommen og skulle bare spise hvad vi havde lyst til og inden vi havde set os om, var der hældt vodka op til os og serveret suppe, plov, brød og chokolade. Hvis vi kunne spise mere skulle var sige til, der var nok.
Manden, som satte sig ved vores bord talte flydende engelsk. Så vi fik snakket om mange ting. Han arbejdede ved at af de mange olie firmaer og han vidste en masse om Danmark og om hvordan vi brugte vindmøller og solceller. Han fortalte at Uzbekistan kunne også nyde godt af vindmøller og solceller, men hvorfor skulle de det når der var så mange gas og olie depoter i deres jord.
Imens vi sad der, blev vi filmet, hvor vi blev bedt om at sige noget til brudeparret og senere kunne vi høre at de sagde noget over højtalerne omkring os. De havde fået vores navne og dem kunne vi forstå og så Dania og Malaysia.
Der blev også spillet musik og en flok kvinder dansede til musikken. Vi skulle bare gå ud og danse hvis vi havde lyst, sagde manden. Det afslog vi, hvor vi selv syntes vi lygtede og så fjollede ud i vores cykeltøj.
I de 1 1/2 time vi var ved bryllupet, så vi aldrig brudeparret. Manden der sad vad bordet, blev ved med at sige at sige at parret kom lige om lidt, men det skete aldrig.
Vi takkede mange gange for deres gæstfrihed da vi sagde farvel. Vi var nødt til at finde et sted at sove og vi kunne faktisk også godt mærke vi havde fået lidt vodka at drikke.
Vi endte med at vende tilbage til stedet hvor vi først havde været og da vi skulle tjekke ind, var der en mystisk mand, der fulgte med op på værelset. Jeg troede han var fra politiet, da han stillet en masse mærklige spørgsmål. Han vidste endda vi havde været henne ved brylluppet. Han kiggede igennem vores pas meget længe og spurgte os ud om vores rejse. Det var somom han ikke troede på os, når vi sagde at vi havde cyklet igennem alle de lande vi havde. Hvordan kunne vi have råd til det ???? Var et af hans spørgsmål. Hvordan ville vi overleve i ørknen?? Der skulle blive frost om nogle dage og vinterne kom.
Vi var meget trætte på det tidspunkt og jeg tror vi virkede meget arogante overfor ham. Da vi syntes han var meget irreternede. Heldigvis gik han til sidst.
Fra Kungrad manglede vi 330 kilometer inden vi ville nå til den kazakstanske grænse. Der var et spisested og hotel 42 kilometer efter Kungard og derefter var der ikke andet end et langt stræk med ørken og ingenting.
Udover det vidste vi at efter grænsen skulle vi yderlig cykle over 500 kilometer i ørken, så vi blev enige om at vi ikke gik glib af noget, hvis vi tog transport fra Kungrad og til Beyneu i Kazakstan.
Klokken var 17:30 da vi kom på ide´en med at tage toget. Så vi gik hen på stationen for at finde ud af hvornår vi kunne komme med  et tog og hvad det ville koste. 
Der var et tog næste morgen. Yes tænkte vi!! Men vores næste problem var at vi ikke havde nok SOM og Banken var lukket for idag. Så nu stod vi i en helt anden situation. Hvis ikke vi ville cykel næste dag, så blev vi nødt til at blive en dag mere i Kungrad. Denne tanke var fuldstændig umulig i mit hoved, men vi havde ikke noget andet valg. Så nu måtte vi se hvordan vi ville fordrive tiden næste dag.
En ny ide´ havde formet sig i How´s hoved næste morgen da vi vågnede. Hvad nu hvis vi fik nogen til at køre os til grænsen? Altså hvis vi kunne finde en stor nok bil.
Heidi og jeg var med på ide´en med det sammen. Vi gik han på et lokale marked, hvor vi havde set en masse biler holde. Her måtte vi spørge mindste 5 - 10 personer. En af dem vi spurgte, var af den overbevisning at han kunne have alt vores bagage og cykler i hans stationcar også selvom vi viste ham nogle billeder at vores bagage. Vi var kommet frem til at vi kunne leje to biler, men inden vi gjorde det forsøgte vi os en sidste gang.
Hele processen forgik via google translate og vi skrev: Vi skal bruge en stor kassevogn - BIG VAN.
Vi var så heldige at en mand tog os med op til hovedgaden og viste os en kassevogn. Yes, det var sådan en vi skulle bruge. Hvad kostede den? 50 USD (305,- Kr) ialt.
Manden kørte os hen til vores hotel med det sammen og vi fik læsset det hele i løbet af 15 minutter. Vi havde bemærket at det ene forhjul var fladt og gjorde manden opmærksom på det. Det var ikke noget problem. Inden vi forlod Kungrad, kørte han forbi et sted hvor de lappede hjulet, alt imens vi ventede.
Klokken var 12 da vi kørte ud af Kungard og satte kursen mod Kazakstan. Vores chauffør havde et mildt ansigt og var en kraftig fyr, men under skindet var han en fartbølle, som vi kom til at føle hele vejen til grænsen. Hastigheden lå det meste af tiden over 90 KMH også selvom vejen var i MEGET dårlig kvalitet.
Vi måtte støtte imod for ikke at blive kastet rundt inde i bilen og ligeså når han skiftede fra side til side af vejen for at finde den bedste del at køre på.
Da vi næsten var fremme ved grænsen, skulle vi have benzin på bilen. Det forgik ved at han kørte ind til en lille landsby, her var der nogen der havde benzin på nogle store dunke. Benzinen blev fyldt på med en traktder var fastgjort til en støvsugerslange. For at være sikker på at tanken blev fyldt helt op, blev bilen skubbet frem og tilbage af flere gange. Alt imens vi sad inden i bilen.
Det blev også her vi fik ordnet betalingen for leje af bilen. 50 USD var 410.000 SOM....en stor bunke penge.
Vi blev sat af ved grænse hotellet. Det lå kun få hunderede meter fra grænsen. Det var ved at blive mørkt og vi vidste at næste dag skulle vi cykle igen. Vi var spændte på hvad vi ville syntes om Kazakstan for anden gang på turen. En ting var sikkert, landskabet og temperaturen blev noget helt andet end det vi havde set og følt for flere måneder siden da vi så Kazakstan for første gang.

 


English

Saturday November 11, 2017 - Monday, November 13, 2017               (Update 20th january 2018)

Nukus - 30 km before Kungrad 87 km
30 km before Kungrad - Kungrad 34 km
Transport from Kungrad to Kazakhstan border

The feeling of cycling in Central Asia was tiresome and it was the same for all of us. The constant attention from the population had worn us out and the monotomes long roads, where nature did not chance a great bit also made us uninspired.
At a cafe restaurant on the way to Kungrad, where we sat and got a cup of coffee, there was a drunk man who kept interrupting us while we were talking together. Amazingly irrational and eventually we agreed to ignore him completing and those who had the place, came up with things we had not ordered and actually seemed very mysteriously.
When the day was at the end, we wanted to find a place where we might get rid of the attention. We found a place a bit out of the way and hidden behind some houses. A little bunch of people came later to see what we were doing, but they went after a short moment so it was nice. Now we could enjoy a beautiful sunset and in the distance we could see that it was raining.
When we reached Kungrad after riding a short distance of 34 kilometers, we became somewhat disappointed. Everyone was keen on finding a cafe-like the cafe cinamon in Nukus. We had seen on maps.me that there was a cafe called Romantic Cafe'. So the mood was high and we had great expectation for Kungrad. But we became something so disappointed.
Kungard proved to be a sad, unsightly and dusty town. Very far from what we had seen in Nukus. The roads were broken with big holes and everything was covered in a layer of dust.
When we had over come the first disappointment, we agreed to look for a place to stay and then go hunting for food afterwards.
Maps.me had listed 4 hotels and we rode to the first place. The place did not seem inviting so we continued to the next hotel. It turned out not to be a hotel but a tax office. The man who was in the office thought there was a hotel behind the local football field, so now we went there. This would turn out to be a hospital. The other two hotels did not exist, so what should we choose ????
We were all hungry, so instead of searching for a hotel, the hunt went on to find an eatery. It did not work well either. After a couple of places without luck, we came past a big place where there was a sign saying: Cafe Olympic. There were lots of people so we wanted to see if there was space for us too.
We parked the bikes outside, but before we could go inside, there was a man who came to us and said we should wait. Based on his gesture, we understood that a table had to be made ready for us.
Outside there were a big bunch of older men who followed what was happening and they had a good talk about wind and weather over a couple of bottles of vodka and some food.
After a short time a man came to us and said we could come in. To our great astonishment, we were in the middle of a wedding. But we were welcome and just had to go to a large round table and sit down. Here we stood in our sweaty bicycle clothes and unwashed hair. We felt at least somewhat misplaced. But the man said we were welcome and just had to eat what we wanted and before we had looked up, vodka was poured in shot glases for us and soup, plow, bread and chocolate was served. If we could eat more we should not hesitate.
The man who sat down at our table spoke fluent English. So we talked about many things. He worked for one of many oil companies and he knew a lot about Denmark and how we used wind turbines and solar cells. He told us that Uzbekistan could also benefit from wind turbines and solar cells, but why should they when there were so many gas and oil depots in their soil.
As we sat there, we were filmed where we were asked to say something to the couple that got married and later we could hear that they said something about us over the speakers. They had our names and we could understand them saying Dania and Malaysia.
There was also music played and a bunch of women danced to the music. We just had to go out dancing if we wanted to, said the man. We refused where we thought we were smelly and so silly in our bike clothes.
In the 1 1/2 hour we were at the wedding, we never saw the bridal couple. The man that sat at our table, kept saying that the couple came in a bit, but it never happened.
We thanked many times for their hospitality when we said goodbye. We had to find a place to sleep and we could actually also feel we had a little vodka to drink.
We ended up returning to the place where we had first been and when we checked in, there was a mysterious man who came with us to the room. I thought he was from the police as he asked a lot of strange questions. He even knew we had been to the wedding???? He looked through our passport for a long time and asked us about our trip. It was as if he did not believe us when we said we had cycled through all the countries we had. How could we afford it ???? Was one of his questions. How would we survive in the desert ?? There would be frost in a few days and the winter was comming.
We were very tired at the time and I think we seemed very arogant to him. When we thought he was very unruly. Fortunately he finally left.
From Kungrad we still had 330 kilometers before reaching the Kazakh border. There was an eatery and hotel 42 kilometers after Kungard and then there was nothing but a long stretch of desert and nothingness.
Besides that, we knew that after the border we still had to cycle over 500 kilometers in the desert before reaching Aktau. So we agreed that we did not miss anything if we were transported from Kungrad and to Beyneu in Kazakhstan.
The time was 5:30 PM when we came up with the idea of ​​taking the train. So we went to the station to find out when we could get a train and what it would cost.
There was a train the next morning. Yes, we thought !! But our next problem was that we did not have enough SOM and the bank was closed for today. So now we were in a completely different situation. If we did not want to bike the next day, then we had to stay one more day in Kungrad. This thought was completely impossible in my mind, but we had no other choice. So now we had to see how we would pass time the next day.
A new idea had formed in How's head the next morning when we woke up. What if we got someone to drive us to the border? If we could find a big enough car.
Heidi and I liked the idea aswell. We went to the local market where we had seen a lot of cars. Here we had to ask at least 5 - 10 people. One of those we asked was convinced that he could have all our luggage and bikes in his stationcar even though we showed him some pictures of our luggage. We had come to the conclusion that we could rent two cars, but before we did, we tried on last time.
The whole process went through google translate and we wrote: We need a big van - BIG VAN.
We were so fortunate that a man took us up to the main street and showed us a van. Yes, that was what we needed. What did it cost? 50 USD (305, - Kr) in total.
The man drove us to our hotel and we got all packed in 15 minutes. We noticed that one front wheel was flat and alerted the man. That was no problem. Before we left Kungrad, he drove past a place where they patched the wheel, while we waited.
It was 12 o'clock when we drove out of Kungard and headed for Kazakhstan. Our driver had a mild face and was a powerful big guy, but under the skin he was a speed racer, which we felt all the way to the border. The speed was most of the time over 90 KMH even though the road was in very poor quality.
We had to support our selfs not to be thrown around inside the car and also when he switched from side to side of the road to find the best part to drive.
As we were almost at the border, he needed gasoline for the car. He drove into a small village, here someone had petrol in some big barrels. The petrol was filled with a piece of hard plastic to a vacuum hose. To make sure the tank was completely filled up, the car was pushed back and forth several times. All while we were in the car.
It was also here that we had arranged the payment for renting the car. 50 USD was 410,000 SOM .... a big pile of money.
We were driven to the border hotel. It were only a few hundred meters from the border. It was getting dark and we knew that the next day we would cycle again. We were excited about what we would think about Kazakhstan for the second time on our trip. One thing was for sure, the landscape and the temperature became something completely different from what we had seen and felt several months ago when we saw Kazakhstan for the first time.
 


Uzbek Police....do we have to leave???

Torsdag 02. november 2017 - Fredag 10. november 2017               (Update 13. januar 2018)

Bukhara - 70 kilometer efter 70 km
70 kilometer efter Bukhara - Check point lille hus 90 km
Check point lille hus - Et sted i ørknen 106 km
Et sted i ørkenen - En restaurant 91 km
En restaurant - Udkanten af Beruniy 74 km
Udakanten af Beruniy - 80 km før Nukus 65 km
80 km før Nukus - Nukus 82 km
2 dage i Nukus

Da vi forlod Bukhara var vi alle spændte på, hvordan det ville blive at cykle igennem ørknen. En ting var sikkert, det ville blive fladt som en pandekage og vi ville kunne cykle mange kilometer, hvis det var det vi ville og hvis ikke vi fik modvind.
Selvfølgelig var der lige den faktor at de første 100 kilometer efter Bukhara var elendig vej. Så den første 1 1/2 dag cyklede vi stille og roligt indtil vi ramte den bedste asvalt til dato. En vej der var fuldstænding nyanlagt, så nu blev den store klinge brugt og hastigheden var for det meste over 20 kmh.
Når en dag sluttede kunne vi konstaterer, at vi kun havde klatret 38 meter opad. Ørknen var bestående af sand, små buske og små træer. Nogen steder var der lavet en anordning af siv, som var sat ned i jorden i store firkanter for at holde på sandet, hvis det skulle blæse.
Der var ikke mange byer. Cirka hver 30 til 50 kilometer, kunne vi se en klynge træer og så vidste vi at der lå et lille spise sted. Nogen gange en butik. Ellers var det bare fladt og øde.
En af byerne vi cyklede igennem hed Gazli. Byen eksisterede sikkert kun pga. gasindustrien i området og det skal siges at byen ingen charme havde overhovedet. Grå huse, gasrør og en stor fabrik i midten af byen. Alt så gammelt og slidt ud. Alt Virkede deprimerende og håbløst. For os var meget svært at forestille sig at bo i sådan en by.
En af dagene da vi skulle finde et sted at slå lejr, fandt vi et sødt lille lerhus. Det lå lidt fra vejen og for at komme hen til huset skulle vi skubbe cyklerne igennem sandet. Vi kunne slå teltene op bag ved huset og så passede det fint med at vi kunne sidde inde i huset og lave mad.
En ting vi havde regnet med når vi kom ud i ørknen, var at vi kom til at opleve stilheden. Men der blev vi noget skuffet. Desværre var der så meget tung trafik på vejen om natten, at stilhed ikke eksistedere i her.
Om aftenen kunne vi se en flamme brænde fra et olieraffenaderi, som ligner en levende solnedgang. Ret så flot.
Den følgende morgen, da vi sad og spiste morgenmad i det lille hus, stod solen op som en stor orange kugle på himlen og gave sandet et smuk skær. 
Som dagene gik kom vi længere og længere ind i ørkenen og det var ikke fordi vi følte der skete de store forandringer. Den forandring vi kunne spore, var at det begyndte at blive køligere om morgenen og temperaturen i løbet af dagen kom ikke over 23 grader. Hvilket var en perfekt temperatur til at cykle i.
En af dagene nåede vi at cykle mere end 100 kilometer og samme dag nåede vi vores 15.000 kilometer jubilæum. Vi forsøger altid at tage forskellige billeder når vi når en milepæl og det samme blev det til denne gang. Vi fandt nogle klipper vi kunne sidde på og med en sten skrev vi 15.000 km på klipperne.
Det virker helt syrealistisk at vi har cyklet så langt. Nogen mennesker køre ikke engang så langt i deres bil på et år. Tror ikke helt vi forstår det.
En aften endte det med at vi sov på en restaurant. Vi var næsten cyklet forbi stedet, da ejeren råbte efter os. Så vi vendte om og fandt ud af vi kunne sove der og få aftensmad. Aftensmaden blev fisk, brød og syltede tomater.
Stedet blev brugt som stop for lastbil chauffører, hvor de kom ind for at spise deres aftensmad inden de satte afsted på en tur igennem natten.
En af chaufførerene kom hen for at snakke med os. Det gjorde han ved at ringe til sin svigerdatter, som åbentbart var lære og kunne engelsk. Så gav han Marianne telefonen, så hun kunne få forklaret hans spørgsmål. Han ville høre om vi manglede noget og om hvad vi syntes om Uzbekistan. Efter 5-10 minutter snak var han glad og sagde farvel.
Natten blev noget larmende, da restauranten lå lige ud til vejen og lastbilerne drønede forbi.
Efter nogle dage i ørken landskab kom vi igennem et område med flere små byer og der var mere bevoksning. Endda grønt græs. Ligeledes kom den dårlige vej tilbage. Det er vildt hvor hurtigt vi glemte at der også findes dårlig vej, når vi havde cyklet på super god vej i 3 hele dage. Men en god ting der skete var et besøg på en lille cafe´ i byen Turtkul. Her bestilte vi 3 i 1 kaffe og et stykke kage. Kagen hed Miszka: sagde damen bag disken. Stykket var så stort, at Heidi og jeg delte. Miszka er det stykke kage vi stadig snakker om. Indtil nu har vi ikke fået et andet stykke der smagte lige så godt. How havde bestilt en anden kage, men han ville også smage Miszka kagen, så han endte med at spise to store stykker.
Det var tid for os at blive registreret igen, så vi ville inlogere os på et hotel i Beruniy, vel og mærke hvis det var et hotel i byen. På et lille spisested de lavede Lavash, spurgte vi om der var et hotel i byen. Ja ja sagde de og pegede os imod den retning vi var kommet fra og sagde 1 kilometer den vej. Så vi cyklede tilbage og ned af en sidevej som lignede hovedgaden. Men vi kunne ikke se noget der minede om et hotel. Vi spurgte en mand hvor hotellet lå. Nu sagde han at byen ikke havde et hotel. Det nærmeste var 30 kilometer syd for byen og i en retning vi overhovedet ikke skulle.
Vi havde haft en anelse om at der ikke var hotel i byen, for når vi søgte på maps.me kom der ingenting frem.
Vi blev noget skuffet, men vi måtte lave en plan B. Planen blev: indkøb af mad og så skulle vi have fat i mere benzin til vores brænder. Det blev ganske let, for udenfor købmanden hvor vi handlede, stod der en mand med flere plastik dunke fyldt med benzin, som han solgte. Nu havde vi hvad der skulle til for at vi kunne sove i telt og herefter gik jagten ind for at finde et sted vi kunne sætte vores telte op.
Vi ville helst finde et sted, hvor vi ikke ville få for meget opmærksomhed og det lykkedes. Vi cyklede ned af en markvej og fandt et sted på en mark. Der var cirka 500 m til de nærmeste huse og for at være sikker på at det var iorden at vi slå teltene op på marken, gik Marianne hen for at spørge ved et af husene.
Manden i huset sagde det var helt OK.
Gad vide hvad der ville ske, nu hvor vi ikke var blevet registreret. Umiddelbart så det ikke ud til at vi kom til en by med hotel næste dag og selvom vi gjorde, var det ikke sikkert de ville checke os ind, da vi havde brudt loven ved ikke at overholde 72 timers reglen. 
Da vi startede på sjette cykeldag i streg måtte vi have mere tøj på end normalt. Temperaturen havde været omkring frysepunktet om natten og vi skulle frem til klokken 11 inden luften begyndte at blive varmet op.
Mange steder var der stadig efterårsfarver at se på buske og træer og det så så smukt ud op imod den blå himmel. Senere på dagen ændrede området sig igen, denne gang til en kæmpe område med store klippe blokke og sten på den ene side af vejen og på den anden lå et kæmpe fugle reservat med træer og grønt.
Samtidig fik vi flere små bakker vi skulle over, men med vinden i ryggen gjorde det ikke noget.
Inden vi valgte at finde et sted til vores telte, kom vi igennem en ufattelig støvet by. Lige ved vejen stod der 
cafe´ så vi valgte at stoppe for at drikke en kop kaffe. En dreng kom ud for at tage imod os og vi blev noget overrasket, da vi kommer indenfor. Det lignede mere et privat hjem end en cafe´ vi kom ind i, men vi kunne bare sætte os ved et bord med nogle stole og så lavede de kaffe til os. Imens vi sad der kom en mand, som åbentbart skulle betale et eller andet til dem der havde stedet. Ud af hans lomme tog han det største bundt penge vi nogensinde havde set og begyndte at tælle. Tror at bundtet mindst var 10 cm tykt og damen på stedet skulle have cirka halvdelen af bundtet.
Vi tænker, havde det været der hjemme. Var man gået afsides for at ordne tingene, men her virkede det som det mest almindelige.
Inden vi forlod stedet, blev det til den helt store foto session. Familien ville have taget billeder sammen med os og alle der havde en mobiltelefon ville have et billede.
Om aftenen campederde vi under den flotte stjernehimmel. Når vi sad og kiggede på stjernerne skulle vi altid se om vi kunne se Karlsvognen eller The wagon som How sagde.
Samme aften fik How og Marianne heldet med at tage nogle gode aften billeder, men desværre fik de også ødelagt lynlåsen til vores telt, fordi de skulle lave lysshow på teltdugen og hoppede ind og ud af teltet hele tiden.
Lynlåsen kunne ikke reddes, men heldigvis havde vi nogle store sikkerhedsnåle, som kunne holde sammen på det mest nødvendige.
På det tidspunkt havde vi døbt hinanden Howski, Heiski og Marski. Vi kaldte også How Mr. How og da han havde det malaysiske flag på en flagstang bag på hans cykel, som han kunne skille da på midten. Blev vores motto om aftenen: Salute the flag, når han tog flaget ned.
Vi havde altid noget at snakke om. Noget vi morede os meget over, var når How hørte musik med hovedtelefoner på. Nogen gange blev han grebet af musikken og sang med. Det skal siges at det ikke altid lød lige godt.
Så nåede vi til Nukus, turen dertil havde ikke budt på noget af betydning. Nukus er en større by og her var masse af hoteller, så nu var spørgsmålet om vi kunne blive registreret, eftersom vi sidst var blevet det 6 dage forinden.
Vi havde udset os Hotel Jipek Joli, men inden vi cyklede derhen faldt vores øjne på cafe Cinamon. Vi kunne kun se et skilt på facaden hvor der stod: Cafe´ Cinamon. Så vi havde ingen ide´ om hvad cafe´en ville byde på.
Vi må sige at vi skilte os meget ud fra de gæster der sad derinde. Her kom vi i sveding cykeltøj og fedet hår, da vi ikke havde fået bad i 6 dage. Men udvalget af kager og andet godt fik os til at glemme den faktor. 
Dette var som at komme i kageland. Mindst 20 forskellige kager var der at vælge imellem og en dejlig menu.
Vi var godt mætte da vi gik fra cafe´ en. Nu skulle vi bare rulle ned af gaden hvor hotellet lå.
Først vil de have 23 USD pr. person, men How får prisen ned på 17 USD pr. person incl morgenmad. 
Alt virkede til at køre i den rigtige retning for os, lige indtil manden bag skranken spurgte os, om vores pas og vores sidte hotel registrering. Da han ser at det er 6 dage siden sidste hotel ophold, må han meddele os at vi ikke kan overnatte på hotellet og at han var nødt til at ringe til politiet.
Hvad nu tænkte vi? Vil vi blive smidt ud af landet eller skulle vi betale en bøde? Vi får at vide vi skal cykle hen på politistationen. Her skulle vi vente i 30 minutter inden vi fik en afklaring. Pyha man når at tænke mange ting i 30 minutter. Heldigvis kom betjenten tilbage og sagde at vi kunne få lov til at blive og at vi bare skulle cykle tilbage til hotellet, da de havde ringet til den og sagt at vi godt måtte blive.
Jeg behøves nok ikke sige at vi var meget lettet da vi cyklede tilbage til hotellet.
Vi blev i Nukus et par dage og her fik vi en skæg oplevelse.
Anden aften vi var her gik vi ud for at spise. Vi fandt et sted og satte os ind til et bord. Kort tid efter kom en tjener hen for at tage imod vores bestilling, men midt i vi var ved at afgive vores bestilling sagde han at vi skulle komme med ham. Nu tog han os med ind i et stort rum, som lignede en finere restaurant.
Mærkeligt tænkte vi, men vi havde oplevet mange gange, at når der kom turister var det som om at de skulle have en anden behandling end de lokale. Så vi tog ikke større notits af situationen.
Vi fik bestilt vores mad og kort tid efter blev den serveret. Lige som vi gik igangmed at spise lød der pludselig høj musik og der kom gang i et lysshow. Fra et andet lokale dukkede der en gruppe på 15 - 20  mennesker op som begyndte at danse.
Det var svært ikke at rokke med på rytmerne alt imens vi sad og spiste. Samtidig syntes vi det var sjovt.
How prøvede at sige til mig at jeg skulle gå ud og danse. Han troede nok ikke at jeg ville gøre det, men man skal aldrig udfordre en gammel DJ og musik elsker som Marianne er.
Inden vi var færdige med at spise, havde dem der dansede gjort tegn til at vi skulle komme ud på gulvet og danse med. Først gik Marianne ud på gulvet og inden længe fulgte Heidi og How efter. Nu blev der breakdanset og rocket til musikken. Der blev dannet en ring, hvor hver især skulle skiftets til at være den der dansede i midten. Hold nu op hvor havde vi det skægt.
Sidenhen har vi fundet det musik vi dansede til og når vi høre det vil vi altid tænke tilbage på den sjove aften.


English

Thursday 02 November 2017 - Friday, November 10, 2017                (13th January 2018)

Bukhara - 70 kilometers after 70km
70 kilometers after Bukhara - Check point small house 90 km
Check point small house - A place in the desert 106 km
A place in the desert - A restaurant 91 km
A restaurant - the outskirts of Beruniy 74 km
The outskirts of Beruniy - 80 km before Nukus 65 km
80 km before Nukus - Nukus 82 km
2 days in Nukus

When we left Bukhara we were all excited about how it would be to cycle through the desert. One thing was for sure, it would be flat like a pancake and we would be able to ride many kilometers if that was what we wanted and if we did not get headwinds.
Of course, there was just the factor that the first 100 kilometers after Bukhara was a lousy road. So the first
1 1/2 day we cycled quietly until we hit the best road to date. A road that was completely new, so now the big chain ring was used and the speed was mostly over 20 kmh.
When one day ended we could notis that we had only climbed 38 meters. The desert consisted of sand, small bushes and small trees. Some places were made of straw that had been put into the ground in large squares to hold on to the sand if it would get windy.
There were not many towns. About every 30 to 50 kilometers, we could see a cluster of trees and then we knew there was a small eating place. Sometimes a store. Otherwise it was just flat and deserted.
One of the towns we rode through was called Gazli. The city probably existed only because of the gas industry in the area and it has to be said that the city had no charm at all. It was very hard for us to imagine living in such a town.
One of the days when we were to find a place to camp, we found a cute little clay house. It was a little away from the road and to get to the house we had to push the bikes through the sand. We could put the tents at the back of the house and it suited us to be able to sit inside the house and cook.
One thing we had considered when we got into the desert was that we came to experience the silence. But we got very disappointed. Unfortunately, there was so much heavy traffic on the road at night that silence did not exist here.
In the evening, we could see a flame of fire from an oil field that resembles a living sunset. Quite beautifull.
The following morning when we sat and ate breakfast in the little house, the sun rose like a big orange ball in the sky and gave the sand a beautiful flare.
As the days passed, we came farther into the desert and it was not because we felt there were the big changes. The change we could track was that it started to cool down in the morning and the temperature during the day did not reach more than 23 degrees. Which was the perfect temperature for cycling.
One of the days we reached to cycle more than 100 kilometers and on the same day we reached our 15,000 kilometer anniversary. We always try to take different pictures when we reach a milestone and the same thing happened this time. We found some cliffs we could sit on and with a rock we wrote 15,000 km on the cliffs.
It seems quite unrealistic that we have cycled so far. Some people do not even drive thet far in their car in a year. I Do not think we quite understand it.
One evening, we ended up sleeping in a restaurant. We had almost cycled past the place when the owner shouted after us. So we turned around and found out we could sleep there and have dinner. The evening meal became fish, bread and pickled tomatoes.
The place was used as a stop for truck drivers where they came in to eat their dinner before heading for a drive through the night.
One of the drivers came to talk to us. He did so by calling his daughter-in-law, who was a eacher and able to speak English. Then he gave Marianne the phone so the daughter in law could explain his questions. He wanted to hear if we were missing something and about what we thought of Uzbekistan. After 5-10 minutes he was happy and said good bye.
The night became somewhat noisy as the restaurant was just at the roadside and the trucks drove by all night.
After a few days in the desert landscape we came through an area with several small towns and there was more vegetation. Even green grass. Likewise, the bad road came back. It's wild how fast we forget that there was also a bad road when we had cycled on a very good road for 3 whole days. A good thing that happened was a visit to a small cafe in the town of Turtkul. Here we ordered 3 in 1 coffee and a piece of cake. The cake was called Miszka: said the lady behind the counter. The piece was so big that Heidi and I shared. Miszka is the piece of cake we are still talking about. Until now we have not got another piece that tasted just as nice. How had ordered another cake, but he would also like to taste the Miszka cake, so he ended up eating two big pieces.
It was time for us to be registered again so we would check in to a hotel in Beruniy, well if there was a hotel in town. At a small eatery where they made Lavash, we asked if there was a hotel in town. Yes yes they said and pointed to the direction we had come from and said 1 km that way. So we rode back and down a side road that looked like the main street. But we could not see anything that reminded of a hotel. We asked a man where the hotel was located. Now he said that the city did not have a hotel. The nearest was 30 kilometers south of the city and in a direction we would not go at all.
We had a clue that there was no hotel in town, because when we searched for hotels on maps.me nothing came up.
We were somewhat disappointed, but we had to make a plan B. The plan was: purchasing food and we should buy more gasoline for our burner. It became quite easy, because outside the merchant where we shoped there was a man with several plastic bottles filled with gasoline, which he sold. Now we had what we needed to sleep in our tents and then the hunt went in to find a place we could pitch our tents.
We would rather find a place where we would not get too much attention and we managed. We rode down a dirt road and found a place on a field. There were about 500 m to the nearest houses and to make sure that we could pitch the tents on the ground, Marianne went to ask at one of the houses.
The man in the house said it was okay.
Wondering what would happen now that we had not been registered. Immediately we did not think we came to a town with a hotel the next day and even though we did, it would maybe not be possible to check in because we had broken the law by not complying with the 72 hour rule.
When we started on the sixth cycle day, we had to wear more clothes than usual. The temperature had been around the freezing point at night and we had to wait until 11 o'clock before the air began to warm up.
In many places there were still autumn colors to look at bushes and trees and it looked so beautiful against the blue sky. Later in the day, the area changed again, this time to a huge area with large rocky blocks and stones on one side of the road, and on the other there was a huge bird reserve of trees and greenery.
At the same time we got several small hills we had to cross, but with the wind in the back it did not matter.
Before we chose to find a place for our tents, we came through an inconceivably dusty town. Just off the road there was a cafe so we chose to stop to drink a cup of coffee. A boy came out to meet us and we were somewhat surprised when we got inside. It looked more like a private home than a cafe we ​​entered, but we could just sit down at a table with some chairs and then they made coffee for us. While we sat there a man came who would openly payed something to those who had the place. Out of his pocket he took the biggest bundle of money we have ever seen and started counting. Believe that the bundle was at least 10 cm thick and the lady on the spot should have about half of the bundle.
We think if it had been back home, you had gone to another room to sort out things, but here it seemed to be the most common thing.
Before we left the place, it became a big photo session. The family would have taken pictures with us and everyone who had a mobile phone wanted a picture.
In the evening we camped under the beautiful starry sky. When we were watching the stars we always tried to see if we could see the big dipper or the wagon as How said.
That night, How and Marianne were lucky enough to take some good evening pictures, but unfortunately they also destroyed the zipper to our tent because they had to make a light show on the tent and jumped in and out of the tent all the time.
The zipper could not be saved, but luckily we had some big safety pins that could hold together on the most necessary.
At this point we had new nick names - Howski, Heiski and Marski. We also called How Mr. How and when he had the Malaysian flag on a flagpole behind his bike, which he could distinguish in the middle. Our motte became : Salute the flag when he took the flag down in the evening.
We always had something to talk about. Something we enjoyed and had a lot of fun with was when How heard music with headphones. Sometimes he got hold of the music and sang out loud. It have to be said that it did not always sound that nice. ;-)
Then we reached Nukus, the trip there had not offered anything of significance. Nukus is a bigger city and here was a lot of hotels so now the question was whether we could be registered because we had last been registered 6 days before.
We had chosen Hotel Jipek Joli, but before we rode there our eyes fell on cafe Cinamon. We could only see a sign on the facade where it said: Cafe Cinamon. So we had no idea what the cafe would offer.
We have to say that we were some what different from the guests sitting in there. Here we came in sweaty bike clothes and sticky hair, as we had not had a bath for 6 days. But the selection of cakes and other good stuff made us forget that factor.
This was like coming to cake land. At least 20 different cakes were there to choose from and a nice menu.
We were well fed when we left the cafe'. Now we just had to roll down the street where the hotel lay.
First they wanted $ 23 per. person, but How got the price down to $ 17 per person incl breakfast.
Everything seemed to go in the right direction for us, just until the man behind the desk asked us about our passport and our hotel registration. As he saw that it was 6 days since the last hotel stay, he informed us that we could not stay at the hotel and that he had to call the police.
This was not a nice situation, were we thinking? Will we be thrown out of the country or should we pay a fine? We were told to ride to the police station. Here we should wait for 30 minutes before we got a clarification. Wow many things are going though your mind in those 30 minutes!!! Fortunately, the officer came back saying that we could stay and that we just had to ride back to the hotel as they had called them and said we could stay.
I probably do not have to say that we were very relieved when we rode back to the hotel.
We stayed in Nukus for a couple of days and here we got a funny experience.
The second night we were here we went out to eat. We found a place and sat down at a table. Soon after, a waiter came to accept our order, but in the middle of we were delivering our order he said we should come with him. Now he took us into a big room, which looked like a nicer restaurant.
Strange we thought, but we had experienced many times that when there were tourists it was as if they were going to have a different treatment than the locals. So we did not take any notice of the situation.
We ordered our food and shortly after it was served. Just as we started to eat suddenly loud music was heard and a light show came on. From another room a group of 15-20 people appeared and they started dancing.
It was hard not to rock to the rhythms while we were eating. At the same time we thought it was funny.
How was trying to tell me to get up and dance. He probably did not think I'd do it, but never challenge an old DJ and music lover as Marianne is.
Before we had finished eating, the ones dancing had made signs that we should come to the floor and dance with them. First, Marianne went out on the floor and soon after followed Heidi and How. Now we breakdanced and rocked to the music. A ring was formed, each of which had to be the one that danced in the middle. It was so much fun.
Since then we have found the music we were dancing to and when we hear it we will always think back on that fun evening.


Uzbekistan - land of Desert and Dessert

Mandag d. 23. oktober 2017 - 01. november 2017                   (Update d. 9. jan. 2018)

Denov - 2 km før krydset til Boyson 49 km
2 km før krydset til Boyson - Boyson 45 km
Boyson - Korashina 74 km
Korashina - Yangikent 79 km
Yangikent - Qarshi 31 km
Qarshi - Cafe´/Tankstation 68 km
Cafe´/Tankstation - Camping i Ørknen 75 km
Camp i Ørknen - Bukhara 34 km
Bukhara pause dage

Natten på Hotel Denov havde været stille og rolig og da klokken var otte, var vi klar til morgenmaden. Som altid når vi sover på hotel var vi spændte på havd morgenmaden ville være??
Det blev til to spejlæg og en kylling pølse plus brød, som kunne skylles ned med en keddel te.
Efter morgenmaden gik vi hen til Ucell for at købe SIM kort. Det tog en time for at købe tre SIM kort. Vores pas skulle bruges og en formular skulle udfyldes inden vi kunne få kortene.
Vi skulle også have vekslet penge. Det i sig selv er en sjov oplevelse. For 100 USD får man 800.000 SOM og det bliver udbetalt i 1000 og 5000 SOM sedler. Så det blev en kæmpe bunke penge vi fik.
Klokken var 11 da vi cyklede afsted. En ting som er dejligt i Central Asien er at man først skal checke ud fra hotellerne klokken 12. Så der er god tid til at nå ting om formiddagen også.
Inden vi var ude af Denov, skulle vi cykle igennem området hvor det lokale marked lå og det er en hektisk oplevelse. Biler køre ud og ind uden at gøre tegn og taxaerne stopper i tide og utide for at tage passager med.
Det var først da vi var ude af byen det blev bedre. Bilerne dyttede og gav os tommel op nårde kørte forbi os. Børn og voksne hilste når vi kom cyklerne.
Langs med landevejen var der frugtboder der fristede os til at købe æbler, vindruer, sharon frugt og granatæbler. Specielt granatæbler blev en del af rejsen fra Uzbekistan og langt ind i Gerorgien, da de smagte så godt.
Første del af dagen var vejen flad og i dårlig stand, men sidst på dagen kom vi ind i et område, hvor der var bakker og ørken. Faktisk blev vi overrasket over at der allerede var ørken der, da vi havde regenet med det kom senere.
Dagen endte ved 65 årig Halima, som tog sig af to børenbørn, da datteren var på hospitalet. Den ene hed Sabina og hun var omkring 5 år og så var der en lille baby. 
Halima havde 8 børn, 7 sønner og en datter, hvor tre af den levede i Rusland. Alt imens hun tog sig af børne børnene tog hun sig af 10 køer og nogle kæmpe store kaniner.
Hun gav os brød, kandisukker og the. Vi skulle havde det godt , så hun kom også med et tæppe vi kunne sidde på.
En kæmpe kontrast at se hvordan hun levede i forhold til en 65 årig i Danmark.
Turen til Boyson gik igennem forskelligt landskab. Nogen steder med flotte bjerge i smukke nuancer og vi skiftende mellem at cykle opad og længere nedkørsler. How var stadig mærket efter hans mave problemer og opkast. Men kom stille og roligt til kræfter igen.
I Boyson fandt vi Boysun Hotel til 12 USD pr. person med morgenmad og så kunne de også registrere os.
Vi havde været forbi et sted, hvor de forlangte 30 USD pr. person. 
Men skal aldrig tro at en dag bliver let, for så bliver den lige det modsatte. Det var nøjaktig hvordan dagen blev fra Boyson til Korashia.
Først 7 kilometer op ad efterfulgt af en tur ned af, for så at skulle cykle opad en anden stigning på 17 kilometer.
Vejens kvalitat skiftede hele tiden, men heldigvis blev vejen virkelig god de sidste 20 kilometer.
Hele området vi cyklede igenmem var virkelig tørt men med nogle vilde klippeformationer. Et sted så det ud somom at klipperne var væltede op af jorden, næsten presset op imod himlen.
Noget vi morede os over var: hvis How cyklede bag os og en bil kørte forbi ham, havde de lige spurgt ham hvor han var fra. Han havde svaret: Malaysia og når de så kom op på siden af os råbte de ud af vinduet: Malaysia... råbte  Heidi og jeg tilbage: Njet....Dania og så lignede de et stort spørgsmålstegn.
I byen Korashia fik vi lov til at sætte vores telte op bag en restaurant. Her var en fin kunststof fodbold bane og i en indhegning stod to heste. Det havde blæst en del sidste på dagen, så det var godt vi kunne ligge i læ. Underlaget vi lå på var meget støvet. Om aftenen kom en mand for at hilse på os og for at sikre sig at vi var OK.
Da vi var ved at lave morgenmad og pakke sammen næste morgen, kom konen til manden fra aftenen før. Hun havde deres lille datter med. Den yndigste lille pige. Imens vi lavede de sædvanlige ting, fulgte moderen og barnet os nøje. Hvordan vi lavdede havregrød på vores MSR brænder og alle de andre småting vi havde gang i. Pigen var meget interessert i vores snack pose, så det endet med vi forærede hende en pakke kiks med chokolade og de tomme vandflasker ville moderen gerne have. 
For at sige tak, sagde moderen til pigen at hun skulle sige Rahmat, som betyder tak og holde hånden op til hjertet, som hun gjorde og hvor så hun bare sød ud når hun gjorde det.
Dagen hvor vi cyklede til Qarshi, blev en kort dag. Vi havde to ting vi skulle ordne angående vores huskøb og How syntes det var helt fint med en kort cykeldag. Så vi fandt et billigt hotel til 11 USD pr. person incl morgenmad.
Vi skulle gennemgå købsaftalen med en advokat og fik det ordnet via Skype. Marianne´s forældre sad med som vidner og det var dem der havde taget deres computer med, så vi kunne gennemgå de ting der skulle gennemgåes. 
Senere havde vi et Skype møde med vores bankrådgivere og efterfølgende har vi skullet ind via NEM ID ind og læse nogle aftaler igennem og lave elektroniske underskrifter. Hvor er vi heldige med den ny teknoligi, for uden den havde vi aldrig kunnet foretage handlen.
Nogen vil måske tænke at det er modigt at købe hus uden af have set det, men alle billederne på boligsiden fangede vores opmærksomhed med det samme, tilstands raporten var fin og med en byggesagkyndig der næsten gik og savlede da han så huset var vi sikker i vores sag. Samtidig med er vi ikke bange for at gøre noget spontant.
Med alle de ting ordnet, kunne vi slappe af og atter koncentrere om vores cykeltur. Selvfølgelig var det vildt at tænke på den 1. marts 2018 skulle vi cykle direkte til vores nye hus og se det for første gang. Sikke en afslutning på vores tur.
Da vi forlod Qarshi kunne vi se at det var en ret så moderne by. Det så næsten ud til at alle gamle bygninger var skiftet ud med nye og en fin ny vej var anlagt igennem byen. Der var endda en forlystelsespark, nok ikke lige det vi havde forventet på de kanter.
Da vi nåede udkanten af byen Koson, stoppede vi ved en lille bazar for at handle ind til vores aftensmad og alt vand vi skulle bruge. How så en dunk med ti liter vand og mente at den kunne han  godt cykle med. Er du sikker sagde vi og som altid sagde han bare: Never mind. Så ti liter tog han på hans cykle. Indtil da havde vejen været god at cykle på, men senere blev vejen virkelig dårlig, hvilket gjorde at vi ikke kunne cykle så hurtigt.
Det må siges at være en af de ting jeg ikke kunne forstå. Hvorfor var det at vejen kunne være super god i 30 kilometer og så pludselig ud af det blå blev vejen med store huller og asvalten kørt op, Vi lavede en joke omkring, at måske var pengene brugt  på vodka de steder hvor vejen ikke var god.
Området vi cyklede igennem var utroligt tørt, men i undergrunden befinder der sig guld i form af kæmpe olie og gas områder. Flere steder cyklede vi forbi kæmpe fabrikker og om aftenen når det blev mørkt, kunne vi se evighedsflammer brænde fra olieboringerne. Mange gange var der en lugt af olie eller gas i luften. Specielt i de mindre byer vi cyklede igennem var der en sødelig lugt af gas. Nogen gange tror vi, det var fordi der måtte være hul på en af de mange gasrør der var synlige i alle byerne.
Den sidste nat inden vi nåede til Bukhara, blev vores første rigtige nat i ørknen. Vi fandt ly bag nogle små træer.  Det havde været utroligt varmt i løbet af dagen og der lå et varmedis ned over området. Om aftenen efter vi havde fået hvad vi kaldte lækker mad i form af pasta, grøntsager og æg, lagde vi os på en presenning og lå og kiggede stjerner. På et tidspunkt blev vi overrasket af at der faldt regndråber. Så vi sprang op og søgte ly i teltene. Men det blev kun til få dråber, men nu var vi kravlet i ly, så vi blev i vores telte. Natten blev ulidelig varm, så varm at Marianne var ved at gå amok.
Turen til Bukhara blev en lille tur på 34 kilometer og da vi kom ind til byen sørgede How for at guide os hen til Rumi Hostel. Her mødte vi igen de to piger fra Hong Kong, de var netop ved at pakke og gøre klar til at cykle videre imod Khiva. To andre vi mødte igen var de to fyre fra Schweiz, dem som vi havde mødt på Green House i Dushanbe. De havde været lidt i vente position, da deres visum til Turkmenistan først var gylding fra næste dag.
Nu ville vi slappe af et par dage og se os om i Bukhara, samtidig med at samle krafter til den næste del af turen, som skulle føre os igennem ørknen.
Dagene i Bukhara brugte vi på at slentre igennem gaderne og kigge på de flotte bygninger i byen. Vi kunne både lide byen og så ikke. Alt er i den fineste stand og flot renoveret. Men næsten for perfekt, så at bygningerne mister noget at deres charme. Bukhara er en af hoved attraktionerne i Uzbekistan og derved bliver der selvfølgelig slået an på turisme. 
Det var spændende at se hvordan det flotte gulvtæpper bliver lavet på store væve. Altsammen ved håndkraft og et sted vi specielt kunne lide var den lille moskee - Chor Minor fra 1806. Her gik vi hen tidligt en dag og havde det hele for os selv.
Bukharas beliggenhed på en parallel rute til silkevejen, har gjort at byen på et tidspunkt var et vigtigt handels- og kulturcentrum med handelsforbindelser til både nord, øst og vest. Men som sagt er det idag mest turisme, gas og olie der driver byen.
Noget vi blev meget overraket over i Uzbekistan, var deres konditor kager. I alle de lande vi har rejst i er Uzbekistan det land der har haft de mest lækre konditor kager og massevis af dem. Det var ikke fair når vi kom ind i en cafe´, fordi der ville typisk være tyve forskellige kager og den ene så altid mere lækker ud end den anden. Så hvilken en skulle vi vælge???? Samtidig var kagerne vandvittig billige. For 3 stykker kage og 3 kaffe vel og mærke capuccino og kaffe latte, betalte vi det der svarede til 18 danske kroner.

Mere på vej inden længe......


English                                                                                                       (Updated 9th jan. 2018)

The night at Hotel Denov had been quiet and at 8 o'clock we were ready for breakfast. As always when we sleep at the hotel we were excited about what´s for breakfast ??
It was two eggs and a chicken sausage plus bread that could be washed down with a kettle of tea.
After breakfast, we went to Ucell to buy a SIM card. It took an hour to buy three SIM cards. We had to use our passport and a form was required before we could get the cards.
We should also exchange money. That by itself is a fun experience. For 100 USD you get 800,000 SOM and it will be paid in 1000 and 5000 SOM banknotes. So it became a huge pile of money we got.
It was 11 o'clock when we cycled. One thing that is nice in Central Asia is that you first check out from the hotels at 12 o'clock. So there is enough time to get things done in the morning aswell.
Before we were out of Denov, we would cycle through the area where the local market lay and it's a hectic experience. Cars drive in and out without making signs and taxis stop on and of to take passengers on board.
It was only when we got out of town it got better. The cars still honked their horns and gave us thumbs up when they drove past us. Children and adults greeted us when we cycled past them.
Along the country road there were fruit stalls tempting us to buy apples, grapes, sharon fruit and pomegranate. Especially pomegranate was part of the journey from Uzbekistan and far into Gerorgia as they tasted so good.
The first part of the day was the road flat and in poor condition, but at the end of the day we entered an area where there were hills and deserts. In fact, we were surprised that there was already desert there, as we expected that it came later.
The day ended at 65-year-old Halima, who took care of two grandchildren as her daughter was in the hospital. One was Sabina and she was about 5 years old and then there was a little baby.
Halima had 8 children, 7 sons and one daughter, three of whom lived in Russia. As she took care of the grand children, she took care of 10 cows and some huge rabbits.
She gave us bread, candy sugar and the. She wanted to make us feel good, so she also came with a blanket we could sit on.
A huge contrast to see how she lived in relation to a 65-year-old in Denmark.
The trip to Boyson went through different scenery. Some places with beautiful mountains in beautiful shades and we shifted between cycling uphill and downhill. How still felt a little ill after his stomach problems and vomiting. But came back to normal little by little.
In Boyson we found Boysun Hotel at $ 12 per person incl breakfast and then they could also register us.
We had been past a place where they wanted 30 USD per person. which was pure up spin.
Never think that one day becomes easy, because then it will be the opposite. It was exactly how the day became from Boyson to Korashia.
First 7 kilometers climbing up followed by a downhill and then we had to ride up again another 17 kilometer climb.
The road's quality changed all the time, but luckily the road was really good the last 20 kilometers.
The whole area we cycled though was really dry but with some wild rock formations. Somewhere it seemed like that the rocks were rolled up from the ground almost pushed against the sky.
Something we had a lot of funn with were: if How was riding behind us and a car drove past him, they'd just asked him where he was from. He had answered: Malaysia. Then when they came up on the side of us they shouted out of the window: Malaysia ... Heidi and I shouted back: Njet .... Dania and then they would look like a big question mark.
In the town of Korashia we were allowed to pitch our tents behind a restaurant. Here was a nice syntetic football court and in a fencing there were two horses. The wind had blown a lot at the end of the day, so it was nice we could lie in the shade of the football court. The surface we laid on was very dusty. Again in the evening a man came to greet us and to make sure we were OK.
When we were making breakfast and packing up the next morning, the woman of the man form the day before came. She had their little daughter with her. The cutest little girl. While we did the usual things, the mother and the child followed us carefully. How we made oatmeal on our MSR burner and all the other little things we were doing. The girl was very interested in our snack bag, so we ended up giving her a packet of biscuits with chocolate and the mother could use our empty water bottles.
To say thank you, the mother told the girl that she should say Rahmat, which means thank you and hold your hand up to her heart that she did and while she did so she looked so qute.
The day we rode to Qarshi became a short day. We had two things we had to fix about our house purchase and How thought it was just fine with a short bike day. So we found a cheap hotel at 11 USD per room. person incl breakfast.
We had to review the purchase agreement with a lawyer and got it done via Skype. Marianne's parents were sitting as witnesses and they were the ones who had taken their computer so we could go through the things via Skype.
Later we had a Skype meeting with our bank advisors and afterwards we had to check our NEM ID and go though some agreements and make electronic signatures. How lucky we are with the new technoligi, because without it we could never have done the deal.
Someone may think it's brave to buy a house without having seen it, but all the pictures on the home page caught our attention immediately, the condition of the report was fine and with a construction expert who almost went drooling when he saw the house, we were sure in this matter. At the same time, we are not afraid to do anything spontaneously.
With all the things done we could relax and concentrate on our bike ride again. Of course, it was crazy to think about March 1, 2018 we should cycle straight to our new house and see it for the first time. What a end crazy to our tour.
When we left Qarshi we could see that it was a pretty modern city. It almost seemed that all old buildings had been replaced with new ones and a nice new road was built throughout the city. There was even an amusement park, probably not what we expected in Uzbekistan.
When we reached the outskirts of Koson, we stopped by a small bazaar to shop for our dinner and all the water we needed. How saw a big bottle with ten liters of water meaning that he could ride with it on his bike. Are you sure we said and as always he just said: Never mind. So ten liters he took on his bike. Until then the road had been good to ride on, but later the road became really bad, which meant we could not ride so fast.
It has to be said to be one of the things I could not understand. Why was it that the road could be super good for 30 kilometers and then suddenly out of the blue the road became with big holes and the surface all broken, We made a joke about that maybe the money was spent on vodka instead of fixing the road.
The area we rode through was incredibly dry, but in the subsoil there is gold in the form of huge oil and gas areas. In several places we rode by huge factorys and in the evening when it became dark we could see eternal flames burning from the oil and gas wells. Many times there was a smell of oil or gas in the air. Especially in the smaller towns we rode through there was a sweet smell of gas. Sometimes we think it was because there was a hole on one of the many gas pipes that were visible in all the towns.
The last night before we reached Bukhara, became our first true night in the desert. We found shelter behind some small trees. It had been incredibly hot during the day and there was a heat haze over the area. In the evening after we had got what we called delicious food in the form of pasta, vegetables and eggs, we layed on a tarpaulin and lay and watched stars. At one point we were surprised by some rain drops. So we jumped up and sought shelter in the tents. But it was only a few drops, but now we had seeked shelter so we stayed in our tents. The night was unbearably hot, so hot that Marianne was nearly getting crazy.
The trip to Bukhara was a 34 km trip and when we got to the city, How made sure to guide us to Rumi Hostel. Here we met the two girls from Hong Kong again, they were just packing and getting ready to ride towards Khiva. Two others we met again were the two guys from Switzerland, those we had met at the Green House in Dushanbe. They had been in a waiting position when their visa to Turkmenistan was first valid from the next day.
Now we wanted to relax for a couple of days and take a look at Bukhara, while gathering energy for the next part of the trip that would lead us through the desert.
During the days in Bukhara we strolled through the streets and look at the beautiful buildings in the city. We both like the city and not so much. Everything is in the finest condition and beautifully renovated. But almost too perfect, so the buildings lose some of their charm. Bukhara is one of the main attractions in Uzbekistan and, of course, tourism is a big thing here.
It was exciting to see how the great carpets are made on big looms. All by hand and a place we especially liked was the little mosque - Chor Minor from 1806. Here we went early one day and had everything for ourselves.
Bukharas location on a parallel route to the silk road has made the city at one time an important trade and cultural center with trade relations to both north, east and west. But as I said it is most tourism, gas and oil that drives the city today.
Something we were very surprised of in Uzbekistan, were their pastry cakes. In all the countries we have traveled, Uzbekistan is the country that has had the most delicious pastry cakes and lots of them. It was not fair when we got into a cafe because there would typically be twenty different cakes and one always looked more delicious than the other. So which one should we choose ???? But of course we loved it, as it was so cheap.
If we ordered 3 coffee and 3 piece of cake we only had to pay 3 USD.


Border crossing Uzbekistan

Søndag d. 22. okt. 2017                                                                                   (Update d. 9. jan. 2018)

Gården ved den flinke mand - Denov 46 km

Af alle de grænser vi havde krydset indtil nu, var Uzbekistan den grænse vi var mest spændte på at skulle krydse.
Vi havde hørt mange forskellige historier om, hvordan andre var blevet tjekket og om at det ville tage flere timer at komme over grænsen. Så vi forberedte os på en længere proces og sørgede for at være ved grænsen i god tid.
Vi havde snakket om at være smilende og sige Hello når vi kom frem, for at virke imøde kommende. Først blev vores pas tjekket ved en bom og de soldater der stod der sagde Welcome og smilede. Næste step var selve tjekket. Igen blev vores pas tjekket og nu skulle vi have alt vores bagage med ind i et venterum. Cyklerne skulle blive udenfor. Vente rummet var omkring 20 m2 og her ventede en del andre mennesker.
Vi skulle udfylde to indrejse sedler, hvorpå vi blandt andet skulle skrive hvor mange penge vi havde med ind i landet. Man må ikke havde flere penge med ud af landet end det du indfører i landet. Derefter afleverede vi vores pas og blev bedt om at vente.
En time måtte vi vente. I ventetiden kunne vi se hvordan person for person blev kaldt op når det var deres tur til at blive tjekket. Damen der stod i døren til tjek rummet virkede meget bestemt. Så gad vide om vores Hello og smil ville kunne tø hende op???
Efter en time blev vi alle tre kaldt ind på en gang. How skulle gå til højre side og blev tjekket af en mand og vi skulle gå til venstre og skulle tjekkes af en dame. 
Alt vores bagage blev gennemlyst. Noget var OK og skulle ikke tjekkes yderlig, mens andet skulle pakkes helt ud. Vores computer skulle ud og tændes. Vi skulle vise om vi havde pornografiske videoer liggede på den. Hvilket vi kunne meddele at vi ikke havde. Men vi kunne vise hende videoer fra alle de steder vi havde været. 
Så hun så lidt af en video fra Thailand og New Zealand.
Fra computeren gik vi videre til hvad vi havde af medicin. Alt var OK, pånær Heidi´s migræne piller. Damen kunne ikke forstå hvad det var og ville have lov til at tjekke dem nærmere. Vi håbede ikke at hun ville tage pillerne, for så havde Heidi et problem når hun fik migræne. Det gik ikke så galt, så vi fik lov til at beholde pillerne også selvom hun ikke fik tjekket dem nærmere.
Næste tjek var vores kogegrej og mad. Men alt i alt ikke så slemt et tjek som vi havde troet. Det tog tid og virkede lidt stressende og tidskrævende for de to der arbejdede der.
Det sidste tjek var krops visitering. Hvilket var ganske harmløs. 
Vi kunne se der var også forskel på vores tjek og How´s tjek, Manden der tjekkede How, havde hver en ting ude og det var lige før at han ødelagde How´s billeder og de ting han brugte til at male med.
How havde omkring 10 filmruller med billeder han havde taget, da han tog billeder på den gode gamledags måde og manden ville vide hvad der var på rullerne og var ved at rulle en af dem ud. Nok mest af alt fordi han ikke vidste hvad det var han stod med i hånden. Til al held fik How forklaret ham at han altså ødelage hans billeder hvis han rullede dem ud. 
Vi kunne nå at pakke vores ting sammen når vi var blevet tjekket, mens How´s ting lå ud over det hele.
Efter atter en time var vi færdige og kunne gå ud på den anden side. Vi hentede alle cyklerne og hjalp How med hans sidste ting. Nu var klokken tolv og vi kunne cykle afsted på opdagelse i Uzbekistan, hvor vi havde lov til at blive i 30 dage.
Allerede efter de første kilometer holdt vi ind til siden for at spise frokost. Fra den anden side af vejen kom to mænd over til os og sagde at vi skulle komme over på deres restaurant og sidde istedetfor i vejkanten.
Så det gjorde vi. Vi kunne uden besvær spise vores egen mad og oveni købet gav de os en kande te gratis.
En dejlig velkomst til at nyt land.
Senere fortsatte vi og nu kunne vi se, hvordan der var gang i høsten rundt om på markerne. Her foregår høsten stadig ved håndkraft. Massevis af bomuldsmarker cyklede vi forbi og pludselig så vi to kæmpe høje der lignede sne, da vi kiggede nærmere kunne vi se, at det var to store bunker bomuld. Bunkerne var omkring 5 meter høje og 15 meter lange. Ja, de mindede mest af alt om to bløde isbjerge.
Længere op af dagen mødte vi de to Hong Kong piger, som vi havde mødt i Kazakstan. Skægt, da vi næsten altid har mødt folk to gange undervejs.
Egentlig ville vi have camperet, men da der er en regel i Uzbekistan om at man skal registrere sig hver 72 timer, bestemte vi os for at finde et hotel, hvor vi kunne blive registreret og så havde vi nye 72 timer fra næste dag.
 


Sunday, October 22nd. 2017                                                     (Updated 9th jan. 2018)

The yard of the nice man - Denov 46 km

Of all the borders we had crossed so far, Uzbekistan was the border we were most excited to cross.
We had heard many different stories about how others had been checked and that it would take several hours to cross the border. So we prepared for a longer process and made sure to be at the border in good time.
We had talked about being smiling and saying Hello when we arrived at the border point in order to be polite and welcomming. At first our passport was checked at a gate and the soldiers standing there said welcome and smiled. The next step was the check itself. Again our passport was checked and now we had to bring all our luggage into a waiting room. The bikes had to stay outside. The waiting room was about 20 m2 and here was other people waiting aswell.
We had to fill in two entry cards, we should write how much money we would take into Uzbekistan. You must not have more money with out of the country than you take in the country. Then we handed our passports and were asked to wait.
One hour we had to wait. While waiting, we could see how person by person was called up when it was their turn to be checked. The lady who stood in the door to check the room seemed very unpolite. So we  were wondering if our Hello and Smile could threw her up ???
After an hour, we all three were called in at one time. How should go to the right side and was checked by a man and we should go to the left and be checked by a lady.
All of our luggage went though x-ray. Somethings was OK and should not be checked further, while others should be completely unpacked. Our computer we should turn on. We should show if we had pornographic videos on it. Which we could tell that we did not have. But we could show her videos from all the places we had been- we said. So she got to see a bit of a video from Thailand and New Zealand.
From the computer we proceeded to what medicine we had. Everything was OK, just Heidi's migraine pills. The lady could not understand what it was and would be allowed to check them closer. We did not hope she would take the pills, then Heidi had a problem if she got migraine. It did not happen. Heidi could keep the pills.
Next check was our stove and food. But all in all, not as bad a check as we had thought. It took time and seemed a bit stressful and time consuming for the two people working there.
The last check was the body's visitation. Which was quite harmless.
We could see there was also a difference between our check and How's check, The man who checked How, took every thing out and he nearly destroyed How's pictures and the things he used to paint with.
How had about 10film rolls of pictures he had taken when he took pictures in the good old fashioned way and the man wanted to know what was on the rolls and nearly rolled one of them out. I think, most of all because he did not know what he was holding in his hand. Fortunately, How explained he destroyed his pictures if he rolled them out so the man understod.
We could pack our things together after we had been checked, while How's things were all over the place.
After about an hour we were done and could go out side. We picked all the bikes and helped How with his last things. Now it was noon and we could ride on an discover Uzbekistan where we were allowed to stay for 30 days.
Just after the first kilometers, we stopped to eat lunch. From the other side of the road, two men came over to us and said we could sit at their restaurant and instead of sitting on the roadside.
So we did. We were even able to eat our own food and on top of that they gave us a pitcher of tea for free.
A lovely welcome to a new country.
Later we continued, and now we were able to see how the harvest was ongoing on the fields. Here the harvest is still by hand. Lots of cotton fields we rode by and suddenly we saw two giant hills that looked like snow, when we looked closer we could see that there were two big piles of cotton. The piles were about 5 meters tall and 15 meters long. Yes, they remided us mostly of two soft icebergs.
Later in the day we met the two Hong Kong girls we had met in Kazakhstan. Funny because we almost always met people twice along the way.
In fact, we would have camped, but since there is a rule in Uzbekistan about signing up every 72 hours, we decided to find a hotel where we could be registered and then we had new 72 hours from the next day.