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Kevin's Travels
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Location Date Europe 1489276800 South America 1486684800 Antarctica 1486339200 Asia 
1475881200 Africa 1399158000 North America 1383868800 Oceania 1381186800 -
Location Date Kyrgyzstan 1475881200 Kazakhstan 1475881200 Tajikistan 1475449200 Uzbekistan 1475276400 Turkmenistan
1474930800 Qatar 1453593600 India 1453507200 Nepal 1453075200 Israel 1415404800 Jordan 1415232000 Palestinian Territories 1414972800 Hong Kong 1378594800 China 1378508400 Taiwan 1378249200 Japan 1378162800 United Arab Emirates 1377817200 -
Location Date Konye Urgench
1474930800 Darvaza 1474844400 Ashgabat 1474758000
Waking up in the desert, taking one last look at the Door to Hell, we got back in our 4x4s and headed towards the border.
This was a long drive, taking four hours along atrocious pot hole-littered roads stopping en route at the historic Konye Urgench.
Unlike the rest of wacky Turkmenistan, Konye Urgench was much more like what we would be seeing in Uzbekistan - being a UNESCO Silk Road historic city. However being Turkmenistan the site was relatively underdeveloped and dilapidated.
Walking around the site, consisting of a number of mausoleums, a minaret and a mosque, we got a feel for the next few days before finally heading to the border.
After a long crossing, including a health check and a taxi ride across no-man's land we eventually made it to our coach on the Uzbek side that would take us to the historic city of Khiva and our first night in a hotel in four days.
Bizarrely, as unwelcome as we were made to feel by Border Control, as soon as we drove along the local roads every cotton picker and child stopped to wave at us. A nice touch, even if slightly spurious.
In Uzbekistan there is still a resistance to accepting that inflation has occurred. Despite the fact that $1 buys 3,000 Som, the highest note that is seen on the street is the 1,000 Som note. In addition to this, there is a black market that gives us double the amount of Som.
After us all converting our money for the next five days we ended up with a massive bag full of notes. For just £25 I had two large wads of money to carry around with me. No wallets needed in Uzbekistan - just bags.
This was a long drive, taking four hours along atrocious pot hole-littered roads stopping en route at the historic Konye Urgench.
Unlike the rest of wacky Turkmenistan, Konye Urgench was much more like what we would be seeing in Uzbekistan - being a UNESCO Silk Road historic city. However being Turkmenistan the site was relatively underdeveloped and dilapidated.
Walking around the site, consisting of a number of mausoleums, a minaret and a mosque, we got a feel for the next few days before finally heading to the border.
After a long crossing, including a health check and a taxi ride across no-man's land we eventually made it to our coach on the Uzbek side that would take us to the historic city of Khiva and our first night in a hotel in four days.
Bizarrely, as unwelcome as we were made to feel by Border Control, as soon as we drove along the local roads every cotton picker and child stopped to wave at us. A nice touch, even if slightly spurious.
In Uzbekistan there is still a resistance to accepting that inflation has occurred. Despite the fact that $1 buys 3,000 Som, the highest note that is seen on the street is the 1,000 Som note. In addition to this, there is a black market that gives us double the amount of Som.
After us all converting our money for the next five days we ended up with a massive bag full of notes. For just £25 I had two large wads of money to carry around with me. No wallets needed in Uzbekistan - just bags.
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