So - two evenings back, we were sitting out on a balcony enjoying a beer when the Olympic torch ran past on its way to Beijing. We had suspected something was up, because crowds of school children had suddenly appeared at the side of the road, and then a couple of police cars had closed the main road past the Registan Square - but nothing happened for ages, and nobody seemed to know what was going on. Then, a series of runners and an entourage of cars appeared. One of the runners was carrying the torch. The torch was then passed from one runner to another just below us, and that runner carried the torch into the centre of Samarkand. All a little bit surreal. I am now in Tashkent, having the equivalent of a quiet weekend at home. Eating pizza (it is possible to have too much mutton) and drinking Uzbek wine - which is very good (besides, the local beer has side effects). Tomorrow we head into the mountains, heading for Fergana where we will spend a night. Out truck (and my hat) went to Tadjikistan this morning. It has to go a different way to us, because the road we take is too narrow, and the chance of death is too high - but we will meet it in Kohkand (in Uzbekistan) tomorrow lunch time. Have a look at a map of these parts and you'll see just how confusing the borders are. There are little fingers of Tadjikistan which all but cut off pieces of Uzbekistan. There are small parts of Kazakhstan which cut across the main highways in Uzbekistan. If all goes well, we'll be in Kyrgyzstan in two days and will spend the next two weeks in the mountains. Reports suggest that it is still very snowy (no thaw expected until June), so I am glad that I brought my down jacket (although I did have my doubts when the temperature tipped 40 celsius a little while back). The next internet opportunity is likely to be in Bishkek in two weeks, so I've taken the opportunity to update all photos.