Goodbye Turkmenistan!!!

27-Aug-08: Money Matters
Turkmenistan: Ashgabat – Rest Day

First task today was to replace my travel adaptor as mine short circuited in the worst hotel in central Asia. Admittedly with the apparent lack of any real technology I was a little concerned that I may not find one in this country, but asked the hotel reception for a pointer in the right direction anyway. Surprisingly she suggested that there was a market just around the corner from the hotel which would sell what I was looking for…and did it ever…it was an open air market with all manner of bits and pieces for sale and about 10 vendors all selling a variety of plugs and adaptors, so I found what I was looking for and some.

With task one complete it was on to task two which was to find somewhere to withdraw money…there are no ATM’s in Turkmenistan…just another example of the controlling rule over the country. Money can only be withdrawn from a bank. And to make it more difficult one bank deals in Visa and another in Mastercard…so we had to make a journey to both. Firstly was the Mastercard bank which was located next door to a huge modern department store…very much like the Myer centre in Brisbane…but almost more modern in some ways. We were like kids in a candy store at the sight of more than 2 brands of toothpaste and had a giggle to ourselves at the ‘Barf’ brand of laundry detergent.

After having lunch at the shopping centre food court and returning to the Mastercard friendly bank, after 2pm when it re-opened after closing for lunch, we jumped into another taxi to get to the Visa friendly bank. Despite indicating he knew where he was going, the taxi driver clearly had no idea but after stopping and asking a few people he finally got us there.

The exchange rate here is 14,000 Manat to US$1 and the largest bank note is 10,000 Manat…so the equivalent of US$20 is made up of 28 bank notes each worth about 70 cents! So both now carrying huge wads of cash we had run out of time to move on to the third bank where we could have changed our left over Azeri Manat but cut our losses at having now consumed nearly an entire rest day running around town and decided to head back to the hotel.

Easier said than done in the absence of taxi’s…we could not find one! And so spent the next 1.5 hours in the baking sun walking back to the hotel…I was not a happy camper when we finally got back but a good dinner and a bath did manage to cheer me up. The upside of being forced to walk back was that we got to see the result of Ashgabat being a city which has clearly had a lot of money injected into it. Many of the buildings are clad in marble and the public areas adorned with fountains and monuments galore…all quite impressive.

28-Aug-08: A New Adventure
Turkmenistan: Ashgabat to Kaka (Archeological Desert Camp)
124km, 4h 32min ride time

Having been so long, comparatively, since we have all been on our bikes, today was like a new beginning. We awoke early to a much darker morning than that to which we were waking to in Turkey despite being the same hour, and readied ourselves for a brand new day of cycling in one of the hottest countries in the world.

Before heading off on our police led convoy out of the city we were the centre of attention for the local news station who interviewed a few of the riders and staff about our trip. I was one of the lucky few to receive attention and was going fine until asked what I thought about Turkmenistan…hmmm…I quickly dodged the question by saying that I was yet to see much of it as we had been held up by the ferry but that I did like Ashgabat and will see the rest once we get going again. Phew!

By 7am we were back in the saddle and starting out on our new adventure through the Asian continent. We were trailed for the whole convoy by the television crew cameras and the police and once left to our own devices after 7km we were like a bunch of newly released caged rabbits. It felt good to be back on the bike after the week we had endured.

The morning was relatively cool and we rode on a newly constructed flat road for the first 45km, so the conditions were good for making good time. We made the lunch stop at 65km within 2.5 hours and were on our way again when the heat hit at about 11am and from there intensified rapidly. At the 80km mark we were pulled over by police to join the front 2 riders who had been told that we were being expected to sit and wait for all the riders before being allowed to continue on…given that the last rider in the group was about 3 hours behind the front few, the prospect of waiting well into the peak of the heat was not one we took kindly to. I am one of only a few who carry a mobile phone and so was able to call the staff and have our local guide come back and sort the situation out…and thankfully, 20 minutes later we were back on our way.

We rode into camp at 12.30pm and dived for the cover of the limited shade that we could find, which initially was in the vicinity of the camp kitchen until Miles felt a little overcrowded and a second canopy was erected for us. Camp is on the grounds of an archeological site and we are free to wander about the site complete with remnants of beautifully painted pottery just lying about on the surface of the site. It amazes me that such a site is just left for anyone to wander about…although admittedly there would not be many who would be out in the middle of nowhere!

The highway we followed today is pretty much the only major road in the country which skirts around the bottom of the Karakorum desert extending for a thousand kilometres to the north. Small towns nestled in the foothills of the mountains to the south are visible from the highway and accessible via side roads, each marked by an arch-like gate structure and extending perpendicularly from the main highway like the branches of a tree. Despite these small towns each located a few kilometers at the least away from the highway there was little else en-route barring a few plantations growing cotton and grapes…as we ride by the plantation workers whistle and wave enthusiastically. The workers wear full headscarfs which cover their entire head except for a small slit for the eyes and provide a protective barrier between them and the baking sun. The landscape is otherwise very barren with little vegetation aside from thorny bushes and grasses burnt to a crisp by the summer sun…and the occasional water mirage!

Back at camp we spent the afternoon hiding from the heat until it finally started to lift at about 6pm, at which point we ate our first camp dinner in nearly 3 weeks…on tonight’s menu was beef rissoles with a potato and a beetroot salad. Unlike the others I waited to put up my tent until the sun had tempered and promptly afterwards went to bed… under police guard to ensure we don’t go anywhere in the middle of the night.

29-Aug-08: Mother Nature at Work
Turkmenistan: Kaka (Archeological Desert Camp) to Tejen
119km, 4h 20min ride time

I started today tired after a disturbed night of sleep…a sheet lightening storm and accompanying strong winds started at about midnight and continued for quite a few hours. The wind was extraordinarily strong and made quite a noise rustling through everyone’s tents…most of which having been erected without the wind in mind. My tent for example had the bare minimum of pegs holding it down and despite my needing to visit the toilet hut I did not dare for the fear of my body weight being the only thing holding the tent down!

As a result of the wind and the warm night, which required tents to be enclosed by mesh only to avoid overheating, I awoke to find a fine layer of sand dust had blown in through the insect mesh and over everything inside my tent, including me! After dusting off I went through the usual camp morning ritual and made an early start in an attempt to beat as much of the heat as possible…however as it turned out most of the day was overcast and the temperature very mild by comparison to the days before.

The road was flat and the scenery just as barren as the day before with the exception of a few camels crossing the road and a couple of slightly larger towns en-route. With the help of a strong tail wind we made it into camp by midday and beat all bar an hour of the suns triumph over the cloud cover. The afternoon heated up but the strong wind continued, and combined with the shade of a few trees at our camp, provided good relief over the heat.

The police presence was still in force today but thankfully without any unforeseen bureaucratic delays and so was of little consequence despite the constant feeling of being watched…even when trying to find somewhere private to pee, which due to the landscape is a challenge anyway!

30-Aug-08: Changing Winds
Turkmenistan: Tejen to Mary
120km, 5h 57min ride time

We woke to a cool morning…cool enough to require sleeping bags to be dug out in the early hours. After a breakfast of porridge we got another early start for our last stretch into a rest day in the town of Mary. As soon as we started out however we knew that despite starting early we were still going to be in for a long day…today the winds had changed and we were now riding into them. The road surface has also been getting increasingly worse and today was no exception. It was a very long day which took us 1.5 hours longer to cover the same distance as the previous 2 days despite the road also being dead flat the whole way.

We had another minor repeat of the police stopping us during the day suggesting that we must regroup before being allowed to move on but it only lasted for 5 minutes until we had gathered to a group of 10 or so…just as well because my phone has now been blocked for use by the country and we could have been there for hours waiting without being able to contact anyone.

The landscape changed a little today and I noticed more ‘greenery’ which reminded me of some coastal locations back home where native shrubs are planted to combat erosion of sand dunes. Trees…ie. anything that would provide useful shade…were still a rare sight, but did increase in number marginally as we rode closer to the main town.

We have been advised that from now on we should be staying in hotels on rest days and that we are done with the worst of the hotels…both pieces of news music to my ears! Our hotel in Mary is quite a good one considering the backwards nature of the country in general...we have air-conditioning which is the main thing and everything else is clean and in good condition.

Communication of any real note appears to be banned in this country as there is really no internet to speak of, except for the rare dial-up internet café which I hope to find to upload this blog, and the telephones in the rooms are only for calling reception or other rooms, not for outside dialing! We are still being watched constantly by the police and we are told that there is only one mobile network which is constantly monitored and that hotel rooms are bugged!

After a tough day of riding we had a restful afternoon of napping and reading and walked a couple of blocks in search of a dinner that did not involve doner…we had success with a local restaurant which served pizza and some very yummy juice smoothies, all of which we ordered by pot luck or by asking the waiter in charades what he thought was good. All in all it turned out well and we had 6 drinks, 2 large pizzas and 2 pieces of cake all for under $15!

31-Aug-08: Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
Turkmenistan: Mary – Rest Day

The day started at 7am with a knock on the door as I was about to jump into the shower. As I opened the door a bit perplexed at who on earth would be calling at this hour of the morning I was greeted by the hotel laundry lady with an armful of my laundry…soaking wet! The following 15minutes were spent in a 3 way conversation with reception who spoke a little English and the laundry lady who spoke none, trying to comprehend why on earth I was being presented with wet laundry. In the end the lady left with my wet washing in hand clearly understanding that I was not interested in having it back until it was well and truly dry. Many others also had the same experience, with Manon actually being presented with the wrong laundry and having to allocate everyone’s laundry whilst standing in the hallway in her pj’s.

Our mission to find an internet café was intercepted by others who had tried the evening before and although finding the café discovered that it closed at 2pm on Saturday and would not reopen until 9am on Monday…which given we only had Sunday was of little use to us. And so resigned to the absence of the internet, the morning was spent wandering about the nearby bazaar market before heading back to the relative comfort of the air-conditioned hotel for lunch and some R’n’R.

Whilst wandering we were careful not to walk within a 50m radius of anyone resembling a police officer or military personnel for fear of being held up from doing that which we take for granted in a free country. Once the heat had burnt out of the sun after 6pm we took the opportunity to wash our bikes followed by an early dinner and an early bedtime in preparation for 3 more days cycling in the desert.

01-Sept-08: Sandy
Turkmenistan: Mary to Desert Camp
134km, 6h 10min ride time

This morning started with a 5km police convoy out of town, the need for which was lost on all of us…a convoy is usually required for one of 2 reasons, either because of bad traffic or difficult directions, neither of which was present this morning. The police used their sirens and lights to guide us out of town at 6.30am and drew a lot of attention doing so which was really quite cringingly embarrassing.

With the view to avoiding dehydration I have been diligently following Dr Joan’s advice to drink a bottle of water before departing on a ride, the consequence of which is to need to go to the toilet about 15 minutes into the ride, particularly on a slightly cooler morning as we had this morning. And so by the end of the 20 minute convoy I had only one thing in mind and pulled over at the first opportunity, unnoticed by the police who were leading and sweeping our group. This meant that as I rode to catch up the last riders I was behind the sweeping police car…my riding up behind it to a couple of bewildered officers inside was quite amusing and the first time I have felt free for the first time since entering this country.

The route today had 2 alternative paths, one which went through a town and one which followed a bypass around it…both routes converged after the town and so although most riders went through the town, some including myself did take the bypass as it was the official route direction. Having the group split in 2 directions sent the officers into a flap and those that went through town were harassed and waved down to turn around and take the other route. We have learnt by now to play dumb and just motion that you are looking for a drink and keep riding…the whole idea of being followed ‘for our own safety’ is ridiculous as it is very obvious that the primary motivation is to keep foreign influence out of the townships…the locals are always friendly and very excited to see us and certainly no threat.

As we rode today on newly constructed road (much to our delight as we understand it not to have been in place last year) the temperature reached a relatively mild 38 degrees in the shade. It amazed us that in the middle of the desert, as we certainly are now, there are still signs of human habitation…there were a couple of small isolated townships based on industry of some sort and on the outskirts of these towns young children and women stand by the roadside, dressed like bank robbers with only their eyes exposed, selling fermented yoghurt drinks and craft items. The whole scenario reminded me of Anakin Skywalker’s home town in Star Wars.

After lunch we passed along a 20km stretch of road which was crawling with trucks going in both directions transporting sand…which flew off the back of the trucks and all over us as we rode. By the end of the 20km we were all encrusted in sand which had worked its way through into every nook and cranny including between toes, inside ears and between teeth! After the ‘sand storm’ the road was pretty much clear and made for relatively easy riding despite a gentle headwind which built up for the last 40km or so. We are camped tonight behind a police checkpoint at the border between 2 provinces and surrounded by desert sands and scrub for as far as the eye can see.

02-Sept-08: 134,000km!
Turkmenistan: Desert Camp to Turkmenabad
129km, 6h 33min ride time

After a pretty good night of sleep today’s ride also started well with a nice cool morning but wore on pretty quickly as the road continued to slope ever so slightly upwards and into a slight headwind, the combination of which was extremely tiring. Aside from 5 camels, another fully loaded cycle tourist and a few passing cars and trucks there was absolutely no sign of life for 100km until we entered the outskirts of the second largest city in Turkmenistan, Turkmenabad.

The great interest of the day was the loaded cycle tourist from Japan who at 38 years old has been cycling for 8 years, through 114 countries and has covered nearly 134,000km! I feel like I am just doing a loop around the block by comparison…and he is fully loaded with 70kg of bike and gear and put us to shame by rolling into our lunch stop not long after we did despite us having covered 40km since pulling over to chat to him earlier in the day. He joined us for lunch and again for dinner and may well tag along for another few days as his planned route is similar to start with as he makes his way east to China and then on to South-east Asia and maybe back to Australia before heading home in 2 years time to ‘re-join society’.
Once again we had the police making their presence known at about 100km by pulling over riders until a dozen or so had regrouped…meaning the first rider had to wait an hour until we rolled in just in time to be let passed to join the unofficial police convoy through town. As we were about 500m behind the main group we were tailed by the sweeping police car for the final 25km to camp…when we stopped to refill water bottles, they stopped and reversed the car to be beside us, at which point Dan chastised them for spewing exhaust fumes over us and indicated that behind us was a better place to drive…in response to which they turned off the car engine. Further on the road they continuously sounded their sirens and which stopped traffic in both directions unnecessarily as it was not even heavy traffic and the road was very wide. After one too many times of being deafened by the siren I turned around and angrily indicated that they were deafening me…after which they no longer sounded the siren. They seem to think that they are helping us but they are seriously more trouble than anything!

Camp is located on the far side of the final police checkpoint before crossing the border into Uzbekistan and out of this country…yay! In the afternoon the area was full of workmen who all watched in amusement and perversion as we all bathed using water from a hand pump. Later in the evening just before dinner one of the riders, James, noticed a couple of guys lurking about his bike and as he went over towards them noticed that they were cutting off his cycle computer and then rode off with it…stupidly towards the police at the checkpoint who quickly caught them. The thief returned the computer saying sorry and was then taken in by police. About half an hour later they obviously made a run for it as the police dog went chasing after them with an officer in pursuit…we think they got away…not sure what the penalty for theft is in this country but I imagine I would probably want to run too!

Once again the police do something to prove that they are crazy! As I was getting ready for bed in my tent and officer who had just started a new shift started doing the rounds of the grounds and shining his torch into peoples tents…when he got to my tent he shone his torch right in and peered in with his face so that it was just about pushed up to the mesh. Needless to say I told him where to go and zipped up my door cover, at which point he walked around the back of my tent to the other door and did the same and then again back around to the front…it was a bit scary! He then moved on to other tents as I heard everyone do much the same as I left my tent and went and told Miles what was going on and got him to distract the officer and explain that we were sleeping…of course the police did not speak English and by this stage our interpreter had left but Miles seemed to manage with charades and so we were able to sleep in peace.

03-Sept-08: Forces Against Us
Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan: Turkmenabad to Bukhara
126km, 7h 04min ride time

We knew today was going to be a long day before it started with the knowledge that we were crossing another border and prior experience at having dealt with Turkmenistan beuracracy. You would think that after making it so difficult to get in to the country that they would be pleased to let you out…not that simple. After riding 30km to the border into a strong headwind we waited for about half an hour for the border gates to open at 9am.

At 9am we made our way through the first passport check towards the passport control office to leave Turkmenistan…and queued…and formed a blockade of bicycles either side of our group to keep out the locals who don’t seem to understand the concept of lining up and think that they can just push in where they like…not if we had anything to do with it! After about half an hour of standing in the sun the first of our group was let through and then the rest progressively over the next half hour so that on the other side we emerged with our bicycles and no passports into a holding pen for passport-less hostages! Another half hour passed before our passports were returned to us and we were allowed to cross into the 1km zone of no-mans-land between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

As we made our way across no-mans-land we met a gentleman from Belgium who had been stuck there for 3 days…he left Uzbekistan with the intention of heading into Turkmenistan but on trying to enter the country they advised him there was a problem with his visa and refused him entry and also refused to offer him any help beyond the process of sorting out the problem which could take up to 10 days if it ever happens! Uzbekistan would not let him back in as he only had a single entry visa which had expired and so he was stuck. After 2 days of no food and water the Uzbekistan border staff felt sorry for him and allowed him in to purchase food at their restaurant and to plug in his mobile phone so that he would be able to call his consulate for assistance. I cannot comprehend that something like this could happen in this day and age, but obviously it does!

We proceeded through the Uzbekistan entry process which involved handing our passports over to 7 separate people on the way through and filling out a number of forms to declare how much money we are taking into the country…the advice we have suggests that if you leave the country with any more cash than you entered with, even if it was obtained legitimately from a bank, it will be taken from you…so we were all very careful to fill the forms out correctly!

So a total of 3 hours after starting the process we finally emerged as free tourists into Uzbekistan and to the prospect of riding a further 110km into a headwind which had intensified to gale force. There was very little on the road from the border to our destination of Bukhara, which we reached at 6.30pm absolutely exhausted and ready for a shower and bed.