Can the Stans handle the Merck girls?

September 26: Farewell to Turkmenistan

Big travel day today….around 400 kms from Mary in Turkmenistan to Bukhara in Uzbekistan, and yes, that means we had to cross another border.

We wondered why we had to leave so early ( on the bus by 7 am) but we were told that the road to the border was not like the toll road we had travelled on yesterday. Well that was an understatement…. It took us 7 hours to get to the border in what was probably the worse road I have travelled on for such a long distance. And this is the MAIN road to the border. The pictures don’t do it justice!

The border crossing was less tortuous than the previous one. But when I say it was less tortuous, it’s all relative. Crossing into and out of Turkmenistan was quite an experience.  Walking with our bags across hot, dusty ground. (The  luggage wheels got a really good workout over gravel, troughs, gullies and tiles) and  4 sets of crossing stages. A “no man’s land” to cross in the middle. Had to cram into rough mini buses that run back and forth. (Thank god we didn’t have to walk that bit!) NO PHOTOS!!  About 2 1/2 hours to cross each way. The security area was undergoing renovations, and although none of the security equipment was working, we still had to load our cases onto the machine and walk through the security gate! My backpack got searched (which meant the rest of our group whizzed through) and they were a bit intrigued by the power bank!

By the time we got off the coach at Bukhara, we were all experiencing swaying motion (like when you get off a cruise after some days).

Our hotel is in the middle of the old city, with a terrace restaurant which has lovely views over the area.