3rd June – Arslanbob to Ferghana Uzbekistan

This morning we have a 300 km drive to Ferghana with a border crossing into Uzbekistan.  We drive into the village of Arslanbob to collect together before we start our drive out through the valley.

We retrace our steps from yesterday as the sun shines brightly on the snow capped mountains which look magnificent against the azure sky.  We are waved farewell by families standing outside their houses and sadly the road conditions haven’t improved overnight.  The road repair gang didn’t get far yesterday filling in the square holes that they had dug out of the bitumen road, so it’s a slow retreat as we wind our way through the holes.

We rejoin a wider road and get caught up with horses, cows & donkeys as we drive along the river towards the main road.

  

Once back on the main road we head to Osh where we will be stopping for some quick sightseeing and lunch. On the way we climb up over a pass and then back down where we see some rice paddies, that we haven’t seen for a while.  There must be a lot of water around in this area to grow rice.

On the way to Osh we travel through a town that is quite a good size and they have many car related shops on the way out.  Burgundy radios that he has stopped outside a battery shop and it would be a good time for him to replace his battery.  Dutchess & Shiraz stop behind him while the other cars continue on to a service station to fill up with fuel.

The old battery is removed & taken into the shop where a new one is sized up, but it’s a fraction bigger than the current one but it’s the closest they can get.  A bit of panel beating to the battery box is done and the new battery is paid for & fitted.  All up about a half an hour exercise and we’re on our way.

When we arrive in Osh we park at the base of Suleimantoo which is a 5 peak rocky crag looming over the city.  We head through a park that has a water feature, a children’s fair ground and an old plane.  As it’s Saturday there are families everywhere enjoying the beautiful day.

We walk to the local bazaar where there are so many different types of rice for sale along with fruit & vegetables and all sorts of household items & clothes, so you can get everything you need here and it’s very busy indeed as walk down the narrow aisles.

After lunch we drive to the Uzbekistan border where say farewell to Akay our guide and we start the process of exiting Kyrgystan.  It appears that we should’ve paid 1,000 som per car for third party insurance when we entered Kyrgystan which we didn’t do and therefore we must pay it now.  This amounts to about $20 AUD.  They will accept $US which we all have, but we try to use all our remaining som and pay the rest with $US which takes a bit of working out to get the right $ amount.  Once this is done we move onto Uzbek immigration where we meet our guide Zaheed who speaks excellent English and helps us fill in our customs declaration which is not in English.

The paperwork is done for the cars, they are x-rayed and our luggage is inspected for knives & medication and we are finally given the all clear to enter Uzbekistan.  This has been our longest border crossing so far taking 3.5 hours.

We receive a very warm welcome to Uzbekistan, one motorist even climbs out of the passenger window to take photos of us.

We drive through the Ferghana Valley that is renowned for growing cotton & vegetables, with very fertile soil.  The houses here are different with rows along the roadside and farm land directly behind them.

The people are so welcoming and all smile & wave to us, some even want us to stop & have a drink with them as the sun is setting and their fasting for the day is over, as it’s Ramadan on the Muslim calendar.

For dinner tonight we eat in a local restaurant not far from our hotel and have some lovely kebabs of beef & lamb with their delicious salads along with a local beer while sitting out under the stars. It’s just great after a long day on the road!