The oasis before leaving

Thanks to the train, I avoided the part completely to the west of Uzbekistan. I take the opportunity to make a detour to rub my feet and sleep in a luxury gas station.

Satellite image of Uzbekistan. Khiva is located in the oasis in the west of the country.

After my stop in Noukous, I take the road to Khiva, a city which according to legend, would have been founded at the place where Shem, the son of Noah, would have dug a well.

It was a very good idea on his part considering that the city is in an oasis in the middle of the desert.

Along the way, I get to know the bumpy and destroyed roads of Uzbekistan. All across the country, my butt will be wondering when it can get a break, and I will constantly have to screw in pieces that come undone from my bike! This ass fuss and heat plays with my morale. I lack patience.

Must say that the local regulations do not help. I get checked at police roadblocks on average every two days, sometimes more, having to show them my passport and explain my itinerary to them.

Khiva

Jade, one of the French, entertaining the children.

Fortunately, this first step is not that long. It only takes two days to reach Khiva. As soon as I arrived, I met a group of five young French people there with whom I spent the evening. It is difficult to fit them into a mold: the majority are medical students, two are from Egypt, one from Lebanon, but all are good company!

Back at the hostel, the other two beds in my three-person room are now occupied and my new roommates are already sleeping. In the dark, I put my water bottle on a bed that I believe is mine, but I immediately realize that I was wrong. Still in the dark, I try to take my bottle back but only grip the girl's foot with full hands ...

The charming Swiss Jonas and Julia.

The next morning, I got to know my roommates more officially: the Swiss Germans Jonas and Julia, from the Zurich region. I think I will tell Julia about my mistake the day before when she told me that my bottle had already woken her up and that she was pretending to sleep while the creep how I was feeling his foot! SORRY !

Spending the day with the Swiss, we find ourselves in a cafe in Khiva when I see Szymon arriving. You remember my long wait in the port of Azerbaijan, where a Pole had brought out a projector and a sound system to listen to films? Well, that's him. I'm telling you, I often have the impression that there are twelve tourists walking in Central Asia.

For the first time in many countries, I see bikes everywhere. Children and adults alike use it to get around.

Khiva, seen from the heights of a tower.

Gas station hotel

After Khiva, I pass in front of cotton fields all white and ... cottony!

The employee who absolutely wanted me to take a picture of him at his workstation!

I take the road the next day to the north. The bumpy roads lead me to Ourgench. Two young girls of 17 and 21 approach me with the usual question.

- Are you married?
- No.
- Why?

Then, at nightfall, and not finding a place to camp in the fields filled with workers, I stop at a gas station. When I ask employees if I can sleep behind the station, they invite me inside instead. We enter a huge interior courtyard, then, through a back door, I discover the hidden immensity of the station. Looks like a luxury hotel.

Note that what I qualify as luxury has significantly expanded in recent months!

In short, it's clean. In the middle of a long and wide corridor, a door is opened for me and I am told that this is my room. There are cushions on the floor serving as mattresses and pillows. They give me a blanket. A sink and a real toilet are also available. I'm telling you: luxury.

I take advantage of it. I know that I will not find such a chance again in the road ahead ...