Blog 14 23rd – 26th May Turkmenabat to Gonur Depe Distance: 266km Total Distance: 3940km Day 60, Turkmenabat Turkmenistan’s second largest city, Turkmenabat, was adorned with eye-catching contemporary buildings that are intended to show off the power and wealth of the country; for example, the presidential palace is actually a folly, never used by […]
education
Turkmenistan’s Silk Roads
Blog 13 16th – 21st May Urgench to Turkmenabat Distance: 623km Total Distance: 3674km Day 54: Urgench – Dashoguz 70km In Urgench, we bid Elena farewell and set off for the Turkmenistan border. Anna and I were slightly anxious about what to expect crossing into Turkmenistan – one of the world’s most secretive countries. I […]
A cradle of civilisation and nurturing nature
Blog 12 8th – 15th May Nukus to Urgench Distance: 196km Total Distance: 3051km Nukus was a two day pit stop where we changed filmmakers – Anna Plocinska arrived from Switzerland for a month-long stint and Georgia left for the UK. It was important that they had time to connect and hand over the filmmaking […]
Moynaq to Nukus: Starting from the end (Amu Darya rivermouth)
Blog 11 4th – 7th May Moynaq to Nukus Distance: 256km Total Distance: 2855km In Moynaq I arranged for a guide to be with us for the remainder of the way to Nukus. Khurmet, whom we had met at the Yurt Camp beside the Aral Sea, was the perfect choice because he has local roots […]
Around the Aral Sea west coast (Kazakhstan)
Blog 9 23rd – 27th April Akespe to the border Distance: 305km Total Distance: 2286km Day 31: Akespe to Akbasty – 104km Once out of the sand at Akespe, it was a relief to turn onto the Gas Pipeline Road – the first made gravel road I’ve had since Aralsk. It follows a buried gas […]
Far away and over the Seabed
Blog 7 15th – 20th April Barsakelmes Island diversion, Karateren to Aralsk Distance cycled: 121km Total Distance: 1840km From the former fishing village of Karateren I had planned a two day 4WD excursion to Barsakelmes Island and Kaskakulan. The Aral Sea was often referred to as the “Sea of Islands,” virtually all of which are […]
All the way to the Aral Sea
Blog 6 10th – 14th April Kyzylorda to Kokaral Dam Distance: 520km Total Distance: 1719km Day 18 – 124km We left our Kyzylorda apartment – on the fourth floor of a Soviet-style building – apartment blocks have the same design all over the former Soviet Union. I’m not quite sure how some of these buildings […]
A dam collapse and the accidental lake
27-29 March 2025 Total distance: 408km From Tashkent the plan was to drive back to Buka, the town that we stayed in on our first night in Uzbekistan, as I didn’t need to cycle the same road twice and rejoin the line of my journey there. Rather than heading straight for the Kazakhstan border, I […]
BREAKING THE CYCLE CENTRAL ASIA – A chilly start
DUSHANBE The first six days on the road have been very hectic and I haven’t found time to publish this blog until now. I decided to make Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan the expedition base as it is most central to the expedition, roughly half way between the Syr Darya and Amu Darya (rivers) that […]
BREAKING THE CYCLE CENTRAL ASIA – Introduction
Welcome to the first blog for what’s going to be an epic journey through the heart of Central Asia. I’m writing from my room in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, soon to travel 300km north across the Fann Mountains and down to the ancient city of Khujand, a 2500 year old city founded by Alexander the Great, where I […]
