At the Uzbek border we had a comparatively easy crossing and followed by a week of riding through the desert, really hot. The last 3 days of desert gave us a chance to look around the Silk Road towns of Kiva, Bukhara and Samarqand. Some amazing mosques, minarets and forts etc etc. Getting to the sad stage of having seen one then I have seen them all. Nevertheless I consider myself an expert on the subject and was happy to lecture to the locals. In Samarqand we teamed up with 3 Aussies who have spent 3 months backpacking from Australia. It was good to hear of their stories particularly during their time in Bishkek :-))