22nd stage "Urgench, Uzbekistan"

Today, there was only a relatively short stage of about 150km to Urgench. Since I had until midday to check out, I took that time. While I was packing, I got chatting to Chris. He comes from Belgium and has been cycling for a year now. Like so many others, he wants to go to India via China, etc. During our conversation, he asked me if I could help him out with a few euros in cash. His Visa card had gone missing and he was running low on cash. He wanted to transfer the money to my account on the spot. No sooner said than done. But then I realized that my Visa card had also disappeared into thin air. So Chris gave me the money back and it took me a few minutes to think clearly again and to know where the card could have gone - the ATM where I had withdrawn money two days ago. The hotel staff had noticed the whole thing by now and after a short conversation, one of the employees went with me to the bank in question. We spoke to an employee who was standing in front of the bank and she immediately opened the ATM for us. Visa card - unfortunately, no card. We were about to leave when I asked to check again at the bank. To my great relief, the card had been handed in there. We then took a taxi back to the hotel. The employee rejected all my attempts to show my gratitude, and I was not even allowed to pay for the taxi. Reason: If not him, someone else would have helped!!!!! 👍

Chris had left in the meantime and I also packed my last things and drove off. I met Chris again on a motorway-like road and we were able to complete at least the first part of our transaction. Everything else will work itself out. But one thing quickly became clear to me. In Uzbekistan, almost all cars run on gas and it is not that easy to find a gas station that sells gasoline. Let alone one that also offers gasoline with at least 91 OZ. The gas station that I finally found only had 80 OZ gasoline available. But since I had already driven pretty much empty, there was nothing left to do but fill up with a few liters of gasoline. I arrived in Urgench in the early afternoon. The hotel is pretty decent, there is a nice café around the corner, which I have of course already tried, and a well-rated restaurant right next door. 😁.

The temperatures were almost 40 degrees again today. It was cloudy and extremely oppressive.

06/28/2024: I actually wanted to leave for Khiva this morning, but then I completely overslept. After a quick breakfast and two attempts to get gas, we finally set off. Of course not without having a chat with two older gentlemen at one of the gas stations. At least we tried hard. When I arrived in Khiva, I felt like I had been transported back 500 years. If all cars and souvenir shops/stalls were banned from the city, you would almost feel like you were on a film set. There were hardly any foreign tourists to be seen either. A trip that was worth it, especially since the distance to Urgench is only 35km. I was back at the hotel in the early afternoon, from where I later went to my favorite local coffee shop for a cappuccino. The evening then took a few more interesting turns. After I had not expressed myself so positively about Volkswagen cars, the hotel owner apparently felt compelled to demonstrate the advantages of his brand new ID.6 Crozz to me as part of a short city tour. We even drove through the city at 100 km/h. Similar to Kazakhstan, such cars are apparently always bought in the highest equipment variant available. We spent the evening - the hotel owner, his mother and an employee - outside the hotel. Later, a guest from China who works for a German mechanical engineering company joined us. A really colorful mix.

Tomorrow we're heading to Bukhara. A distance of around 400km with plenty of "nothing" in between. I'm curious about the petrol supply again.