Everything went to plan on the first day. I arrived on time at the Tajik embassy with my application form filled in and was called to the front of the queue because I was a tourist! The ambassidor showed me to an office around the back of the embassy where I had my passport photocopied and was helped to write a letter on a Russian form saying how wonderful Tajikistan is and why I wanted to go there. I handed in my passport and was told that I'd get it back at 5 with a visa and GBAO permit for the Pamir Highway. Unbelievable! The rest of the day went well too, I found the DHL office and was told my parcel containing bike spares was on its way and if it wasn't here by Friday then I could redirect it to Samarkand. I found a great bazaar for lunch and managed to get some dollars for a very cheap commision rate. I picked up the visa at 5 then went to meet Paul, a Dutch cyclist that I met at the Uzbek embassy in Istanbul. We kept in touch and arrived at Tashkent at the same time. We plan to ride the Pamir Highway together.
We enjoyed a meal and a beer then I left for a sleep! The next day I headed to the Russian embassy with A LOI I'd bought from Stantours, a Central Asian travel agency. Stantours were incredibly helpful and have given me loads of free advice which has worked out great, Unfortunately on this one they got it wrong though. I went to the Russian embassy and was told that British people can't get a Russian visa here or anywhere abroad. I explained that I couldn't get one in the UK either because you have to apply less than 3 months before entering the country. The staff were nice and as helpful as they could be but they couldn't bend the rules and I left feeling very down. I didn't know what to do next - the options were:
1. Try again for the Russian Visa in Dushanbe, Osh, Bishkek and Almaty (unlikely I'd get one though)
2. Send passport home for visa and stay in Tashkent for 2 weeks (not really an option because don't have time and it would be too expensive to stay in a city that long and can't leave Tashkent because need passport for police checks)
3. Scrap the idea of going through Russia and fly over the small bit seperating Kazakhstan from Mongolia (not ideal because I've got this far only using my bike and it's been bloody difficult! I don't want to have to use a plane.)
4. Scrap Russia and Mongolia and cycle through China crossing either from Krygyzstan or Kazakhstan
I decided to go to the Mongolian consulate and see if I could get a visa before making a decision. I found the consulate after cycling halfway across the city to the wrong address from the internet, then took a taxi to the consulate. They don's issue any visas in Tashkent and the guy helpfully told me to go to the consulate 1,000 km away in Almaty in Kazakhstan. He did give me a cup of tea though!
That made my mind up, Mongolia would have to wait, I'd go to the Kazakh embassy tomorrow, if I could get a visa in 1 day I'd go through Kazkhstan to China, if it took more than 1 day I'd scrap Kazakhstan and cross in Krygyzstan. I'd prefer to cross from Kazakhstan though because it would give me more time in Krygyzstan and I could see Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan.
The next day I got my Kazakh visa and the following day I got a 3 month Chinese visa. Fantastic! My path around the world is now set and I don't have to deal with any more stupid embassies. The last night in Tashkent was fun. Paul and me went to a few bars, including an appalling imitation German beer hall and a great place with the Wimbledon semi final on. Predictably Murray lost to Nadal - better luck next year! We ended up in a rock bar with a Swiss guy called Rene, who worked in Tashkent. He was a very interesting guy and we had a great night with him. I lost Paul at about 1 and walked back to the hotel thinking he'd gone back there. At 5 o' clock I woke up and Paul still wasn't back. I was a bit worried - we had a train at 7 to Samarkand! At half 5, a very merry Paul turned up, having slept in a field in front of the President's house for a couple of hours! It was hilarious going to the train at 7, at least we slept for most of the journey!
We pulled into Samarkand early afternoon and I cycled to Bahodir B&B, the cheapest place in town!
We enjoyed a meal and a beer then I left for a sleep! The next day I headed to the Russian embassy with A LOI I'd bought from Stantours, a Central Asian travel agency. Stantours were incredibly helpful and have given me loads of free advice which has worked out great, Unfortunately on this one they got it wrong though. I went to the Russian embassy and was told that British people can't get a Russian visa here or anywhere abroad. I explained that I couldn't get one in the UK either because you have to apply less than 3 months before entering the country. The staff were nice and as helpful as they could be but they couldn't bend the rules and I left feeling very down. I didn't know what to do next - the options were:
1. Try again for the Russian Visa in Dushanbe, Osh, Bishkek and Almaty (unlikely I'd get one though)
2. Send passport home for visa and stay in Tashkent for 2 weeks (not really an option because don't have time and it would be too expensive to stay in a city that long and can't leave Tashkent because need passport for police checks)
3. Scrap the idea of going through Russia and fly over the small bit seperating Kazakhstan from Mongolia (not ideal because I've got this far only using my bike and it's been bloody difficult! I don't want to have to use a plane.)
4. Scrap Russia and Mongolia and cycle through China crossing either from Krygyzstan or Kazakhstan
I decided to go to the Mongolian consulate and see if I could get a visa before making a decision. I found the consulate after cycling halfway across the city to the wrong address from the internet, then took a taxi to the consulate. They don's issue any visas in Tashkent and the guy helpfully told me to go to the consulate 1,000 km away in Almaty in Kazakhstan. He did give me a cup of tea though!
That made my mind up, Mongolia would have to wait, I'd go to the Kazakh embassy tomorrow, if I could get a visa in 1 day I'd go through Kazkhstan to China, if it took more than 1 day I'd scrap Kazakhstan and cross in Krygyzstan. I'd prefer to cross from Kazakhstan though because it would give me more time in Krygyzstan and I could see Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan.
The next day I got my Kazakh visa and the following day I got a 3 month Chinese visa. Fantastic! My path around the world is now set and I don't have to deal with any more stupid embassies. The last night in Tashkent was fun. Paul and me went to a few bars, including an appalling imitation German beer hall and a great place with the Wimbledon semi final on. Predictably Murray lost to Nadal - better luck next year! We ended up in a rock bar with a Swiss guy called Rene, who worked in Tashkent. He was a very interesting guy and we had a great night with him. I lost Paul at about 1 and walked back to the hotel thinking he'd gone back there. At 5 o' clock I woke up and Paul still wasn't back. I was a bit worried - we had a train at 7 to Samarkand! At half 5, a very merry Paul turned up, having slept in a field in front of the President's house for a couple of hours! It was hilarious going to the train at 7, at least we slept for most of the journey!
We pulled into Samarkand early afternoon and I cycled to Bahodir B&B, the cheapest place in town!
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