Day 36 - Just on 200 miles from Samarkand to Tashkent on relatively good roads in a pleasant temperature of 26C. I arrived in the city at about 2.30 and then spent over 3 hours trying to find my hotel!! One taxi driver took me to a similar sounding name hotel which was 5 miles away. Another brought me to the general area and left me to locate the hotel. I got within 200 yards of it and enquired of what I thought was a local. He sent me on a wild goose chase. I thought he was wrong but as he seemed so sure I decided to give it a try. I then headed back to the area where I thought it should be and searched the surrounding streets. Eventually I found it less than 200 yards further on from where I spoke to the 'local' !!

Well Dave and Jane I brought the lucky ram mascot you sent me with instructions to return him to Tashkent which I have now done. He has brought me good luck so far which I hope continues on the way back.

My hotel is about 2 miles out of the centre of the city and is the equivalent of Bitterne to Southampton or Cosham to Portsmouth. I went out tonight to a local good standard restaurant and ordered soup, bread, tomato and onion salad, 1 skewer of lamb kebab and a pot of tea. The bill came to 11,800 Sum which depending on the exchange rate is less than $6 (£4).

I bought 10 litres of petrol today for 16,800 Sum, say $8 being 80c (50p) per litre. That's the good news, the bad news is they have only 80 octane fuel. That's why I limited my purchase to 10 litres in the hope it will mix with the remaining 10-12 litres of 95 octane I purchased in Turkmenistan. I called into half a dozen filling stations which advertise 80, 91, 95 and 98 octane fuel but all the pumps are empty except for the 80 octane. That's OK for a Lada but I'm not sure my BMW will be very happy with it. I hope there is more choice in Kazakhstan.

What a difference from Turkmenistan which is awash with good quality petrol. In Uzbekistan many filling stations are closed and those open frequently have long queues reminiscent of when the tankers drivers threaten to strike at home. Lots of cars appear to run on LPG and there are special filling stations selling only LPG.

It strikes me it's a funny old world. For 55 years after 1945 these old former satellite republics of the USSR were at daggers drawn with the USA and decried all the US stood for. Yet, the preferred currency in these countries is the US dollar and almost everyone will ask whether you want to pay in dollars or the local currency with preference accorded to the dollar. That strikes me as having more than a whiff of hyprocracy about it.

The exchange rate of Sum to the dollar is very variable. The official rate is about 1,200 Sum but no-one changes at the banks and uses money changers instead. My hotel in Bukhara exchanged at 2,000 to $; my hotel in Samarkand at 2,700 and yesterday a local policeman/security guard was running a little business on the side at 2,100. Free enterprise is king now.

I went down to the old city of Tashkent which has a maze of streets forming a large bazaar. I cursed myself when I got there as I left my camera battery in the charger and had to go back to the hotel to get it as I could not return home without photos of Tashkent.

They sell everything in the bazaar from live birds (feathered variety), clothes, shoes, hardware and together with a dedicated farmers' market for fruit, vegetables and spices.

I sampled something different for lunch today; noodles with horse meat and salad. The meat was in tiny pieces looking and tasting like lamb.

They have an odd arrangement here in that every car is a taxi. There are some registered taxis many of which are yellow and have a taxi sign on the roof but ordinary cars cruise around and stop for you if they think they can make a buck. No-one seems to mind and it is an accepted practice. You negotiate a fare before getting in rather than it being charged by a meter.

Have encountered my second significant problem today. I set aside part of this afternoon to check over the bike and tighten any nuts/bolts which had vibrated loose from the pounding on these rough roads. I discovered that one of the four bolts securing the rear sub-frame (two each side) has not only become loose but has vanished. It doesn't affect the main integrity of the bike as the engine, front wheel, forks, rear wheel and suspension are in effect an integral unit. The main function of the rear sub-frame is to support the weight of the panniers.

Amongst my spare parts I have a bolt which almost fits, but not quite. I have therefore decided to abandon all clothing or other things I can do without to reduce weight in the panniers and hope this temporary solution holds until I get to Kiev in the Ukraine where there is a BMW dealer. It's a bit of a tall order as Kiev is 2,500 miles away. If that fails I shall have to enlist the help of a local motor mechanic to find a more permanent solution. Fingers crossed, we'll see what tomorrow brings as I cross into Kazakhstan.

Day 38 – started as it can only do in police state. I was going to take an early breakfast and came out of my room just before 7.00am to find half a dozen police on the landing. They were knocking on doors to check passports and checked mine as I went by.

I decided to lighten my load as much as I can to put less strain on the temporary bolt I fitted to replace the missing one. I jettisoned shirts, a pair of trousers, a pullover top, some underpants and a favourite bomber jacket plus 2 heavy security meshes and other items leaving me with just sufficient provision for the rest of my trip with a little extra laundry. I was sorry to see them go but needs must.