Uzbekistan (the bumper issue!)

After a good sleep and a very long shower we were ready to tackle whatever awaited us in Tashkent but we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in a beautiful, green, clean and friendly city with nothing to do but enjoy the sunshine.

We met some lovely locals and had a beer with some other travellers who were doing almost the same thing as us in the opposite direction (moving from Australia to the UK and taking the scenic route to get there!).

Next we headed to Samarkand – another beautiful, clean and friendly city. We visited the Registan and some amazing old mausoleums with incredible blue tiling.

Then it was on to Bukhara, not quite as green but still very beautiful and interesting – although the Old Town square resembled a bomb site with all the restoration work going on.

We had a very relaxing time walking around the dusty lanes and the lush parks and looking at the many beautiful medressas (which all started to look the same!!).

The train ride to Uzbekistan

On our last evening in Moscow, we boarded a train for a three day journey through Russia and Kazakhstan and into Uzbekistan - the longest stretch of the whole trip home. We had the 4 berth cabin all to ourselves (yippee!...well, we just had to share with all the loot that was being smuggled across the border by the conductors!!), so we were able to fully relax and make ourselves at home.

There was still snow everywhere on the first day but the sun was out and the scenery was beautiful. The huge frozen lakes and rivers looked amazing.

We crossed the boarder into Kazakhstan early on the second day and then watched the snow and ice gradually get more and more patchy and try to find a way to escape the very flat landscape as it melted.

By the third day the snow was gone and it was actually feeling warm! Add in the huge open spaces and sparse vegetation and we were starting to feel much closer to home. Another boarder crossing into Uzbekistan in the evening and we finally arrived in Tashkent.

Russia

After a slightly scary border crossing (goodbye ease and convenience of the EU!), we made it safely to St Petersburg. Thanks to the very kind Nadya and her darling daughter Kate, we had a brief but comprehensive guided tour from the comfort of a car, to help us get our bearings.

Winter seems to be following us but even with the cold and snow we enjoyed taking in the scale and grandeur of the place and the sun did come out a couple of times.

Then it was on to Moscow, where it was still freezing but at least not snowing. We had a great time sliding along the icy promenade and walking around the Red Square and the Kremlin.