Thursday 16th May — ride into Nukus 

Busy stretch into Nukus. Largest city since Aqtau, but Nukus felt like it had a life outside of tourism. Aqtau seemed to be mainly rows and rows of hotels, or hotels being built. 

With the arrival into Nukus, it marked the end of a long stretch from Aqtau where water and food stops had to be planned. It was satisfying completing a fairly challenging stretch. I will miss the satisfaction and relief of arriving tired at a chaikhana after a long, hot, windy stretch of cycling, to enjoy some simple food and refresh with a tea and soft drink. 

On a practical note, it was very easy camping in the desert. Just turn off into a side road and find a flat patch. As we move into more built up areas, it will become more difficult to find discrete spots, especially as a group.