May 19, 2014
Bek to the mountains: Talking politics
The border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan nearest to Samarkand was closed and so I had to make a long detour south instead. Having battled through headwinds whilst going north and then east I was of course delighted to turn south and find myself somehow still cycling into it. Luckily for me the slowing effect of the wind was rendered immaterial by the fact that I had to cycle over a 1700 metre high pass and was therefore going very slowly anyway. It was frustrating and again made worse by constantly having to deal with being asked where I was from by the 'uneducated and dangerous wild-people.'
But come evening a car pulled up to me and a clean-cut middle-aged man got out and addressed me. There was something different about this man. He wasn't shouting "Atkuda" for a start, nor was he hitting a donkey with a stick. Instead he spoke words that I understood; "Hello. Is there anything you need. Would you like to stay at my house?" The valley was lined with houses so it was clear wild camping was out anyway, and this was just the sort of miracle I had been praying for. I answered with an emphatic "Yes please!"
An evening with Bek and his family was just what I needed, and not only because he had a name that I could actually remember. Bek met his Japanese wife while studying in Japan (she wasn't his wife when they met, that would have been weird) and they now lived in Moscow together, where Bek worked in the travel industry hence his perfect English. He was home visiting his family and was an intelligent man with whom I was able to have some really great discussions about his country and I was particularly interested to hear his views on the political situation. Why was everyone I met so in favour of the President? A dictator who had been in power since the fall of the Soviet Union.
"The President has done a lot to stop war. Other countries in the region had civil wars after independence. He has prevented Islamic extremists from radicalising our country." (Presumably alluding to the 2005 massacre of several hundred protesters, and other acts to quash all attempts at opposition.) He went on; "I do not care about living in a democracy. I only care that my family can live in peace, in a safe country without war."
One would certainly not begrudge him that.
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19/05/14 - 43km
20/05/14 - 118km
Today's ride: 161 km (100 miles)
Total: 19,693 km (12,229 miles)
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