Mind Numbing Turkmen Dash

Usually when I enter a new country there is at least half a day of excitement because it is new.  Entering Turkmenistan that excitement wore off very quickly.  Getting in the country took a few hours as they checked our stuff through their x-ray machine.  After that it was just boring, crappy road for kilometers on end.  All the way to Mary we had the worst stretches of road we have experienced yet.  Pretty much had to weave all over the road to avoid the never ending bumps and cracks.  Apparently the country has profited from vast oil and gas reserves but doesn’t believe in improving their infrastructure.

On the third and fourth days the road was tolerable but the wind was not.  Through the Karakum desert we had to fight strong head and crosswinds that never quit.  It was very frustrating and demoralising.  We had read about the horrible road conditions and headwinds so it was expected.  But I must admit, this dash through Turkmenistan was quite tough.  Purely because it was so boring just cycling on a straight, crappy road and never seeing an end. 

We were given 5 days to cross Turkmenistan on our transit visa.  It is now the end of day 4 and we are pretty much done as we are 10km away from the Uzbek border.  Kind of relieved we made it in time.  Once we get into Uzbekistan we won’t have to worry so much about time constraints.       

Massive bumps, cracks, potholes everywhere on these crappy, Turkmen roads.  Toyota ruled the roads as we saw many makes pass us by.  Goes to show it is an excellent brand if they can withstand these roads. 

Passed many cotton shrubs through the country.

The city of Mary.

The never ending Karakum Desert.

The hospitality continued into Turkmenistan.  We had two sit down melon sessions with some nice Turkmens, this being one of them.  Trevor wasn’t keen on stopping, he usually never is.  But I thought this was a great stop as that watermelon was really tasty.  The guys were very nice and once we were done eating we just left. 

Saw half a dozen camels roaming about including this one. 

Another reason Turkmenistan was so tough was that there weren’t many places to park our bicycles and take a break.  Posts and signs like this one were few and far between.  And finding shade was also tricky. 

The never ending straight, flat, crappy, dull road that leads to nowhere.  

Because I was stupid, we didn’t stock up on enough water the day before in Bairum Ali (30km after Mary) and had a full day of nothing the next day.  As such, we were dwindling on water.  I was very dehydrated on day 3 and had only a few gulps left for the fourth day.  Luckily early on day 4 we passed a Kafe and the lady had water and lemonade.  Life saver.  While slurping down the lemonade we were entertained by the dogs running about. 

Here was the star of the show. 

There probably would be enough money to greatly improve the infrastructure if it weren’t for vanity projects all over the country of their late president.  Just saying…

Nice camp spot right by the river on our final night in Turkmenistan.