Destination : The Silk Road

[B] Black Monday

From Fergana we headed to the Yodgirlok Silk Factory in Margilon and the ceramics museum in Rishton. In the silk shop we saw pointing-finger large silk worms, eating their way through the mulberry leaf. I took some nice macro-shots, you just can not hear them eat From the shop we moved onto the process to make the cocoon [1km of silk thread !!] into a single silk thread that can be handled. The worms roll themselves into a cocoon to turn into a butterfly in about 12 days. Just before they turn into a butterfly the cocoon is dried and it kills the worm. The process they show us is centuries old and is kept alive here. Women pull on threads in a hot bath with cocoons and spin the wheels to unfurl the cocoon into a single thread onto a wheel. From there it is colored through an ingenious way of hiding the spots that do not need color. Once colored women weave nice scarfs or carpets from the silk.

Somewhere in the process something happened and i realize that i only have three pictures left. No, not just for today, but from my five week travel ! ! I really do not know what happened, but i decide to stop taking pictures on this Sd-card and try to recover them at home. I took some nice panoramas here and there that i did not upload to my web-site yet. You need a picture to remember what you did/experienced while traveling . ! F C U K !

'Yodgirlok' means souvenir. So i bought the first prize in the quiz i am running; a 100% silk scarf, 100% hand made in the center of Uzbek silk production. I am travelling the Silk Road ...

Margilon, Tajikistan - The source of silk ...

Margilon, Tajikistan - Putting the individual threads on the spinning wheel

Margilon, Tajikistan - Spinning the wheel

Margilon, Tajikistan - preparing for the next color-bath

[B] Started travelling to Fergana really early this morning and passed the Kamchik Pass [2267m]. Decided to travel with two french girls, Karine and Marie-Line, to the Fergana Valley. I hate the french by now, but the exception makes the rule. The french can not even get my bags on the right plane, happened twice to me passing Charles-de-Gaulle. And they also owe me some money.

Reaching Fergana we could not find any available hotel beds, since there was an international tennis tournament going on. Through the LP we found the 'Golden Valley Homestay'. A really nice place, so i think it is a winning lot from the lottery. I feel a bit awkward, since i am sleeping in the sons bed . We quickly head of to the fruit- and veggies-bazaar in Margilon where we meet curious people and they do not mind their foto being taken. Most of them think i am German, but i try to change their mind by saying i live in 'Gallandia', Amsterdam and say 'van der Sar', 'van Nistelrooij' and 'van Basten'. Then they know i am dutch.

Margilon, Tajikistan - Selling peanuts and cherries

Margilon, Tajikistan - Selling garlich

Margilon, Tajikistan - my favorite, sweets

Margilon, Tajikistan - delicious bread

Yesterday went to see a movie in a real movie theater. I thought i could choose between 'ангелы и демоны' or 'Wolverine'. I wanted to go at 20.00, so i could only go see 'Angels and Demons'. Weird to hear Tom Hanks speak russian. Five minutes into the movie i realize that I recognize the plot; It starts with a pope that died and the creation of anti-matter at CERN in Switzerland. One of the three containers with anti-matter gets stolen. I can not recall that i have seen this movie before or read the book. Just a few minutes further on i realize that i read the book ; 'Het Bernini Mysterie'. The plot is 'DaVinci code'-style. Never knew they had parachutes on helicopters ...
I have read the Dan Brown book on my last trip to Laos-China. And off course the book is better, since it is better at creating the right mysterious atmosphere.

Today go see bits and pieces of Tashkent, by taking taxi's, metro and walking around. Maybe go to the theatre Ilkhom. The last days I have been settling my financial situation at the Asaka-bank. It dispenses fresh US$-bills from an ATM . I did not count for this low amount of ATM's being around, so you need far more cash than expected. Tomorrow head for the Fergana Valley and fill the last week in Uzbekistan. My visa for Tajikistan starts at May 25th.

This morning said goodbye to Johannes. He is off to Samarkand and has to make up his mind what to do, now Turkmenistan has closed all its borders to prevent the 'H1N1'-virus enter the country. He now has to fly from Uzbekistan into Iran and does not need a tour-group anymore. You try to arrange that being in Uzbekistan

I found a dutch book from enkeltjebangkok.nl at Ali B+B's. Might finish reading it here or take it along to Fergana Valley or even Tajikistan. Received an itenarary that needs some riewing . It's a proposal to travel from Khorog [TJ] to Sary Tash [KG]. It can be driven in two days, but these are off course The Pamirs. The proposed itenarary is taking 10 days for the trip and the route leads close to the afghan border, across passes above 4000m and hiking is included. Don't you just love it !!

In the morning we meet one of the girls in the big Russian group that is also in Chorvoq-hotel. She mentions the group is here on an ' Internal development program'. Ok, we saw a few people do some stretch exercises and they are looking for inner peace. But as she mentions the group also went to Bukhara and Samarkand i wonder were she is from if she thinks she can find a silent environment. She is from Siberia ... well, i have this idea from Siberia that there are not that many people around and that you will find a more silent environment than here. Strange name for an 'Internal development program', we call it holiday

We try to reach the dam this morning and go clockwise around the reservoir. Gates and fences can't stop us, but finally we hit a water-pipe that crosses a bay. Being so close to the dam it is almost a pity to stop, but it might be a 'strategic object' and we decide to get back although there is a ladder next to a waterpipe. We could not find 'My first uzbecian', we took the adventurous route and in the end i was a close as 300m from it, but i was looking up at sheer rock

Uzbekistan, Chimgan - Chorvoq Reservoir with Chimgan Mountain

Uzbekistan, Chimgan - Chorvoq Reservoir

Chimgan, Uzbekistan - Chorvoq dam.

Chimgan, Uzbekistan - need i say more.