Ashgabat to Turkmenabat (day 12)

Early start today to travel as much as possible before the heat became unbearable. First task of the day is to look for some fuel as I've no idea how far the fuel stops are between Ashgabat and Mary.

Find a petrol station after some searching. The city is so clean it's almost that they don't want any petrol stations there. Success, I spot one at the start of the motorway out of town. Go to fill up and it's just over 6 litres to fill up. I've been keeping an eye on the fuel consumption as I'm slightly concerned about Uzbekistan and fuel shortages. I hand the attendant 20 Manat and he hands me back 4 in change. He zeros the pump so that I can't see the total. I make a fuss and he then hands me back the 10 Manat he was going to keep.

The road out of Ashgabat is in excellent condition. Money well spent here! The road goes through a desert and there's a railway line running parallel with the road. There's not much else, it's flat and there's a mountain range to my right side. Still looks impressive from the distance I'm viewing it.

I reach a point on the motorway, there's a No Entry sign placed on the very right and I'm not sure if I can continue and I'm not confident of the other sign pointing to the other carriage way.

Two minutes later and there's a policeman on the road. Ohh sh!t. He's not waving at me with his hand but with the traffic baton. Roll to a stop and let's play this situation out. He approaches me and then he smiles. All I can see is four gold plated front upper teeth. Audition for a Bond movie I'm thinking.

He asks for my passport, I hand over my driving license. He takes his booklet out and wants to write me a ticket. He goes to the car and gets his rules of the road book out. He points to the No Entry sign. He keeps talking to me but I've no idea what he's saying, only Banka to pay the fine. Then he comments on the bike and notices the camelbak tube. He wants to know what it is. I show him. He walks back to the car and gets me to go over. He offers me some of his water, then he offers me a cigarette. I've no idea where this going now. He then starts pointing to some houses in the distance and indicates that he lives there. He then asks me to go for Chai and food. Confused? I still am. After about 10 minutes I'm on my way again.

I get to the town of Mary and I decide to find a shop for water. I miss the turn but turn around and go back on a small path parallel to the main road. I get some snacks and water. I'm just pointing at things and a young guy in the shop speaks some English. I tell all is fine. Walk outside and a man turns up in an old Lada. I ask if I'm parked in the way. All is good, he the owner of the shop and is dropping off some supplies. He speaks very good English, he offers me a tea/coffee. We sit down outside, a couple of small chairs are brought out by his daughters.

We're about to finish coffee and he invites me to eat with his family. I decline. Am about to leave and his daughter comes out and asks if she can take a photo. No problem, then out pops the camera phone. So it's photos with the family, photos next to the bike. A customer shows up, time for her to get her picture taken too. He asks me if I want to marry his daughter. Oh no, not again!!

I'm about to go and he gets me another bottle of water, free of charge. He didn't want any money but I gave him 1 Manat.

I find my way out of Mary, there are some impressive buildings here too. I see a hippodrome, it's immaculate and looks expensive. Next stop is Merv to find the ruins of the ancient city. I see no signs up so I pull over and ask a couple of old guys for directions. They've all got the gold teeth thing going on. All very helpful and they give me the directions. I find the place and it's an amazing sight.

There is some restoration or preservation work being carried out on the site. I park up and a few of the workers come over. I can walk around the perimeter but can't go past the work fence. They're admiring the bike and asking all sorts of questions. They are a friendly bunch.

Now I've just got another 200km to reach Turkmenabat. Easy I think but this is through the desert. It's a hot day and there's a strong breeze blowing. It's not helping. I notice that I'm drinking a lot but I know that I'm going to suffer later with dehydration.

I reach the town and I start to look for a hotel. Nothing to be seen. Fancy modern white marble buildings but no hotel. A car pulls up and the guy shouts to me, think he's telling me that I've missed the turn for Uzbekistan. I ask for a hotel, he asks me to follow him so that he can bring me to one nearby. They want $60 for the night, no breakfast either. They tell me they have another hotel behind this one which is cheaper. It's a flea pit hostel and I won't take any pictures as the memory of this place will scar me for many years to come and you'll probably think I've been captured and am in some forced labour camp.

And so ends today's road trip. Excellent day if a bit too tiring.

Total distance: 676km