Join me on my trips

The endless flights of steps at times defeat me.  Our comfy hotel and across the road.  Houses are deceptive as the long walls on the roads with one heavy wooden door hide courtyards with rooms going off. 7th C wall paintings and pottery fron thd bronze in this archaeological museum. People were making similar pots and tools in Africa,  Europe and South America yet had no communication, or did they? A necropolis I didn't visit. Then after another good lunch of lots of vegetetables one of our group, Liz and I went to find a mulberry paper maker but in fact found a tourist attraction though bought 2 sheets for $12. Bit of a rip off. The taxi cost us another$4. Now having hot honey and ginger tea. Having favourite bortsch and risotto with an electric violinist accompanied by boom box .

Today we see archaeological sites, go through passport control and then Samarkand. Some very interesting people on the tour with first class guides but what the tours dont give is time to wander the streets. Its all much more tiring keeping to some elses schedule also all the talk when I am used to the quiet. Nevertheless the conversations are informative and often quite intellectual. First stop the amazing archaeological site of Sarazan which dates back 4000 years and is now a world heritage site. A weight stone thpusands of years old. On going excavataions Across the border to Samarkand in a bit of rain and 9degrees. Lunch in the art cafe. A local baby wrapped up warm. The monument is Lenin so there is still a Russian connection which is surprising. Famous Ragistan Square. ...

Couldn"t sleep easy.  Bad dreams  hard matress and no aircon, its 24degrees at 4am. Staying in this opulent hotel. On we went through the southern mountains and over the pass which peaks ar around 2500meters. Very windy and not pkeasant to be on thd outside with the precipitous drop. This part of the country is ravaged by soil erosion and quite poor, nearly all manual agriculture. When there is any water orchards flourish as well as potatoes. Field of poppies. Toll road. The mountains are rich in minerals that the Chinese are interested in. Then snow but gradually it is diminishing and the rivers are dry. Where someone went over. A market in Penjikent where we went to the museum. This is tiny. Makers mark from 6th C. Then saw the...