Visit from the 16th to the 22th of July 2016
Visite du 16 au 22 juillet 2016
Well well, how to go about finding a mechanic competent in Mercedes-Benz in the land of Aladin and the 7 lamps that is serviced by Chevrolet and Daewoo? After the battering we took in Kazakhstan, the roads of Uzbekistan finally killed, dead, my shock absorbers. I have been silently distrusting of the front shocks since the day we bought Biscotte – thinking all the while that they are the original shocks from the factory – as we bounced around last year from Mongolia. But finally, we bounce no more. We crash and clang and rattle over the Uzbek roads. Score one for Uzbekistan! Dammit.
We did some quick internet research on MB Tashkent (FAIL) but having crossed paths with Patrick we have the name of a shop that may (may is key) be helpful. As usual we pulled into Tashkent heading into a weekend, and circled around until we finally found the workshop at 17hrs. Google translation with the gate guard was not much useful (“closed forever”) but then we got the universal sign to hang on and he ran off to find the boss. The signs were not good, no indicator that the shop was actually functioning, no dead cars in the garden, gates firmly closed…we were not too positive. The Boss showed up and took a look, sure he said, we can help. Good, we said, what do we need to do? English and computer communication was not successful, so we waited with our hands in our pockets quite lost as what to do. Vroom vroom a car raced into the compound and sure enough the ‘mechanic’ jumped out carrying two NEW shocks and by 1930 we were rolling again before the sun set. Labour cost $25. You would never see an European MB shop providing after-hours, weekend work for that kind of value. Never ever. We always get stuck with – ‘we need more parts, that’ll take 10 days more’. Right?
Trouver un mécano à Tachkent qui s’occupe des Mercedes dans un pays où il semble que Chevrolet et Daewoo ont le monopole aurait pu être un challenge mais nous avions unnom. Les routes Ouzbek ont une le dernier mot sur les amortisseurs de Biscotte. Elles ont largement gagné le match ! Comme d’habitude nous arrivons à Tachkent pour faire soigner Biscotte un weekend. Après quelques errances en ville nous trouvons l’atelier à 17h passé et devine quoi c’est fermé et fermé for ever. Grâce à Chris et sa persévérance, le gardien nous met en contact avec un employé qui en deux temps trois mouvements nous trouve un mécano et 2 amortisseurs tout neufs. A 19h30 un samedi soir, le problème était réglé ! Je m’imagine le même problème un samedi après-midi en région parisienne dans un concessionnaire MB : il aurait fallu prendre RDV pour le diagnostique à 200 euros dans une semaine, attendre les pièces etc etc…
Great, we got a change of shocks in the time it takes to order and eat a meal. Hardly enough time to count as a ‘breakdown’. So we immediately set sail direction the Fergana Valley. As the road skirts the Tajikistan border, there is some serious control going on, and on 3 occasions we are called out of the car to ‘register’ our passports inside the checkpoints while the boys do a round of the car. Meanwhile, the checkpoints are surrounded by sunken machine gun boxes, army dudes all camo’d up so much so that you cannot see the whites of their eyes (been watching too many movies, I might say). Clearly we are on a protected and sensitive border zone. Running this gauntlet, we finally drop into the Valley.
The valley is chill, and we arrive in Margillon just in time for the grand Sunday Market. Folks are so chill that for the first time ever in my travelling career, people are ASKING, nay demanding me to take their pictures. They pose and pose and call their friends, then drag the kids in, plunk hats on em, fit them with ray-ban’s click, click, click… But where is the fabled silk??
Nous pouvons prendre la direction de la vallée de Fergana. Il y a de nombreux check points, certains où l’on doit même s’enregistrer avec nos passeports qui passent sous des scanners et où des douaniers vérifient l’intérieur des véhicules, on est presque en train de se demander si on ne s’est pas planté de route et du coup si nous ne serions pas en train de traverser une frontière. Il y a des militaires cagoulés avec juste une ouverture pour les yeux et les mains chargées d’une kalachnikov. On est clairement dans une zone frontalière protégée. En tout cas la vallée était magnifique et nous sommes arrivés à temps pour flâner dans le bazar de Margilon où les gens ont posé pour Chris qui est rapidement devenu le photographe officiel du bazar. J’espérais y trouver de la soie mais au fait comment la reconnaître ?
To do the Silk Route is just not on to miss out on the actual SILK. With luck, we rock up to the silk factory to take advantage of a bit of an educational tour – and then get pointed to the direction of the factory shop. Smart, we leave with the cheapest silk scarves and a much emptier pocketbook.
Faire la route de la soie et ne pas savoir à quoi elle ressemble ! Heureusement il y a cette usine de soie. La visite y est gratuite et guidée (excepté qu’à la fin on passe par le magasin). Les personnes y travaillant y sont souriants et heureux de nous montrer leur travail sans être blasées d’être pris en photo par les touristes de passage.
Our last stop in Uzbekistan was Samarkand. Approaching the locals was easy, and for what ever reason, their first question (before we could even say ‘Hi’) was ‘Franchouski?’ leaving us feeling like there is some great French tide taking over the land. Ironic since, in fact, we are pretty much Franchouski; but you cannot see that at a distance, can you? We have indeed seen that the gross majority of the tourists are French. The follow-up question would be ‘what is your age’ as if this had some results bearing information. Or it could only mean that English studies in schools only got that far…
Dernière escale en Ouzbékistan à Samarkand. Le contact avec les gens se fait très facilement. Tout le monde nous demande ‘franchouski ?’ sans même avoir dit un mot puis ‘quel âge as-tu? ‘ Bizarre… En tout cas on peut dire qu’effectivement la majorité des touristes que nous avons rencontré sont français mais cette question fréquente sur notre âge mystère…
Stan- by for Tajikistan.
A suivre la route du Pamir au Tadjikistan
Biscotte Adventures 