After a long wait in Baku and an exasperating crossing of Turkmenistan, we have reached the spectacular Silk Road city of Bukhara.

Help arrived in Baku, in the form of a business card left on the bike. Tony Mordawski from Interntional SOS, his girlfriend Olga and Dr Craig hosted our prolonged stay and assisted with Azeri officaldom brilliantly.

On the 19 September we eventually set sail aboard a rusting Soviet freight ship with one Turkish trucker and forty railway containers for company. On arrival in Turkmenbashi, we spent three hours battling with Turkmen officaldom, only to spend a further three days waiting for our visa extensions in the oil town of Balkanabat, 100 miles east.

Turkmenistan is a surreal combination of one man's utopian dream, realised in the form of grandiose marble monuments to himself and the endless Karakum Desert.

The ancient city of Merv rewarded our efforts. Spanning 2600 years of history, this deserted city was an eery but incredible place to camp before crossing (again, complicated) into Uzbekistan.

Bukhara has fulfilled all our expectations with its stunning architecture and tranquility.