Uzbekistan	Buka	N 40.73528°	E 69.12712°	The truck was very hot after standing in the sun for 4 hours so once on the road we started looking for a shady place to stop for a while and maybe even for the night as we are not scheduled to be in Samarkand until 4th Sept. Eventually we found a large stand of trees that was shading the edge of the road and we pulled in for a break. No sooner had we stepped out of the truck than a group of men having a meal on raised platforms under the trees came over to talk, offered us water and fruit and invited us to join them; which we did. After some time a few more men turned up one of whom spoke English (he had spent 2 years in England). Eventually we worked out that the larger group were all school friends who were simply having a couple of meals together, and one man and his family used the place as a shashlik stand and sold food to passing travelers, mostly truckers. One of the group of friends was a chef who had worked for some time in Moscow and after some time he cooked up a large batch of (what the Russians and Tajiks call) Plov but which the Uzbeks call Osh. One of the differences between the Plov we had in Ishkashim and the Osh being prepared here is that the Uzbeks use yellow carrots and lamb fat rather that standard red carrots and cooking oil. The meal was good, but filling. Eventually everyone except the shashlik family went home, we moved the truck from the road edge onto the property for safety and went to bed.
Uzbekistan	Zarmin dam	N 39.82645°	E 68.39070°	South of the town of Zomin the road began to climb along a river valley. Close to the town many road side food places exploitd the shade of the river side trees with there open air, shaded, eating areas and a little farther south we started to climb past a dam and the river that feeds it. We stopped to chat with some ladies selling produce beside the road just after the dam and a few miles later we were able to get down into the river valley, and into the shade of a cliff for what seemed like a good camping spot. Throughout the evening we had a number of groups visit the river but without disturbing us. Overnight the temperature dropped and we had a comfortable night.
Uzbekistan	Samarkand	N 39.65254°	E 66.97339°	At the now well mentioned round-about we turned south along the eastern part of the city ring-route and followed it past a very extensive truck service shop. It would have been very easy to get our truck serviced here compared to the effort it required in Dushanbe (other travelers note). After some miles on the ring route we turned west onto the road from Penjikent which according to our map would take us right into the tourist part of the city, Registron Street and the locale of our hotel. The Penjikent road did as we expected but we never ever expected the street that it became. It was like being back in Tajikistan or Mongolia, broken pavement, uncovered man-holes, piles of stones and gravel, cars and buses everywhere. But never the less it got us to where we needed to be and as we exited this street into Registon Street everything changed. Smooth pavement, nice sidewalks, nice trees and views of the famous Registan. We found a parking spot and then I went looking for the hotel. With the GPS in hand it took me 10 minutes to find the hotel and then seek out a route that would allow our truck to pass through into the hotel parking lot. As it turned out there are two entrances to the hotel area but only one with enough clearance for our truck - and that turned out to be a turn off Registon Street almost right across the road from the Registan. The parking lot is not particularly secure (no locks, fences or gates) but it is big enough. We spent the afternoon looking around, and using the hotels email and electricty (and as it would turn our this was a good thing for they would be absent for the next couple of days).
Uzbekistan	Navoiy	N 40.12212°	E 65.14706°	Just past the largish town of Navoiy which is the home of an international airport that can handle 747s and seems to be a major base for a cargo operation Korean Air we found a designated roadside parking area. That was our home for the night. As the sun went down the temperature dropped below 90°F and we settled in for a relaxed comfortable night.
Uzbekistan	Kyzylkum	N 40.60318°	E 62.64162°	The road today was mostly OK, though as you can see in the photos there were a few rough sections. For our camping place tonight we simply found a patch of sand near a cell tower amongst the small dunes and scrub.
Uzbekistan	Ayaz qala	N 42.01413°	E 61.03063°	There are three separate ruins at Ayaz qala two of which sit on hill tops. Nearby there is a yurt camp for those that need accomodation. From the end of the sealed road a rough track leads up to a rough parking lot just below the walls of the ruin on the tallest hill. We parked there and went exploring. The qala is in poor condition and nature seems to be reclaiming the area despite some limited efforts by people to do repairs. The location is fabulous. Situated on the only hill for miles one is given a great view of the flat land of western Uzbekistan (or Khorezm province as we would later learn). Inside the walls we met a group of young people armed with camera equipment who appeared to be making a movie; later (through mime and very little English) we would discover they were making an MTV style film clip. We spent the night in this parking lot with a fabulous view of the stars.
Uzbekistan	Khiva	N 41.38380°	E 60.36153°	The Hotel Sorbir Arkanchi is about 200 meters from the North gate of the walled city. It has plenty of parking space both on the front apron of the buildiing and also down the side inside a gated area. The services or facilities leave a bit to be desired. No internet, hot water that is at best luke warm, and also water that is often turned off altogether. After being there a few days we deduced that this is the hotel for buses and their drivers. There always seemed to be a good number of large and small buses parked at the place and at breakfast each morning the room seemed to be filled with bus drivers. We did not see other tourists in the place even once. It seems that it costs $20 per night to park a motorhome without a room. There are some other possible parking spots for travelers with vehicles. The Asia Hotel (close to the south gate of the city looks like a possibility - there is a sign to this hotel pointing left at the entrance to the town on the road from Urgench). In addition there is a large area near the west gate that mgiht work. After settling in to our hotel room we ventured out to explore the walled city. We were surprised to find that there are many family homes inside the walled city and the the north and south ends of the inner city feel more like an ordinary neighbourhood than a historical area. The tourist area (renovated historical buildings, cafes and souvenir shops) mainly occupy the middle section of the town between the east and west gates.
Uzbekistan	Khiva	N 41.38380°	E 60.36153°	Interestingly the fellow who was our guide today, who called himself Jonnibek, is mentioned in the LonelyPlanet guide book but the contact details given for him in that book are incorrect - a combination of typo and obsolete email address. He would be a useful resource to any vehicle based tourist who needed help. So his email is hanza.alimov@gmail.com
Uzbekistan	Nukkus	N 42.47655°	E 59.61225°	In Nukkus we had a booking at the ARZ Hotel (АРЗ in Russian) but like other cities no real idea of how or whether we could get our truck to the hotel or whether we could park there. The agent that booked our Aral Sea Tour had given us the name of the driver for the excursion and the impression that he (the driver) could help us find a parking place. So on the outskirts of Nukkus I called his cell phone - unfortunately he spoke no English and I no Russia (or Uzbek) so we had (like other cities) to try to navigate to the hotel by ourselves. The pattern is now pretty familiar. Use the GPS to drive towards the hotel until something blocks us (low trees, low wires, "no truck" signs), then walk the remainder of the route to the hotel. Make contact with the hotel staff (if we are lucky one of them will speak some English), evaluate parking options, and find a suitable route for our truck to parking. In this case all of that was easy. One of the reception staff spoke Engish, the hotel had a large fenced parking lot, and there was an easy though not obvious route from our temporary parking place to the hotel. So all was good. The hotel turned out to be good also, nice rooms, air conditioning that worked, wifi that worked, but water that is only just warm enough to have a quick shower.
Uzbekistan	Aral Sea	N 42.47655°	E 59.61225°	We spent more time washing the mud off our feet and legs than we spent putting it on, but once "clean" we piled back into the car and drove 1/2 mile up into a low saddle that had some protection from the onshore wind for our nights camp. Our driver brought out a niffty spring loaded tent that pretty much erected itself and laid our thin mattresses, sheets and blankets for our bedding; he (the driver) would sleep in the car. That same felt mat from lunch came out to be the dinner table - the food was the same as lunch also with the addition of coffee. Another guide with a Latvian couple as his clients camped in the same place and he prepared that Plov dish for their dinner.