📅  23rd August 2025 📍Osh, Kyrgyzstan

From the Kazakh Steppe to the Buzz of Tashkent

The journey across Central Asia is one of those experiences that stays with us through a series of contrasts and surprises. After the haunting beauty of the Aral Sea, the road carried us deeper into the vast Kazakh steppe. There, in the endless solitude, we suddenly stumbled upon a sight from another world: the Russian missile base Baikonur. Even from far away, we could already see the giant telescope antennas, stretching skyward and listening for distant echoes from outer space. We paused for a photo—our small reminder of this surreal moment—before continuing the ride.

The dry heat of the land made every taste more intense, and buying a watermelon from a roadside vendor felt like a small gift of sweetness. Through Shymkent we drove toward the Uzbek border, sharing the road with all kinds of extreme vehicles—especially the cars piled precariously high with luggage, some loads stacked at least a meter and a half above the roof. At the border itself, the atmosphere shifted again. Crowds surrounded us, people passing in all directions. Here, you are never alone; the crossing between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan was alive with foot traffic, families, and merchants, a river of humanity flowing steadily onward.

And then came our first joyful encounter in Uzbekistan: a VW ID.4 driver spotted us, waved enthusiastically, and together we snapped a photo, united by this shared moment of e-mobility far from home. With smiling faces, we rolled into Tashkent.

The capital surprised us instantly. Tashkent is not only Central Asia’s largest city and a vital hub on the ancient Silk Road; it also dazzles with its ordered, stylish modernity. The broad boulevards, elegant metro stations, and bold Soviet-era architecture stand side by side with glassy new towers. Everything feels spacious, clean, and impressive. We took photos with our ID.Bus in the business district, the modern lines of the city rising behind us, and ended the day with something wonderfully simple: buying the warm, round Uzbek bread that locals treasure so much.

As evening fell, the road called us once more. We set our course toward Kyrgyzstan, traveling into the night. By late the following afternoon, we crossed the border and arrived in Osh, ready for the next chapter of our journey to begin.

Next stop: Gulcha!