Day 1: Heathrow to Tashkent

It's around 1 p.m. when I find myself at the start of a new adventure, ready to check in at Heathrow. Since my trip to Mexico in February/March, quite a bit has changed and we have a new Prime Minister, but quite a lot has not changed and the country is still in a state of uncertainty. So what better than to go from Mexit to Uzbexit?

I am bound for Central Asia to a place which I have longed to visit for many years, to view the fabulous historic buildings of Samarkand, Bukhara and other cities which formed part of a proud civilisation in the 14th and 15th centuries, while we were fighting the Hundred Years War. It was also at the centre of the Silk Road and cities are known to have existed here since 500 B.C. In its time Uzbekistan has seen, for vastly different reasons, the visits of Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta. So I am in distinguished company and I can't wait to get there.

It's not a direct flight and there is a change at Istanbul. Its newly opened airport is a model of efficiency and in the secure transit area there is no need for passport or security controls (unlike certain countries I could name). No sleep for me on the connecting flight but there's the consolation that on arrival it will be "only" 3 a.m. on British Summer Time.Read more