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19/05/2005: "Shahrisabz to St. Gallen"

I left Shahrisabz in the afternoon to board a vintage Yak-40 at Qarshi together with KBR contractors from the nearby US military base. They were completing their assignment and heading to Iraq to fit armour onto vehicles, apparently a well-paid activity. One was a Bosniac fellow, probably a talented sniper recruited by the US during the Balkan conflict (a useful asset, this man).

The flight was suprisingly smooth (and made all the more enjoyable by the stunning hostess) and at no time I was afraid I would suffer the same fate as last year's fateful Termez flight to Tashkent (amusing to know that UN personnel are not authorised to board such planes).

The next stop was Tashkent, where I ate at the delightful Cafe Caravan before boarding my plane to Istanbul. I am now shopping in the city and waiting for my flight to Zurich. It feels odd to have got up from bed in the small town of Shahrisabz knowing I would next rest in St. Gallen!