Fergana and Arslanbob - Day 17

The Fergana Valley is beautifully fertile and intensively farmed. It is fringed with amazing ranges of snowclad mountains that look wonderful in the clear morning light. As we drove towards the border it became obvious that the air quality on Kyrgyzstan’s side was vastly superior to Uzbekistan’s. Apparently 80% of Kyrgyzstan power is generated by hydroelectricity. We passengers walked across the border with no problems from officialdom. In fact it was downright embarrassing at these crossings to discover that tourists are given precedence over locals.