Dazzled in Uzbekistan It wasn't the most sensible place to strip off for a swim, but I couldn't resist the opportunity. We were in the Kyzylkum desert in the middle of Uzbekistan when we reached the Aidarkul Lake. Make sure you've got an up to date map when you look for it. For just as the Aral Sea at the far end of Uzbekistan has dried to a shallow puddle, so Aidarkul has steadily grown in the past 50 years as a result of Soviet tinkering with the environment. One giant, ancient, natural lake vanishes, while upstream a new, man-made reservoir gradually turns into a vast body of water. I'm guessing here, but there may just be a link. Anyway, Uzbekistan is one of the most interesting, perhaps the most interesting, cultural and historical destinations on the planet. It has fabulous Islamic architechture and history, which is why I went there. Skinny-dipping in the desert a short distance to the north of war-torn and avidly non-nude Afghanistan hadn't figured in my plans. But when the opportunity arose, I couldn't resist. More to follow

The much feared Kolan minaret, from where prisoners were hurled in hessian sacks to the ground, when Bukhara was a closed khanate. The Soviets, unsurprisingly, saw themselves as liberators I don't know if anyone's skinny dipped closer to Afghanistan than this in the past year, but it's my answer to naked aggression

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