Perhaps I live in a parallel universe but I have returned this week from touring Uzbekistan. The temperature was 40 C but I had a hat and water, the Uzbekistan Airways flights from Heathrow T4 to/from Tashkent were faultless, the journey on the Uzbekistan HST (the Afrasiab) was more impressive than anything in Britain.
Quite impressive for a country that shares a border with Afghanistan and is mainly a desert.
Did the Afrasiab let you take your bike on board free of charge Graham?