Author archive
13 October 2017
After a decent breakfast, I took it easy before heading out around 0900. It was around 40 minutes walk to the part of town where a collection of sights were. There was a mosque, mausoleum and a madrassah. I got to the mosque and they were laying mats out for Friday prayers. The mausoleum and […]
12 October 2017
Today I will travel from Khiva to Kokand, in the opposite end of the country. Not quite the entire length of the country but somewhat. My hotel-arranged vehicle was waiting as I had a light breakfast. There was little traffic between Khiva and Urgench airport and my I arrived in 40 minutes. The airport is […]
11 October 2017
At breakfast I told my host that I wouldn’t need breakfast tomorrow, since I had a flight around 0930. He suggested a small breakfast at 0700 and leaving in his car for USD10. I hesitated at the price and he suggested a small taxi for around USD6. I knew it was still a little pricey […]
10 October 2017
After breakfast, my car arrived to take me to Khiva. Fabrizio arrived as I was loading up. The third passenger may have been the driver’s son but we never found out. We set off on the 6h drive with a couple of short breaks for gas (methane). The scenery along the way was semi-desert with […]
9 October 2017
I had hoped for a more relaxing day today. But as usual I want to check everything out. I wandered to the sights further out of town today, plus had some uncharted ramblings. After a big breakfast where they kept bringing out more and more food, I wandered randomly and found myself at a synagogue […]
8 October 2017
At my 0800 breakfast, my host said that the Japanese guy was on the same train to Bukhara and we could go to the station together by taxi. That worked well and we got there about an hour before the 0943 departure on the fast train. The journey was only about 1h30 this time and […]
7 October 2017
Registan Square The weather turned glorious today and I was finally able to explore Samarkand. After a big breakfast at the Jahongir, I set out to Registan Square. Just as I bought my ticket I was accosted by someone wanting if I wanted to go up one of the minarets; he put the pressure on […]
6 October 2017
With an 0800 train, I started getting ready at 0600 working towards a pickup about an hour later. I made sure I got my 2 nights registration from the night receptionist before a light breakfast and checking out. My taxi arrived before the appointed time of 0710 and it was only a 5 min ride […]
5 October 2017
The hostel breakfast was good. I started with some cornflakes and yoghurt. Then the hots from the kitchen included eggs on toast, sausage roll, cracked bulghur wheat (I think) and some garnish. I headed out after 0800 by metro headed for the Sheikhantaur Mausoleum Complex. It was a little hard to find as part of […]
4 October 2017
Departing Almaty I woke at 0500 after about 9h sleep and dozed another couple before going down for breakfast after 0800. There was some panic as I had an email saying that my flight had been pre-poned (opposite to post-pone in Indian English) by 2h. I checked on the airline’s website and it seemed to […]