Hotel Malika Bukhara

... beautifully decorated mausoleum of Ismoil Samoniy. (Don’t get after me about any of the spellings because I had our guide spell each and every place for me. Then I see they are all spelled different in the guide book!). This mausoleum was built around 905 and is probably the oldest one around. It looks as if it could have been built yesterday as the restoration has been so good. It wasn’t totally ...

... mesmerizing - but watching was not an option. At first inhibited, I turned to Lynne and said "I feel SO white right now" but every time we tried to duck out, we were pulled back in. I have not laughed so *************g time. When the ladies needed a rest, we were pulled to their table, presented with plates of food, and glasses of wine, and surrounded by the matronly types saying "eat, eat!" When we pointed to our stomachs as if to say we were full, the ...

... the adjacent Mir-i-Arab medrassah is ablaze, it&#8217;s millions of tiny tiles sparkling in the warm glow of sundown. Children were flying kites that glistened above the Kalon minaret, and an impromptu game of soccer had started up in the courtyard.<br><br>We left Bukhara on Saturday, the first day of Ramadan. While it is a holiday in Uzbekistan (as is Hait &#8211; which is Uzbek for Eid), we were told that less than 5 percent of Uzbeks actually fast; most Uzbeks are so ...

... the colouring (deep reds and blues) and the size that we had been looking for in Iran, only at the wrong price! We became quite infatuated by the camel hair rug, they were so beautiful but we managed to peel ourselves away from the shop before any negotiation started.<br><br>Bukhara did offer some nice little knick-knacks in its orderly little market which was good as we hadn't really bought anything other than carpets on our travels. James bought some lovely little painted ceramic ...

The boss came round this morning to get some money for our Plov and vodka. 34000 som. Pretty outstandingly expensive compared to the local restaurants. We went for a wander around town to look at the sights and it is pretty cool. There are a few westerners around, but the town doesn't seemed to have changed much in the face of increasing tourism. The key sight was the Kalon ...

... early twenties they really only have lives focussed on children to look forward to. They are compensated with a full set of gold front teeth. So, if you find a girl smiling at you without gold teeth then she is usually single. The gold teeth are theirs to keep if the man decides to wander off and find a new girlfriend. An unusual style of keeping your husband in line, as the cost of the second set of teeth for the new girl is ...

... debatable to us as to whether it was gaudy or beautiful. We think it was both. Outside was a pool where the Emir&#8217;s harem women swam. Behruz told us of the story that the Emir always threw an apple to his chosen bedmate for the night. He laughed that he would need to be an accurate shot.<br><br>Our Asia Bukhara Hotel, like the Asia Khiva Hotel was located right next to the old city of Bukhara. Like most of the Uzbekistan hotels we stayed in, the accommodation was clean and ...

... is making this process painfully slow. <br><br>Our trip over the great Amu Darya was by way of a series of floating pontoons. It made for a swerving, looping and quite comical journey as we crossed the shaky passageway between the loosely joined soil covered pontoons. In the distance on the other side of the river was the strange country of Turkmenistan, a destination for our next travels. <br><br>On leaving Khiva we visited the private home of some of Naim ...

... desert on our way from Samarkand, which is an oasis in the middle and with all the truck windows open it was like being in front of an electric fan on the highest setting. We stayed at a yurt camp site last night and when i got there I just collapsed on the mattress on the floor. I lay there feeling sorry for myself and eventually I looked at my face in a mirror. Despite only being in the sun for pee stops on the way I was burnt to a cinder by the sheer wind power. Thank god I ...

... Shepherd, but gets away with it. US$1 = 1300 sum (at bank) US$1 = 1350 sum (black market) Only about an hour to Khiva, through irrigated farmland, with small towns. A fair few rice paddies beside the road and a lot of cotton fields with water flooding the channels between the rows. Do a fair bit of threading through narrow streets to find our Caravanserai style hotel (Arqonchi ...