Blogs from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, Asia - page 4

After an afternoon of waiting patiently for our passports at the Kazakh embassy we dashed across Tashkent and booked ourselves on the next train west, the night train to Bukhara. The bar was full of drunk russians, with the police keeping a tight watch on all passengers(particularly the man who fell asleep on the table!) Bukhara is the an old spiritual city, once very important on the Old Silk Road until the 16th Century. We spent our time wandering through the charming old town, with its winding roads and old bazaars and mosques. The Kalon Minaret and mosque was spectacular, although our first attempt to go in was at prayer time, so we swiftly departed to return again at a more suitable hour! Once in, we climbed the minaret built in 1127 and spared by Genghis ... read more

We had a free day in Samarkand - it was a bit of a lazy day for me . The next morning we headed out on our way to Bukhara. We had a Yurt stay planned and then a visit to Nurota and the Holy Fish! The Yurt stay was quite surreal. Most Yurts/Gers we have come across in the past were in the middle of nomad pastures … this one was smack bang in the Uzbek desert. After around 6hrs of driving on main roads we left the bitumen and headed along desert tracks. It was flat boring desert but we eventually came into a dip in the sand and here was a yurt camp complete with camels. It was a really nice night. Very peaceful and a good rest….. The following morning we continued ... read more

Or as they say in Uzbek - Buyuk Ipak Yoli Am in Buchara, Uzbekistan, an oasis in the Kyzyl kum desert, a sbopping place for camel caravans carrying exotic wares, for thousands of years.... There are camel statues round the ornamental pool which is one of the centres of the old town, Lyabi Hauz. Lined with old willows and choikhanas under the trees where dogs, cats and ducks live pretty much in harmony (it was two cats I saw fighting)! There should be a fable in that somewhere.... There are turquoise blue mosaiced iwans (mosque entrance) opposite eachother across the pool, which were glinting in the the sparkling light of the setting sun as I drank my one beer... so shanti and pretty perfect. Getting here was not so difficult for me, luckily, I have not ... read more

On to Bukhara - another ancient and historic city - famous for it's huge prison. The weather really begins to heat up in Central Uzbekistan and my farmer's tan comes on quite nicely. (For some reason, city tours always happen in the heat of the day). Bukhara had the feel and charm of Khiva, but it was much bigger and more touristy. The city walls were huge and imposing and the central square, with it's large pond and surrounding shashlyk (kebab) restaurants, was stunning. One evening, I went to what was alledgedly a cultural evening at a restaurant in the courtyard of an old madrassa, but it bizarrely turned into a kind of Uzbek fashion show... That night I went to a nightclub in the basement of a large hotel - one thing you can say ... read more

Hallo euch allen, haben mal wieder keine zeit und wenig motivation empfunden uns in die haeufig langsamen internetcafes zu schleppen und euch hier auf dem laufenden zu halten. daher faellt es jetzt schwer euch irgendetwas zu erzaehlen - man gelangt endlich endlich auf die seite wo man schreiben kann und schon macht sich ne leere im kopf breit - haben wir ueberhaupt etwas zu erzaehlen? ja, haben wir. Zu den Fakten: sind gestern von samarkand mit dem "schnellzug" (ca. 50 bis hoechstens 100km/h) nach buchara gefahren. der zug war luxus - fernsehen mit russischen Knastserien in voller, endlich etwas asiatischer lautstaerke, suessigkeiten und ne funktionierende heizung, auch wenn wir auf diese gerne verzichtet haetten. haben ein schoenes, wenn auch etwas teureres guesthouse gefunden. die 1 dollar fuenfzig mehr, zahlen wir aber gerne fuer das eigene bad ... read more