The Stans 2026

 Back to another inefficient travel day. Today being more inefficient than most. At least it started well - tghe hotel has a particularly good buffet breakfast and we didn't have to assemble until 11am, so we had a leasurely start. It's only 20 minutes or so to the airport. But after arriving we discovered that our 1.40pm flight to Bishkek ion Kyrgyzstan had been rescheduled until 4pm and then further delatyed to 6.30pm. The initial rescheduling had occurred prior to today but it's not clear whether the guide should have been aware of that as the airline seems to have a record of rescheduling (or cancelling) without notifying people. Either way - after some indecision most of us went back to the Hyatt where there were sufficient seats, food and drink and wifi. Actually that's where I am now, writing this as a way to pass the time until we head back to the airport and the usual rigmarole. I'm picking up again at the end of the day... after a quiet afternoon reading i...

 Today was a transit day, and so essentially boring. We checked out at 9am, got on the bus, drove south-east to Bukhara and got there about 5pm. The guide talked a bit, but mercifully not too much. We drove through scrubby, sandy, flat desert quite like Australia but on bumpier roads. Amu Darya/Oxus River At lunchtime we stopped at a large restaurant hall, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, crowded with both locals and tourists, where we had salads and shishkebabs, which are pretty good and pretty standard. Then back on the bus. With 14 passengers and a whole bus you can, at least, have a couple of seats to yourself and recline. So Lynn and I alternately listened to audiobooks and dozed. When we eventually reached Bukhara it was lovely - at least the central part we're in. The whole area is clay brick, so kind of beige, with wide pedestrianised areas so we walked the last couple of hundred metres from the bus past shopping stalls and restaurants. The Hotel Shahristron is pleasant ...

 A full day around Khiva today, and all on foot, no transport required. The old town is not that big, only about 400m by 600m. And a lot of it is not that old, maybe 19th Century, though some parts are much older - we saw a mosque today that dates from the 11th Century (with some columns replaced and repaied at various periods). We also saw an old fort, the Khan's harem/household and adjacent palace, and a madrassa that is now a hotel. But, honestly, it all blurs into one now. Particularly as there are various rulers from different periods with names that are very hard to follow. Most of them have beards and big, black, woolly hats. I will just add a few typical photos. This took all morning and part of the afternoon, with a break for lunch in a local restaurant. Old Madrassa Fort/Archeological Site Mosque In the evening a group went out to another rooftop terrace restaurant.

 After several days in Ashgabat we changed city - and country today. This meant being out of our room at 4am to take a bus to the airport and the 6am flight to the town of Dasugoz on the other side of Turkmenistan. It was only  a 50 minute flight so although it was cramped it passed quickly enough. We were then taken to a hotel for a basic breakfast before being bussed to the border. There was quite a bit of rigmarole next. Showing people our passports - every guard wanted to see them, though it wasn't clear why. I lost count but we showed 7 or 8 people our passports. Having our bags x-rayed by both countries (not clear why Turkmenistan cared, as we were leaving). After the Turkmenistan customs we boarded a bus to drive the 1km to the Uzbek side and deposited 100 metres short of the building, to drag our bags across the tarmac. Extremely dreary, in our tired state, but not actually hard. Then onto a good, big bus for the hour's drive through cotton fields to Khiva. There were ...