Bukhara, Uzbekistan

We had arranged for a private car and driver through our hotel in Khiva to take us to Bukhara, about six hours away. I booked a car with a/c even though it was only a high of 22C (figured a/c was a proxy for overall car quality).

Our driver was ready and waiting for us at 9am. Shortly after getting on our way, our driver tried to upsell us on side excursions. We didn’t really have any plans for the afternoon in Bukhara, so agreed to visit one of the old adobe qalas (forts) northeast of Urgench. There’s about twenty or so qalas in the surrounding area, being restored with help from UNESCO.

So we drove to Ayaz-Qala. The rain has eroded most of the fort, and you need some imagination to see what it would have looked like back in the 7th century when it was built. It was a good way to get some exercise (it took us about an hour to walk up and around), and only added 1.5h to the drive, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it.

The road from Khiva to Bukhara is in amazing shape, a divided highway with two lanes in each direction, except for the last 100km, which is a potholed dirt road.

We stopped at a packed roadside restaurant for lunch. All the locals were having a stew-like meal, so that’s what we ordered (based on menus we read after, I think it’s called shourpa). It was very tasty and filling.

We arrived in Bukhara just as it started drizzling. At least our driver was familiar with our hotel, Komil Boutique Hotel, as it’s down narrow alleys and hard to find.

The reception couldn’t find our reservation at first, and we briefly had bad memories of our excursion in Tigray, Ethiopia, but then they found it.

The hotel is a renovated former merchant’s house in the old Jewish quarter with lots of character. The ceiling in our room is at least 13’ with massive wooden beams. A maze of hallways and small courtyards lead to our room from the lobby.

We would have preferred dinner in the hotel so not to have headed out in the rain and muddy alleys after the long drive, but they needed advance notice to prepare. The wifi in our room was spotty, so we used the LP for restaurant recommendations *gasp*.

We ended up at Saroy in the main square (Lyabi-Hauz). Our apprehensions about LP recommendations proved valid yet again. The food was at best average, and most tables questioned the bill totals, including us. Anyway, it was food.

After dinner, we went for a short walk. The centre is all paved / cobblestones. We ended up walking by many of the sites we wanted to see, including the Kalon Minaret, the main highlight of Bukhara. There was a small group of 12 people taking pics, but once they left, we had the whole square to ourselves. It was pretty cool to see in the rain, as the minaret was fully lit and reflected by the wet ground.

Walked back to the hotel through the rain, and without slipping in the mud (for the last 200m or so).