Three days in Bukhara allows us to visit the city, which is rich in magnificent monuments.

Our accommodation, Parmivash, was very pleasant, with a cool little courtyard, a hostess who tried to arrange everything for us, her daughter who translated from English into Uzbek and her husband who helped out.

We visit the main monuments and discover the huge modern bazaar. The Bolo Haouz mosque is astonishing and a magnificent monument. On the outside are richly carved wooden pillars. Closed the first day we visited, we had to come back and didn’t regret it. The renovated interior is magnificent.

When we arrived, we asked the landlady if she would make something to eat in addition to breakfast. She said no. But a little later her daughter asked us if we wanted to cook a meal ? We were interested in an Uzbek family meal and asked for Monday evening. But what was the price ? Nothing : she was happy to have us as guests. That evening we settled in, the daughter laid the table for five and we ate as a family. Sabrina, her daughter, gave us a chance to chat.

The train to Khiva : we went to the station to book our tickets. No problem for bikes, the ticket agent told us !
But the first problem as we went through the airport-style checkpoint at the station was that my bottle of gas wasn’t allowed on the train ! I tried to explain to the officer that it was to heat the coffee, that we’d have trouble finding another one... It’s against the law ! He takes a photo of the bottle, my passport and my ticket, and I leave the bottle there... When we’re on the platform, Daniel goes to ask the officer if we can have it back on the way back. He moved the officer so much that shortly afterwards the officer came to bring it back to me !
When we got on the train, the officer was a bit sulky. He’s trying to show us that luggage is limited to 36 kilos. OK, no problem, our bikes and panniers don’t weigh more than 36 kilos ! The guy smiles and we find a solution 🙂
We’ll have to move the bikes and panniers during the journey, but the main thing is that we’re on the train !