We arrived at our hotel in Bukhara in the middle of the afternoon.
We set off from Navoyi at 5:00 am, and the journey was no picnic. It was Daniel’s turn to be ill, but fortunately the road was downhill and the wind was in our favour. We made a lot of stops, notably at the Rabati Malik caravanserai (of which only the main door remains) and on the other side of the road at the Malik Sardoba cistern.
We meet a cyclist on an Umra safari [1], riding with the Uzbek flag proudly displayed.

When we reach Kyziltepa, he strongly advises us not to go through there and to continue on the main road to Bukhara. We’re prepared to believe him... but Daniel suggests we take the train. A quick check and it seems there is a train from this town to Bukhara in the early afternoon. We go and find out. Half an hour later we had our ticket in our pocket and all we had to do was wait in the station.
Getting on the train was a bit of a challenge : the train only made a short stop and the staff in each carriage kept sending us back. We finally got on at the last minute with an agent who pushed without really helping, clearly annoyed by our bikes.
The train is luxurious, air-conditioned... in hindsight I have the impression that we’ve been upgraded by getting into a higher class carriage [2].

The mainline railway station is 14km from our hotel, the road is being rebuilt [3] and the driving is rather unpleasant.
Finally we arrived at our hotel, where we were to spend at least two more peaceful days. First visit late afternoon...