Uzbekistan

Day 7 May 19, 2023 Khiva Uzbekistan to Bukhara Uzbekistan

Today is a travel day with no real sightseeing. The trip took about 8 hours including a couple of restroom stops and lunch. You need to know that restroom does not guarantee a restroom nor does it guarantee a western toilet. The cities have numerous traffic signals and traffic does obey them. No right turn on red however. They also let pedestrians have the right of way.

Today is sunny with a slight breeze. We left the hotel about 8:30. Once we got out of the city there is much farmland. Lots of green crops of assorted varieties. Small trees line the roadway in places. Farmers are out hoeing their crops. Fields have 20 or more workers in them. Doubt they are from Mexico however. The roads now are in terrible condition. Often times the asphalt is completely gone. The road is supposed to be two lanes wide but it has broken away enough to be smaller. The bus can only go about 25 miles per hour because of the potholes. Just the same that is faster than some other vehicles. Passing on these roads is something else. The bus will pass a car even if a car is coming from the other direction. Both cars simply move off the edge and let the bus have the middle. The bus doesn’t pass a semi with oncoming traffic that is close. All drivers seem to do this so its not uncommon to be passing and see the same thing coming from the opposite direction. Many times the oncoming traffic is only inches away on the sides. The best option is to stop watching.

Eventually the farmland ends and we are in the desert. The land looks sandy with a shrub growing similar to our sagebrush. The roots of these shrubs helps hold the soil when the sand storms come. In a few places branches from these plants have been grouped into bundles and buried leaving about 1.5 feet above ground. This also helps during sand storms. This is it for miles and miles. Virtually no homes or towns. We did see a couple of flocks of goats but no wildlife. We also saw a couple of donkeys. The road follows the Silk Road. A caravan at that time could have 500 to 800 camels plus horses and donkeys. They must have been something to see.

We stopped for a coffee break near a large river that is the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The river is very wide although currently the flow is somewhat less. Our driver has brought hot water for tea or coffee and some cookies. The cookies are not as sweet as home. The tea bags are pyramid shaped.

Further down the road we had to stop and wait for our turn to cross the one way railroad and car bridge. The train gets first chance and then the vehicle traffic alternates sides. The bridge is not wide enough for two vehicles. The river here is much wider. Could also be the difference in the view. Along the road we also got to see a fish farm where they raise suckers.

The road finally became a freeway. It had been built with German help. It was smooth and potentially fast. However the speed limit is 50 mph and there are cameras to record if a driver is speeding. If so then a bill is sent. We did see a convoy of about 15 new police cars with their lights flashing. We were told that they were on their way to a new home in another town.

We had box lunches at a restaurant. Seemed an odd arrangement but it must work. The hotel from last night had packed the lunches. Way more food than any of us wanted. The driver got the leftovers.

Two crazy people were riding bicycles cross country on a stretch of two way road. The bikes were loaded so they are obviously camping along the way.

We saw a large hydroponic farming operation growing tomatoes and bananas. It was built in cooperation with Turkey. Seemed a bit out of place in the desert.

They are building more of the freeway so we saw lots of construction. The new road will be concrete. We had a few detours along the way too.

We had to stop for an emergency restroom break for one of tour group which was all natural style behind the gas station. This is not a good area to come if you have bowel or bladder issues.Oh, make sure you bring some spare paper or napkins.Finally we reach our destination. We can see the old city in the distance. We drove through the modern part to the opposite side of the old city where our hotel is located. Dinner was supposed to be included but was not reserved timely so we are on our own. Both of us are quite tired so it will be early to bed tonight.