Khiva

The train from Bukhara to Khiva is classified as a sleeper train and it is set up as one. Many trains to Khiva originate in Tashkent and go through Samarkand, Bukhara and a few other places along the way making the journey quite long, so sleeper cars it is. Now, this is not the Orient Express, this is the Uzbek Soviet Style Express, and it was awesome, in a grungy kind of way.

Khiva is a small fortress town and every travel blog mentions that two days are enough here. They were right. It is up to you because like anywhere you can always settle in and get comfortable. The rooms are cheap, as is the food so it is up to you what your plans are. Personally, it is time for me to move on from Uzbekistan. I have Khiva and then north to Nukus. I need to start following the weather if I want to accomplish a few of my travel goals, including time in Mongolia, where winter arrives fast and furious.

When I got off the train I found my hostel was an easy 30 minute walk and even in the mid afternoon heat I would be fine. What I found was a ghost town. I do not know if it was the heat and everyone was hiding inside, or that it really is "off season" here, but it was a combination of both. If Bukhara was a Jason Bourne movie, then Khiva was "On the Beach" without the nuclear fallout.

Khiva Train Station

Entrance to the Walled City

South Gate

My room was at the Caravan Hotel and it was excellent. $20 a night, private bathroom (a backpacker luxury), hot water, cold AC and a fridge near the entrance to store drinks and snacks. As a bonus, a huge water cooler with cups. To that point, I see other people fill 1.5 litre bottles of water from the free water coolers at these hotels. A litre of water here costs about 60 cents but I guess it is an entitlement on your 20 dollar room with a very good free breakfast. Humans suck. If you had to take a guess, you would be correct as to where they are usually from. 

I had a few nice experiences here. The walled city was great, the place was steeped in history. The lighting at night created a great feeling much like Bukhara, but Khiva was smaller and less busy, a bit more intimate if you will. I had a cool moment when I sat in the little main square watching the local kids kick soccer balls around at about 9:00 a night. I young girl and her father and sister walked up to me and dad pointed at the girl who started talking. She wanted to practice her English which was fine. She was 14, her name was Sara, he sister was Zuhra and her father's name I could not understand. She would translate in between him and I, or we would just chat while dad hung out. Again, taking photos is never my first priority, but a photo here would have been cool. We talked for about an hour about random typical things. The subject was not important, but building her confidence was. 

It is funny. I usually just grab street food, or fast food but every once in a while I need a good meal. This time it was at the Terrasa Cafe, in the heart of the square. It was considered one of the more expensive places to eat but whatever, it was time. The view was exceptional ( look at the website), while not busy the ambiance was nice. I had a huge Kabob meal, with veggies and fries and a couple of pints.. this set me back $22, yes that's right. That was my splurge, $22 freaking dollars. That my children is how it is possible to have extended travel. All told, I will be in Uzbekistan for about 2.5 weeks. With trains, hotels, food, beer, entrance fees and other costs, I will spend just over $600 for my time here. That includes a $40, 2.5 hour cab ride north to Nukus, but that is for another post. 

What did you spend $600 on in the past 2.5 weeks?