Khiva on an upset Tummy

August 5, 2009, Khiva, Uzbekistan

Today was not a fun day. As usual when I travel like this, I'm a little sick to my tummy--well, below my tummy. But every once in a while, it gets worse. Overactive intestines are a problem anytime---but they can be really annoying when you have to take a long taxi or bus ride, and they are even worse when they are accompanied by a slight fever, and that achy feeling. It would have been a good time to stay in bed. But I had to move on.

I was very fortunate to get right to the Bazaar this morning in time to catch the last taxi coming out of Bokhara heading to Khiva--or maybe not so lucky. A couple of French people had just rented the previous taxi for, I was told, $70 each. And a whole taxi for four should have been only $80--so our bargaining atmosphere was difficult to say the least. But there was already a Dane who spoke some Russsian and a couple of Japanese kids joined us soon,and we managed to arrange an $80 taxi all the way to Khiva. But, since I was poopy (exactly the appropriate word), it was risky.

One of the nasty parts of travelling here is that the roads are horrible. Even the paved roads are full of holes. This was a five and a half hour trip across potholes, and I was mildly sick. The problem with bad roads is that you cannot relax, you are constantly straining your muscles and bouncing back and forth in the car, and the people in the car are bumping into you. How many of us ever go four wheeling for more than a few hours at a time? Oh, and it is more than 100 degrees out there. (And no, the cars are not air conditioned.) God, it was miserable. We did have to stop at one point, and I took advantage of the squat facility. But I survived. (Were you hoping for some disaster to make the semi-scatological buildup worthwhile?)

We are in Khiva. It is a jewel of an outdoor museum. Brown mud bricks, blue tile, and just clean as could be. I was amazed at how well preserved it all was until Martin, the Dane, informed that much of it is a Soviet reconstruction--there are a lot of bricks covering steel reinforced concrete. As always, I am going to include a picture showing what my day was like. I have opted to show you Khiva, and not the rest of the day and its poopiness.