I suddenly pop awake and realize I’ve slept in until 6am! I jump out of bed,brush my teeth in the dark so as not to awaken Claudia and Melissa and tiptoe out of the room into the lobby while holding my shoes. I glance to my right and see that I’ve awoken the hotel clerk who was sleeping on the couch. I whisper for him to go back to sleep, but he grumpily grabs his blanket and stomps off down the hall. Ooops. The whole point of me tiptoeing around was to not disturb anyone.
The streets are empty except for a few locals. Women are sweeping the streets and stairs with homemade wicker brooms, men are setting up their market stalls and there’s a man cycling to each mosque and madrasah to shut off the exterior lighting as the day breaks. It’s only 10 degrees this morning so I’m bundled up in my down jacket to fight off the chill while I traipse around with my camera and tripod. The sky is a soft purple before the sun breaks and then turns a brilliant blue. The buildings become a deep, golden colour when the suns rays strike them.
Time to head back for breakfast before catching the train to Bukhara. As I’m finishing packing my bag, I hear a groan from Melissa. She just started brushing her teeth but there’s a look of horror on her face and she sputters, “I thought this was toothpaste!” She runs to the bathroom and repeatedly rinses her mouth before explaining that she accidentally put antiseptic cream on her brush instead of toothpaste. Hahaha oh my! Once again we’re brought to tears laughing and she says, “Well, my teeth are really clean now!”
Back on the train and we’ve drawn the short straw and our entire car has no operating air conditioning. Sweet Jesus. It’s sweltering inside the compartments and we can’t leave the windows open as the surrounding sand dunes sift through the opening. Claudia and I’s hot flashes seem to have synced after spending a few days together and we share her fan to try and cool ourselves when it gets unbearable. First purchase in Bukhara…a fan!!
We disembark the train and take in a deep breath of cool air with relief. Our driver for the remainder of the trip, Artur, is waiting for us with the van to transport us to Rizo Hotel, which is a quaint three level family-owned hotel. There’s an open air atrium with rooms along the edge and a rooftop terrace. Time for bed.
