It was dark by the time we were released from the border crossing. The crossing had closed hours before & the military staff at the gate were a bit bewildered to see us. We didn’t care, all we wanted to do was get out of Uzbekistan as quickly as possible. 24 hours previously we were travelling through rose tinted glasses, now we were living in reality. To us, Uzbekistan was one of the most paranoid countries we had ever encountered & we weren’t getting a warm fuzzy feeling.

We headed out of the gates & just drove. With no idea which way was Bukhara we just followed the road full of mixed emotions. Tiredness had set in & we decided we needed to find somewhere to sleep for the night. We weren’t sure how long it would take us to reach Bukhara so we kept driving, trying to find a track off the main road so we could sleep for the night. About an hour later we were giving up. John couldn’t drive for much longer & this was a risk itself. We eventually saw a large concrete barrier beside the road with a track alongside it. We pulled off & parked behind the barrier, hoping for some sleep. For some unknown reason we thought it was the best place to stop. 30 minutes later we decided it was a bad idea & we hit the road again. By now I had the map working & we knew which direction Bukhara was. It seemed we only had another hours drive so we pressed on. It was after midnight when we made it to Bukhara.

We had no idea where to stay so using the maps.me app I searched for a coffee shop which might still be open & had wifi so we could find a hotel. Finding one, I started to direct a very knackered John on a trail through the old town. Its winding lanes were full of confusion. Soon some locals pointed us in the right direction. Near where I thought the coffee shop was a hotel. We were both tired so I got out of Minty I went to the hotel. Looking like I had been dragged though a hedge backwards I walked into the hotel lobby & the night receptionist greeted me with a smile. They had a room but it was $100. Conscious of how tired John was I didn’t even bother to try & haggle the room price down. We didn’t even have any locally currency. It was a really nice hotel, they had a secure car park for Minty & we could have a shower & a bed for the night. I paid for the room & went out to collect John & Minty.

With Minty parked, we grabbed the essentials from the car & made our way into the hotel. We were given our room key & shown the way to the room. The room was nice & our view from the window was full of restored ancient mosques & buildings. Deciding we needed a shower John jumped in first whilst I went downstairs for the wifi code. Spending a short while catching up on the going on’s of our fellow travellers & letting home know we were okay, John appeared & I left him catching up with people. It was my turn for a shower.

For most of the trip, by day 5 after our last shower we longed for a proper shower but no amount of longing outweighed the dread of white towels. Due to the nature of journey, showers are not a daily occurrence. Most days are started by brushing our teeth, washing our face with cold water, a quick flannel wash & a spray of deodorant, perfume/aftershave to hide how bad we smelt. I would sometimes go 3 days or more without brushing my hair (at home it is washed every day!). When we reach a city/large town we nearly always have to stay in a hostel or hotel. These are generally our only opportunities for a proper wash & to wash some clothes. So you can imagine my elation when I saw yellow towels. No worry or embarrassment about how dirty the towels were after the shower this evening.

It had been a long day. We were now clean & sleep ensued. Tomorrow was a new day.