Bukhara to Samarkand

Fri 5/6/26

Today after sunrise we ventured out to Chor Minor to capture the site without tourists. 

From Chor Minor we re-visited Labi Hovuz ensemble to enjoy the calm morning view by the pool. 

We then visited some architectural monuments nearby our hotel such as Arabon mosque (1880) and Sallahkhona mosque (19th century).

After that, we went back to the hotel to have breakfast and rested until check out time. After checking out, we went for lunch at a restaurant near Bolo Hauz mosque. We had lagman (pulled noodle), meat shashlik and a pot of tea for UZS 135K (RM 41) paid by cash.

lagman and shashlik

We saw the congregational Friday prayer at Bolo Hauz mosque was conducted outside, in the mosque compound. After the prayer was finished, we tried to see if we could enter the mosque to pray, but the entrance was cordoned off.

We then walked towards Kalyan mosque and asked the mosque caretaker if we could perform our prayers there, and he said yes. The prayer area is separated from the tourist visiting area, near the mosque courtyard.

Kalyan mosque courtyard

Kalyan mosque courtyard

From Kalyan mosque, we walked back to our hotel and then ordered our Yandex taxi to go to the train station. No drama this time, the taxi fetched us from the front of the hotel and we arrived within 25 minutes. The Yandex ride cost UZS 27K (RM 9 ).

cute street and number plate at our hotel (and around Bukhara)

all the train stations look like this

Our train from Bukhara to Samarkand was scheduled to depart at 1655 and arrive at 1913. The train ride cost UZS 169810 (RM 114) per person and bought online from the Uzrail app.

seat arrangement in our economy coach

We arrived in Samarkand about 10 minutes later than scheduled. The 15 minute Yandex taxi ride (UZS 32K) or RM 11 to our accommodation Altair boutique hotel was also smooth and cost . Our hotel cost RM 768 for 3 nights with breakfast and paid by card.

Altair hotel courtyard

Altair room

After checking in, we walked to a chaykhana (teahouse) near Bibikhanum mosque to have dinner. We had manti soup, kebab and a pot of tea for UZS 147K (RM 50) paid by card.

manti soup and kebab

After dinner, we walked to the Registan square where the weekend crowds were enjoying their family time together. It was then time to go back to the hotel and rest.

Registan square at night

Registan square at night

Bukhara

Wed 3/6/26

Since we arrived in Bukhara late last night, we slept in this morning and only venturing out after breakfast at 9am. It was a hot summer day. We started with Chor Minor monument, it was a part of a complex of a madarasah, about 10 minutes walk from our hotel. There is a souvenir shop selling Soviet memorabilia in front of the monument. 

breakfast at Istat

breakfast buffet at Istat

Chor Minor 

Then we walked towards Labi Hovuz ensemble, with a pool in the middle surrounded by Kukeldash Madrasa, Nadir Divan-Beghi Madrasa (with a drawing of birds and a sun face ) and Nadir Divan-Beghi khanaqah (lodging house for Sufis) source:  wikipedia 

Nadir Divan-Beghi Madrasa

Kukeldash Madrasa

Nadir Divan-Beghi khanaqah facing the pool

We enjoyed having ice cream (UZS 15K or RM5, paid by cash) with views of the pool at Labi Hovus to beat the heat.

enjoying ice cream 

Moving on, we walked towards Poyi Kalyan complex, with the Kalyan Minaret and Kalyan mosque. Ticket is required to enter the mosque, but for prayers we could enter it for free. We only entered the mosque on our last day in Bukhara during prayer time.

Poyi Kalyan complex. Kalyan mosque is on the right, with Kalyan minaret visible

On the way to Poyi Kalon complex, we passed by countless of madrasahs, caravansarays and Toqi or trading domes or bazaar, which are no longer functioning now. The madrasahs now function as museums which require tickets for entry, caravansarays now houses restaurants and cafes; while the Toqi houses vendor stalls selling souvenirs. There were also hamams for both men and women near the Toqi Telpakfurushon.

Among the Toqis are Toqi Sarrofon, Toqi Telpakfurushon, Tim Abdulla Khan trading dome and Toqi Zargaron.

dome at Toqi Zargaron

stalls near Bozori Kord hammam

dome at Toqi Telpakfurushon

Toqi Zargaron facade

The madrasahs were Mir-i-Arab madrasah in the Poyi Kalon complex; Madrasah Mirzo Ulugbeg, Ulugbeg Madrasah,  and Abdulaziz Khan madrasah.

Ulugbeg madrasah

Abdulaziz Khan madrasah

Mosques that are no longer functioning for prayers, but now functions as museums are Magoki Attori mosque (carpet museum).

Magoki Attori mosque

At noon the heat became too unbearable, so we sought refuge at a teahouse nearby, having orange juice, iced americano, dumpling soup and a pot of cherry tea, costing UZS 245K (RM 83) which we paid by card. 

dumpling soup with orange juice and americano

and a pot of cherry tea

We then made our way back to the hotel using the shortest distance possible according to offline maps. We rested in our room and watched Roland Garros quarter finals matches to pass the time. 

We headed for dinner at 6.30pm at Khoja Nasriddin restaurant near a jew museum. We had Bukhara Osh Shofi plov, dolma and lula kebab with a pot of black tea for UZS 185K (RM 62). 

Bukhara Osh Shofi plov, dolma and lula kebab

We ventured back to the Poyi Kalyan complex to capture views at sunset. There were still many tourists around. We could hear the call for prayer from the Kalyan mosque, as it is a functioning mosque. We also revisited all the sites that we went through this morning for capturing night lights at the historical complex. 

Poyi Kalyan complex at sunset

Kalyan minaret at sunset

Ulugbegh madrasah at night

Caravansaray Mirzo Ulugbegh at night

Labi Hovus pool at night

It was then time to go back to the hotel at 9pm and rested for the day.

Thu 4/6/26

We ventured out early today after sunrise at 5am as we planned to walk to Bukhara's Markaziy market (bozor), about 30 mins walking (about 3 km). We again revisited the sites yesterday for views without tourists, which are all located along the way to the market.

Poyi Kalyan empty in the morning

Toqi Telpakfurushon empty in the morning

New sites visited today was Ark of Bukhara, and Bolo Hauz mosque, both located after the Kalan mosque, which was the furthest site we covered yesterday. 

Ark of Bukhara was a fortress built in the 5th century and is now a museum, with entrance ticket required.

Ark of Bukhara

Bolo Hauz mosque is a beautiful wooden columns and decorative ceilings built in 1712. It is still an active mosque. There is a pool (bolo) in front of the mosque with ducks swimming. The mosque is only opened during prayer time, and for Friday Prayers, the congregational prayers were done outside, in the compound of the mosque. 

pool in front of Bolo Hauz mosque

beautiful Bolo Hauz mosque

wooden column at beautiful Bolo Hauz mosque

Just before reaching the market, we visited the Chashmai Ayob mausoleum (said to be Prophet Ayob's tomb - but we couldn't verify this) and Imam Al Bukhari museum next to it. Both were still closed at 7am. 

Chashmai Ayob mausoleum

Imam Al Bukhari museum

We reached Bukhara's Markaziy market at 7.15 am and it was already buzzing with activities with traders setting up their stalls. We bought 1.4 kg of cherries for UZS 100K ( RM 30). 

Bukhara's Markaziy bozor

Bukhara's Markaziy bozor

Famished, we made our way back to our hotel to have breakfast and then rested in our room and only going out for lunch at Magic House coffee shop which claimed to serve home made Bukharan plov (Osh Shofi) . We ordered a big plate of the plov, manti (dumplings) and a pot of tea for UZS 116.7K (RM 40) paid with card. 

manti

Bukharan plov Osh Shofi

From the coffee shop, we jumped into buildings by buildings and bazaars, doing window shopping as it was too hot outside, until we reached Silk Road Teahouse, where we had cardamom coffee and saffron tea with honey sesame sweets, pistachio walnut and vanilla confection, raisin and walnuts. We paid UZS 70K (RM 21) per person for the set (cash only). This was the only available option in the teahouse, but you could have refills free of charge and change the coffee or tea flavours (but we didn't as we were already full).

sweets, tea and coffee

We then headed back to our hotel and rested for the day.

Khiva to Bukhara

Tue 2/6/26

Today would be a long 6 hour journey by train from Khiva to Bukhara, covering a distance of 450km with desert terrain. Our train was scheduled to depart at 1525 and arrive at 2132.

There was no bullet train scheduled today, so we had to take the sleeper train. The 2 pax VIP coupe class was also not available, and there was no bottom bunk seat availability for the 4 pax coupe (cabin), so we had to take the open class sleeper, and managed to get the bottom bunks.

We bought the train ticket about 2 weeks before via the Uzbek railway app. You would have to choose the 'Stripe' option for foreign card. The tickets costs UZS 157.1K (RM 48) per person. 

Not much activity for today. After breakfast we ventured out to Itchan Kala for the last time to buy a fridge magnet for UZS 30K (RM 10) - the seller said it was a hand painted porcelain, hence costed more.

After checking out from the hotel at 11.30am (I tried to ask for late check out, but was denied as there was an upcoming reservation), we had lunch outside of the walled city at ATA Gamburg where we had kebab sandwich and beef shashlik with a pot of black tea for 130K UZS (RM 40), paid by cash.

kebab sandwich and beef shashlik

After lunch, we performed our prayers at Sayid Niyoz Sholikor masjid, the only functioning mosque, located just outside of the Itchan Kala East Gate. We didn't hear any call for prayer in Khiva. The azan call was only heard in the mosque, as there was no loud speaker used. For ablution, we had to use the WC facility (with ablution facility) near the East Gate which cost UZS 3000 (RM 1) per person.

prayer room for female

Sayid Niyoz Sholikor masjid

We waited a bit at the hotel before calling for our Yandex ride to the Khiva Vokzali (train station), just 10 minutes by car. Since there was only a narrow passage to access our hotel (only 1 vehicle can pass through at a time), we decided to wait at the North Gate to get our Yandex taxi. The short Yandex ride cost 10K UZS (RM 3)

At the train station, we were allowed to embark on the train 30 minutes before departure. It was sweltering hot in the train with no air conditioning and ventilation. The only respite was from a narrow opening of the window. I checked on my Uzrail app that the rest of the seats in our 6 person 'compartment' was still empty. However, not long before departure, 2 women parked themselves at the seats in front of us. And then the train conductor joined them while seated on the other end of my bed (I was sitting at the time).

our sleeper compartment

our compartment when still empty

the train conductor sat on my bed chatting with the ladies

the sleeper aisle

After about an hour after departure, the 2 women climbed on the bunk bed above us and closed the window while kept on talking for about another hour. There was no line as well, so we couldn't watch the live match of Roland Garros, so Partner In Crime went ahead to sleep, although it was only 5.30pm. I just watched the desert view outside the window. Then the train conductor converted the seat in front of us into a bed and landed himself to sleep. 

watching the desert view outside

Tea is life here. We saw local people bringing teapots back and forth from the water boiler, making tea. 

We finally arrived at Bukhara train station as per schedule and ordered Yandex taxi to our accommodation at Istat Boutique Hotel. However, drama ensued as the Yandex driver insisted for us to pay by cash although our ride order was already charged to our credit card (UZS 22.5K or RM 8). The driver said there was a problem on his side and kept on insisting for us to pay in cash until we almost reached our hotel. We were left some distance from the hotel (about a 10 minutes walk) as the driver said the road was blocked. 

We didn't have small cash to pay him, so we just took our belongings and left him, walking the remaining distance to our hotel. When we reached the hotel, a taxi dropped another customer right in front of the hotel, who was also checking in like us. So there was indeed no road block, there is another route to reach the hotel. 

We did check again the next day: the Yandex payment via card was successful. So we concluded that the Yandex driver might have tried to get some money from us.

For the accommodation at Istat Boutique hotel, it costs RM 820 for 3 nights with breakfast, paid by credit card.

our room at Istat boutique hotel

the courtyard at Istat boutique hotel