Two days by train to Khiva

A very long journey out of Tajikistan and then across Uzbekistan. We had originally planned to stay a bit longer, but heard there was one international train out of Tajikistan that was launched in 2022 but only runs once a week, so thought we would take it, with the added benefit of not having to take a second trip through the tunnel of death.

We had to go to the station in person to buy tickets but the train was only about a quarter full so there was plenty of space. We had a bizarre trip through customs (in which they tried to tell us we needed to go back to the border we crossed into in order to get a form that they'd forgotten to give us, and then forgot to stamp Elli's passport) and then were given a pot of tea on the train in our cupé, which was extremely comfortable and we had to ourselves. About 11pm we got to the Uzbek border and the guards turned the whole train upside down, sniffer dogs, searched the roof, gave our bags a poke and frisked Elli but not Chris, maybe she looks more suspicious, or maybe the female guard just wanted something to do.

Then had a whole day of entertaining ourselves in Samarkand before a 1am train to Khiva - third class this time, and we had the upper bunk so had a very difficult time getting into the bunk in the dark without standing on someone's face but we ended up with a good nights sleep and some friendly people in the carriage when we woke up and enjoyed a bit of the desert early in the morning before getting in at about 11am.Read more