My travel agent offered me a couple of hotels in Tashkent but I turned him down since I had no clue what it was all about. That evening I went to Borders in Singapore, to have a look in the guide book on central Asia. After flipping through for half an hour I noted down the phone number and the address of a hotel that was run by a reputable local travel agent.

My plane arrived at 12.30am in Tashkent. Feeling rather exhausted I got into the wrong bus that was heading for the transit hall with passengers bound for Tel aviv. In the hall everyone had their ticket stamped and then disappeared upstairs leaving me behind. I was told to wait for a bus to fetch me to the arrival hall which was only 15 metres away. I lost patience and sneaked out of the hall. I walked to the arrival hall but found the door locked. I went back to the transit hall and was severely reprimanded for walking around the airport. They were so cheesed off with me for having to make unnecessary arrangement with the bus driver since they were very laid back people. A bus finally showed up 45 minutes later. I boarded the bus and found myself a good seat as I was expecting a little ride. The driver then reversed 15 metres back to the arrival hall as though it was a joke Ha Ha. So I disembarked with a smile and a thought of wonderment.

My hotel was good and the next morning I hired a car with driver and left for Samarkand and Bukhara in the sweltering heat of 45 degrees.

Arrow head pendant in the picture above was one of the items bought in a former caravanserai in Bukhara. It is worn on the back to deflect the evil eye.