Uzbekistan: Nukus - Xiva 11 May, 2012

There is not much to see in Nukus, but there is a nice Bazaar and it is possible to exchange money when the banks are closed.  When we awoke, we saw the Jipek Joli courtyard filled with 5 other motorcycles.  

We awoke to a bunch of motorcycles in the patio

There were some Russians coming back from a bikefest in Tashkent, all super nice and extremely helpful.  They gave us some contacts along our route, warned about poor quality petrol, the road conditions and were off.  They left as quickly as they arrived.

Our Russian friends - thanks for the tips!

We took it easy during the day and ended up leaving Nukus around 4pm.  We stopped to get petrol just outside the city and we were off.  The drive was easy, south to Urgench then west to Xiva.  We noticed that there were a lot of petrol stations in and around Urgench and Xiva so we would fill up upon leaving in a couple days.

Motorcycle Ride to Xiva

They wanted to race

Xiva has quite a modern public transport system

 We finally arrived into the old city, which is completely walled and has a very old and preserved feel.  It was like we drove back 900 years.  We navigated through the north gate, turned right then followed the street around until we arrived to almost the wall again.

Meros B&B - the place to be in Xiva

There was a beautiful house (almost mansion) on the left-hand side, the Meros Guesthouse.  When we walked inside, the place was amazing.  There were these elaborate paintings on the ceiling that you could stare out for hours.  The dining room table was very large and elegant and our room had access to a balcony that had a roof access. 

The dining room ceiling - Meros B&B

We have reunited with the Silk Road...

When we arrived, it felt like we were the only tourists.  We changed out of our riding gear and headed to get some food.  It wasn’t until we were at the restaurant until we saw the tourists.  Over the course of the next 2 days in Xiva, we saw plenty of tourists (French, German, Italian and Japanese).

The Old City from our roof-top view

Cruising around the city the next day we happened to run into Michiel and Marilou.  We sent for some food and drink together and then they were off.

The Old City from the ground

We stayed a total of 2 nights in Xiva and it was well worth it.  The staff at the Meros was awesome and very helpful.  We knew the trip to Bukhara was going to be long we made a point to get up early to be out before 9am.

Power breakfast...amazingly good