Day 22: Khiva – Tashkent:
After lunch at Khiva it was off to the airport for a 4pm Uzbek air flight, in a turboprop aircraft. The flight took 2 hours - it is a long time since I have flown in a propellor driven aircraft. It was a short drive into Tashkent
We stayed at the Tashkent Palace Hotel. A Stalinist hotel opposite a Stalinist opera house. Mind you, one can stand at the roof-top restaurant and watch the fountains in the square below dance to the music. The hotel is vast and we had a long walk from the lift to our room. The long corridor was soulless. The room was certainly adequate, and harks back to it being a Meridian at one time - sanctions have removed many of the international chains from Uzbekistan. There was a small pool that we did not use, but saw it from our room. We ate in the rooftop restaurant - I would not really recommend it - service was soviet style, slow, and the food fairly average - not another soul there gave the restaurant a sort of weird haunted feeling. You can probably do better in Tashkent, but the hotel does have a certain "period " charm
We were in bed by 10pm and up 3 hours later to be driven back to Tashkent Airport and home via Istanbul.
Click on any of the thumbnail images to get a larger photo
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| We boarded a prop aircraft and 2 hours later reached Tashkent. | The opera house was opposite the hotel and the restaurant empty .. | ||
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| ..for the last supper. Amanda looks relieved to be shot of us all. | Amazingly the boys got back home before us on their magic carpet | ||