Adventures to Asia: Platzkart across the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan

From the very modern Khiva train station . . .

. . . I caught the 15:00 train to Bukhara. I am traveling in the platzkart, the old Soviet style of carriage. This is a very affordable way to travel as I paid about $16 Canadian for the 6 hour trip.

I have wanted to experience the platzkart, but only in a context in which I was not actually trying to sleep! So, this route worked out perfectly for me. 

All was clean and mostly empty when I boarded. You can see how the platzkart works--basically four bunks in each doorless compartment to my left, and then a pair of bunks along the aisle to my right. It manages to fit a lot of people relatively comfortably and efficiently, but without any privacy at all.

My seat is an upper bunk along the aisle.

 I rode on the seat for a bit, but eventually folded down my bunk and climbed on up. 

The train ended up full for most of the journey. I took fewer photos once there were people, but I did take this photo to give a sense of the vibe.

Unfortunately, the platzkart is not air conditioned. Probably often this is not too much of a problem, because with the windows open there is a pleasant breeze. However, most of the trip between Khiva and Bukhara is through the Kyzylkum Desert (fifteenth largest desert in the world) and so windows open resulted in sand blowing in and we had to close them. 

So, despite lounging in a comfortable position, the trip proved quite miserable, because it was much too hot. Still, I was glad for the experience, and also very glad that I was reaching Bukhara in the evening such that I could sleep in air conditioned comfort in my hotel room!

Once at the Bukhara train station I was happy to buy a bottle of water and grab a taxi to my hotel. I checked in and climbed to the roof for this view. 

It was approaching 22:00, but the city still seemed very much alive, so I headed out to see what I could!