The jewel of the silk road Uzbekistan

Tashkent as a 1st stop and there's something that makes me feel at home in a big city and in Tashkent I did. Tashkent means city of stone, is a modern city, the people are friendly (you can hail any car to use as a taxi), it has it's own metro, heavily policed, I might add and the things that mostly struck me on my 1st day in Uzbekistan was

1.) How friendly and nice people are. On our first day we asked a little boy for directions to a mosque and his brother actually drove us the short distance and then offered us dinner as well.
2.) You soon learn the phrase 'phat stacks' a reference to the fact that we are all millionaires as there are 7000 som to the pound and the lowest bills are 5000 (about 80p) so you have to carry wads of money even when just going out for  abeer and bite to eat.

Visually stunning! Can there be a more spectacualr sight than the Registan, samarkand?! The colours, the tiles, the paint, the bricks are all set off when the light hits. Breath taking. I thought it was good at twilight, but the sunset and dusk are only surpassed by the night time when the lights are turned on and the Registan comes alive. This is after the Uzbek propaganda light show which was actually quite good as they projected on to the outside of the Registan.
Every corner turned presents you with a more spectacualr view than the last. Magical mosques, minarets, mausaleums and madressas in turquoise, blue, gold and green.

Bukhara was similar, but complete with stories of Khans throwing people off minarets. (sometimes in sacks, sometimes not)  and 'bug pits' with snakes, rats and scorpions where prioners were held. Here e tayed in a 'luxury' hotel complete with bar and swimming pool.

Buh camping led us to Moynaq where I had a crash course in star photography from Aussie Dave amongst the ship graveyards where the Aral sea used to be,

before one of the worst man made ecological disasters ever happened. He also set up a slackline between 2 of the ships, which is like a tightrope and no, I'm not very good at it!

Bush camping oustide a massive silk road fort caravanserai led us to Khiva, my current location complete with the usual mosques, minarets, mausaleums and madressas and a grisly history of slave caravans, barbaric cruelty and terrible dessert journeys. The Khan's here threw people from minarets, but also in to sacks with wild animals!

On a final note as I'm not currently feeling the greatest.
'Pissing out of my arse', 'bum wee', 'mud butt' 'D&V' (diarrhoea and vomiting, or just D) and 'not farting with confidence' are all great terms I have heard on this trip for traveller's diarrhoea. Defined as the passage of more than 3 watery bowel actions within 24 hours, plus at least 1 other sympton.
Well for the 3rd time on this trip, I've definely got that impending feeling of doom in my guts so on that bombshell I will end it there as we head to the trange and unique Turkmenistan, tomorrow.