After the short night and long day, I was hoping for some rest, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. I really had nothing more important to do than deal with my toilet phobia and charge my phone (though I only wanted to set my location anyway, since I had no signal). At 5 a.m., I gave up, read the latest newsletters I’d received in Uzbekistan, and then went into the bathroom with my laptop to write without disturbing Wayne.
The bathroom is a good example for many others, perhaps even better: you have marble and gold and loose tape to fix things.
Guljan picked us up and we drove to a place for breakfast (with better Wi-Fi, including a VPN). Afterwards, we visited the ruins of Nisa
Along the way, we saw a salt lake, enough camels (well, not enough to not point at and shout “Camels!”), the water crater, and the mud crater (with some fires).
Along the way, we saw a salt lake, enough camels (well, not enough to not point at and shout “Camels!”), the water crater, and the mud crater (with some fires).
It was already getting dark when we reached the gas crater. It was formed in 1971 by an accident and had been burning ever since, until it was decided to extinguish it soon.
Meanwhile, the driver drove to the yurt village and began preparing dinner. After taking many photos, we went there, ate dinner, and returned in the dark (except for the moonlight) for more photos.
We slept in yurts: Guljan in one, the driver in one, and Wayne and I in another. The rest of the camp was empty, as a large group of women from Ashagbat had decided to leave which meant their drivers had to travel for three hours in the dark on a difficult road. We had warm blankets on the simple beds, and since I kept my pants and jacket on, I slept quite well without feeling cold.