Day 20 Khiva (3rd June)
One reason for staying a further day at Khiva, apart from the excellent hotel and interesting sights, was the need to get the van looked at. I drove to the workshop with Sagid (the hotel owner’s son), feeling a bit of a prat because I couldn’t heare the tuk tuk sound. But the mechanic took us for a run round the block and heard it, and so could I when he pointed it out. He knew exactly what it was (a bar in the front wheel suspension), and also pointed out a rattle in a rear wheel. I think both problems were caused by the potholes in the road from Kazakhstan. He spent 3 hours fixing them and charged me 360,000 soms, so I gave him 400,000 including a tip. That amounts to £28.97, so his labour charge must be £7-8 an hour. I suspect the lads at the VW Van Centre earn more than that.
In the evening we went to see the inside of the Juma Mosque: we couldn’t go yesterday because Jennifer had forgotten her headscarf. It is a working mosque and the muezzin calls people to prayer 5 times a day. The columns are mesmorizing, but I was not allowed to climb the circular staircase in the minaret as in 2018. We went for an evening meal to the Ayvon restaurant again and were pleased to be lead up to the terrace on the top floor. However the evening ended in disaster as Jennifer got her meal but I waited for an hour to get served with the waiters not interested and finally some senior waitress came and there was a bit of a row. I was incensed because a large tour group arrived 30 minutes after us and were busy scoffing their grub. If she had just said she was terribly sorry and would put things right, I would have grudgingly waited for the chef to do his job, but we got a litany of excuses (with no hint of the sorry word) and were told that they would cook the meal in 10 minutes. A five-year-old could rustle up my kofte, chips and salad in 5 minutes but nothing happened so after 15 we walked out just as the woman came rushing up with my meal. We had the same meal at a small cafe at the side of the main road through the old town.
One more disaster. Jennifer tried to get some money out of the ATM near the main gate which charged her £29 for 400,000 soms but didn’t give any money. A helpful man from the staff on the gate phoned the bank, who said that someone would come to help at 9 am the next day
