Cereal & Cold Milk at Tashkent Palace

The marble columns and olive organza and purple tulle curtains welcome me into Tashkent Palace as I heave my backpack over rich Persian carpets seemingly drenched in colours of red wine varietals. This modern Russian side of the Uzbek capital, Tashkent is a far cry from Gulnara B&B where we'd just spent the last 2 days. I feel like I have just crossed a border but in fact I have just travelled a few kilometres north of the same city.

Gulnara B&B was in the heart of old Tashkent where Chorsu Bazaar (the famed farmers' market) still bustles every morning with Uzbek women dressed in traditional headscarves and flowery maternity-like dresses and Uzbek men don their scull caps carting varieties of melons I have not set eyes on before. It is also where the wonderful aroma of spices from the age of Marco Polo such as tamarind, saffron, cardamon, cinnamon, teas, chillied spices, aniseed and a whole host of others which I can't quite put a name to punctuate the air with vigour and spectacularly colour the spice stalls.

But this morning, I sit in a world away from that experience in the luxurious surrounds of Tashkent Palace having paid a luxurious price for spending the night here. This is probably the plushiest accommodation we have experienced in our entire 3 months away so far (and even then it cannot compare with our bargain 5 star honeymoon experiences in South East Asia). We had initially counted on only spending 2 nights in Tashkent but it has turned to 4 nights partly because I fell ill the night we arrived in Tashkent and needed the recovery time and partly because the next high speed train, the Sharq leaves Tashkent for Bukhara, our next destination tomorrow (and not today which would have been more ideal). I suspect the semi-dried apricots I haggled for at a bazaar in Samarkand were the culprit for my upset tummy! But then, who really knows.... I was just thankful that Kenneth had recovered from his encounter with the runs in Dunshanbe and could take his turn showing me plenty of tender loving care while I had both the runs and was throwing up at the same time! This was a first for me ... but after a stressful day trying hard to replace electrolytes, I have recovered in very quick time and was really only ill for a day. Yesterday, I managed to walk around and scour Tashkent for train tickets to Bukhara with Kenneth though in a weaker than usual state. I am tempted to put photos of our ribs up with the caption 'Do you recognise these POWS?' but am also hesitating against it lest the joke causes our parents any anxiety. I am sure we will gain back all the weight when we cross over into Europe and head home via Asia (especially if we do stop by Singapore).

The dining hall at Tashkent Palace appeared set for a wedding banquet this morning with golden bows tied to each chair and tulle curtains blowing in the wind echoing a romantic interlude. The buffet breakfast was a feast for the eyes but what really caught my eye was the little table with cornflakes and a few other varieties of cereal scattered around a jug of cold milk! Something I have not come across in the last 3 months. After 3 months of being away from home, the simple pleasures in life like the familiar sight of a familiar breakfast brings such comfort and stirs a sense of longing for home in one's heart.