Getting into Uzbekistan

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My chest infection got worse, but it hasn't kept me down!

Okay so the last time I left you I was in Osh, well now I am in Tashkent, in Uzbekistan, but first let me connect the dots.

My last night in Osh was supposed to be "pretty cruisy" remember? Well, it started out that way, David and I headed out to find some dinner and not wanting to go the freezing cold restaurant from the night before we headed to one that looked warm, sat down and David asked for the menu. The waitress looked at him and asked why we needed a menu if they only served one thing, chicken. Not wanting chicken we asked for some beers, she left only to return a short time later to say that they didn't have any beer. It was a comedy of errors, and to appreciate its hilarity you needed to be there.

We headed in the direction which we thought would produce more restaurants, and we walked, and walked and then turned a corner and walked some more. Finally we found a place that looked warm and served more than one thing, although when we came to order, the two things that we ordered were not available but we got something in the end: one lamb dish and one chicken dish! We also ordered some beers and then David asked if I wanted a vodka, so to rid myself of being a central asian vodka-virgin I said yes. Originally, he was going to order a 200ml bottle but they didn't have any, so we just got a shot each and a litre of beer each. The food was, edible, but nothing to rave about but the beer went down a treat, the vodka, well it went down better than I expected.

After dinner we headed back towards our hotel and bought some beers from a street kiosk and walked along the snow-covered street, with more snow falling, drinking our beers. We had almost reached our hotel and had almost finished our beers and stopped in at a cafe to refresh before heading to our hotel to listen to some music on David's laptop and just chill out. Whilst buying our beers (which were 'hobo beers' as they were a staggering 9%!a(MISSING)lc/vol) a local guy came in and ordered a shot of vodka and started talking to David and soon we were having a shot of vodka with him. He then asked us if we wanted to go somewhere where there were more people and David looked at me and I said 'why not?' which seems to have been the catchphrase of the trip. We piled into a taxi and were shooting off down some dark streets before arriving at a restaurant that had loud music playing, girls dancing outside and lots of people inside. We sat down, and ordered a plate of sausage and cheese and a bottle of vodka. I'm a little fuzzy on the details for the rest of the night but David and I both woke up feeling mildly (read: a lot) hungover.

David was supposed to be picked up by a shared taxi driver and driven 15 hours to Bishkek at ten o'clock in the morning but ten came and went and no driver turned up, so David went to find another driver and returned shortly, said a quick goodbye and headed off to Bishkek. I packed up my bag and walked to the marshrutka (minibus) and tried to get on board one that was headed to the border crossing but had no luck as they were all too full and no drivers would take me. Having got just enough money and not wanting to go and withdrawal anymore I couldn't afford the 200, 150 or 100 som offers for a taxi ride, but was then approached by a taxi driver who spoek a little English and said he would take me for 50, which I had, done deal.

I got to the border and went through the Kyrgyzstani border control relatively hassle free, although i was asked for my customs declaration stating how much money I brought into the country and I tried to explain as best I could that when I came into the country I wasn't given a form to fill out. Finally, our lack of understanding saw the border guard stamp my passport and let me through. I walked the short distance to the Uzbekistani border checkpoint and my passport was checked by a soldier wielding his AK, then it was checked by another soldier and then, finally, it was checked by the border guard. After this, I had to fill in a declaration form and then I had to have my bags searched. Uzbekistan is hard to get into!

Finally I was through and negotiated a taxi to Andijon where I was to overnight and wait for my flight in the morning...but it is late and I am tired and these computers aren't great so you will have to wait until tomorrow to see how I got to Tashkent!

Also, a few of the older blogs that were photo-less now have photos! 'Bye bye Dunhuang!', 'Same same but different' and 'Old Town Magic'. There are more to come, and I think some of the best to come, so stay tuned.

Matt out

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