Taskhent...back to the Old Soviet style...

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Here is my last stop in Uzbekistan. From Samarkand, it was just another 3 hours speed train to reach the capital of the country. Trust me, this is a very different experience from anything I saw so far in Uzbekistan. There are very few Muslim religious monuments around the capital. Tashkent is a new city as it has been fully destroyed by an earthquake some 50 years ago. So nothing glorious in term of Islamic buildings around here. They have a nice Orthodox Cathedral....but that was too an interesting experience as the roof of the edifice had been removed...I guess no risk of rain here during the summer....best time for some renovation!



I'm staying at the Radisson....back to a proper bed and a more than decent bathroom....all this for a modest 45usd a night. You book online for 90usd...but when it's time to pay, I had my bundle of soms and simply paid cash at the official rate! Great deal. The Radisson is next to a metro station, and even better, just 10 minutes walk to the Plov National Center. Plov is the national dish. It's a simple fried rice dish with some shredded meat that you get down with a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers. Here...I was the only tourist too. The waitresses were kind enough to take me around to point at what I wanted to eat or to drink. Truly nice experience and a lunch for just over 2usd! You won't break the bank in Uzbekistan. The place is actually looking like an exhibition hall...you may have had 500 patrons at the tables.



The city doesn't have much to offer in term of sightseeing. But it's all about the general feeling. Around public buildings, you have some security people every 100 meters....to go in the metro...you have to show your passport to the guard each time you come in ....open your bags....and no pictures here. They have cctv cameras everywhere....yes, this is a police state, and I found how deep it was in the capital. All this is a very different feeling compare to the last few days going from West to East of the country.



Even if the metro ticket cost close to nothing I spent a lot of time walking the streets of Tashkent. The place is so different from a city like Astana. Here, you will not see international brands. You don't see terraces and restaurants all over the place. No flashy malls here too. Put it simply, the first feeling of the city is one of serious austerity. The metro was empty, even at peak time of the day...people dress in dark colors...nobody is smiling...it was like being back in Moscow for my first visit back in 1991!



The airport is just south of the train station, a simple 60 usd cents ride on a local bus! It was already time to fly out, my next two flights are on Air Astana...but my next country is not Kazakhstan. More to discover very soon.

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