Blogs from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Asia

My first interaction with someone from Uzbekistan occurred on the short flight from Almaty to Tashkent. The young woman seated next to me was stunningly beautiful. “Hi, where are you from?” she suddenly asked me after our meals had been served. When I told her I was from the UK, her eyes widened. She introduced herself as Zamira, a student, who’d been visiting her sister in Almaty. “One day soon I will visit London to see Big Ben and Oxford Street!” I had no reason to think she wouldn’t get there either because as we chatted further I found out that she’d already been to South Africa, India, Malaysia and of course, many of the countries that surrounded Uzbekistan. “Bishkek is not so nice,” she informed me, referring to the capital of Kyrgyzstan. “It is very ... read more

Nach unserem Aufenthalt in Turkistan stand er also nun vor uns, der erste Grenzübertritt zwischen zwei zentralasiatischen Ländern. Wir hatten schon einiges darüber gelesen und einige „Schauermärchen“ darüber gehört. Und deshalb waren wir sehr gespannt, wie das so ablaufen würde. Wir hatten uns von einem Taxifahrer überzeugen lassen, dass es viel einfacher sei, mit dem Taxi bis zur Grenze zu fahren und dann den Grenzübertritt zu Fuss zu machen, als mit dem Zug zu fahren. Da er uns preislich entgegenkam und wir durch die Taxifahrt viel flexibler waren, haben wir uns also für diese Variante entschieden. In einer 3-stündigen rasanten Fahrt brachte uns der Taxifahrer bis zu usbekischen Grenze. Dort stiegen wir aus dem Taxi aus und packten unser Gepäck. Der Grenzübertritt war offenbar für Autoverkehr ausgelegt. Die Strasse war jedoch gesperrt und es gab ein ... read more

“What! You don’t exchange your own money?” I heard a man shouting in the hotel lobby, he was flabbergasted, whining about what he will do with the sum he had in his bag? This was a very strange indeed; something I hadn’t witnessed or experienced anywhere in the world before. It was what taught us to stick to the good old dollar for wherever, whenever in Tashkent. The two-and-a-half hour flight from Lahore to Tashkent left me feeling rather dopey. But stepping into one of the most beautiful cities of Central Asia was like entering an Old Russian movie. The capital of Uzbekistan and also of Tashkent Province, Tashkent is a cosmopolitan city with a large ethnic Russian minority. The city is noted for its tree lined streets, numerous fountains, and pleasant parks. We rested for ... read more

The guide on the boat trip in St. Petersberg said that the train journey from Moscow to Tashkent should certainly be an eventfull one as all the Uzbek workers were leaving their Summer jobs in Moscow to head back home. Eventfull it was. We were in second class which consists of a number of four berth compartments in one of 16 carriages. 3 days and 3 nights of noone speaking English and a horrific toilet. Weren't sure about the train guards to start with, clearly the first chap decided westerners were easy pickings and that we would be the right couple to chose to say to the Russian border guards that his two random cardboard boxes that he had left in our compartment were actually ours. Jesus - good start. Then he followed up with trying ... read more

wow... read more

Just a short note as my time in the internet cafe is running out. I arrived safely in Tashkent this morning and found my hotel (after getting lost several times). Tomorrow I set off for Timur's house in Tatarwalistan, where the adventure will really begin.... read more