Tashkent

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I think I am getting the hang of overnight travelling . Arrive , check in to your hotel , eat , have a nap , then , proceed with your day . It has worked well for me so far .

Again I tell a story of how fortunate I am . As I was travelling in Turkey I started to get these notices from a woman informing me that my hotel reservation in Tashkent had been cancelled . This was for the hotel that GAP will be using . Oh oh ... After several emails over several days it was arranged that the booking agency she represented would pick me up at the airport ,6:30 am, and take me to an alternate hotel . I decided to check out the hotel on Trip Advisor and discovered terrible reviews ! Next email she offered a sister hotel ,newer , same price . I expressed some misgivings and copied my concerns to Danny and to Susan in our next correspondance indicating we would sort it out at the airport when I arrived ...

Strange ... there was noone there holding up the name Pamela ...

After about 1/2 hour waiting I negotiated a taxi ($20>$10) to take me to the Grand Orzu since I still had the reservation print out with me . It turns out they did not have a reservation for me in their system

...The young man at the desk was very kind . He called the 2 other hotels and one had a reservation for me but it had been cancelled , the other didn't have me in their system .I showed him the correspondance I had had from Gulnoza .

Meanwhile he is checking what they have and checking with the manager and after the calls told me I could stay with them ...crazy!!!

As I said I am a fortunate woman .

The hotel is fairly large 3 story building probably from the 50's. The room is quite large and the shower has great water pressure. The cafe/breakfast room is in a separate building and there are meeting rooms there . Currently there is a group of 20+year olds involved in a UN seminar having to do with providing services to chidren . These are all young Uzbeks , male and female , who are most pleasant and desirous of practising their English. There is one young man who plays the guitar very well and 4 of them were singing this morning very pleasantly .

and now Tashkent.

It is a very pleasant city . Wide streets ,lots of green space ,busy as a city is but not frantic . I have walked miles and miles taking a few cabs and even using the Metro ( which had been built by the Soviets to also be used as bomb shelters). The weather has invited walking and so have the tree lined streets. Tashkent was razed by an earthquake in 1966 and most of what I have seen has been built since then . HUGE public buildings and Soviet style apartment blocks . . The old city left around the Bazaar ( Chorzu) has single story enclosed homes .I was a bit intimidated there as it truly is a warren of alleys . Chorzu itself was fascinating . A large area containing many markets . Produce under one dome , grains and nuts under another , meats , candy , and then household goods in another . Really a large and happening place. For some reason it reminded me a bit of the markets in Guadalajara,Mx and in Dalat , Vietnam.

That's it for today . Tomorrow I will be meeting the tour group and become a follower of sorts. That will be a mixed blessing I am sure . I'll keep you posted .

Again , I do like the comments!

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Comments

[R&C]

Wow!
You have been a lucky lady on this trip. Nasty things keep threatening you & then it all gets sorted out for the best. Good for you. We only have 1 wk. left here. We are really not ready to fight the cold & snow of SK. So we are pondering going to BC for a few days on the way home. But we will see for sure later. Still no decision on where we will stay for the wedding. We keep looking. Something will come up i am sure. Enjoy your tour. Have a good day. Love, R&C

[Lynn]

Boy, nothing has been easy about this. Thank goodness you are so resourceful:) hope the rest goes well !

[\brenda]

Tashkent?
I didn't know it had been destroyed. I weas thinking you'd find the ancient city. I guess the market is an example of what the entire city once was? Wow, after all the pre-arranging, you've certainly had challenges in bookings. ANd good fortune, as you say. I'm in Saskatoon, and the roads are closed currently between Regina and Stoon due to icy conditions. It snowed a couple of inches yesterday. You escaped!

[Jan Phillips]

accommodation arrangements
Hi Pam, I wonder, as I read your description of these emails recommending changes in your accommodations, if this is some sort of scam? Or is it just incompetence on the part of the booking agent? It seems like you are handling all of this confusion admirably, though. I forwarded your blog link to a young friend who is heading to Turkey with a few friends at the end of the month. I hope you don't mind but I thought it might be interesting if not instructive. Cheers, Jan

[Shirley Hauta]

It's Friiiiiiiiiday !
Hey Pam, good to read your blog as always. What is this "green space" you speak of ? It seems you are doing well adapting to the travel glitches. Our best-laid plans go oft aglay... I am not convinced that I could roll with these punches so easily. The market sounds interesting. I'm enjoying your descriptions of the "everyday" things like what you're eating, how the locals appear, who does and does not speak English... Enjoy the relative ease of the tour; I hope it will feel good to relax and let someone else make the arrangements. Your glass is truly half-FULL today.

[Brian]

I love coincidences!
This morning I opened the October, 1918 National Geographic magazine and the feature article is about Turkestan which at that time included what is now Uzbekistan. It makes your blog that much more interesting. Will you be going to Bukhara? If you do, tell me if you get to see the tomb of Timur. I also understand that their carpets are (were) some of the finest. I'm with you there in spirit. Carry on!

[Brian]

correction
Timur's mausoleum Gur-e Amir is in Samarkand and not Bukhara.

[Mo Adams]

Landing on your feet
For a while,this was sounding like the holiday of mixed bookings...or is that blessings? Enjoy your tour. We are avoiding potholes and puddles but I feel no bitter wind. Mike's observations about Margaret Thatcher are biting enough.