Uzbekistan

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A week inside a living museum. Uzbekistan has a perfect tourist trail with three fantastic cities to visit. Each has its own style but they fit together well. The tourist sites have been very well looked after (you could argue too well) with lots of restoration and re-building work having been done. Even the notorious police have been warned off from troubling foreigners - the one time I was stopped on the Tashkent underground the police man asked where I was from and demanded my passport, when I said I was from England and he waved me away before I even started to get my passport out. A year or two ago this encounter would have probably ended up with a demand for a "fine" of some sort.

I say a living museum because in the tourist areas everything has been cleaned up (too clean for a living town) the life has been squeezed out of the place and it takes some imagination to get an idea of how it might have been. That's not all bad though. Its very safe and clean streets are a change from the rest of Asia.

My trip started in Samarkand where I stayed in a B&B that had the best breakfast of my trip. Fresh yogurt, bread, cheese, home made jams, fresh apricots, figs and cherries, as well as some different hot dish each day. All served outdoors under a vine covered arbour. Samarkand is best known for the Registan. A square bordered on three sides by huge madrases richly decorated with tile work. These are the biggest and oldest (the first one was completed 1420) in Central Asia as anything older was destroyed by Jenghiz Khan. The square makes a fantastic site stunning for its size and the tile work. The fact that these buildings have survived through a number of large earthquakes reflects the skill and quality of the building as well as the love and money that has gone into repairing them.

Next stop on the silk road is Bukhara. A more intimate place on a smaller scale than Samarkand but more complete with surviving covered bazaars and a bit more life. The town is mixed in with the sights and a huge number of tourist shops. Its also hotter and dustier. Again there are very good B&Bs for the independent traveler at reasonable prices. Bukhara has my favorite single building the Kalon Minaret. Almost no glazed tiles just decorative brickwork. It was built in 1127 and spared by Jenghiz khan because he thought it was cool. Also made a good place to throw people off if you didn't like them - I love this religion mixed with barbarity.

And so on to Khiva a city that thrived on the slave trade. This is a real museum city. A fort in the desert that has survived intact and now thrives on tourism instead of slavery. The city is enclosed in vast earthen walls faced with brick and there is also an inner "Ark" or fortress where the Khan would have lived along with his harem. I met my firs Brits for a very long time here and enjoyed a good dinner with them at their hotel. A reminder that I will be home very soon.

After traveling for a few weeks now I have settled right into it and am now ready for the final strange and foreign land - the UK!

For a roundup of the trip - Japan had the best dinners, Uzbekistan the best breakfast. China has the best buses (the ones with beds), Kazakhstan has the most posh cars and glamorous women as well as the most crazily overpriced hotels. I only had 1 puncture on the whole trip but 3 breakdowns with cooling problems. No crime except an attempted rip off at the money changers. Despite eating and drinking mostly from street stalls and markets I had only 1 day of gut issues which is a result! The money in Uzbekistan is the most crazy, Kazakhstan has the best banks with even easier access to ATMs than Japan. All the countries have easier public transport and better roads than the Philippines. China had by far the most Internet news pages that come up "Page not found".

So where would I go back to? Japan - Yes, there is loads to see and do, go cash loaded for maximum fun. China - Yes. Its so big and so different. A place that makes you think a lot. Especially western China for a big climbing trip from Kashgar. Kazakhstan - I would give Almaty a swerve but would love to have more time for the countryside. Uzbekistan - No. Its the country I would most recommend to someone else and I loved it but its a week or 2 trip so I feel that I have been there, done that. A very good place to go on a tour to get the benefit of a good guide.

Assuming Air Baltic does its thing I will arrive back in the UK tomorrow (Friday 6th June) fingers crossed for a smooth trip. I am going to do one final blog before hanging up the keyboard - a UK edition.

Those of you in the UK
See you soon

Matt

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Photos

Registan
The biggest most impressive man made thing in central Asia. The facades and minarets tilt in all different directions as a result of earthquakes.

Edge of town
Looking out of Samarkand with the desert standing at the edge of town

Bukhara
My favorite minaret on the right

Minaret in Khiva
A good sunset from the top but climbing down the steps in the dark was fun

Silk for carpet making
Silk carpets hand made using natural dies - very expensive, luckily not my taste either.

Carpet weaving
It takes ages! No child labour in this UNESCO assisted weaving centre.

Khiva
Lots to see in a small area.

Self portrait
Otherwise there would be no pics of me!

Bread
Nan - but different from the indian version. Nan is almost a religion and must be handled with care.

Comments

[Ali x]

blog deprivation
Well Matt, Youv'e done it all...... and I feel I have lived all the moments with you. It has been great to read about all your travels etc and I will now need to get a travel brochure out so I can flick to places of far flung adventure. Hope you arrive back safe and well and is it a case of 'gees a job I can do it' or do you have something lined up with the old FC..... Take care love Ali x

[Cessna152]

An ususal place to have a blog written about it, but it caught my eye because I'd love to go. Uzbekistan is definitely on my list. Thanks for writing about it.