Travelling and Things to See in Uzbekistan – Part 1

The crossing went smoothly, except for the long queues. I think I was the only foreigner there, since everyone else looked Asian and carried large bags of things, which were cheaper in Kyrgyzstan and could then be sold in Uzbekistan. When I finally crossed the border, there was practically nothing on the other side. No bureaux de change, no huts, no food vendors. Just a road and a car park where I started to look for a ride to the nearest city on the Uzbek side – Andijan.

I tried to settle on a price with the taxi driver, but I noticed right away that he couldn’t speak Russian well. He wasn’t able to tell me anything and I immediately realised I needed to use my hands more. We settled on a price for a ride to the city – five euros for 40 kilometres – and then waited for the taxi to fill up. The wait lasted for two whole hours and even then there were just four of us in the car – the taxi driver wanted five people, but he gave in and finally drove us to Andijan.

There aren’t really many attractions in the city, or any special sights, really; but it was the first city on my trip that had a train connection with Tashkent – that’s why I chose this route. I arrived at the station and bought a ticket to Tashkent, which wasn’t expensive, but there were only seats available. It was still morning and the train was scheduled to arrive late in the afternoon, so I had time to go sightseeing. You could leave your backpack for safekeeping at the train station for a small fee (for two euros, I think).

The first thing you notice are the shops that sell wedding gowns – these can be found at every five metres and it truly shows that the wedding is the most important event for the Uzbek women. I arrived at the city market and, since I was really thirsty, decided to grab a drink. There was a vendor selling mare milk, so I ordered a glass. She poured milk into a glass and there was a fly swimming in it. I removed the fly and simply drank what I was given. The taste was very strong and not like the one in Kyrgyzstan. I was kind of afraid how it would affect my digestion and where I could find a toilet, should the need arise, but, luckily, I had no trouble.

You could see right away that the standard was going to be lower than in the neighbouring countries, and the same applied to hygiene. People were selling meat and various types of fruit, spices and other food items at the open-air market. I usually prefer to visit markets because there are lots of people there, lots of things are happening and the prices are cheap. I bought a kilo of mandarins, drank some juice from freshly squeezed pomegranate and then headed to the train station.

The train was fairly modern and I was relieved when I found my seat and sat down. I enjoyed the view of the beautiful landscape: you could see how the landscape changed from the desert to the steppe and then to the fairly tall mountains, rivers, canyons and the reservoir.

Suddenly, the conductor came and started pulling down roller blinds everywhere. It seemed a little odd, since it was already getting dark outside and the sun had set, so I asked him why he was doing that. He told me we were arriving at the part of the rail line where the Uzbek army was stationed, so we weren’t allowed to look outside. And we really did get to a tunnel that was heavily guarded and very long. I think about half an hour had passed before the conductor pulled up the roller blinds again. We arrived in Tashkent late at night, so I was forced to call a taxi to my hostel.

Sightseeing Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan

I spent the first night in a hostel whose owner was an Indian. The hostel was located in one of Tashkent’s suburbs. The rooms were full of bunk beds. There were approximately 20 in a room, but the price was rather cheap accordingly – three euros per night. Breakfast was included – fried eggs, bread and jam, and the owner treated us to some watermelon in the evening.

The city is really big and it’s not really convenient going around on foot. It’s necessary to call a taxi in order to get from point A to point B, use public transport or, as I did, stretch out your arm and settle on a price with every driver that stops. Luckily, everyone could speak Russian, which is something I can’t say for people in villages and small towns.

Islamisation is more apparent here than in the neighbouring countries. There are lots of mosques and alcohol is sold only in specially dedicated shops. Most women are also covered in headscarves.

The next day, I went to explore the city. I hitched a ride and was in the city centre in 20 minutes. I looked at a few mosques and then visited the local market where I had lunch – mutton shashlik – and bought a horse meat sausage for dinner (it’s a local specialty). I also visited a few parks, though they were deteriorating and there weren’t many people there, but they still had that Soviet charm – they were huge and had playgrounds from the 80s that were also slowly deteriorating.

I also visited a complex of multiple mosques on foot, which maybe wasn’t the best idea, as it took me two hours to walk there. You can really see how big and stretched out the city is, so I recommend using a car.

If you like large Soviet monuments, this city will definitely be perfect for you. There are lots of them in various large parks that are abundant in the city. It’s quite nice relaxing there because it can get really hot and humid in the summer, whereas it’s much cooler in the parks. I visited a monument that can be found in every Russian city, namely the symbol of eternal flame memorialising losses during World War II.

I explored the city in the next few days as well as parks and large monuments. The city also has a modern park, a nice promenade by the river and interesting mosques. But, after a few days, I decided to continue my journey in the ancient city of Samarkand, though, more about that in the next issue of Globetrotter.