The magic of the silk road

The Silk Road. The magical words that made us travel through half of Asia. We wanted to see its cities with all their magnificent buildings and feel the atmosphere of the old trade routes. We were traveling along it for some time now, but we knew the best was yet to come and we were expecting to see it in Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. The names alone are enough to make the travelers blood run faster.

Armed with newly bought fuel we headed towards Samarkand. We decided to drive directly, as there was not much to see on the way. Driving through Uzbekistan is not really thrilling, it's either one village after another or just one big desert, with not as much as a house to see for hours, so we decided we won't be missing much. The roads are always a bit of a surprise, you can get anything from proper highway to earth roads full of holes in all sizes. The only thing you can be sure of are the police checkpoints. You can hardly drive for half an hour without seeing one. Normally you just have to slow down and drive through, but from time to time without an obvious reason you may be asked to stop and register (you could be a terrorist after all!). Registration means that some officer will take your passport and write your data down in his copybook. He will not always get the data right, but I guess it's all the same, the important thing is he managed to fill another line in his precious book.

It was already dark when we were getting to Samarkand. And we were really lucky, as shortly before entering the city we managed to find a gas station that was open and yet with only a few cars waiting around. And they actually had 91 octane fuel! The wanted us to pay the price for 98 though, but we agreed without hesitation, as the difference was not that big. Our full jerrycans remained untouched. We also didn't have to worry about finding a place to stay. It is common in Uzbekistan that the hostel you're staying in recommends you another one in the city you are heading to, booking a room for you if you wish. It worked perfectly for us.

The best word to describe Samarkand is “impressive”. It is packed with magnificent, richly decorated buildings. You can choose between countless mosques, madrasas (traditional Islamic schools) or mausoleums and the entrance prices are reasonable too, though as a foreigner you are often expected to pay up to 5 time more than the locals. But at least in Samarkand we have found the tickets worth paying for, as the atrium and the insides were often even more splendid than the buildings themselves. The only drawback was, that they were all a bit too well renovated. Some of them were really looking brand new, so that we found it hard to imagine, that they have really been there for hundreds of years now. The modern soviet streets between them were not making things easier. But we still liked it a lot. Unfortunately we didn't have much luck with the weather. It started raining on our second day in town and we were told it won't stop for at least another day, so we decided to head to Bukhara.

We fell in love with Bukhara instantly. The buildings were as magnificent as the ones in Samarkand, but instead of wide modern streets we found narrow downtown passages and covered bazaars. The right atmosphere was definitely there. The place just seemed real and it seemed old. It was exactly what we were looking for. We instantly decided to spend a few more days there. When we found a restaurant offering a perfect view on the main square we knew we are at the right place.

Bukhara is packed with tourists, but it's a common problem in most Uzbek cities. No matter where you go or which restaurant you choose you can be sure some bus full of French or German tourists got there before you. But then again, seeing all those places you can not really blame other tourists for wanting to visit them too. But for us it was still a bit of a shock and something we had to get used to first. Especially that we were hearing German everywhere we went. The only really bad thing was, that all those tourists were spoiling the prices! We were planning to buy some more souvenirs and a few presents, but we soon discovered it would have been a better idea to buy it all in Tashkent or Fergana or even Samarkand, where the prices were far more reasonable. In Bukhara we had to fight hard to get down to a price that was somewhere near to what we paid before. But it's no wonder if you see that two minutes later some other tourists takes the same thing without even complaining about the price, paying 20 EUR for a thing that is not even worth 5. But then again, one of the things I managed to learn at my university was, that the real value is not important, a thing is worth as much as you're ready to pay. And we were definitely not ready to pay 20 EUR.

With so many tourists around somehow Bukhara still didn't manage to develop proper restaurants. In most places the food costs a fortune and we never really found it live up to the price. And some places, like the restaurant near the small lake in the city center have menu in English too, only that somehow magically the prices are 3-4 times higher than in the Russian one! So I guess Lonely Planet was right when they wrote “ you don't go to Bukhara for food”. Unless you like to pay a fortune for cold overcooked rice and meat without much spices.

For food and few other things too you can definitely go to Khiva. The city is tiny, but full of wonderful buildings and monuments. Surely, it is very touristic, but it still has a nice atmosphere. It feels great to walk inside the old town or on the top of the city walls. But most buildings are really not worth getting into. As lovely as they are from the outside, there is hardly anything they can offer once you enter. We made a mistake of buying the entrance ticket, but it was a biggest waste of money we did so far. They promise you entrance to all the buildings and 20 museums for 2 days, but you will soon notice it's all a waste of time. The insides are very plain and often falling apart and the famous “museums” display water jugs from... late XX century!

All in all we liked Uzbekistan a lot! We didn't need long to come to this conclusion. It may not be a country we'd like to live in, but it's definitely worth visiting. It is famous for its magnificent cities and architecture, but what we liked most were the people. They are incredibly friendly and open, trying to help foreigners whenever they can. When they speak to you they address you as “brother” or “sister”, treating you as the most welcomed guest. It all makes the trip even more enjoyable. But local people are sometimes hard to find. Tashkent proved not to be the only deserted city and after dark there is hardly anyone on the streets, no matter how touristic the place is. Most restaurants close pretty early too. But the best place to catch a glimpse of a local life is always the bazaar. It's a place full of life and colours, that I guess hasn't changed much since the silk road times. They sell the best and cheapest food too. So the best thing to do is to seat, eat and watch all the people passing by, going around their business. Local fashion is worth observing too. We were surprised to find that most women in the country where dressed in what we in Europe would describe as a bathrobe, with matching slippers and obligatory socks. Some of them wear local silk too, which is anything but what we understand as silk in Europe. The material is pretty thick and warm, painted in all colours of the rainbow, making the narrow bazaar streets look even more lively.

Our biggest problem remained the shortage of the fuel. At the end we have always managed to get some, it was just the question of price and time you have to invest in finding it. But even the most expensive 95 octane we bought in Nukus (from plastic cans in some guy's backyard) was still much cheaper than what we regularly pay in Europe.

Finding a proper toilet was a harder job. It's not a problem in hostels that are used to European tourists, but in most restaurants and even private houses you will only find a small wooden shack outside the house with a hole in the floor and no toilet paper. But you get used to that as well. Though it does make you appreciate all the comforts of everyday life in Europe a bit more...

No fuel no problem

Uzbekistan has no problem with fuel. At least that seems to be the official version. First we were just wondering why so many gas stations looked totally deserted. We have seen quite a lot of them on our way to Tashkent, but for 10 stations 9 were closed and the one that seemed open was surrounded by dozens of cars. We got a bit suspicious... Fortunately our cars were full, so we got to the capital without problems. The problems begun when we wanted to leave the city, trying to buy some fuel first. We have been sent from one gas station to another for nearly an hour before we found one, that actually still had some 91 octane fuel left (the other ones didn't even have 80). Seeing how hard it is to get fuel in the capital, we didn't want to risk getting stuck without it somewhere in the middle of the desert, so we planed to fill our jerrycans as well. But we soon found out that (as usual in a land that has absolutely no problem with fuel) such practices were strictly forbidden. We asked if we will be able to get some gas on a way, but the station workers only shook their heads and advised us to drive to the next parking place, fill the cans by sucking the fuel out of the car and then get back to buy some fuel again. First I though they were joking, as I can't remember seeing anyone doing things like that since I was a kid. But they were deadly serious. And the guys who borrowed us the right tube to do the job didn't really seemed surprised neither. And there we were, sucking fuel out of our cars, like I heard people used to do in old communistic times. And David can confirm that neither the leftover cooling fluid in the tube nor the gas itself is anywhere close to tasty. First we thought we may be overreacting and acting stupid, but the further we drove the happier we were that we filled those cans in the first place!

Dead city and registered terrorists

We could hardly wait to get to Uzbekistan! For weeks now we were traveling through countries with amazing nature, now we felt a growing need for some culture and architecture too. And Uzbekistan definitely offered us both. We wanted to sense the atmosphere of the Silk Road and explore its most magical sites. We wanted to see the bazaars full of life and colours and we wanted to meet the people.

It was still quite early when we reached the border in Osh. We wanted to stay a day in the city first, but decided we wanted to get to Uzbekistan more, so we headed directly for the crossing. The line wasn't long, so we thought we will be ready in no time. Unfortunately we were mistaken. For the first 4 hours nothing happened. Not one car was let inside. We even started thinking that the crossing is simply closed, but we were informed that this is a standard procedure here, so we should just wait and relax. And so we did. As always while staying in the queue we met some friendly people and had quite a nice time, but it was getting late and nothing was happening, so we were already getting used to the thought of sleeping at the border. One car was let in and the other gave up waiting and drove back home, so suddenly there was just us and the gate. We waited another hour, but things didn't really change much. We tried talking with the guards again, but they were only telling us it's not their fault and the Uzbek side is working too slowly and if they let us in we would only stay in line a few meters further. We kindly asked them to open the gate for us anyway and let us deal with the Uzbek side on our own. And so they did, but still telling us we will sleep at the border and never get through to the other side in one day. We took the challenge!

The other side of the border really looked bad. People waiting in a huge line (obviously broader than long as seems to be the custody ever since we crossed the Ural), some with small babies, others with heavy luggage. A similar picture on the vehicle side, cars and trucks all mixed together crosswhise, gathering closely in front of the heavily guarded gate, some waiting for more than 15 hours already. We quickly made some new friends and since we were tourists and guests in their country they decided they will let us pass and make sure we leave the border today. Not all people in line were happy about it, but it worked anyway. Some cars were shifted, the officials were informed and after an hour or so we were driving to the Uzbek customs. It took some time and a lot of paperwork, bur we made it just before the border was closed. Only one more car was let in that evening and it was already late when we were all ready. The border crossing took us 9 hours! We knew our plan to get to the hotel in Fergana was not going to work, but before we could even think what to do, one of the guys we met in the line, Azmat invited us to spend a night at his house. The house was splendid! It was a huge one with a garden inside and more rooms than we could count. We got some food and tea of course and spent an amazing evening using all our Russian skills to have a proper conversation. And it worked. The day after Azmat showed us the nearest city Andijon. We were surprised to discover how modern and new the city was. It was prettier than any we saw since our first weeks in Russia. We were already sure we're gonna like Uzbekistan a lot.

Our first stop was Fergana Valley, famous for its cotton fields and silk production. We did the mandatory tourist attraction, the silk fabric in Margilon, but we decided to do shopping at the local market rather than at the tourist shop of the manufacture. But first we needed to change some money. We already knew it was no good to do it in a bank or any other official institution to do so, since the official rate was over 30% worse then the black market one. It felt kind of weird to change money somewhere between the shops, but we decided to give it a try and soon got quite a huge pile of money for our 200 USD. The problem is the highest bill in Uzbekistan is 1000 Uzbek Som, which is less then 50 Cent and barely enough to buy a bottle of Cola. So every time you go shopping you need to carry a bag full of money around. And shopping in this part of the world is not a trivial thing anyway. Uzbeks are lovely and honest people, but this won't stop them to rip you off when you're buying something if you give them a chance. The key to success is to know the real price, which is quite hard to find out. But it's definitely between 2 and 10 times less then what you're being told, depending if they take you for a local or a naive tourist. The first time we wanted to buy some silk I asked in my best Russian what the price for a scarf was. The man who was looking at me and the guys said 50.000 Som and at the same time the one who had his back to us and only heard the question in Russian said 15.000 Som. We knew even the second price was to high, but we still found it amusing, how big the difference was.

We were done with camping for some time. Uzbekistan is not a very nice camping location anyway and we wanted to have our registrations done properly to avoid any problems. We soon found out no one really knows the registration rules. Some officials told us it's enough to register once, some said we should do it every 3 days and some said it is obligatory to register in a hotel every single day. It seemed that every time we asked we got a different answer. But since the Swiss embassy told us they are just dealing with a family, who was kept in Uzbekistan for 8 weeks not being able to get out, because they missed some registrations, we decided it's just not worth taking the risk. Especially when Uzbekistan is full of really nice guesthouses, offering a very good quality for less then 10 Euro (including breakfast!).

But finding a hotel in Tashkent was not an easy thing. We were told the government has just closed a few private run hotels in the city, so all the other ones were full. We called quite a few and got the same answer every time: no rooms available. We were loosing hope, but decided to call one more place called Mirzo Guesthouse, though the description in Lonely Planet was far from promising. Share squat toilets and no breakfast... Well we didn't really have much choice anyway. They had a room for three and you can't imagine how surprised we were when we discovered it is a newly renovated one with a perfectly normal private bathroom and reliable hot showers. And we got a nice breakfast too! Once again we noticed that Lonely Planet guidebooks are not as reliable and up-to-date as we'd like them to be. It was the nicest guesthouse we had in weeks!

Tashkent is a very nice city, green and tidy, with lots of modern buildings. The only problem is it is totally empty. We read there are over 2 million people in there, but it didn't feel even half as much. It is quite spooky, that all the nicely done parks and streets were so empty and totally lifeless. No open-air cafes, no people trying to sell you something at the side of a street. Nothing. And all the newly built modern buildings seemed empty too. Empty offices with empty rooms. The city was really missing some atmosphere. And after sunset, which was around 6 in the evening the place was simply dead.

The biggest attraction in Tashkent is the metro. Every station is unique and beautiful in its own way. Wall paintings, mosaics and sculptures make each of it a piece of art. Unfortunately it's forbidden to take photos inside. We were planning to try anyway, but since each station was packed with police officers we gave up the idea and focused on admiring the views. Uzbekistan is a police country and in Tashkent you feel it more than anywhere else. The officers are everywhere, checking your bag and passport every time you enter metro. They are always nice and friendly, but it gets annoying with time anyway. The locals seem not to mind them, even though they get checked as often as we were, if they only are carrying any bags. Some actually told us, that they liked it, because in this way they can feel safe and be sure there won't be any terrorist attacks in their city. That was also their way to explain why tourists should register in a hotel every day. The data is forwarded daily to the local police, which enables the government to track down every terrorist travelling the country in no time. That makes total sense to us, as we all know, that a respected terrorist would look like a regular backpacker, carrying bombs in big bags, waiving his European passport at each metro station and registering every day as the government expects him to...

Anyway I believe the locals got used to the way things are and often do not notice them much anymore. They were telling us each hotel gets a yearly plan from the government saying how much people they should have and how much money should be earned. The room prices are often fixed too! But they were telling us about it as if it was the most natural thing. I guess they simply try to live their lives making the best of their present situation, without getting in trouble with the police or other officials. And many of them have quite a nice comfortable life. They also do not really have much to compare to, apart from soviet times, which make the modern Uzbek Republic look like a paradise and a land of total freedom. Even if it bothers some spoiled European tourists like ourselves...

Photo update

Kyrgyzstan 10 October 2012

Uzbekistan 14 October 2012