.....previously in wonderfully walnut-y Arslanbob....
We literally breathed a sigh when we crossed the border back into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan. Our favourite country on our last trip to Central Asia, we felt a connection with this place and it's lovely inhabitants. It was good to be back. (Rich
was a bit put out, however, when a little old lady managed to sneakily push in front of him in the line at the border!)
A good example of Uzbek's welcoming culture was when we were a little stuck about where to change buses in the big city of Andijan near the border. A friendly young man who happened to be studying English at university approached us, and when we told him we were lost, he walked us to the correct bus station chatting away in near perfect English. He found us the bus we were after, put us on, and after having a word with the beaming driver, said his goodbyes. If this were India, we would have been suspiciously waiting for the scam!!
 |
| Shiny-eyed young man, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Pots, Margilan |
Again, we had quite a long journey to move between the border towns, with many changes of transport, but it was made easy and pleasant by the helpful people. Scenery of the fertile and flat valley was mainly cotton- the biggest crop here, as well as corn and orchards of apples and peaches. The majority of the food for Central Asia is grown in the Fergana Valley, and explains why we have had such tasty fruit and veggies, being so close to the region on this trip.
We reached Fergana town, and not knowing which marshrutka to jump on, found a taxi to take us to our guesthouse. Another example of the honesty and kindness (and low costs) of Uzbekistan was when Sal thought she had bargained the taxi down to 20,000 som (about US$2), only to be told when we reached the destination it was only 5,000 som (about US$0.50)!!
Our accommodation was spotless, quiet and comfortable, and were happy to see the conveniences in the immediate area. Although we were half an hour walk from the center of Fergana, we had a supermarket,
shashlik joint, grog shop, and a couple of other marts and dining options within a five minute walk.
We were to become addicted to the
shashlik place, and ate there as often as we could. Our reasoning was we were not going to get red meat this cheap, delicious and readily available anywhere else, so we should make the most of it during our last couple of weeks! At the end of our first meal there, we both had a guess what we thought the bill would come to, based on similar meals, and the fact that is was the best
shashlik we'd ever had. Rich thought US$7 and Sal went for US$8. This was for three huge skewers of top quality lamb fillet, three salads, bread and two beers. When the bill came we were surprised at the actual cost of 40,000 som, about US$4, and the fact that we had to press a 5,000 som (US$0.50) tip very forcefully on the waitress in order for her to take it!
 |
| Our obsession- THE best shashlik, Fergana, Uzbekistan |
The Fergana Valley is generally not a big draw card for tourists visiting Uzbekistan, stuck out on it's own in a weird jumble of borders, and not having any of the big, popular Silk Road sights. But as we spent a long time following the big Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva on our last trip, we wanted to make some time for the Fergana Valley on our way back to Tashkent.
 |
| Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan, marked on the Central Asian map |
 |
| Our route in green from Osh, Kyrgyzstan to Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
The main draw of the area was the
bazaars. You would think after nearly four months, we would be fed up looking around markets. But, amazingly, the Fergana Valley markets offered such a diverse range of different goods and we were happy to spend hours wandering. The biggest was the weekend
bazaar at Kumtepa, but we found the main Fergana and Margilan bazaars nearly as interesting. The best thing was the open, welcoming and sometimes outgoing stall holders. We loved strolling slowly, stopping constantly for little "chats" and laughs, and feeling as though people were genuinely happy to see us. They only ever wanted to ask questions, or tell us something about the market, never to sell us anything. Sometimes people were shy and we could just hear "Tourists, tourists" whispered as we walked past. If we stopped to look or buy something, or to have a
chai in a
chaikhana (cafe), people were often very smiley and seemed proud to have us patronage their business.
 |
| Men chatting in bazaar, Margilan |
 |
| Rich making new friends, Fergana Bazaar |
 |
| What a poser, Fergana Bazaar |
 |
| Happy man in Kumtepa Bazaar |
 |
| Waiting for a sale, Kumtepa Bazaar |
 |
| He was so happy to have his picture taken, Kumtepa Bazaar |
 |
| Stall holder, Kumtepa Bazaar |
It was all an interesting contrast to
Osh, and we wondered why the locals there were less friendly, when they are mostly Uzbek people, and put it down to too much exposure to tourists.
 |
| Uzbek lady |
The produce on offer had completely changed from when we arrived in Central Asia at the start of July. Everything is grown seasonally here, mostly without pesticides, so it's super fresh and doesn't last long. Pomegranates, grapes, winter melons and apples were the main stays of autumn, but we always looked around the outskirts where the raspberry and strawberry growers often lurked with buckets full of the succulent berries.
 |
| Apple season, Fergana Bazaar, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Beautiful pumpkins all piled together, Fergana Bazaar, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Weird shaped onions, Margilan Bazaar, Uzbekistan |
Other items of interest included the traditional silk materials and garments made in nearby Margilan, the third largest silk making centre in the world (hence it's historical importance on "The Silk Road"). The old-style winter boots, cloaks and hats areas were also attractive. An unexpected highlight was the all-things-mechanical section of Kumtepa Bazaar, where it seemed literally everything second hand was on offer for anything with a motor.
 |
| Boots galore, Kumtepa Bazaar, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Margilan ladies, bazaar, Margilan, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Bits and bobs, Kumtepa Bazaar, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Old Russian stuff, Kumtepa Bazaar, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Scene at Kumtepa Bazaar |
 |
| Old bike for sale (US$150 - first price!) |
 |
| More junk, Kumtepa Bazaar |
Our experiences with the local ATM were hilarious. Happy to find a bank that actually took our card, we lined up with everyone else. No-one had any qualms about looking openly over each other shoulders to look what was been done on the screen, and no thought was given to hiding their PIN numbers. On one visit, a representative of the bank was actually standing at the ATM taking people's card's, asking for their PIN numbers and performing their transactions for them- and they were happy for him to do so! We were equally horrified and amused! When it came to our turn, we politely nudged him out of the way to do it ourselves, although we still had about 20 people looking over our shoulders to sticky beak! It further illustrates the innocent attitudes and apparent safety of this country.
The train trip back to the capital, Tashkent, was slightly disappointing, as most of it was after dark. But we were still just happy to be on a train again! We were impressed at the beginning of the journey, with the huge number of small scale vineyards everywhere- some taking up entire large backyards with grape vines as far as the eye could see.
Our Tashkent stay felt rushed, as we had many last minute jobs to do in order to prepare for the next part of our travels. The highlight was a trip to the opera. All the Central Asian capitals have large and ornate opera houses left over from Soviet times, when the arts were an important cultural inclusion in life. Fortunately, the tradition has carried on, and the season starts when the weather cools down.
When we visited Almaty a couple of years ago, we had a funny experience
attending the ballet, when most of the audience were dressed to the nines in ball gowns and tuxedos, and we most definitely stood out in our less than elegant attire. This time, thankfully, it was a more casual affair, and our daggy travellers clothes were not too conspicuous. As the US$2 and US$3 tickets were already sold out, we splashed out (!!) on the US$4 tickets for Tchaikovsky's Iolanda, and got ourselves fabulous seats in the stalls. Richard thought it brilliant apart from all the singing!
We met up with our mates who we had befriended when we were in
Tashkent in July, the lovely, young English-practising lads who were seriously studious and motivated for their futures. We had a fun afternoon with them at the new Tashkent City, a posh redevelopment site with overpriced restaurants and topiary giraffes (don't ask). We all got soaking wet when the wind unexpectedly blew the huge fountains all over the boardwalk we were on, and then had fun mucking around for a while in the "Celebrity Museum".
 |
| Opera house, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Just after being soaked by the water fountains, Tashkent City, Uzbekistan |
 |
| Inside the "Celebrity Museum"- surprisingly realistic! |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few notes to end with:
When we reached
Penjikent in Tajikistan early on on this trip, we mentioned how surprised we were to see a working mosque packed with men praying. This, we were to learn, was the norm in most regions of Central Asia we travelled in this time, and we saw it in many places. We happened to be in the most religious and conservative area of Central Asia- in and around the Fergana Valley region, spreading between Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It really was a huge contrast to our last trip. Everywhere else in Uzbekistan, all of Kazakhstan and in the eastern part of Kyrgyzstan, there's hardly a mosque to be heard and women rarely wear "Islamic" clothes. People are still Muslim, there's just less of an outward show of faith. As we mentioned, people mix their religious beliefs with traditionally non-Muslim traits such as drinking alcohol, and many don't attend mosque often (or at all). But in our view Central Asian people practice what should be the most important part of a religion, or indeed simply life- kindness and tolerance towards each other.
There seems to still be a strong connection to Russia in Central Asian countries. All students in school learn Russian as their second language, university courses are taught in Russian, most families have a member studying or working there, and many of the old reminders of the days of being under the USSR, such as memorials and statues in parks still remain. We always found it amusing to see products with USSR incorporated into the name, although it's not really, considering there are so many Russian products on the shelves here. It's an interesting contrast to such ex-Soviet countries as Georgia, where the break with all things Russian is very obvious.
 |
| USSR drink |
Having said that, there is also a very definite national pride in each of the Central Asian countries we visited. Since independence in 1991, they have slowly developed their individual traditions and cultures, and have begun to embrace them. It was lovely to see such pride and respect for their countries. National flags and statues of beloved historic heroes and poets, along with variations in clothes, food and architecture were all symbols of a patriotic spirit.
So, that was our second, fantastic four month trip to Central Asia- a part of the world we love for it's kind and courteous citizens, the colourful
bazaars, wonderful tiled Silk Road architecture, stunning mountains scenes and tiny rustic villages. Add to that the feeling of safety, the ease of getting around (apart from Tajikistan!), the low prices and the lack of tourists, and so many other positive factors. We will return again- there are still so many places to explore in this remarkable part of Asia.
Next we return to Ko Fruitopia for some R and R, so no blogs for a wee while. But stay tune for more adventures in 2020!
....some funny signs from our travels.....
