....our previous post about our time on East Coast Malaysia.....
Uzbekistan Airways isn't exactly renowned for being world class when it comes to food, service or entertainment, but we were so excited to be finally arriving in Uzbekistan to begin our Central Asian adventure, it hardly mattered. We were surprised to see much fertile farmland below us upon descending into the capital, Tashkent, having thought most of country was desert. Contrary to what we had read, Tashkent airport was a breeze, and we sailed through with no trouble. Half an hour after landing, we were in a taxi to our hostel, with the driver trying to convince us to change money at a terrible rate.
Our first challenge was getting our heads around the local currency- the Uzbeki som. The official rate for changing the US dollar was 3,900, but the black market rate was 8,300, which made a huge difference to our budget. The black market was very open, with money changers on every corner, and most hotels changing dollars. US dollars ruled, and all accommodation had to be paid for with it by law- everything else is paid for with Uzbek som.
Once done, we were free to explore and enjoy Tashkent- a huge place with great wide streets, lovely mulberry and apricot trees for shade, fragrant basil planted everywhere, plenty of scruffy parks and squares, Soviet style apartments and monuments, and a surprising lack of rubbish. It has to be on par with Singapore for cleanliness!!
Tashkent has a turbulent history, with the Arabs taking over in the 8th century, Genghis Khan razing the place in the 13th century, then growing successful under the Mongols, Timur and the Shaybanids. It's long been a place for travelers on the Silk Road. A huge earthquake destroyed many of the structures in 1966, hence the modern look of much of it.
The highlight of the city for us was Chorsu market. This place had an incredible amount of fresh fruit, and we wandered wide eyed around the stalls which sold raspberries, strawberries, cherries, juicy apricots, plums, peaches, mulberries, melons, apples, and much much more, before buying as much as we could carry! Give us seasonal summer fruits over tropical any day!! Pomegranates and persimmons, which Uzbekistan is famous for were unfortunately not in season. Other sections of the market included beautiful looking vegetables, spices, pulses, nuts and dried fruits, breads, dairy, sweets and meats- including horse, which is very popular here. One friendly stall owner gave us two different pieces of horse to try- the first a very fatty sausage, and the second tasted something like corned beef. The bazaar atmosphere was exotic with women wearing headscarves and long flowery dresses, and men's heads topped with little embroidered caps. The sellers were curious and cautiously generous, with many little freebie tidbits coming our way. We came across the section with cooked food, and despite wanting to try some of the local "delicacies", neither of us could stomach the fatty, oily food that was on offer, and instead stocked up on picnic items- fresh flat bread, huge red tomatoes, herbs, salads, cheese, thick yogurt, and of course, all that fruit! This was to be our staple meals all through Uzbekistan. We did notice the interesting fact that when produce comes fresh from the farm, as well as looking, smelling and tasting amazing, it doesn't last long, unlike in the West where things keep for days, or weeks in the fridge.
We were curious about the ethnic diversity of people- there didn't seem to be a particular Uzbek "look" as such. Some people had quite dark complexions, others had more of an Asian look and others were fair with light eyes. Their long and complex history, and their location at the crossroads of the Silk Road, was evident in people's faces. Uzbeks are historically a settled population, although ties to the Silk Road means they are good traders and hospitable to travelers. Gold teeth are all the rage here, and it's very common to see men and women with entire mouths full of them!
We mainly used the easy and clean Soviet-era metro system to get around Tashkent. We loved the grand stations deep underground and the swaying old carriages, and particularly liked the station Kosmonavtlar, with it's space theme and murals depicting various cosmonauts- including Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space (no photos allowed, unfortunately).
Attractions around the city included the pale blue, onion domed Russian Orthodox Cathedral; a railway museum packed with old Soviet engines and passenger coaches; the "old" part of Tashkent (where there seemed to be a lot of concrete and not much character); various old mosques and mausoleums; and a flea market full of all sorts of old junk.
The Khast Imom area- the religious center of Uzbekistan, was a good introduction for us to the beauty of Islamic buildings here, with the typical turquoise domes and tile work we would see all over Uzbekistan. We felt lucky to see the enormous deerskin 7th century Uthman Koran- supposedly the oldest in the world, as well as many other rare and old Korans from all over the world in a small museum.
Evenings were spent in the hostel where we had chosen to stay. It was new and spanking clean, but very much an old style place for travelers to meet, swap tales and advice and unwind. We obtained some useful tips for our onward travels from chatty fellow travelers and laid back staff. Most other guests seemed to be doing huge Europe to Asia (or vice versa) type trips, many on bikes and motorbikes.
Our second challenge was language. Although all Central Asian countries have their own languages (some have many), they all speak Russian, so we decided that it would be most useful to learn the majority of phrases in Russian, plus a few local words in each country we visited. Having said that, Russian is a very difficult language and Sal had her work cut out for her (Richard was useless as usual!)
Uzbekistan Airways isn't exactly renowned for being world class when it comes to food, service or entertainment, but we were so excited to be finally arriving in Uzbekistan to begin our Central Asian adventure, it hardly mattered. We were surprised to see much fertile farmland below us upon descending into the capital, Tashkent, having thought most of country was desert. Contrary to what we had read, Tashkent airport was a breeze, and we sailed through with no trouble. Half an hour after landing, we were in a taxi to our hostel, with the driver trying to convince us to change money at a terrible rate.
 |
| Slightly over excited on the plane |
Our first challenge was getting our heads around the local currency- the Uzbeki som. The official rate for changing the US dollar was 3,900, but the black market rate was 8,300, which made a huge difference to our budget. The black market was very open, with money changers on every corner, and most hotels changing dollars. US dollars ruled, and all accommodation had to be paid for with it by law- everything else is paid for with Uzbek som.
 |
| One of these 5,000 som notes is worth about 80 cents! |
Once done, we were free to explore and enjoy Tashkent- a huge place with great wide streets, lovely mulberry and apricot trees for shade, fragrant basil planted everywhere, plenty of scruffy parks and squares, Soviet style apartments and monuments, and a surprising lack of rubbish. It has to be on par with Singapore for cleanliness!!
 |
| Backstreets of Tashkent |
Tashkent has a turbulent history, with the Arabs taking over in the 8th century, Genghis Khan razing the place in the 13th century, then growing successful under the Mongols, Timur and the Shaybanids. It's long been a place for travelers on the Silk Road. A huge earthquake destroyed many of the structures in 1966, hence the modern look of much of it.
The highlight of the city for us was Chorsu market. This place had an incredible amount of fresh fruit, and we wandered wide eyed around the stalls which sold raspberries, strawberries, cherries, juicy apricots, plums, peaches, mulberries, melons, apples, and much much more, before buying as much as we could carry! Give us seasonal summer fruits over tropical any day!! Pomegranates and persimmons, which Uzbekistan is famous for were unfortunately not in season. Other sections of the market included beautiful looking vegetables, spices, pulses, nuts and dried fruits, breads, dairy, sweets and meats- including horse, which is very popular here. One friendly stall owner gave us two different pieces of horse to try- the first a very fatty sausage, and the second tasted something like corned beef. The bazaar atmosphere was exotic with women wearing headscarves and long flowery dresses, and men's heads topped with little embroidered caps. The sellers were curious and cautiously generous, with many little freebie tidbits coming our way. We came across the section with cooked food, and despite wanting to try some of the local "delicacies", neither of us could stomach the fatty, oily food that was on offer, and instead stocked up on picnic items- fresh flat bread, huge red tomatoes, herbs, salads, cheese, thick yogurt, and of course, all that fruit! This was to be our staple meals all through Uzbekistan. We did notice the interesting fact that when produce comes fresh from the farm, as well as looking, smelling and tasting amazing, it doesn't last long, unlike in the West where things keep for days, or weeks in the fridge.
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| Lamb bums for sale, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Horse meat for sale, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Meat section, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Apricot seller, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Mulberry seller, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Baskets for sale, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Beautiful array of fresh fruit, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Egg lady, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Yummy Tashkent bread, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Horse sausage, anyone? |
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| Seller at Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Colourful buying and selling, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Typical ceramics, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Smelly balls of dried yogurt/cheese, Chorsu Bazaar |
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| Mmmm, love those cherries, Chorsu Bazaar |
We were curious about the ethnic diversity of people- there didn't seem to be a particular Uzbek "look" as such. Some people had quite dark complexions, others had more of an Asian look and others were fair with light eyes. Their long and complex history, and their location at the crossroads of the Silk Road, was evident in people's faces. Uzbeks are historically a settled population, although ties to the Silk Road means they are good traders and hospitable to travelers. Gold teeth are all the rage here, and it's very common to see men and women with entire mouths full of them!
We mainly used the easy and clean Soviet-era metro system to get around Tashkent. We loved the grand stations deep underground and the swaying old carriages, and particularly liked the station Kosmonavtlar, with it's space theme and murals depicting various cosmonauts- including Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space (no photos allowed, unfortunately).
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| Metro sign, Tashkent |
Attractions around the city included the pale blue, onion domed Russian Orthodox Cathedral; a railway museum packed with old Soviet engines and passenger coaches; the "old" part of Tashkent (where there seemed to be a lot of concrete and not much character); various old mosques and mausoleums; and a flea market full of all sorts of old junk.
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| Russian fantasy books, flea market, Tashkent |
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| Wonder where the number 49 went in it's day, Tashkent Railway Museum |
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| Tashkent Railway Museum |
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| Cool sign on train, Tashkent Railway Museum |
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| Literally piles of junk, flea market Tashkent |
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| Old Russian fridge, flea market Tashkent |
The Khast Imom area- the religious center of Uzbekistan, was a good introduction for us to the beauty of Islamic buildings here, with the typical turquoise domes and tile work we would see all over Uzbekistan. We felt lucky to see the enormous deerskin 7th century Uthman Koran- supposedly the oldest in the world, as well as many other rare and old Korans from all over the world in a small museum.
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| Carved posts, mosque, Khast Imon, Tashkent |
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| Outside mosque, Khast Imon, Tashkent |
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| The beginning of the beauty! Khast Imon, Tashkent |
Evenings were spent in the hostel where we had chosen to stay. It was new and spanking clean, but very much an old style place for travelers to meet, swap tales and advice and unwind. We obtained some useful tips for our onward travels from chatty fellow travelers and laid back staff. Most other guests seemed to be doing huge Europe to Asia (or vice versa) type trips, many on bikes and motorbikes.
 |
| Our room, Tashkent hostel |
Our second challenge was language. Although all Central Asian countries have their own languages (some have many), they all speak Russian, so we decided that it would be most useful to learn the majority of phrases in Russian, plus a few local words in each country we visited. Having said that, Russian is a very difficult language and Sal had her work cut out for her (Richard was useless as usual!)