Subscribe to this blog12 April 2008
Spice boys and backstreet girls
Tashkent, the Uzbek's capitol is a welcome refreshment after having been experiencing Moscow's pollution loaded streets. So far, each evening, there is some light rainfall which cleans the air and waters the trees. The result is quite spectacular: Fresh air, green trees and a unique smell of grass is greeting me every morning during sunrise.Currently, I am staying at a small hotel in a single room, since the budget allows for this. Tashkent is inexpensive - although most prices have doubled since the print of the "Lonely Planet" (LP) guidebook. Uzbek money comes in "Sum" with the biggest bank note coming at 1000 Sum. Since one US dollar currently equals about 1300 Sum, it is obvious that there is a stack of bank notes needed throughout the daily life. Some ATM simply can't cope with the sheer mechanical burden of having to output in average 50 banknotes for a 45$ worth of withdrawal. After some searching, I finally found one Visa ATM in a five star hotel which hands out at most 20'000 Sum ($18). But this gets me actually quite far: A 1.5 liter bottle of coke comes at 600 sum (45 cents), the average meal comes at about 2'500 sum (2 dollars). And there is another positive aspect since everyone has small bank notes: There is no need to search where to split large bank notes before going out (a burden which was actually quite present in Russia).
Many tourists do not like Tashkent, stating that it is not representative of the whole country. Lots of places are newly renovated and all tourist areas are spotless clean. I personally have no problem with that so far. It is a welcome change after Moscow and it seems to me that Tashkent provides the perfect setting to get immersed in an oriental setting before continuing to Samarkand.And I say this loud and proud: Tashkent has a nicer underground metro than Moscow's (which is highly overrated). It is a shame that picture taking there is not allowed for matters of Uzbek national security. Police patrols are omnipresent in the metro and I got stopped so far two times for document control - both which went without incident after all papers (passport and visa) checked out fine.
The city is mostly divided between an old town containing historical sites and an absolutely faboulus market (Chorzu) - and the new part of the city celebrating new age heroes and the current president. Yes, Uzbek history has quite some spots, but the mentionned guidebook is - for my taste - a bit too cynical about it. If you want to read about Uzbek history, get another good book (as I did). The LP for "Central Asia" (containing Uzbekistan) just is useful for street maps and lists of hostels.However, I admit, that Timur was a better source of information during the journey to Tashkent and I might be a bit biased. While here, I was (and am) eating as much as I can (hope mum reads this), since Timur gave me a list with Uzbek meals I absolutely should try. Actually, the smell of fresh bread and grilled shashlik is omnipresent throughout the city - especially during lunch time. This is as good as it gets and I could easily overstay. But I'll have to move on.
Being in a hotel comes with a disadvantage though: I am roaming the streets here on my own (but at my pace) without other backpackers. That is just fine right now as it is a welcome change. But for my next town, Samarkand, I have arranged a B&B accomodation (seems to be famous there). Actually, I'll be leaving tomorrow morning at 7am local time on the high-speed train linking Tashkent and Samarkand. The ticket for this three and a half hour journey would have cost in first class the excessive amount of 22'500 sum ($20). This is why I got only second class for 11'100 sum (leaving the conversion calculation up to you).I'll surely miss the spice boys and the backstreet girls from Chorzu market in Tashkent. They kept me and my camera busy for most of today. It was actually my first bazaar, where I wasn't constantly being harassed by aggressive salespeople to buy something. Uzbekistan is definitely different - in a positive way.
Labels: Uzbekistan
posted by Reto at
13:56
SumSum!