Uzbekistan

I searched the country name (as well as Central Asia) and didn't find anything

From June to August of last year, I took a trip with various stops with the first stop being in Korea, SE Asia, China, and eventually all the way to Iceland. Smack in the middle of this trip though was a 9 day stop in Uzbekistan in July.

Uzbekistan is the strangest place I've ever been to. From the police presence, the way currency works, to various other strange bureaucracies (visa was obviously required). Some of the cities I stayed in were completely devoid of ATMs. It's an Islamic country, but only to a cultural extent. Nothing pertaining to the religion is enforced, and everyone seemed mostly secular.

The official rate was $1 for about 32000 Uzbek Som, and the black market rate was $1 for about 64000 som (you really don't know what rate you will be charged, but mostly black market rates). The banknotes only came in 1000 and 5000...counting them was a pain in the arse.


I flew in from Beiling to Tashkent (the capital). I was one of about 4 white people on the flight, the other 3 were ethnic Russian women but were born and raised in Uzbekistan. The flight consisted of mostly people stocking up on random goods bought in China for resale in Uzbekistan..people literally had dollies, boxes, and crates of random shite.



When I landed and cleared customs, I was immediately stunned and the tone for this country from a police/government standpoint was set. When I got to the arrival area, it was totally deserted. I looked out toward the parking lot and that's where all the people were waiting to pick up folks. It turned out there are THREE security checkpoints (one in the parking lot where non-passengers can't go beyond, one at the front door of the airport, and then the usual one before your gate).

My initial currency exchange was with a taxi driver (literally everyone knows of a random somebody who can exchange money with you). I gave him $200 to exchange, and he opened up his glove compartment and gave me a brick of money that I had to carry in a black plastic bag because it wouldn't fit in my wallet.





July 13th- My first day after arrival I flew from Tashkent to Nukus, which is best known for being the nearest city of any size that was a good jumping off point for off roading trips to the receding Aral Sea, which I signed up for the next day. When I got to where I was staying in Nukus (the only place to stay in the city I could find online beforehand), I was informed there was a scheduled power cut to the city until 6 PM or something. Not a good time of year for such things.



July 14th, I woke up and departed with my group at about 8 AM. I joined 3 Polish travellers and the driver (no English, but the Polish folks knew Russian and English so they translated to me when needed). We left Nukus, and stocked up on snacks and some beer (interesting fact, Uzbekistan has NO alcohol licensure requirements to sell; you can buy it quite literally anywhere). After that, we drove for 8 hours until we arrived at the current shoreline of the Aral Sea as it continues to recede. Most of the trip was on former seafloor, and this is what almost all of it looked like the whole way:



We finally made it to the shoreline, and walked right up to the water (everyone jumped in to swim except me). It was like standing in wet play-doh. After that, tents were set up and the drivers cooked Plov (pretty much a stirfry of lamb, rice, and vegetables; the national dish of the country)





June 15th, we woke up, tore down camp, and got back in the jeep and pressed on over even more former seafloor until we reached the town of Moynaq. This place has brunted the most consequences of the disaster economically. We stopped at the monument depicting how badly the sea has been depleted, as well as walked down to where old rusted ships are simply sitting where they used to float. After this, we drove back to Nukus.





July 15th- Slept most of the morning and didn't do much except take in very limited sites of Nukus. Went to a museum where pictures were strictly prohibited.




July 16th- Flew back to Tashkent from Nukus. I didn't do anything in Tashkent, just holed up again, and bought a first class train ticket to Samarkand for the next day (not even $10).

July 17th- Took the train to Samarkand. A two hour ride in first class--the railroad system was very good and comfortable. Train station had similar security to the airport, so no fricking around there. Samarkand is a famous old Silk Road trading post. The most notable place there is the Registan. Pretty cool architecture inside and out; there's similar structures spread throughout that part of town.





July 18th-20th: I arranged with a driver in Samarkand to take me to another famous Silk Road trading city known as Bukhara. I rode with 3 other locals. It took 4 hours, multiple checkpoints and "WTF do you have a white person in your car?" looks from the checkpoint cops, but no real hassle and mostly friendly amusement. I made sure I got the front seat, because there was no AC (the driver charges extra) and three people sitting in the back. I truly feel bad for the middle guy in the back having two people sweat against him in the middle of the desert. Sites here included a fort called "The Ark", and nearby an old minaret.




July 20th- I took the train from Bukhara back to Tashkent and woke up at midnight July 21st to catch a 4 AM flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. When you depart the airport, you're required to account for every day you spent in the country by giving the customs officer a registration slip. Each time you check into a hotel/hostel, the staff registers you with the police station and gives you the registration slip issued by the place you stayed consisting of your name, and the dates you stayed there. I made damn sure to not lose a single one of them. I also made damn sure to have a cash declaration that was less than what I declared when I entered. Cash is scarce to them and taken pretty seriously.