Hello from Tashkent,
Arriving at the Seoul airport we noticed dozens of people in line to check in for our flight. They were pushing overloaded carts of huge tapped up boxes to ship as luggage. In the past we would have waited an hour in line to get our boarding passes. Thank goodness for the new “self check-in” service. No one was in line at that kiosk, so it only took a few minutes. As we boarded an old Airbus A330-300 wide-body aircraft for our 8 hour flight to Tashkent, we couldn’t help but notice, again, all the huge packages of taped up boxes people were bringing onboard. We found out at the other end, this flight was a “milk run” of sorts, for Uzbeks bringing “first world” goods back to their home country. When we walked off the airplane they literally ran to be first at the immigration counter and then at the tiny crowded baggage claim. It was total chaos there. Luggage carts ringed the conveyor belt three deep, as people tried to grab their giant boxes and drag them to their carts. An occasional suitcase dropped down onto the conveyor in between dozens of giant boxes.
We had to check our suitcases because they were over the “international” carry-on weight limit. So we were wrestling between the carts looking for our suitcases. Once through the baggage claim everyone lined up at customs while the agents cut open all the boxes to check the contents. Saved again, we were, by the “nothing to declare” door, where, of course, no one was waiting. We slipped through unnoticed. Since our flight arrived late at night, we had paid in advance for our hotel to send a car for us. There was a friendly young man, who spoke English well, standing at the exit with a sign reading “Carol Pucci.” So far so good! We walked to the parking lot with him but had a little trouble finding the car. Apparently he had not driven it there. The car was covered in dust, like it had been there a while. He started the car and then cleaned the dust off the windshield with the washer and wipers. Then, he asked me if I (from the back seat) could see out the windshield okay, because he had forgotten his glasses and couldn’t see very well. Fortunately it was late and there wasn’t much traffic. Off we went to the hotel. When we got near, he couldn’t find it. Eventually I had to give him directions to the hotel from the GPS on my iPhone. Thus was our introduction to Uzbekistan. It felt like a fun travel adventure was awaiting.
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan had been ruled as a police state by the same autocratic president, until two years ago, when he died. They were still aligned with Russia and not much had improved in their lives. Then, a new moderate President was elected and everything started to change. He began huge construction projects everywhere and is converting their Cyrillic alphabet to the Roman alphabet. It’s really confusing because the maps, signs etc. are mixed Cyrillic and Roman. Text everywhere is a hodge-podge of Uzbek in Cyrillic and Uzbek in Roman with English words mixed in.
Since the Uzbek currency is not yet convertible on the international financial market, it is very difficult to import foreign goods. That’s why people go to Seoul to buy things with dollars or euros, and bring them back as luggage. However, things are changing fast. Most of our hotels requested payment in US Dollars. They do have cash machines here, but they only dispense US Dollars with a VISA card from a foreign bank. You have to take the dollars to an Uzbek bank and trade them for Uzbek “Soms.” One of our hotels requested payment in Soms, because they said there was a law forbidding them from accepting foreign currency (I guess the other hotels aren’t following that law). So, we went to the bank machine and withdrew $245 in US Dollars. We then stepped to another window where we traded the Dollars for 2,000,000 Soms, a 2 inch thick stack of 10,000 Som bills, 200 of them! Even split between us it created quite a bulge in the pocket. Needless to say, things are really a bargain here if you are using US Dollars. A nice meal for two costs $12. A taxi ride across town is $1.65. A subway token costs 15 cents. An ice cream cone (now we’re getting to the real bargains) costs only 25 cents. It’s hard to spend any significant money here. 😉
Tashkent has a nice, but very old, three line subway system, the only one in Central Asia, we were told. It was built by the Russians during the Soviet years. The stations are works of art with domed ceilings, mosaics and all surfaces covered with marble or granite. However, they have not gotten any upgrades since their beginning. There are only a few escalators and no elevators. Everyone uses steps to get in and out of the tunnels. Signage is minimal and it’s hard for a stranger to figure out where you are going. They have done their best to keep them running, but the equipment is very old. It’s like stepping back in time. They’re noisy and bumpy, but they do get you where you want to go. There is an officer stationed at every entrance checking bags with a metal detector. One interesting contrast between here and Seoul is that in Seoul, 99% of the people are using mobile devices while riding. Here only 1% have mobile devices in hand.
The people here are very friendly here and a high percentage of them like to speak English. One day while we were waiting to meet a tour guide at a central monument, a group of soldiers came marching by. Suddenly they all stopped and crowded around us to get a “selfie” with these strange foreigners. Lots of people have been asking us to take pictures with them. The free tour guide walked us around the city for 2 hours giving us a sense of the culture and the history here. Uzbekistan feels like a very safe place to be. There are no threats like pickpockets or roaming bands of street kids or any chance of getting mugged. And, they haven’t yet figured out how to cheat or rip-off tourists like some Western Europe cities have. There are no touts following you around trying to get you to buy something or give them money. It’s a truly delightful place.
Cotton is one of the major export crops for Uzbekistan. Until the new president took office two years ago, every able bodied person in the country had to pick cotton for one month each year during the harvest. It was like military conscription, but if you had money you could pay someone else to do your month. Our tour guide said that he used to do it and that it wasn’t very hard. They didn’t have automated equipment like other parts of the world, so they had to get it done somehow.
The streets of Tashkent are lined with huge Soviet era buildings and monuments, with fountains everywhere. Unfortunately, none of the fountains were operating while we were here. The tour guide said that they were all off for the winter and come back on in May. However, the poor condition that some of them appeared to be in made me wonder if they ever work at all. Many of the monuments are ether being renovated or replaced. There is construction everywhere. Somewhat like Mexico, everywhere you walk hazards are lurking. Potholes, metal pipes, open holes, face level mounted equipment and trip hazards are everywhere. This city has seen better days but they are working hard to get it back in shape. Somewhat unusual for a large capital city like this, is the preponderance of trees, of all different types, planted everywhere. We were told that they were planted to provide shade on the hot summer days. They give the city a pleasant feel.
There are lots of newish cars on the streets, but not enough to create traffic jams yet. Interestingly, 94% (I looked this up) of the cars sold here are labeled “Chevrolet”, but they don’t look like Chevys. They are all kinds of makes and models, but the vast majority have a Chevy “bow tie” on them. General Motors has some kind of exclusive deal to sell cars here that I don’t quite understand. Other interesting factoids to report are: the toilet paper is like crape paper, it stretches in length about 50%; women “truck” their fresh baked bread to the bread market in old baby buggies; they have a permanent Circus that operates in a giant dome (we’re going to see it on our last day before flying out); they don’t yet understand the “coffee culture”, Carol ordered coffee at our first breakfast and they brought her a jar of Sanka crystals and a cup of hot water.
I’m writing this on a new high speed Spanish Talgo train, heading for our next destination. I clocked it at 115 mph with my iPhone GPS, but it mostly cruises around 100 mph. It’s not as fast as the trains in Spain we rode on last year, but it’s a lot faster than driving or taking the bus. They are very proud of their new train system. And they have new train stations, as well. Things are getting better by the day here.
That’s about it for Tashkent. In about 4 hours we’ll be in Bukhara, an ancient city that was a major stop-over on the “Silk Road” between China and Europe. More about that next time. I’ve added more pix to our photo gallery if you’d care to take a look.
If you haven’t seen Carol’s latest blog about Tashkent , check it out. She just published a new one:
https://carolapucci-tips.blogspot.com/2018/04/along-silk-road-slice-of-uzbek-life-in.html
Later…… your favorite travelers, Tom and Carol
Tashkent Photos
Click to Enlarge and Read Caption
Circus in Tashkent Photos
