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Uzbekistan |
From our own experience
Accomodation: Every self respectable town has a hotel/ guesthouse or alike (sports hotel at a tennis court in Gullistan). Expect to pay between US$5 and US$10 per person per night. We found Uzbekistan rather expensive on the value/quality ratio. Nice guesthouses can be found in Tashkent, Bughara and Samarkand. Bad ones in the Fergana valley (for US$9,- in Qoqand, you get the cockroaches for free). Never give up asking for a hotel, in Angren we slept for free in an apartment. You can put your tent everywhere, as long as it is out of sight of the main road. Some farmers will look at you, but don’t bather you any further.
OVIR registration: Officialy tourists need to register at the OVIR office in every little village/town/city they stay overnight. Practically this is impossible. If you are in a town where the guesthouse doesn’t register for you (outside the touristy areas), forget about it. Our aim was to get registered once, so we could show it at the border if necessary. When we arrived at the office the officer asked us politely (three times) what we came to do. So even after explaining (three times) that we were here to register and a telephone call to his boss (?) he said we could go without any business done.
Visa: Yes, we had a 30 day visa, but most countries need a letter of invitation from an Uzbek citizen or an Uzbek tourist organisation to get a visa. We got in contact with an Uzbek via the Lonely planet Thorntree. With our passportnumber and a copy via the fax, he sent his letter of invitation to the Uzbek ambassy nearest to us. We paid him when we arrived in Uzbekistan. Later it seemed that our visaburo (Netherlands: www.visumdienst.nl) could also arrange it for us.
People: Very friendly, hospitable and always curious. Take your time to talk to them. We were always offered something (watermelon or vodka by the police, watermelon by shop owners, watermelon by locals and lots of tea). When they watch you sitting on the pavement or a wooden bench they will offer you a carpet to sit on. If they ask you what you are cycling for, just tell them you are a ‘sportsman’… cycling for holiday/fun is difficult to understand. People will often offer you Vodka. We didn’t experience any drunken Uzbeks.
Clothing: Dress ‘conservative’ (especially in Ferghana valley). Wear a 3/4 (bicycle) pants and long sleeves.
Road blocks/police: When you arrive and depart of every town (especially Ferghana valley), you will find a police road block or checkpoint. Also you can find them in the middle of nowhere. The officials are always very friendly and are more interested in the way your passport and the visa look then in the actual contents. The police will often request to drink vodka with you. We always politely rejected by saying we are ‘sportsmen’ and the combination of cycling and alcohol are not a good option.
Vaccinations: Russian encephalitis and Rabies (because we are cycling for a long time).
Food: Don’t be surprised that you will find fat in almost everything. There is not much variety as you can find in Thailand. Most of the time we chose between Plov (rice with carrot) and Shaslik (beef sate with lots of fat in between). Tip: take bread, cut it open, lay the Shashlik stick in, pull the stick out and you have a nice hamburger. As breakfast we bought a (frisbee shaped) bread and some and eggs which we fried next to the road.
Water: We purified the water. There is a public tap or ‘broken’ water pipe in every village. We expect that you can drink it from the tap like in Kyrgyzstan, but we were cautious in the beginning. Water bottles are not hard to find, except that it is all carbonated/sparkling water.
Safety: The police in Tashkent can be a hassle according to many. We didn’t experience anything, except that our taxi was stopped in the middle of the night when we arrived in Tashkent and our passports got checked. The story is that some police officers will hold your passport and only give it back after a donation (we didn’t hear any of these stories on our trip).
Language: Most persons speak and read Russian (Cyrillic). Bring a Russian phrasebook with Cyrillic writings in it instead of a (Lonely Planet) ‘Central Asian Phrasebook’. When you pronounce it wrong, they can not read our ‘Roman’ letters, and you’re stuck.
Money: Local currency is Sum, but they expect that you pay in US$ at guesthouses in the tourist areas.
Road conditions: All roads are tarred and of good quality (Bughara to the east). Bring a torch and back light for the tunnels between Angren and Qoqand.
Traffic behaviour: Normal, not aggressive. Always encouraged by busses and Lorries.
Public transport and bicycles: Train: we took the train from Tashkent to Bughara (US$18,- for a four persons coupe for 12 hours). One bicycle we placed in the luggage area above and one on the upper bed. The luggage went into the luggage area under the benches. We bribed the conductor that no other ‘non-ticketed’ persons were aloud in our cabin who get on the train on the way. I also staid in the door opening till the train left, to make sure no people without a ticket would get in our coupe (just asked them if they had a ticket). On request of the train master we removed the wheels from the bicycles. We heard a story by two French girls (without bicycle) who took the train to Nukus the conductor said their ticket was not in order and they had to leave the train immediately (actually he wanted a donation), but the others said they just should keep sitting on the train. Often if you’re bullied, just smile and most of the times they can not hold up their act for a long time. Taxi: Two MTB’s easily fit (upside down) in the backside of a Lada. If it’s a local (bit smaller) product, one in the trunk and one on the roof. Bring some small straps to tighten the bicycles and prevent damage (better then the local ropes).
To/from the airport: We arranged a pick-up by the guesthouse via e-mail, with a Lada.
Maps: We brought an topographic aviation map with elevation lines (1:1.000.000). This aviation map had sometimes old Soviet names on it (which doesn’t need to be a negative thing). Additional to this map we brought a Central Asia map from Gizi, which indicated the road types.
Internet: (2003) Available in the main cities (Tashkent, Samarkand or Qoqand), but very slow.
From the World factbook (2002)
Go to : History
of the Silk road
History
of Uzbekistan 1900 – 1991 (independence)
Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. The Aral lake, former 3rd largest lake in the world. In the 50’s Moscow decided to increase the productivity of cotton in central asia. For this they digged a 1400km long channel from Amoe Darja to the Kaspic sea. Also artifisal lakes were created to irrigate the cotton fields. This reduced the water flow towards the Aral lake so much that in the last 10 years the water level of the Aral lake has dropped 15m and the salt concentration has doubled. The sure line has withdrawn, the land dried out and the salt was blown to the fertile land and became desert. In 1988 the water level dropped so much that 2 lakes were created. This is one of the largest environmental disasters ever. From 1982 no fish could be catched due to the salt concentration, they were distinct (comparison 400,000m3 fish in the past).
Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. The important Islamic centers and its weakening economy is a severe chance for extremism. "Current concerns include insurgency by Islamic militants based in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, a nonconvertible currency, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization". President Karimov is very much aware of this situation. After the indepence it seemed that the Islam had survived communism. Or was underground for years. All Islamic rituals were intact, but never shown in public. Now it is free to practise the Islam again. The Capital Tashken is the largest city in central Asia (2.1 milion inhibitants). The city was probably established around the 1st century B.C. and was then called Ming Oeroek (Thousand apricot trees).
Geographical facts:
Population:
Government and economy: Republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch. Independent sinces 1 September 1991 (from Soviet Union). New constitution adopted 8 December 1992. Currency: Uzbekistani sum (UZS).
Links:
| ICARP - Interactive Central Asia Resource Project | http://www.icarp.org/ |
| Silk Route By Rail - Introduction | http://www.johndarm.clara.net/silkroute/intro.html |
This page is last updated: April 2004