From cold Helsinki to hot and hectic Tashkent

We knew our first two days would be tiring, but man I'm exhausted right now. Writing a first update during the hottest time of day from our airconditioned hotel room in amazing Bukhara.

Snow and cold, that's how Helsinki looked like the week before we left, and that's how Moscow looked like when we arrived there after the first stage of our long travel day. We had a 5+ hour overlay at the capital of our Russian neighbors, after which our slightly delayed flight (in a Boeing 747, where we could choose from many movies and shows to watch) would bring us to Tashkent, at 3 in the morning. This is where it got a bit nerve wrecking: obtaining our Visa. Since Finland doesn't have an Uzbek embassy, we had to get it on arrival. We had all the paperwork, but the rules are not so clear, and this isn't Finland anymore, you never know. When we arrived at passport control, the 24/7 visa section was closed... Passport-checking-guy told us to wait. After everyone from the plane went through, the visa guys decide to show up, and after paying some crisp, clean dollar bills, we quickly had our Visas! One thing we learned quickly, is that you just have to hold out your hand and a number of cars (mostly Chevrolet here, btw will stop to discuss a price for your ride. Haggling is the name of the game, and you always leave for less than half of the first offer, usually up to 5000 som in Tasjkent city, which is less than a dollar.

So we quickly arrived to our hostel by taxi, whose driver persuaded us to buy some som from him. This is a normal side-business here, exchanging USD $ for som... where you get 4000 for 1$ at a bank, on a market you can get up to 8000 som. After only a few hours of sleep, we went to discover Tashkent.

Impressions from Uzbekistan's capital, 4the biggest city of former Soviet-Union: it's massive, hectic, hot (35 degrees), surprisingly green and good old Mother Russia is visible everywhere. Big, wide, grandiose rectangular government buildings, squares and parks reminding of Soviet architecture are all around, many built by and for Islam Karimovs, ruler of Uzbekistan since the fall of the Soviet-Union until last year. The old metro is no difference and a great way of transportation around the city and escaping the heat (pic).

 

 

 

People are friendly, and some talk little bits of English, where Russian is the universal language here. We quickly met some young Uzbek friends who could speak English and were eager to practice it with us and help us a bit finding our way around and translating while haggling taxis and buying money. 

After a hot day, we got our backpacks and started the next phase of our long first travel day: the overnight train to Bukhara. A typical old Soviet train with platzkart and coupe sections with beds that was completely full, and of course 20 minutes late. Many people travel by the large train network in Uzbekistan, which are mostly old trains, without wifi, electricity or air-conditioning, which means it was basically a sauna on wheels, and that sucks if you wanna sleep. It's a very lively, hectic experience with so many people, and where Finns or Dutchies would just stick to themselves and check their phone or read a book, the Uzbeks talk, shout, laugh, and eat and drink together. It's a must-see around these parts, but for us it also meant another night with barely any sleep. 

We arrived at Bukhara at 6 in the morning and spoiler-alert: this centuries old hub where wise men came to practice or learn Islam and science is filled to the brim with Mosques and Madrassas and is just gorgeous. More on that later.