Uzbekistan - by Tina, Nico and everybody else (but mostly Tina)

At last! Here is our blog from Uzbekistan. We have been having too much fun in Kyrgyzstan to think about blogging.

Uzbekistan is another ex Russian state, although rather less officious than Turkmenistan it has police check points along the way. At one such stop, a very official bloke and his sidekick (armed with an AK47) boarded and walked through the truck. The official woke Daniel (who was sleeping at the front of the truck) by poking him with his truncheon - very funny for us - not so funny for Daniel. The official thought it was a great joke and let us go on our way. Uzbekistan is full of quirky stories just like this, so we decided to share everyone's thoughts, insights, favourite bits and funny stories about the quirkiness of Uzbekistan.

Fake border guards

According to Louise, Uzbekistan was the first genuine "exotic" place we have entered into. Her unforgettable experiences were the encounters with the local people, all decked out with their GOLD teeth, the Tajek people and the mono brow they draw on their toddlers (to enhance their looks) and the sparkly, fancy- dress like wedding dresses that populate the shop windows.

Wedding dresses

Mark, our resident photographer, has been recording all the random idiosyncrasies along the way. In Uzbekistan this included three wheel tractors, overloaded Lada's, wooden police vehicles, policemen and lolly pop men disbursed on the side or middle of different roads as well as all the "fake" products. Kitkats here are called Ikikats and don't quite taste the same - but that hasn't stopped us from eating them...

Bulldozer or tractor

Fake police car

Ikikat

Fake?

Three wheeled tractor

Mark

Side-car bike

Will this go through customs?

Overloaded lada

Overloaded donkey

Enough said...

All this eating and too much sitting on the truck has some of us gaining weight - for Lorri it culminated in a trip to the dentist in Tashkent, no easy feat when you don't speak the language! Lorri, as a Canadian especially enjoyed the Canadian hot dogs in Tashkent, the retail therapy throughout Uzbekistan and as a quilter, the silk weaving factory tour in Fergana where she purchased some locally woven material to add to her ever more interesting quilt (in progress) that showcases our journey along the silk route.

Lorri in an 18th Century burkha

Carpet weaving is fun

"I like tiles"

Dyeing the silk

For Keith it was finally seeing, in all their glory, the Mosques, Madrasas and Mausoleums as well as the fabulous blue tiles in Registan Square that he had been looking at longingly in travel magazines. He is quoted as saying that "It was fabulous to see them in reality". Steve purchased the largest traditional hat so far on this trip at the Registan Square market and Keith wore it on the walk home with much joking and laughter and with many photo requests from the locals.

Hats

Keith hiding out

Timur mausoleum

It is this quirk of us becoming the exhibit, with locals and local tourists wanting to have their picture taken with us, with the truck, with anything to do with us - that Mel found unforgettable about Uzbekistan. When we stopped to take photos of anything, we would have locals asking if they could have their photo taken with us - leaving us all feeling like pop stars... just another random, funny, cool thing about Uzbekistan.

Pop stars

Rock stars

Our local guide in Uzbekistan was Bahram, aka Bek, and he was funny (had heard of and quoted Borat), was an eternal fountain of knowledge, with facts, info and helpful advice about everything to do with Uzbekistan, its monuments, history, religious and political views.

Bek, the man

Personal housekeeping on a long trip is always a hit and miss affair, so when it is time for a haircut it can be a nerve-wracking experience. T-Money and Tina found a small hole in the wall of a salon in Khiva, so without English or running water they both managed to fit into the micro studio and disturb the lovely hairdresser's lunch and get their hair cut. Tina went first and somehow in the translation of not too short she ended up with the shortest cut she has ever had. T-Money learned from this and ended up with not enough chopped off. Tina rounded off her salon experience (with we think the hairdresser's husband) threading her eyebrows, with much giggling and laughter going on throughout the whole process.

Great haircut

Speaking of personal hygiene, in Bukhara, Alicia, T-Money and Tina headed off to a centuries old hammam, or Turkish bath, where they got to know each other much better and after a great scrub and massage from some young fit men they trooped home through the market with their wet underwear in a plastic bag! This was an experience not to be missed - especially for the two "proper" Brits that were not used to having their white bits out in public. It was a personal first for Alicia and T-Money.

After all the truck snacks and junk food stops along the way, Alicia is thankful for being a member of the ORC, otherwise known as the Odyssey Running Club and she especially enjoyed being able to get up and close to the mosque in Samarkand as the group went on their early morning run. As an avid photographer, the early morning light for photos of Bukhara was also a highlight. Uzbekistan by far has had the best-tiled buildings to see and photograph.

Tiles everywhere

Even having dinner between the tiles

Wayne making the tiles look sexy

Tiles

Bruce - our resident ice cream aficionado, gave the thumbs up for the bucket of multi-coloured, multi-flavoured soft serve ice cream he had during our walking tour of Samarkand. And as a whole, advises that Uzbekistan ice creams should be an Odyssey staple - right up there with cake for breakfast, which we have had on many occasions.

I scream, you scream, Bruce screams for ice cream

Dave, on the other hand, really enjoyed three consecutive nights in our lovely B and B in Bukhara. Some of us believe this was because it was the best breakfast yet - with our own egg chef (the spices were fabulous). Others believe it was the boys night out at the Eldorado nightclub with the hotel reception bloke, Jason, Jordan and Daniel (being offered fruit salad with your beer and then breaking the 11pm curfew) that made Bukhara a favourite for Dave.

The egg man

Bukhara was also high on Cal's list, more for the history and richly woven stories. In particular, the "Trickster" statue, a Sufi prophet on a donkey that you see everywhere as a small ceramic figurine, and the Zero Astra tiles where circles have replaced the geometric patterns with the symbolism and meaning being tolerance for all religions.

The trickster statue

Figurines

The Zero Astra tile 

For some it was the exit from Turkmenistan and entry into Uzbekistan that was unforgettable. For Wayne, it was the "fake" guards in the watch towers upon entry into Uzbekistan and the funny way that they take the Mickey out of the over zealous officialdom in Turkmenistan. For Jordan it was the entry official who spoke very good English and advised that he was from Stoke on Trent. Jordan was not sure if he was joking or not - until without a smile, the official advised it was a joke... Jason's toilet roll escaping across the floor as he had his bag searched and him chasing it and rolling it back up was also really funny.

Other things that rate a mention are Jordan getting "mugged" off for a can of coke (8000 SOM or £3), but he assures us it was okay because he was really hung over and needed it! Jordan also sleeping through his room mate Steve falling out of the shower, ripping the shower curtain off and screaming out as he hit the deck - please note no lasting injuries incurred.

For Jason it was mounting large plastic camels for the photo of the evening. More traditional hats being purchased, and hookah lessons - all of which occurred in Bukhara. It was also Louise's walking tour of Tashkent with the ex-soviet underground getting us around, the Russian bazaar and the plov with horse sausage for lunch at the Plov Centre before having to find our way back to the hotel on a different train line, with a different name for the same stop... Another one of those interestingly odd things about Uzbekistan.

Steve's memorable bits include "us lot" making the worst dressed wedding procession ever, as we made our way from Tashkent in six taxi's hurtling through the country side to make it to Fergana, the silk factory, the Toj Mahal hotel and catching up with Mikkel, Nico and Calypso. (A maximum of 5 people per vehicle through the pass, so Mikkel and Nico drove Calypso through the night) - it was great to catch up with them. And of course Steve's purchase of the very large, very long, camel hair hat - check out the photos!

One of Bek's famous walks

Local ladies

Daniel and his Uzbek girlfriend

Proud men of the silk route

Steve is a hunter

Jason's camel humps

Wayne looking sexy again

Registan Square

Luke summed up Uzbekistan as each of the places we have been to, having their own charm. Khiva was very exotic, especially coming from Ashgabat and Baku. There was much more to Bukhara, more variety to the buildings (which were also better preserved than in Khiva). Samarkand uniquely integrated modernity with history, Tashkent was exactly what you would expect an ex Russian/Soviet city to be and the Fergana Valley was a green luscious food bowl that made a very nice change from city life.

So there you have it - Uzbekistan in all its exotic, weird and not to be missed glory... with a bit of luck, something in this post will lead the reader to add Uzbekistan as a place to visit - a definite to do within the wacky Stans.

All in all - a great success!!