Crossed into Kazakhstan

Saturday, July 12th

Crossed into Kazakhstan. Very long day and several hours spent at the border. Uzbekistan turned out to be one of the unexpected highlights of our trip. Now we were on our way through Kazakhstan and onto European Russia.

Nukus. July 11, 2014

Friday, July 11th

The drive to Nukus was quite uneventful. We made the journey in just over 3 hours. The fuel we picked up in Khiva was working, but, Sterlin was grumbling a little under heavy acceleration. So, we went lightly on the gas pedal.

We arrived at our hotel to find that they did not accept US dollars and this our last stay in Uzbekistan almost wiped us out of our supply of local currency. The order of events for the day was set, 1) get lunch with remaining local currency, 2) get some more local currency on the black market before 3) get some gasoline on the black market with new money. We went in search of the 'Sheraton Cafe', which is a hard place to find, even if you are looking in the right place. We walked past it three times before the locals made it clear which unmarked door we had to enter. Once inside we were treated to a pretty good lunch. The fuel buying was not so successful. Our hotel staff advised that Nukus was currently "lacking" in fuel and they weren't sure when new supplies would arrive. But, if we wanted, we could get fuel "off the street", but we should be very careful of the fuel quality. This lack of fuel was really quite frustrating.

Armed with a map drawn on the back of a paper napkin, Stephen went off in search of these street merchants. Surprisingly enough they are not hard to find. Just look for someone selling coca cola, cigarettes and ice-cream and say "Benzin". Before you know it a dozen or so kids are around trying to get into your car and negotiate the deal. Then an adult will turn-up and you pay the asking price. Next, fuel in recycled water containers emerges from behind walls and is funneled into your fuel tank or jerry cans. Very hard to tell the quality of the fuel or if it is even 91 octane. 40 litres was purchased from one vendor for USD $50 and another 20 litres from another vendor for USD $20 and some local som. We hoped it would be enough to make it to Kazakhstan where we could get the good stuff.

Once back at our hotel a review of our local cash reserves showed we had the equivalent of $3 USD left. So, we broke out the emergency pot-noodles for dinner. Caroline convinced the hotel to sell us 3 beers for USD $5. We think they took pity on us.

Early to bed.

Khiva. July 9-10, 2014

Wednesday, July 9th

The drive from Bukhara to Khiva was 430 kms through the Kyzylkum Desert, a journey that 'the one that went before us' took 10 hours to complete. So we woke up early, had a massive breakfast and hit the road by 8am. Early for us. We drive slowly compared to most, so we set off worried it would be a very long day on very bad roads. Turned out the road was not as bad as we anticipated, and we managed the feat in a mere 8 hours. In places the road was bad and we could only make 40 kph; in other places it was excellent. Excellent, this was after all the newly upgraded E40, but for the posted speed limit which was a frustratingly slow 50 or 60kph. We knew speed traps were present (again from 'the one that went before us', and stuck religiously to the speed limit. There was not a lot to see, except desert and the occasional roadside cafe and closed petrol station. The 'gas' stations, as in the stations selling methane or propane, were open.

Till now we'd always found a 'Benzin' station when we needed it. As we suspected that changed to further West we got in Uzbekistan. Why it is more of an issue here than anywhere else we did not find out. The fact is that Uzbekistan is a major gas producer, so everything runs on gas. Including cars. Which explained the constant smell of gas we'd been noticing in towns - it took us a few days to figure out that it was the cars we were smelling.

So we set the cruise control and just sat back and relaxed, stopping only for bio breaks. Good news, apart from being stopped for registration control, we didn't get pulled over by the police.

From potholes and sand drifts...

to the beautiful E40 Highway... with restrictions...

... and back to this.

Khiva, or more acurately Itchan Kala (the old walled inner city, a Unesco World Heritage Site), was amazing!

It wasn't long after arriving at Hotel Xiva Atabek, our homestay (a first for us on this trip) that we ventured out and braved the 40°C temperatures in search of some food and a little sight seeing. And although the old town is small, it is jam packed with wonderfully preserved buildings. Around every corner we found something impressive.
Caroline snapped a few pictures as the sun started to set and the colors started to change. We concluded the night with a few beers in the living room of our homestay.

Kalta Minor Minaret. Begun in 1851 but never finished.

Kalta Minor Minaret.

Islom-Hoja Minaret and Medressa.

Thursday, July 10th

After breakfast we headed out to do touristy things. First off we went to the West Gate to get some entrance tickets for the day. Unlike Bukhara and Samarkand, here we could buy a single combined ticket to access most of the sights. First stop was the Isfandyiar Palace - outside the city walls -, a multi-room decorative spectacular. We were the only tourists in the place, a situation that would repeat itself throughout the day. We passed through the North Gate back into the old city and found a set of stairs leading up to a walkway along the wall. Third stop was the Ark or town Fort. The courtyard and throne room were nice, but the main reason to visit for us was the watchtower. As we entered the Fort we met into two very nice Belgian ladies and soon struck up a conversation. Other than the Belgians, the Fort was deserted. We climbed the watch tower as a practice run. (Later in the evening we returned to capture photos as the sun was setting). We attempted to find some real coffee and failed dismally so headed back to the homestay and the luxury of our air conditioned room. But we soon got hungry and headed off to a very fine lunch at Bir Gumbaz restaurant.

Isfandiar Palace.

North Gate.

Detail of wall inside The Fort.

After lunch and with the help of the owner of the homestay, Stephen went in search of "Benzin" (Petrol or Gasoline). For some reason that we couldn't quite work out, all the Petrol Stations were closed and Benzin was only obtainable from dubious sources which were known only to the locals. We pulled up outside someones house and it was not long before Sterlin was being topped up with 40 liters of questionable quality fuel. While not ideal, we needed the fuel to get to Nukus (our next destination) and this was the only way we could obtain some. With that slightly nerve racking job done, it really was time to chill for the rest of the afternoon.

Later as the day rolled on and temperatures dropped to a more comfortable 39ºC, we ventured out again. Stephen climbed the Islom-Hoja Minaret, of course. Our guide book claims it is the highest minaret in Uzbekistan. Next was the very nicely decorated and rather sublime Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum housing a famous man who was a poet, philosopher and legendary wrestler all rolled into one.
Caroline managed to extract an especially good bargain out of a shop keeper and walked away with some very lovely scarves. We stopped into a few museums, some were better than others. We had been out for a few hours and the heat was getting to us again, so back to the air conditioned homestay room.

We made a forth outing as the sun started to set. And although the Fort, and with it the Watch Tower, were technically closed, someone was kind enough to "sell" us a "special" ticket to gain access to the Watch Tower where we snapped away during golden hour. We had the place to ourselves, which was very nice.
We caught up with the Belgian ladies for a drink and exchanged stories, which was very nice indeed. There was one other group in the restaurant/bar with us, and surprise surprise, they were also from Belgium. So of course we chatted with them as well. We suspected Belgium was planning an invasion.

City Walls from Watch Tower at sunset.

Khiva from the Watch Tower during golden hour.

Sunset over Khiva.

We had a late dinner at our lunch spot. The dinner food was even better than at lunch, so we made a fine choice returning. Our table even had a candle burning. We really really enjoyed Khiva and what a way to finish off the Uzbekistan part of the trip.

Bukhara. July 7-8, 2014

Monday, July 7th

Pleasant enough drive to Bukhara, except the cop who leapt out of the bushes to pull us over. Apparently we were speeding, although we had no idea that we were. The chat was friendly enough, and we were soon on our way with a warning. This is the first time Stephen has ever been pulled over for speeding. As we got nearer to Bukhara the desert became more and more pronounced and the mercury headed north to a high of 39°C.

We soon found 'The Amulet Hotel' our B&B, and another amazing place it was. We were warmly welcomed with tea, coffee and Eastern sweets all served in the terrace overlooking the inner courtyard. The outside temperature was still rising so we stayed put just relaxing until the heat diminished.

Amulet B&Bin an old Madrassah. 

Around 6pm we went for a long walk to checkout the significant sights. Bukhara contains a vast collection of historic buildings spread across the city. Just about the whole Old City is Unesco World Heritage. Absolutely wonderful to wander around taking it all in. Dinner was at a restaurant at the edge of the Lyabi.

Mir-i-Arab Medressa.

Walls of 'The Ark' an old royal town-within-a-town.

Tuesday, July 8th

After enjoying a wonderful breakfast we ventured out in the relative cool of the mid-morning to go and explore more of Bukhara Old Town. First stop was 'The Ark': a royal town-within-a town with a very impressive wall around it. At the time of our visit about 80% of the place was still in ruins, waiting to be renovated or at least partially restored. Across the road from the entrance to The Ark stands the Bolo-Hauz Mosque, with an intricately decorated wooden ceiling at its front entrance.

Bolo-Hauz Mosque. Emir's official place of worship built in 1718.

On we walked to visit the impressive Kalon Mosque, which we almost had entirely to ourselves, adding a surreal quality to our visit. We continued our walk with visits to some of the Medressa's (Madrassahs) before the heat drove us back to the relative cool of our hotel's courtyard where we enjoyed tea and coffee, and some more of the lovely Eastern sweets, before relaxing in our air-conditioned room.

Kalon Mosque.

Dome of Mir-i-Arab Medressa from Kalon Mosque.

Kalon Minaret, Dome of Mir-i-Arab Medressa and behind domed roofs
of another Medressa.

Samarkand. July 5-6, 2014.

Saturday, July 5th

The drive to Samarkand was along good roads and we made excellent time. We didn't even get stopped by the Police. Although we had a little trouble getting to our hotel, as someone had constructed a wall across the road. A little weird, but we found out later that the city is changing the way traffic flows into it and to the major tourist sights. We found some small side streets and weaved our way to our destination. The Jahongir Bed & Breakfast was wonderful and fully deserved its number 1 rating on tripadvisor.com. We were shown to our spacious room and then greeted with tea and coffee. Although it was summer, it was also the low season. It was just too hot to be traveling around and most people didn't, so finding excellent places to stay was proving to be very easy. Our hotel was less than 500 meters from the Registan, one of the major tourist attractions. The B&B was also besides a barber, very handy, and Stephen got a haircut for the cut-throat price of USD $3.

At 5pm, and as the heat of the day diminished, we headed out to be amazed by the jaw-dropping beauty of the Registan Complex. The buildings making up the complex once formed the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand. They have been beautifully restored and are amazing.  These incredible buildings arethe reason we came to Uzbekistan. We were not disappointed.

We had dinner at one of the local restaurants. Simple fare of tomato/cucumber salad, beef and chicken kebabs and somsa, all very tasty and very fresh. In the evening we found a local pub with cold beer to watch the game between Belgium and Argentina. We even met a couple of stray Belgians to enjoy the game with. Unfortunately Belgium lost and thus were out of the World Cup for 2014. It was a somber walk back to the hotel. Oh well, maybe in another 4 years.

Storks perched on a power line pole.
Seen on the drive to Samarkand.

Inside the Registan.

Outside the Registan

Outside the Registan as the sun sets.

Sunday, July 6th

Our plans to get up early and explore the city before the heat arrived, failed. Instead we took a leisurely breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel.

We did get out and continued to explore the old town during the morning. After a quick revisit to the Registan Complex, we continued onto Bibi-Khanym Mosque (not functioning as a Mosque). Another beautiful building nicely restored. We visited the fresh produce markets, which were a little more touristy than the ones in Tashkent, but still amazingly clean and vibrant. Markets clearly still play a major function here in Uzbekistan. Next on our list of things to see was the Complex of Hazret Hizr, and this time a functioning mosque. The entrance fee was a little steep, but they quickly dropped the price and gave us a 2 for 1 deal making it more reasonable and we visited the inside. The architectural features inside the buildings were stunning. We planned next to go to the Observatory of Ulugh Beg, but it was getting hot and it was too far to walk, so instead we headed to Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis (Memorial Complex of Islamic Architecture). And what an amazing visit this was. Beautiful building after beautiful building. We were blown away. Caroline was busy with her camera capturing the sights.

But it was time to return to the hotel and escape the heat. Not before taking some lunch. We relaxed during the afternoon and did some chores. The water filters got cleaned and the water tank got filled yet again. Apparently getting water will be harder and harder as we head further into the desert. In the late afternoon and evening we went for a very long walk around the newer part of town, the part the Soviets designed. This included a walk-by of Gur-e Amir Mausoleum. It was a delightful walk stretching our legs and enjoying the place. We had a late dinner. As the menu was limited to the same choices as the previous restaurant our meal consisted of tomato/cucumber salad, beef kebab and somas, washed down with lovely cold beer. This was what tourists eat here it seemed.

Some detail of Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Markets.

Bibi-Khanym Mosque from a distance.

Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis.

Stephen and the Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis

Finally, detail of Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis

The new town, with huge walking boulevards

Tashkent. July 3-5, 2014

Thursday, July 3rd.

Despite setting our alarm at 7am we still only got away around 9:30am for the 320km drive to Tashkent. Not that far, but we didn't know what road conditions to expect, and, we also wanted to be able to take it easy.
The first couple of hours of driving was in and getting out of the huge Fergana Valley. It was mainly from one town to the next, through markets and crazy traffic. There were lots of houses along the road, just about all with vines growing on trellises, providing shade on the sidewalks and growing grapes.

Vine covered sidewalks everywhere.

Cotton bales on the side of the road.

Lots of (cardboard) police around.

Shortly before 1pm we reached the mountain pass out of the Valley. As expected there was a check point (military this time) to register us (and everyone else) leaving the valley. Again all was conducted correctly and friendly. Which was good with all the big guns around.

Driving through the mountains we saw several 'no photo, no filming' signs, mostly at bridges and tunnels, backed up by military guards, so we kept the photo taking to a minimum. A bit of research told us that the Valley, besides being the cotton and fruit basket of the country, is also rich in oil, gas, water and other natural resources; which most likely explains the military presence at bridges and tunnels (the region has seen some strife) as they don't want the only transport route through the mountains to be compromised.

Through the mountains.

We had pre-booked our hotel in Tashkent so our Garmin led us straight there around 4pm. After freshening up,we went for a walk in new Tashkent. Again, this part of the city struck us as totally planned, with lots of impressive new buildings, many of them empty. Whether they have been used or not remained unclear to us. Finding a nice place to eat proved a bit of a challenge so we ended up dipping in our supplies and had dinner in our room. Which was just as well as we were still quite tired.

Friday, July 4. Independence Day.

An early start (again in our book) and off to the huge farmers market, Chorsu Bazaar, we went. We had barely entered them or someone made the 'change sign' (and showed us a wad of money). Hoping for this, we'd come prepared with some US cash and the deal was done swiftly. We felt comfortable enough as we now knew how this went down.

We were amazed at how clean and organized the markets were. Very different experience to markets we'd seen in other countries. Not a fly in sight, not a puddle of dirty water to step in, no mangy dogs sulking around for food, ...

The covered meat markets - not a fly to be seen.

After strolling around the markets, on our way to the old city, we happened upon a small bakery and after being invited in we couldn't resist the smell of the freshly baked bread, and, a short while later we walked out with bread for lunch in hand.

Bakery Sign.

How fresh do you want your bread?

Bakerman is baking bread.. (yes, it's a song)  

A little further we came to Kast Imom Square with the Hazroti Imon Friday Mosque (built in 2007) and the Barak Khan Madrasah (16th-17th centuries), occupied with souvenir shops. Madrasah (various spellings) is the Arabic word for any kind of educational institution, be it religious or secular (Wikipedia).

The Mosque with 2 54m minarets.

The Madrasah.

Madrasah.

After walking around the old town for a while we had to escape the heat of the day so we returned to our hotel. Sterlin's water tank got a top up, Stephen went in search of and found a replacement charger for our macbook air (the charger had decided to spontaneously fail), otherwise we just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Later that evening, as we prepared to head out in search of a pub, we were greeted by Abu in the hotel lobby. He had seen our Californian license plate and was hanging out in the hope of meeting us. He was incredibly friendly and engaging and keen to talk to some people from California. He had lived in the United States for 11 years (Colorado and LA) and of course he had excellent English. In fact he sounded more American than us. He selected and drove us to a wonderful pub where we had a great meal and saw Germany beat France. During the match we chatted to some locals who ended up driving us back to our hotel after the game. A great evening and way to remember Tashkent.

Hello Uzbekistan and to Farg'ona. July 2, 2014.

Wednesday, July 2nd

This day we crossed out of Kyrgyzstan and into Uzbekistan. The border crossing took a couple of hours, but everything was very correct and proper. Just a lot of paperwork to be completed. Click the links above to our Logistics page should you want to read more.

A few kilometers past the border there was a police check: everyone entering and leaving Fergana Valley (alternate spelling Farg'ona) gets registered. It took all of 30 seconds and was handled very correctly.
We had read that the police here have been strongly 'urged' not to 'bother' tourists; which effectively should mean that we should only be pulled over for legit checks (ie.: paperwork) or when we actually broke the traffic laws (as opposed to in Kyrgyzstan where it was blatant extortion). Which sounded good to us.

Looking back at the border.
We were in Uzbekistan.

We drove another 100 kms or so to Farg'ano where we stopped for the night. We were quite exhausted due to having been up from 2am to past 4am the previous night watching Belgium beat USA in extra time.
First chore for the afternoon was to convert some US dollars into local money. We'd read and heard that the money thing would be a bit different here to what we were used to... Our hotel advised us to change money on the black market at the bazaar, but also told us to be careful. Ok. It was hinted that banks were not the place to go and, ATMs... what ATMs? We did check out a bank first but they clearly were not in the money changing business. None of them looked like they were. After consulting with another hotel, we it was confirmed that there were no ATMs in this fine city.
So, to the black market we went. We parked at the entrance of the bazaar and Stephen went to talk to some taxi drivers (as they always know where everything is and we didn't really know how to go about this, being our first time and all). He found a driver prepared to take hime to a 'money changer' so in the taxi he went. He was taken to someone's home where the deal was to be done. And it was very easy, and we got a good rate. Naturally we did know the 'official' rate beforehand, and, our hotel had hinted that the black market rates were better.
Now flush with cash we did a little shopping at the supermarket and then headed back to the bazaar for some strolling and gazing. An amazing, local (as in: not tourists other than us) bazaar, and so glad we made the effort to hike back and see all the spices, fresh food and other stuffs for sale.
It also meant we could now pay for our hotel, which only took cash, so of course they helped us in the right direction earlier :).

Farg'ona City felt a bit surreal to us: granted we didn't see that much of it, but we did cross it by car and we did go to the markets, and what we saw all looked 'planned' and 'new'. But quite a few of the new buildings were also empty with still a lot of new development going on.

Black market money comes in
black plastic bags. There are
600 notes in total.

Wallet with the equivalent of USD $30.

Entrance to the bazaar