Another couple of days pass by and a new country rolls in.  I begin the journey into the “Stan countries” – there are five, technically there are seven, but when it is referred to the Stan countries Afghanistan and Pakistan are not usually counted as they are not in Central Asia, but South Asia.  Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia.  It is bordered by all four of the other Stan countries.  The word ‘Stan’ means land, so, Uzbekistan means ‘land of the Uzbeks”.

I flew into the capital of Tashkent from Dubai with the excellent Uzbekistan Airways.  It was quite a sight, I have never seen a plane so filled with duty-free.  It seemed every passenger was bringing an array of Dubai gifts, the most bizarre of which was two huge bags of McDonald’s burgers.  When we arrived at Tashkent airport and got to the luggage carousel it went up lots of notches strange.  There must have been 20+ HDTVs, car tires, and every electrical item you care to name, and it just kept coming.  The only thing not arriving for a 45-minute wait was luggage cases.  It was travel amazing, funny, and bizarre all rolled into one.  I did wonder if I had flown in on Amazon Prime Airways!

It’s a really fascinating place, $100 makes you a millionaire in Uzbek Som.  Everything is so inexpensive here, you can eat out for $5, and take the Metro for 10 cents.  There aren’t many countries like this left, and I’m guessing Uzbekistan will change in time.  Delicious Samsa is available as a great street item and the Uzbek version of a Samosa.  They cost around 4000, but that’s only 30 cents!

Things in the bizarre category, 94% of cars are Chevrolets, mostly in white color.  You don’t notice this at first, but then you see a parking lot.  A different kind of normal.  Hailing a ride, basically any car can be an option for a paid ride, just stand by the side of the road and stick your hand out.  In the West, we would be afraid, of murderers, robbers, and rapists, whereas here it’s normal to get in the car of a stranger, and with strangers.  How is that for trust?

Tashkent is the capital city, it is a working place. The metro is bustling all the time with people making their way, like many former Russian Republics the metro stations are a tourist attraction in themself. I used the Metro a lot of the normal way to connect with the country and to see life in Uzbekistan.

I like Tashkent, and I really like Uzbek people, but I’m ok to be moving on after 2 days here.  I’m staying in Uzbekistan but headed down to Samarkand.  The differences in a place, or even a country, can be summed up between Tashkent & Samarkand, Tashkent is a capital city that’s okay, with some interesting parts, but not inspiring.  Samarkand on the other hand, is amazing.

I had a Guru Walking Tour in both Tashkent and Samarkand and the difference in the two guides matched the quality and enjoyment of these places.  I’ve walked around 33 miles the last two days, really getting a feel for Uzbekistan, and the more I walk, the more this country pulls you.  It’s not hard to see why Uzbekistan is attracting many more tourists. It was only as recently as 2018 that they allowed photography in Metro Stations, so there has been a shift by the government to embrace tourism.

Chorsu Bazaar – a traditional bazaar located in the Old Town of Tashkent..

Not just your average Metro Stations in former Soviet Republics..

Samarkand is a huge part of the Silk Road, being exactly halfway along the route it formed the center for trading many goods that would travel east to west, and west to east, this dates back more than two and a half millennia. Quite a while then.

Most of the remaining sites date back to the 14th & 15th centuries. As I toured around I learned some more about the Silk Road, about how it ensure Samarkand was at the epicenter for not only the Silk Road itself, but for this area of Asia a a whole. If you’ve seem pictures of Samarkand you will likely have seen Ragistan Square, it’s the jaw dropping center of everything. There’s a constant flow of locals, tourists, weddings photo calls and much more. Ragi means sand, so Ragistan is the the land of sand, all roads in Samarkand lead you to Ragistan. I came here several times, it seems Samarkand draws you here, and why not?