From Uzbekistan With Plov(e) - To Central Asia On TK (Y/J) and SU (Y)
Mar 1, 2019, 6:18 pm
#16
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Part 6: Istanbul Ataturk (IST) to Tashkent (TAS) on Turkish Airlines in business class
Flight TK368 – Airbus A330 – Seat: officially 5B – 300 USD as part of KIV-IST-TAS
STD 00:15am - STA 06:45am (flight time 4h30m)
Istanbul's Ataturk airport was as crowded as ever just before midnight with a whole bunch of flight departures towards African or Asian countries. Even though I love the TK lounge – I can't wait for the airport to move over to its new location as its clearly beyond capacity whether you look at the queues, crowded terminal or frequent delays.
It was no different at the gate area for this night's flight to Tashkent, which departed from a godforsaken basement at IST from a dreaded bus gate. Apart from a handful of Western travellers and Turkish and Uzbek businessmen and the richer elite the crowd was predominantly migrant workers. Turkey has a lot of Uzbek migrants working in the country, from construction to (mostly) female workers in such professions as health care or domestic helpers/cleaners. Uzbek is a Turkic language, so in general it is easy for them to adept in Turkey (and for Turks it's cheaper to hire someone from Central Asia – in the same way as the colonials living in the American provinces hire Mexican workers). As you often see with migrants returning home, the gate area was PACKED – with each person having at least 2 pieces of hand luggage and something in bulk such as food or household supplies.
Priority boarding from the bus gate was not enforced at all – and I was lucky to have a place in front of the madness. To my great surprise the gate agent took a pen out after scanning my boarding pass and manually changed my seat number from somewhere deep down in economy to 5B in business class, saying “you got a new seat”. It has been literally ages since I was upgraded (in my late teens on Alitalia to BOS – an entire and typical Italian story on its own) so you can guess I was super excited when it happened. Although, having flown Turkish in C before I knew it made for a big dilemma: to stay awake and enjoy the great service on this short 4h30m flight which is perhaps the most terrible red-eye ever? Or to sleep? Anyway that's a question for later – although those who have followed my previous trip reports of flights in J know my choice already
These surely are the best moments when flying!
In the first bus to the aeroplane it was total chaos at well. One of the Uzbek men took literally no fewer than 6 (!!) huge bulk packs of whatever goods onto the bus as hand luggage. Needless to say, the gate agent was not too pleased and reminded him he could only take one. What followed was a furious stand-off – I do pity the poor TK employee. Even though very, very generously he offered to check it all into the hold, the Uzbek guy flat out refused this. At one point when the Turkish gate agent had enough of it and took the bags out of the bus himself onto the tarmac, the Uzbek guy simply put them back on the bus again! After 20 minutes the whole discussion somehow ended in a win for team Uzbekistan as the bus drove off towards the aeroplane with all baggage and the Uzbek guy on board. No surprise they do operational upgrades on this particular route..! When chatting with some other pax a while later on the plane I even heard people got upgraded who had Silver status. Count me surprised
Even though I hate bus gates there generally is always something nice about walking up a double flight of stairs towards the door of a wide-body plane.
The flight was operated by an Airbus A330 – one of the older ones with recliner seats that is. Absolutely horrible if you are on a paid J ticket and would have such a plane for a longer flight, but for 4h30m with a free upgrade, who am I to care? In lounging mode the seats were very comfortable so no complaints there. I do guess Turkish only use this configuration (most Airbus A330s do have fully flat seats) on such secondary routes such as TAS – although I'm no expert here!
So yes, this was about as flat as the seats get:
But why again would I care? I had three windows for myself, THREE!
That was, until the moment a fat Uzbek babushka who looked like she never ever set foot on an aeroplane before (by her sheer surprise of everything business class) settled down in seat 5A next to me. This caused problems as her best friend (or colleague of the Uzbek cotton workers union or whatever) was seated in 5D or whatever was the left seat of the middle pair of two on the plane located diagonally behind us. She started to talk right through me towards her all the time and was seemingly not too comfortable (whether because of her first time in business class, what I gathered at least from her behaviour, or because of having a strange man seated next to her). Somehow despite the huuuge laguage barrier I offered to swap seats which was gladly accepted by the two ladies. For me it was only a big bonus as I would have direct aisle access with the plane's lay-out being 2-2-2. Even better, after boarding was completed it turned out the seat next to me remained empty!
Call me a geography nerd, but what is better than having one screen showing the map while the other one allows you to browse the entertainment section?! THE advantage of having two seats all by yourself.
Service began with the lovely crew (especially given the horrible red-eye hours aren't the most comfortable to work!) distributing headphones. Even though no high-end quality I found the Philips headphones to be perfectly acceptable.
I cannot report much about the on-board entertainment and movie selection as I didn't get much further than the music section which had some excellent old-school albums from British bands such as The Who. Even though I'm relatively young (early 30s) there is nothing much better than listening to music from the early 60s to late 80s – most of the stuff afterwards is crap.
Service really kicked in with the distribution of PDB – naturally, with Turkish the choice out of the only non-alcoholic beverages being offered before departure is the great lemon drink.
The safety video was in LEGO style. Even though I loved LEGO as a kid, the movie was highly annoying, took forever, and was super distracting. Sure, I know the message and could probably repeat the safety instructions better than a third of the FAs I've seen in action having flown so many miles myself, but I wondered if this video got the message across to first time flyers? It was so distracting and just overall chaotic! Aren't there any guidelines for this?
Anyway back to the real stuff: the menu for this flight. As we all know Turkish has excellent DO&CO catering – and this red-eye flight was no exception. For a moment I was thinking not to eat and drink as I did exactly that in the lounge and could use some sleep. But on a free upgrade, when you are flying Turkish? Hmmm... In the end I just decided to eat and drink, just as about every single one of the other passengers in the business class cabin which was about two thirds filled.
Pre-dinner drink orders were taken as well, and naturally I opted for the champagne (Heidsieck Monopole – for sure acceptable). I might have had a refill as well before the meal. By the time I was getting a bit tipsy and in a darn good mood – especially when listening to some great Queen albums. And what's more appropriate than listening to “it's a hard live” when sipping some champers on your free upgrade?
There was no choice for starter – just the potpourri of seafood and the fresh salad. The quality was quite good, although I'm not a fan of shrimps in general and I typically avoid them on planes so only poked at them taking one bite only. It tasted OK, so I guess that means for shrimp lovers they were good.
For the main I decided on the lamb in a spur of the moment decision after first wanting the satay. The dish was very good. From the bread basket I took a Turkish simit, and I washed the meal away with a very decent French red. The profiteroles as dessert were just OK (I had much, much better on AF in J).
All combined, it was a perfectly good meal but it didn't blow me away. I somehow expected better even from my own TK experiences in the past.
The lovely crew ended the service by offering tea, coffee or digestifs – I couldn't resist a cream liquor.
In the end I still managed to sleep for about one-and-a-half hours until we were woken up by the crew and told to prepare for landing. Ouch – at that moment I could surely feel the tiredness – although after a quick washing of the face at the lavs I felt much better. Landing in Tashkent was on time and unremarkable. All combined, it was a pretty solid TK fight despite it not being the best food ever and about the worst hard product you can get on a TK wide-body (unless being stuck in a middle seat in the 2-3-2 flat beds lay-out). I was especially pleased with the great crew, who couldn't have done a better job at these horrible red-eye hours with unruly passengers taking tons of baggage and creating scenes.
Next up: A look around in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent
Flight TK368 – Airbus A330 – Seat: officially 5B – 300 USD as part of KIV-IST-TAS
STD 00:15am - STA 06:45am (flight time 4h30m)
Istanbul's Ataturk airport was as crowded as ever just before midnight with a whole bunch of flight departures towards African or Asian countries. Even though I love the TK lounge – I can't wait for the airport to move over to its new location as its clearly beyond capacity whether you look at the queues, crowded terminal or frequent delays.
It was no different at the gate area for this night's flight to Tashkent, which departed from a godforsaken basement at IST from a dreaded bus gate. Apart from a handful of Western travellers and Turkish and Uzbek businessmen and the richer elite the crowd was predominantly migrant workers. Turkey has a lot of Uzbek migrants working in the country, from construction to (mostly) female workers in such professions as health care or domestic helpers/cleaners. Uzbek is a Turkic language, so in general it is easy for them to adept in Turkey (and for Turks it's cheaper to hire someone from Central Asia – in the same way as the colonials living in the American provinces hire Mexican workers). As you often see with migrants returning home, the gate area was PACKED – with each person having at least 2 pieces of hand luggage and something in bulk such as food or household supplies.
Priority boarding from the bus gate was not enforced at all – and I was lucky to have a place in front of the madness. To my great surprise the gate agent took a pen out after scanning my boarding pass and manually changed my seat number from somewhere deep down in economy to 5B in business class, saying “you got a new seat”. It has been literally ages since I was upgraded (in my late teens on Alitalia to BOS – an entire and typical Italian story on its own) so you can guess I was super excited when it happened. Although, having flown Turkish in C before I knew it made for a big dilemma: to stay awake and enjoy the great service on this short 4h30m flight which is perhaps the most terrible red-eye ever? Or to sleep? Anyway that's a question for later – although those who have followed my previous trip reports of flights in J know my choice already
These surely are the best moments when flying!
In the first bus to the aeroplane it was total chaos at well. One of the Uzbek men took literally no fewer than 6 (!!) huge bulk packs of whatever goods onto the bus as hand luggage. Needless to say, the gate agent was not too pleased and reminded him he could only take one. What followed was a furious stand-off – I do pity the poor TK employee. Even though very, very generously he offered to check it all into the hold, the Uzbek guy flat out refused this. At one point when the Turkish gate agent had enough of it and took the bags out of the bus himself onto the tarmac, the Uzbek guy simply put them back on the bus again! After 20 minutes the whole discussion somehow ended in a win for team Uzbekistan as the bus drove off towards the aeroplane with all baggage and the Uzbek guy on board. No surprise they do operational upgrades on this particular route..! When chatting with some other pax a while later on the plane I even heard people got upgraded who had Silver status. Count me surprised
Even though I hate bus gates there generally is always something nice about walking up a double flight of stairs towards the door of a wide-body plane.
The flight was operated by an Airbus A330 – one of the older ones with recliner seats that is. Absolutely horrible if you are on a paid J ticket and would have such a plane for a longer flight, but for 4h30m with a free upgrade, who am I to care? In lounging mode the seats were very comfortable so no complaints there. I do guess Turkish only use this configuration (most Airbus A330s do have fully flat seats) on such secondary routes such as TAS – although I'm no expert here!
So yes, this was about as flat as the seats get:
But why again would I care? I had three windows for myself, THREE!
That was, until the moment a fat Uzbek babushka who looked like she never ever set foot on an aeroplane before (by her sheer surprise of everything business class) settled down in seat 5A next to me. This caused problems as her best friend (or colleague of the Uzbek cotton workers union or whatever) was seated in 5D or whatever was the left seat of the middle pair of two on the plane located diagonally behind us. She started to talk right through me towards her all the time and was seemingly not too comfortable (whether because of her first time in business class, what I gathered at least from her behaviour, or because of having a strange man seated next to her). Somehow despite the huuuge laguage barrier I offered to swap seats which was gladly accepted by the two ladies. For me it was only a big bonus as I would have direct aisle access with the plane's lay-out being 2-2-2. Even better, after boarding was completed it turned out the seat next to me remained empty!
Call me a geography nerd, but what is better than having one screen showing the map while the other one allows you to browse the entertainment section?! THE advantage of having two seats all by yourself.
Service began with the lovely crew (especially given the horrible red-eye hours aren't the most comfortable to work!) distributing headphones. Even though no high-end quality I found the Philips headphones to be perfectly acceptable.
I cannot report much about the on-board entertainment and movie selection as I didn't get much further than the music section which had some excellent old-school albums from British bands such as The Who. Even though I'm relatively young (early 30s) there is nothing much better than listening to music from the early 60s to late 80s – most of the stuff afterwards is crap.
Service really kicked in with the distribution of PDB – naturally, with Turkish the choice out of the only non-alcoholic beverages being offered before departure is the great lemon drink.
The safety video was in LEGO style. Even though I loved LEGO as a kid, the movie was highly annoying, took forever, and was super distracting. Sure, I know the message and could probably repeat the safety instructions better than a third of the FAs I've seen in action having flown so many miles myself, but I wondered if this video got the message across to first time flyers? It was so distracting and just overall chaotic! Aren't there any guidelines for this?
Anyway back to the real stuff: the menu for this flight. As we all know Turkish has excellent DO&CO catering – and this red-eye flight was no exception. For a moment I was thinking not to eat and drink as I did exactly that in the lounge and could use some sleep. But on a free upgrade, when you are flying Turkish? Hmmm... In the end I just decided to eat and drink, just as about every single one of the other passengers in the business class cabin which was about two thirds filled.
Pre-dinner drink orders were taken as well, and naturally I opted for the champagne (Heidsieck Monopole – for sure acceptable). I might have had a refill as well before the meal. By the time I was getting a bit tipsy and in a darn good mood – especially when listening to some great Queen albums. And what's more appropriate than listening to “it's a hard live” when sipping some champers on your free upgrade?
There was no choice for starter – just the potpourri of seafood and the fresh salad. The quality was quite good, although I'm not a fan of shrimps in general and I typically avoid them on planes so only poked at them taking one bite only. It tasted OK, so I guess that means for shrimp lovers they were good.
For the main I decided on the lamb in a spur of the moment decision after first wanting the satay. The dish was very good. From the bread basket I took a Turkish simit, and I washed the meal away with a very decent French red. The profiteroles as dessert were just OK (I had much, much better on AF in J).
All combined, it was a perfectly good meal but it didn't blow me away. I somehow expected better even from my own TK experiences in the past.
The lovely crew ended the service by offering tea, coffee or digestifs – I couldn't resist a cream liquor.
In the end I still managed to sleep for about one-and-a-half hours until we were woken up by the crew and told to prepare for landing. Ouch – at that moment I could surely feel the tiredness – although after a quick washing of the face at the lavs I felt much better. Landing in Tashkent was on time and unremarkable. All combined, it was a pretty solid TK fight despite it not being the best food ever and about the worst hard product you can get on a TK wide-body (unless being stuck in a middle seat in the 2-3-2 flat beds lay-out). I was especially pleased with the great crew, who couldn't have done a better job at these horrible red-eye hours with unruly passengers taking tons of baggage and creating scenes.
Next up: A look around in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent
Last edited by Romanianflyer; Mar 31, 2019 at 3:03 pm
Mar 9, 2019, 11:44 am
#18
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: OTP
Programs: AF/KL platinum, Turkish gold, QR gold
Posts: 1,572
I hope to have more installments coming in a few days. Last weeks have been crazy with work and travels (I'm on another trip right now..) but when I'm back I'm taking a small break from it all which should see me finally having time to finish up on some writings
Mar 9, 2019, 5:10 pm
#19
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: anywhere and everywhere
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Posts: 5,525
Yay another Romanianflyer report!
I worked in Tashkent about 6-7 years back, and your Turkish experience looks wonderful compared to the flights back then! It was almost always an A320 or 737 with EuroBiz seats, no legroom, and middle seat blocked. Comparatively, that service looks wonderful!
I've probably tried the Istanbul lounge like 10 times, but as much as I try I can't like it. Love the pide, and the self-serve booze, but it drives me nuts that it always seems to be 1000 degrees in that lounge and there's not an outlet to charge devices anywhere. Plus...it feels a bit like a developing country bus terminal. I know TK can't police the behaviour of its clientele, but it's one of the most poorly behaved group of "businesspeople" I've ever run into.
I worked in Tashkent about 6-7 years back, and your Turkish experience looks wonderful compared to the flights back then! It was almost always an A320 or 737 with EuroBiz seats, no legroom, and middle seat blocked. Comparatively, that service looks wonderful!
I've probably tried the Istanbul lounge like 10 times, but as much as I try I can't like it. Love the pide, and the self-serve booze, but it drives me nuts that it always seems to be 1000 degrees in that lounge and there's not an outlet to charge devices anywhere. Plus...it feels a bit like a developing country bus terminal. I know TK can't police the behaviour of its clientele, but it's one of the most poorly behaved group of "businesspeople" I've ever run into.
Mar 9, 2019, 9:56 pm
#20
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SFOSJCOAK
Programs: AA-EXP & 1MM+, AS, MR-LTT, HH Gold
Posts: 7,581
Very interesting read, particularly about the recent history of Transnistria.
Your TRs make for good reading because I have never (and mostly like not) been to.many of those places that you set foot on.
Thanks for sharing!
Your TRs make for good reading because I have never (and mostly like not) been to.many of those places that you set foot on.
Thanks for sharing!
Mar 14, 2019, 4:48 pm
#23
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: OTP
Programs: AF/KL platinum, Turkish gold, QR gold
Posts: 1,572
Yay another Romanianflyer report!
I worked in Tashkent about 6-7 years back, and your Turkish experience looks wonderful compared to the flights back then! It was almost always an A320 or 737 with EuroBiz seats, no legroom, and middle seat blocked. Comparatively, that service looks wonderful!
I've probably tried the Istanbul lounge like 10 times, but as much as I try I can't like it. Love the pide, and the self-serve booze, but it drives me nuts that it always seems to be 1000 degrees in that lounge and there's not an outlet to charge devices anywhere. Plus...it feels a bit like a developing country bus terminal. I know TK can't police the behaviour of its clientele, but it's one of the most poorly behaved group of "businesspeople" I've ever run into.
I worked in Tashkent about 6-7 years back, and your Turkish experience looks wonderful compared to the flights back then! It was almost always an A320 or 737 with EuroBiz seats, no legroom, and middle seat blocked. Comparatively, that service looks wonderful!
I've probably tried the Istanbul lounge like 10 times, but as much as I try I can't like it. Love the pide, and the self-serve booze, but it drives me nuts that it always seems to be 1000 degrees in that lounge and there's not an outlet to charge devices anywhere. Plus...it feels a bit like a developing country bus terminal. I know TK can't police the behaviour of its clientele, but it's one of the most poorly behaved group of "businesspeople" I've ever run into.
For the Turkish lounge, it depends on what you are looking for, I guess! The lack of plugs and the overcrowded bus terminal feel I do for sure share as my major complaints about the lounge, although it is great if you need a meal and some fun.
I had another visit in the lounge for some two hours yesterday waiting for a 2.30am red-eye back home after two long intra-European flights earlier in the day, and I do have to say that on that occasion I had a different view, more negative, of the lounge. Sure, food was still excellent, but it was so crowded you could hardly grab a seat (upstairs was full, downstairs had some seats available). No chance to grab a plug, a three hour wait for showers, all comfy seats were gone with people just brazenly grabbing two sofas and pushing them together to create a place to sleep.. I was super tired when I entered the lounge and the whole experience didn't really enhance my travel experience that day.
Perhaps its time to fly less TK and more AF, as the Air France 2E L gates lounge (designated lounge for the last AF flight of the day back to OTP among others) is just such a superb quiet lounge with great fizz, massage, sauna and good food. I was so missing that lounge when sitting in the Turkish lounge yesterday! I still think the Turkish lounge is good but competitors have upped the ante in the meanwhile. I'm very curious how the new lounge at the New Istanbul Airport will be like.
And no worried about not having caught up - I'm probably even slower with writing these trip reports. I tried to work on the Tashkent chapter today but I'm still so tired from an entire day of flying yesterday that it will have to wait for tomorrow
Mar 15, 2019, 11:15 am
#24
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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Posts: 1,572
Part 5: Some first impressions of Tashkent
Hotel: Aster Hotel, 80 USD/night incl. breakfast
After a long walk through some airport corridors I arrived at passport control where a stern-faced apparatchik stamped me into the country after careful inspection of my passport. At least he had a small smile on his face and said “welcome to Uzbekistan” upon stamping – a good for my upcoming stay I thought knowing that officials are rarely the friendly and welcoming types in ex-USSR states. It was a great moment to have finally made it to Uzbekistan – a country I long wanted to visit and which still feels like the end of the world (in the way that it's only one of the two double landlocked countries in the world and that you are probably at a place that's about the furthest away from an ocean you can get).
In the scrum of taxi drivers approaching me I quickly settled for a 10 USD ride to my hotel. I'm sure that I paid at least double or quadruple the normal rate for the very short ride, but not being in a mood to haggle due to the red-eye and not having any Uzbek som, I thought the primary objective was going to catch up on sleep as soon as possible instead of saving money.
Unfortunately early check-in was not possible – given I was too stingy to cough up for the 50-60 USD they demanded for getting into my room just a few hours earlier I decided it was a better idea to fresh up a bit in the lobby restrooms and go for a walk and some coffee. Although I have seen hotels all over the world ask for money for an early check-in, I do kind of think it is much more common in ex-Soviet Union countries than in let's say Europe, where generally hotels rarely have a problem with complimentary early check-in as long as a room is available. The reception crew were however very friendly and welcoming, explaining me the ins and outs of the city. More on the hotel itself later.
I decided to head first to the main railway station which was just a 20 minute walk away hat it looked like on Google Maps. I had bought all my train tickets online (very easy to do!) - but you need to exchange your e-ticket for a real ticket at the station. As I had no clue how long or bureaucratic the process would be I figured it would be a better thing to do straight away than to leave it for the following morning before boarding my first train. My first impressions of Tashkent were that it felt like many other ex-Soviet Union countries with the ubiquitous communal apartment blocks.
Even though the main religion in Uzbekistan is Sunni Islam, there is a very sizable Russian Orthodox community, which I quickly realised walking by the large Tashkent Russian Orthodox Center while the sun was getting up.
Tashkent's main railway station is a large modern building. There is a passport/ticket check to enter the premises. As there was no queue at all it just took me a few minutes to exchange all my printed e-tickets for some old-fashioned printed tickets. The whole process couldn't have been easier.
Next up on the to-do list before I could finally grab a coffee and explore the city was to exchange my USD into Uzbek som or to find an ATM where I could withdraw it. This sounds straightforward enough in about every country on earth, but believe me, it isn't in Uzbekistan. I never encountered any street/black market exchange points and there are only very official exchange points in cities, as well as ATMs working with foreign cards. Given it was a weekend day it meant that the banks (which normally are easy to exchange or get a cash advance on your card) were closed as well. I read online that one of the places which has both an exchange office and working ATM is the Soviet-era Uzbekistan hotel on Amir Timur Square – which is considered the heart of Tashkent. It was a very pleasant walk to the square from the station along some leafy Russian-era boulevards and buildings.
Amir Timur Square is basically a huge roundabout with a large park in the middle, dominated by an equestrian statue of Uzbekistan's national hero and one of the world's greatest conquerors after whom it was named. Amir Timur and his legacy was one of the main reasons for me visiting the country – so more about him later when I will visit the heart of his old empire in the legendary city of Samarkand.
The Uzbekistan Hotel is a Soviet monster – although it reportedly has been refurbished from the inside. Judging from the exterior and the lobby it surely didn't look like.
The free wifi in the lobby was however appreciated as I needed to wait for 45 minutes given that the exchange office had not yet opened and the ATM was out of order – another good wake-up call to make sure I'd stock up on enough som to get me through the weekend.
After drinking a coffee I headed up on the pedestrian Sailgokh Street which leads away from Amir Timur square. The street is more commonly known as 'Broadway' and according to online information and guidebooks is a “must-visit place” because of the artists exhibiting their work and shops and cafes. It was a rather underwhelming affair and not exactly like a walk in the Big Apple.
Sure, it made for a relaxed walk, but it's not the hub where all Tashkent live evolves around what some guidebooks want to make tourists believe (for food/drinks there are there are many better places away from Broadway and the area around Amir Timur Square).
Walking on Broadway, I believe the building on the last picture was the office of the Uzbek KGB – the country is still basically run as a dictatorship with no political freedom or freedom of press.
Also near Broadway and Amir Timur Square is the Amir Timur museum – which unfortunately was closed.
One thing I noted by now was how completely devoid the city was of life. Sure, there were some pedestrians, but I hardly saw any car at all on the roads. I'm not sure it was because it was a Saturday, but it really surprised me. While there was marginally more traffic in the streets outside of the geographic centre, it felt like I was walking in some backwater city or ghost town – anything rather than what is the biggest city in Central Asia!
At the Amir Timur Museum were two loud Americans about to fly their drone – which I found rather intriguing as from what I read it's not allowed. If you already do it, their style of operating the drone while shouting and attracting attention also did not seem like the best way to do it in what is still a police state.
Instead of waiting for a police showdown I decided however not to wait and to walk on towards Mustaqillik Maydoni (Independence Square) at the far end of Broadway.
Independence Square is the largest square in the city, although it actually feels more like a park. And while Amir Timur Square was already empty this was probably even more quiet, which is rather odd given that it has many government buildings.
Cabinet of Ministers
Senate building
Monument to the Independence of Uzbekistan
Overall, the city felt completely empty, clean, safe – and also rather soulless. This was however not the full picture of Tashkent as the best of the city was yet to come.
Next up: Visiting the buzzing Chorsu Bazaar and hopping around Tashkent's beautiful metro network
Hotel: Aster Hotel, 80 USD/night incl. breakfast
After a long walk through some airport corridors I arrived at passport control where a stern-faced apparatchik stamped me into the country after careful inspection of my passport. At least he had a small smile on his face and said “welcome to Uzbekistan” upon stamping – a good for my upcoming stay I thought knowing that officials are rarely the friendly and welcoming types in ex-USSR states. It was a great moment to have finally made it to Uzbekistan – a country I long wanted to visit and which still feels like the end of the world (in the way that it's only one of the two double landlocked countries in the world and that you are probably at a place that's about the furthest away from an ocean you can get).
In the scrum of taxi drivers approaching me I quickly settled for a 10 USD ride to my hotel. I'm sure that I paid at least double or quadruple the normal rate for the very short ride, but not being in a mood to haggle due to the red-eye and not having any Uzbek som, I thought the primary objective was going to catch up on sleep as soon as possible instead of saving money.
Unfortunately early check-in was not possible – given I was too stingy to cough up for the 50-60 USD they demanded for getting into my room just a few hours earlier I decided it was a better idea to fresh up a bit in the lobby restrooms and go for a walk and some coffee. Although I have seen hotels all over the world ask for money for an early check-in, I do kind of think it is much more common in ex-Soviet Union countries than in let's say Europe, where generally hotels rarely have a problem with complimentary early check-in as long as a room is available. The reception crew were however very friendly and welcoming, explaining me the ins and outs of the city. More on the hotel itself later.
I decided to head first to the main railway station which was just a 20 minute walk away hat it looked like on Google Maps. I had bought all my train tickets online (very easy to do!) - but you need to exchange your e-ticket for a real ticket at the station. As I had no clue how long or bureaucratic the process would be I figured it would be a better thing to do straight away than to leave it for the following morning before boarding my first train. My first impressions of Tashkent were that it felt like many other ex-Soviet Union countries with the ubiquitous communal apartment blocks.
Even though the main religion in Uzbekistan is Sunni Islam, there is a very sizable Russian Orthodox community, which I quickly realised walking by the large Tashkent Russian Orthodox Center while the sun was getting up.
Tashkent's main railway station is a large modern building. There is a passport/ticket check to enter the premises. As there was no queue at all it just took me a few minutes to exchange all my printed e-tickets for some old-fashioned printed tickets. The whole process couldn't have been easier.
Next up on the to-do list before I could finally grab a coffee and explore the city was to exchange my USD into Uzbek som or to find an ATM where I could withdraw it. This sounds straightforward enough in about every country on earth, but believe me, it isn't in Uzbekistan. I never encountered any street/black market exchange points and there are only very official exchange points in cities, as well as ATMs working with foreign cards. Given it was a weekend day it meant that the banks (which normally are easy to exchange or get a cash advance on your card) were closed as well. I read online that one of the places which has both an exchange office and working ATM is the Soviet-era Uzbekistan hotel on Amir Timur Square – which is considered the heart of Tashkent. It was a very pleasant walk to the square from the station along some leafy Russian-era boulevards and buildings.
Amir Timur Square is basically a huge roundabout with a large park in the middle, dominated by an equestrian statue of Uzbekistan's national hero and one of the world's greatest conquerors after whom it was named. Amir Timur and his legacy was one of the main reasons for me visiting the country – so more about him later when I will visit the heart of his old empire in the legendary city of Samarkand.
The Uzbekistan Hotel is a Soviet monster – although it reportedly has been refurbished from the inside. Judging from the exterior and the lobby it surely didn't look like.
The free wifi in the lobby was however appreciated as I needed to wait for 45 minutes given that the exchange office had not yet opened and the ATM was out of order – another good wake-up call to make sure I'd stock up on enough som to get me through the weekend.
After drinking a coffee I headed up on the pedestrian Sailgokh Street which leads away from Amir Timur square. The street is more commonly known as 'Broadway' and according to online information and guidebooks is a “must-visit place” because of the artists exhibiting their work and shops and cafes. It was a rather underwhelming affair and not exactly like a walk in the Big Apple.
Sure, it made for a relaxed walk, but it's not the hub where all Tashkent live evolves around what some guidebooks want to make tourists believe (for food/drinks there are there are many better places away from Broadway and the area around Amir Timur Square).
Walking on Broadway, I believe the building on the last picture was the office of the Uzbek KGB – the country is still basically run as a dictatorship with no political freedom or freedom of press.
Also near Broadway and Amir Timur Square is the Amir Timur museum – which unfortunately was closed.
One thing I noted by now was how completely devoid the city was of life. Sure, there were some pedestrians, but I hardly saw any car at all on the roads. I'm not sure it was because it was a Saturday, but it really surprised me. While there was marginally more traffic in the streets outside of the geographic centre, it felt like I was walking in some backwater city or ghost town – anything rather than what is the biggest city in Central Asia!
At the Amir Timur Museum were two loud Americans about to fly their drone – which I found rather intriguing as from what I read it's not allowed. If you already do it, their style of operating the drone while shouting and attracting attention also did not seem like the best way to do it in what is still a police state.
Instead of waiting for a police showdown I decided however not to wait and to walk on towards Mustaqillik Maydoni (Independence Square) at the far end of Broadway.
Independence Square is the largest square in the city, although it actually feels more like a park. And while Amir Timur Square was already empty this was probably even more quiet, which is rather odd given that it has many government buildings.
Cabinet of Ministers
Senate building
Monument to the Independence of Uzbekistan
Overall, the city felt completely empty, clean, safe – and also rather soulless. This was however not the full picture of Tashkent as the best of the city was yet to come.
Next up: Visiting the buzzing Chorsu Bazaar and hopping around Tashkent's beautiful metro network
Mar 15, 2019, 3:01 pm
#25
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Interesting from Tashkent. I don't remember the city as being empty but I do remember the police and the ugly Hotel Uzbekistan. I also have vivid memories of my Metro trip. It looks like my experience was less favourable than yours. I ended up in a room with police who wanted to "discuss". I was too stupid/naive to understand they most likely wanted a bribe...
Mar 16, 2019, 3:27 pm
#26
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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Interesting from Tashkent. I don't remember the city as being empty but I do remember the police and the ugly Hotel Uzbekistan. I also have vivid memories of my Metro trip. It looks like my experience was less favourable than yours. I ended up in a room with police who wanted to "discuss". I was too stupid/naive to understand they most likely wanted a bribe...
The Tashkent metro was actually an interesting place - I was super careful to photograph (with my mobile phone) as inconspicuous as I could as I know in many dictatorships such pictures are not really appreciated. Yet I got more confidence to just snap away when I saw also locals taking out their mobile phone and taking selfies etc - although in the end I still didn't dare to take a lot of time for each picture inside a metro station.
Mar 16, 2019, 4:15 pm
#27
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Part 6: The bustling Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent
Hotel: Aster Hotel, 80 USD/night incl. breakfast
My next goal was Chorsu Bazaar – said to be the must-see sight for tourists when in Tashkent. It is a bit out of the city centre, so the best way to get there is by metro. Just like the metro systems in many other ex-USSR republics, also the Tashkent metro is gorgeously designed. I was a bit afraid to snap pictures as I know how sensitive such areas still can be in police states such as Uzbekistan – so apologies in advance if the quality isn't too good. It was basically taking out my mobile phone, pretending I was typing a message, and then quickly snap a picture whenever the metro station cops and attendants were not looking. I have to say though that towards the end of the day I felt a bit more secure having witnessed locals taking selfies and snaps as well, although I still took precautions with metro picturing.
After a short ride on two metro lines I finally arrived at Chorsu Bazaar station.
Chorsu Bazaar is absolutely sprawling. The main market (food) is in a huge UFO-like dome which you can see from quite a distance away. Directly around it are also some covered markets (mostly vegetables, spices etc.). Further away, in both small streets, buildings and covered markets other goods such as clothes, shoes and household products can be found.
I opted to explore the immediate surroundings first and head for the dome as my last stop.
South of Chorsu Bazaar are the two interesting sights of the Ko'kaldosh Madrasa and the Dzhuma Mosque. The Madrasa (religious education school) is from the 16th Century and one of the rare old sights in Tashkent (much of the old city has been destroyed by an earthquake in the 1960s). Although nowhere near as impressive as what I would see later in such cities as Samarkand and Bukhara, it made for a nice teaser of the silk road sights the country has to offer.
The Ko'kaldosh Madrasa can be seen on the forefront, the building in the back is the Dzhuma Mosque.
The inner courtyard of the Ko'kaldosh Madrasa
The Dzhuma Mosque was originally built in the 15th Century but was also levelled by an earthquake. The current building was built in the Tsarist-era and recently restored.
Back in the bustling small streets around Chorsu Bazaar I opted for a local outdoor eatery after following my nose which was enticed by the smell of grilled meat. I ordered two shashlyk, a salad and a coke. The meat was mouthwatering succulent, the tomatoes and cucumbers fresh from the land (and it had some absolutely tasty condiments sprinkled on it. Total costs? Just 3 USD – the bread being on the house. I sure do love my share of haute cuisine as well – but honestly, food doesn't necessarily need to be fancy and lavish to be good as long as it is properly prepared using fresh, organic ingredients.
After the meal I walked closer towards the main bazaar building. Around the UFO-like dome is where you can find all your veggies, fruits, spices and such.
I finally managed to make it to the large dome. Inside you can find mostly meat and diary products, although there were also some outlets selling nuts. Top tip: walk a floor up – there isn't that much there of produce on offer but it makes for some great picture shooting and people watching of the main ground floor.
I absolutely loved Chorsu Bazaar and it was the first time during my day in Tashkent that I really had the feeling “wow, I'm really in Central Asia”. If you like markets and/or people watching – this is the place to go.
There are a couple of other minor sights and museums to see in Tashkent but given the red-eye the night before I was just too tired to explore more given I probably walked easily more than 10-15 kilometres in total. I therefore took the metro back to my hotel – although I did it with a bit of an underground detour to admire some more metro architecture on my way!
Back at the Astor Hotel the amazing staff offered me a free upgrade to a higher category – which for sure was appreciated after being denied an early check-in when I arrived in the morning unless I would pay extra $$$. I really can't complain much about the hotel: the staff was super welcoming and helpful, my room looked lovely and was comfortable, the location was superb (close to the airport and main train station, and staff can order dirt dirt-cheap taxis with Russian Uber-like apps for you). The hotel is located in a quiet residential/embassy area, although on the nearby main road just a few minutes walking distance there are lots of modern shops, restaurants and cafes.
I napped for a bit – and afterwards decided I was still too lazy to walk to a nearby restaurant, so ended up trying the on-site restaurant in the hotel. When I saw the menu I got super excited to see Georgian food (Adjaran khachapuri!) but then of course got bitterly disappointed when they said they don't serve them anymore as it is “the old menu”. I ended up ordering a potato-meat kinda stew which was tasty and for sure filling. Not bad really, although I expected better. I just hate it how in such restaurants they have to ruin a dish by putting the evil-spirited herb dill on it – something which I refer to as 'the Russian disease'. Luckily it was only put on the top and could easily be removed.
I ended up drinking a pint of beer (or two) and smoking some nargilah on the nice inner courtyard of the hotel before going to sleep relatively early.
I was happy I visited Tashkent first on my trip. It made for an interesting and fun first stop in the country – although the entire experience would soon to be overwhelmed by the amazing other destinations the country has to offer.
Next up: Some adventures on an Uzbek train to Samarkand
Hotel: Aster Hotel, 80 USD/night incl. breakfast
My next goal was Chorsu Bazaar – said to be the must-see sight for tourists when in Tashkent. It is a bit out of the city centre, so the best way to get there is by metro. Just like the metro systems in many other ex-USSR republics, also the Tashkent metro is gorgeously designed. I was a bit afraid to snap pictures as I know how sensitive such areas still can be in police states such as Uzbekistan – so apologies in advance if the quality isn't too good. It was basically taking out my mobile phone, pretending I was typing a message, and then quickly snap a picture whenever the metro station cops and attendants were not looking. I have to say though that towards the end of the day I felt a bit more secure having witnessed locals taking selfies and snaps as well, although I still took precautions with metro picturing.
After a short ride on two metro lines I finally arrived at Chorsu Bazaar station.
Chorsu Bazaar is absolutely sprawling. The main market (food) is in a huge UFO-like dome which you can see from quite a distance away. Directly around it are also some covered markets (mostly vegetables, spices etc.). Further away, in both small streets, buildings and covered markets other goods such as clothes, shoes and household products can be found.
I opted to explore the immediate surroundings first and head for the dome as my last stop.
South of Chorsu Bazaar are the two interesting sights of the Ko'kaldosh Madrasa and the Dzhuma Mosque. The Madrasa (religious education school) is from the 16th Century and one of the rare old sights in Tashkent (much of the old city has been destroyed by an earthquake in the 1960s). Although nowhere near as impressive as what I would see later in such cities as Samarkand and Bukhara, it made for a nice teaser of the silk road sights the country has to offer.
The Ko'kaldosh Madrasa can be seen on the forefront, the building in the back is the Dzhuma Mosque.
The inner courtyard of the Ko'kaldosh Madrasa
The Dzhuma Mosque was originally built in the 15th Century but was also levelled by an earthquake. The current building was built in the Tsarist-era and recently restored.
Back in the bustling small streets around Chorsu Bazaar I opted for a local outdoor eatery after following my nose which was enticed by the smell of grilled meat. I ordered two shashlyk, a salad and a coke. The meat was mouthwatering succulent, the tomatoes and cucumbers fresh from the land (and it had some absolutely tasty condiments sprinkled on it. Total costs? Just 3 USD – the bread being on the house. I sure do love my share of haute cuisine as well – but honestly, food doesn't necessarily need to be fancy and lavish to be good as long as it is properly prepared using fresh, organic ingredients.
After the meal I walked closer towards the main bazaar building. Around the UFO-like dome is where you can find all your veggies, fruits, spices and such.
I finally managed to make it to the large dome. Inside you can find mostly meat and diary products, although there were also some outlets selling nuts. Top tip: walk a floor up – there isn't that much there of produce on offer but it makes for some great picture shooting and people watching of the main ground floor.
I absolutely loved Chorsu Bazaar and it was the first time during my day in Tashkent that I really had the feeling “wow, I'm really in Central Asia”. If you like markets and/or people watching – this is the place to go.
There are a couple of other minor sights and museums to see in Tashkent but given the red-eye the night before I was just too tired to explore more given I probably walked easily more than 10-15 kilometres in total. I therefore took the metro back to my hotel – although I did it with a bit of an underground detour to admire some more metro architecture on my way!
Back at the Astor Hotel the amazing staff offered me a free upgrade to a higher category – which for sure was appreciated after being denied an early check-in when I arrived in the morning unless I would pay extra $$$. I really can't complain much about the hotel: the staff was super welcoming and helpful, my room looked lovely and was comfortable, the location was superb (close to the airport and main train station, and staff can order dirt dirt-cheap taxis with Russian Uber-like apps for you). The hotel is located in a quiet residential/embassy area, although on the nearby main road just a few minutes walking distance there are lots of modern shops, restaurants and cafes.
I napped for a bit – and afterwards decided I was still too lazy to walk to a nearby restaurant, so ended up trying the on-site restaurant in the hotel. When I saw the menu I got super excited to see Georgian food (Adjaran khachapuri!) but then of course got bitterly disappointed when they said they don't serve them anymore as it is “the old menu”. I ended up ordering a potato-meat kinda stew which was tasty and for sure filling. Not bad really, although I expected better. I just hate it how in such restaurants they have to ruin a dish by putting the evil-spirited herb dill on it – something which I refer to as 'the Russian disease'. Luckily it was only put on the top and could easily be removed.
I ended up drinking a pint of beer (or two) and smoking some nargilah on the nice inner courtyard of the hotel before going to sleep relatively early.
I was happy I visited Tashkent first on my trip. It made for an interesting and fun first stop in the country – although the entire experience would soon to be overwhelmed by the amazing other destinations the country has to offer.
Next up: Some adventures on an Uzbek train to Samarkand
Mar 17, 2019, 2:59 am
#28
Join Date: Nov 2012
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Once more time, a fascinating trip report, Romanianflyer
What is the problem with taking pictures in the metro ? This is hardly a state secret or a technological one. Does the local police is afraid people are gathering intelligence about the stations layout to plan an attack ?
What is the problem with taking pictures in the metro ? This is hardly a state secret or a technological one. Does the local police is afraid people are gathering intelligence about the stations layout to plan an attack ?
Mar 17, 2019, 4:33 am
#29
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
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Posts: 5,640
Up until the middle of last year, photos were banned on the metro because they also doubled as bomb shelters, which made them military installations. This has since been relaxed, but I'm sure RomanianFlyer didn't want to attract the attention of the police which may want to harass a foreigner who they would presume didn't know any better.
Mar 17, 2019, 10:34 am
#30
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 2,685
Up until the middle of last year, photos were banned on the metro because they also doubled as bomb shelters, which made them military installations. This has since been relaxed, but I'm sure RomanianFlyer didn't want to attract the attention of the police which may want to harass a foreigner who they would presume didn't know any better.
)I mean until about a year and a half ago, you basically had to change all your money in Uzbekistan on the street with guys who carried around som in black plastic bags (and changing 100 USD basically got you a bag full of notes). Things didn't make a lot of sense, there were controls on everything. Leaving the country via a land border I had changed some Tajik currency before exiting (which obviously I hadn't declared upon entry) and was quite lucky to get it through given that they literally looked through the pages of my Lonely Planet and opened my bag looking for cash (the Tajik money was in my back pocket between the pages of a tourist brochure/map).
Seems very different these days. Good for them,