From Hull to Everywhere Else

Long trip from Bishkek to Samarkand. Two border crossings - one from Kyrgyzstan into Kazakhstan and then from Kazakhstan into Uzbekistan. Set off at 9pm onto a reasonably comfortable coach. First border crossing was about midnight. Had to get off the bus and take all possessions then walk through passport control and customs. No big deal. Through in less than an hour. Then on through the night on the bus. Arrived at the Uzbek borden (the entry from Shymkent). This was a much less pleasant experience, simply because it took way too long. Had to put kit though x-ray machine on the way out and then spend about an hour just to get the exit stamp. Then the same process on entry into Uzbekistan. It must have been about two hours in total. And then waiting outside no sign of the coach. I was expecting it to be somewhere behind us so I waited. And waited. And waited. Still nothing. In the end after another hour I gave up and got a local bus into Tashkent. My phone was not able to connect to the internet - despite my having bought an esim for Uzbekistan while I was in Kyrgyzstan - more of which later.

Got off the bus at a stop by Shakriston Metro station. The metro stations are very ornately decorated (see photos). I asked where the railway station to Samarkand was (or so I thought) and was sent to a particular station - Olmazor. Got off there and there was nothing - or at least nothing I could see. I wondered over to a hotel to ask them if they could direct me to the station (and have a pee) and they said I needed to get the tube to Toshkent. Fair enough. Got there and there was indeed a railway station. So I bought my ticket for Samarkand on the 2pm train. Then the lady behind the glass told me that the train went from the other station - not the one that I was at. And there was no metro to this station. I had to get a taxi. Oh well. I'd been told that there were two stations and only one went to Samarkand by various people in Kyrgyzstan but even so this outcome was I think inevitable.

Anyway I got to the station and caught the train at 2pm. It was a 4 hour train and each ticket secured you a bench which doubled as a couchette. Quite comfy but no a.c. and it was hot on the train.

Opposite me was a lady with her child and I thought her husband. It turned out that he was nothing to do with her but had just been sharing the bench before going up to his upper level couchette.

My phone data was still not working so as the train was pulling in I asked her if I could use her phone to check out hotels. Took a few photos and then having disembarked showed the photo of the first hotel to a taxi driver and headed over there to the Hotel - Hotel Astor. No booking nothing. But fortunately they had rooms. Very nice room with good ac and comfy room.

Still no connection to the internet. Very odd. So to backtrack a little - obviously when you're travelling you come to rely on your phone for connection to the internet for maps, hotel/hostel bookings etc. So I try to ensure that I will always have connection. I had bought an esim for Uzbekistan while still in Kyrgyzstan. It didn't work while I was on the bus from the border into Tashkent but thought maybe it was just taking some time. But it meant that I was navigating the city and metro without any maps - which was interesting. Once I'd got my ticket and made it to the correct railway station I thought I'd be able to connect on their wifi but the wifi at the station required to send you an sms in order to be logged on and having a data only sim meant that i had no number for an sms to be sent to. so Still couldn't log on. So... I had a two hour wait at the station so popped across the road and bought a physical sim card. The guy who sold it to me said it might take an hour before it was activated. So still no data.

And time came and went and still it didn't work. I got on the train and still during the four hour journey no data. This is why I had to ask for help getting photos of hotel rooms. Arrived and got to the hotel room. Logged on to wifi and still no internet connection. Very odd. But now being in a hotel room I could try my other devices - my laptop and spare phone. And both of these did log on with wifi. So it was an issue with my phone. Not sure what. In the end and as a last resort I switched off my vpn and suddenly open sesame everything worked again. It seems that nord vpn, my vpn of choice wasn't able to work here.

So I spent two nights at this hotel before moving to Amir hostel. Unfortutnely Amir hostel only had dorms, not private rooms, so they sent me to their other establishment, the Hotel Azaliya. This did have a private room but it was only just opened and on the whole wasn't quite ready and the room didn't have a.c.

So the following day I moved to the Hotel Rahmon and finally found the place I wanted to stay. Very friendly and nice hotel. However, Ruslan the Russian (not really actually Uzbeki but with family in Russia) wouldn't let anyone pass by without insisting that they stop and have a drink. And with Farmon the host it was difficult to be teetotal in this place.

Met up with Dana on day two and had lunch. We agreed to meet up in a couple of days to explore.

When we did we did a little route near Registan square. Met up again on the Tuesday and tried to go to the concert that was arranged for U's Independence Day but in the end couldn't get in.

Also met up with an Aussie guitarist Olesh who is cycling around the world. I'm pondering the idea of getting or reclaiming one of my bikes to cycle for a while. This would at least ensure that I am getting sufficient exercise.

While at the hostel I met a Japanese chap who was riding around the world on a 50cc honda - completely swamped by all his gear. Seems like a good way of doing so, especially when it only cost him $500. So the options for modes of travel are manifold!Read more