TASHKENT
Tashkent is the biggest and the capital city of Uzbekistan. It was an important centre of trade on the Silk Route two thousand years back and is an exciting, modern city now. I flew in from Mumbai, on Uzbekistan Airways which was a very comfortable 3hrs 45min direct flight. I had an e-visa and immigration was very quick as the queue for it was separate and very thin. Tashkent international airport is quite small, so most of the tasks that one needs to get done happen in the arrival hall post immigration.
The airport Wi-Fi works, though not very smoothly, and could take you a few tries to get connected. Since I had difficulty getting connected initially, the lady at the helpdesk was very helpful and handed over her phone to me to make a local call to the apartment owner where I was booked for the night. You can buy your local SIM with bundled data here for your stay in Uzbekistan. It’s freely available at all airports and elsewhere.
The currency exchange counter is right there. Once you exit the terminal building, you would find plenty of taxi drivers soliciting a ride. No need to get overwhelmed, just walk a few steps to find more taxis and you can hail one. Do negotiate. Taxis are quite affordable and charge you anything between 5000 to 20000 Soms (1/2 to 2 USD) depending on the distance. Alternatively, you can also download a mobile phone application called Yandex to book a cab.
I had an overnight stay in Tashkent and had booked an apartment not very far from the airport yet quite close to the city Metro.
The Tashkent Metro Subway, with its three lines, takes you all over Tashkent. It is one of the simplest, cleanest, and easiest of networks to navigate in the city. The Tashkent Metro has the most ornate and resplendent stations which are a treat to the eyes. Most wagons were very ordinary in their build and old, from the Soviet era, but they run surprisingly very fast with superb ventilation! All stations are “manned” by at least two women at the ticket booking counter so travellers who are not tech savvy, need not feel intimidated about the working of an automated vending machine. There are at least two attendants at the turnstile too where you drop the token into a rickety old machine which works just fine. The ticket rate is fixed. One trip costs you 1400 Soms. The rate is flat for any distance that you travel. I often bought a few tokens together to save time. Try and see as many stations as you can, they are beautiful!
After checking in to my apartment on Mirabad Street, my first trip was to Chorsu Bazaar. You would love going through this old bazaar which sells everything from local “designer” bread (called Non or Lepeshka) and fruits to ceramic pottery and carpets! In fact, you would find lanes with vendors on both sides selling bread in different shapes and sizes. I picked up a big fluffy Non, just for 15000 Soms, and munched mouthfuls of it while browsing the market. It was a warm day and soon I was looking for something cool to drink when I discovered a local drink called Ichimlik being sold at various corners. Nothing to beat the refreshing fruity drink to rejuvenate you.
The vibes that you get in Chorsu are those of the 80s or of early 90s. I picked up Uzbek dolls, ceramic pottery, scarves, and Karakul (lamb fleece). Right next to the Chorsu Bazaar, I saw a medieval-era monument which I figured out was the Kukeldash Madrassa. Must visit the yellow-bricked structure, though I later realized that this would be just a warm-up to some fascinating architecture I would get to see in the days to come.
One side of the Bazaar has a street full of eateries serving authentic local cuisine. I was famished. A very affable couple at a brightly done stall had some mouth-watering dishes on the stove. The menu was simple. The rice dish — Plov, topped all of them. Over the next few days, I realized how popular Plov is. You would find it on all menus. Lagman noodles, Somsa, Manti, and Shashlik are some of the choicest other items in Uzbek food. Meat is a staple, consumed in big quantities, and is mostly beef. There is lamb and chicken too, however, in fewer dishes. I settled for Plov and some fresh Greek salad. Lip-smacking! Thereafter, Plov became a daily affair, at least in one of the meals during the day. I first saw big and crimson red pomegranates being sold in heaps in Chorsu Bazaar and later elsewhere too. The most abundantly found Anor was seen either as a whole fruit in the markets or in the form of juice in restaurants or as an embroidery motif on stoles or painted on ceramic pottery and papier-machie. It qualifies to be a national symbol for the country if it already is not.
Towards evening, I got off at one of the stations near Amir Timur Square and took a long walk along the wide tree-lined avenue by the same name, right up to the Tashkent TV Tower. The tower might not be a rage like the Eiffel but it looks beautiful when beautifully lit up at night. This street has plenty of good restaurants serving global cuisine.
Tashkent is a green city with lots of huge trees with a special mention of the maple, Chinor.
