I
have always wanted to visit Central Asia and as my plan to visit another region
failed to materialise as neither of the two travel agents that normally
organise trips there had it on offer for the last week of December, I decided
it was time to visit Uzbekistan. I contacted a travel agent and was informed
that it could arrange a tour for at least two people and then persuaded Nit, a
colleague, to come along for the trip. We had to pay a slightly higher price for
the tour package as the usual airline allocation had sold out and had to go on
the next higher economy fare. The first payment was made to secure the air
ticket while the balance was made about a month before departure. We then had
to fill up visa application form and provide two photos for this purpose and
the travel agent then submitted our application to the embassy.
Friday,
22 December 2017
I
had spent the evening before at Akak’s place and my nieces drove me to
Putrajaya station just after 08:30 for the KLIA Transit train to KLIA. I used
my card to buy the ticket at the kiosk to enjoy the 10% discount off ticket
price and then sat to wait for the train. The check-in counter at KLIA for
Uzbekistan Airways is at counter M and I was queuing with other fellow
travellers before long and used the time to observe the exotic locals. I then
went in immediately and browsed some boutiques before heading for my gate.
The
flight took off an hour later than scheduled. I was not happy with my assigned
seat and moved places twice (I had just sat at row 20 when two girls came up
breathless having just boarded the plane *opps* and had to move again, to row
13 this time). There were a lot of families in that section and I wondered if
that was why I was assigned to the back row.
I
couldn’t sleep but of course and spent time reading my book and the inflight
magazine, which turned out to be a good thing for it was full of information on
the country. Prior to landing, we had to fill in two copies of landing form
(one copy will be retained by the customs officer while the other copy is to be
kept by passenger until he departs the country) where among others we have to
declare all foreign currencies brought in (this is because the Uzbek Government
doesn’t want precious foreign currencies leaving the country), the jewellery
brought in and any electrical equipment brought into the country. I went to ask
a cabin crew twice on how to fill up the form and left detailed instructions to
Nit on how to fill it as she was sleeping every time I went to check on her.
We
landed at 17:15 local time (Uzbekistan is three hours behind) and had to be ferried
to the terminal building by buses. I tried looking out for Nit but didn’t see
her even until after I had collected my suitcase and cleared the customs. It
turned out that she had cleared immigration and customs ahead of me and was
already waiting outside. I dithered if I should change some money at the
airport before deciding not to.
Our
young guide, Elzod, was already waiting for us and we were heading out of the
airport before long to the city. There was a traffic jam heading out of the
airport which we managed to shrug off after a while. We were taken to a local
restaurant for dinner (tomato and cucumber salad and some meat on a skewer and
lemon tea) before we were driven to Hotel Uzbekistan to check in. Our room was
huge and overlooked Amir Timur Square. The hotel (and subsequent hotels) did
not provide electrical kettle in the room – good thing Nit brought one in her
huge suitcase – or tea/coffee for guests. I went to bed after performing
prayers as I was too knackered and I didn’t manage to doze off during the
flight. Plus we had an early morning start.
Saturday,
23 December 2017
I
woke up at a quarter to 5 and took a shower. After packing up, we left and went
to check out. The front desk returned our passports and gave a slip which we
needed to keep. Elzod had told us to be ready by 6 and although we had informed
the front desk that we wanted a packed breakfast, we ended up waiting for 20
minutes before it was ready. It was a good thing that the roads were clear and
we reached the domestic airport in good time. After checking in, we went in and
waited for our flight. I had gotten hungry and had the pear which was in the
breakfast pack.
We
had to take a bus to our plane which was an ATR aircraft. I was hoping for a
sandwich and some warm drink during the flight but we were only served a cup of
soda each. We landed at Bukhara Airport at 9 and waited a while for our bags
before walking out and taking a taxi to Caravan Hotel. It felt somewhat colder
in Bukhara that morning compared to Tashkent even though we arrived in Tashkent
in the evening. Elzod had informed that we would begin our tour in Bukhara at
noon but when I met him later at the lobby when I was utilising the WiFi (only
available at the hotel lobby and not in the room. This and the faint unpleasant smell in the bathroom are my only complaints about this hotel), he said we could commence
our tour an hour earlier so we left at 11 for the old town nearby. We first
went to Kalyan Mosque, Kalyan Minaret aka Death Minaret because criminals were
pushed off the minaret back then to their death, and Miri Arab Madrasah. The
madrasah is still functioning to this day; unfortunately, women are not allowed
inside. We also visited a few other nearby madrasahs which no longer function
as madrasahs but instead housed shops. We also walked past the bazaar before
having lunch at the restaurant of Lyab-I Hauz.
Hotel courtyard
To
be continued
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