Along the Golden Road to Samarkand

Posted by roamingreto on 13 Apr 2008 in Uzbekistan | 1 comment

Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells
When shadows pass gigantic on the sand,
And softly though the silence beat the bells
Along the Golden Road to Samarkand.
James Elroy Flecker

What a change a three hour high-speed train journey can make. The train from Tashkent to Samarkand is up to Swiss railway standards. Actually 2nd class is almost like 1st class back home. Upon arrival in Samarkand, I checked into my Bead & Breakfast which is conveniently located in the middle of the old town and a stone throw from the greatest monuments I have seen so far in Uzbekistan. Changed 50 dollars in the local currency – which gives me a heavy stack of money I have to carry in the backpack as the wallet is simply too small for this volume.

Unfortunately, it is a rainy day – but somehow the monuments still are breathtaking. Books can not describe how beautiful the Registan, Gur Amir and other historical monuments along the silk road are in reality. I fear that my plans to stay only two nights in Samarkand will not be enough, but the impending visa expiry date leaves not much room to shift dates. Samarkand is very touristic and there are a handful of French and British tourists here.

It seems that my yesterdays paparazzi session at the Chorsu market back in Tashkent was met by a friendly revenge from the Uzbek tourists here in Samarkand. School kids (mostly girls, sigh…) went crazy and asked me to be in their group photo. So I complied and smiled into at least thirty-plus pictures. There were even some adults who absolutely wanted a picture with me.

After a while I started to ask them whether I could have a picture of them as well. So I have a nice collection of pictures featuring me among total strangers. Weird. One teen girl from a family was running after me with her elder brother and gave me a souvenir she just bought (with the few money she had) and told me that this should always remember me of her. That is overwhelming and it really made my day on top of a day which is already almost perfect (but for the rain).

There is no need to reiterate my excitement about Uzbekistan. You’ve read raves about it yesterday and you know that I love it here. So I am putting a bit of balance by naming some of the downsides:

Unemployment rate is high and many Uzbeks work abroad. Even when they have jobs, they are poorly paid. This results in absurd situations: As an example, the entrance fee to the Registan monument is 6500 sum at the counter. And policemen are guarding that no one accesses the area without ticket. However, if you are patient enough, you’ll spot corrupt policemen who will let you through the same gates which they are supposed to guard, by paying a small fee (around 3000 sum).

Although the country is plentiful of resources, most of it is exported instead of being processed here in factories. The result is that Uzbekistan imports almost everything at foreign prices.

Waste disposal – especially the education about it – seems to be a general problem here and in Russia. For example: The waste on trains is disposed by throwing it between the carriages platform on the tracks (or out of the windows). When I saw this first on the Tashkent Express I couldn’t believe my eyes. Therefore, along any rail track, there are heeps of PET bottles, papers and other rubbish – which is a pity.

Police presence in this country is absolutely striking. It seems as if fifty percent of the workforce is being employed by the police. But they are generally friendly and – as a result – it is very safe here by any means. Although Uzbekistan is being perceived as dangerous terrain abroad, the only real danger here is to be overcharged by dishonest taxi drivers.

No woder I love Uzbekistan and the Uzbek people – with all the shortcomings and I surely could live here. But I’ll have to continue along the Golden Road and move on. It will be hard for any other upcoming country along my journey to surpass what I have experienced here.

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