Any Uzbek would state in surprise “There is nothing to see in Termiz”, when you name this city as one of your travel stops. Well, the Chinese say the same about the city of Turpan, which is definitely one of the places I liked most in China. Experience therefore tells me to go and...

There are some roads less travelled in Uzbekistan. One of them took us to Qarshi, which is a small town, about 200km south of Bukhara. Usually tourists do not stop here as this city mostly serves as a southern transport hub connecting half a dozen cities. We went there by “Nexia”...

The trip from Beijing to Tashkent on Uzbekistan Airways was the first flight on my journey. And it was a very comfortable trip on a brand new aircraft with a very friendly crew. Right after arrival in Tashkent, I ran through the usual administrative stuff: Getting local money and a local phone...

Uzbeks and Kazakhs are rivals since their countries were formed. There is some underlying mild hostility when talking of each other’s neighbouring country. Being a tourist in a train running from Nukus (Uzbekistan) to Almaty (Kazachstan) is therefore a bit a diplomatic chess play. Being...

Unfortunately it is time to say good-bye to Uzbekistan. My tourist visa dictates that I’ll have to be out of the country within the next five days. I haven’t been blogging during the last week for two reasons: Internet speed and lack of time because of the overwhelming number of...

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...