Info Uzbekistan. The new tourist season

The Train
I decided to start my journey from Bukhara where I went on a train. The price of the train tickets vary depending on the distance of the route and comfort. I bought a ticket for a carriage with numbered reserved seats on the lower place for 8100 soums (insurance from the Uzbek-Swiss insurance company Universal Sug'urta - Tel: +998 71 63-92-66 - is included in the fare). I have not traveled by train for 9 years already and the image of dirty carriages of the times of perestroika remain in my memory. However, this time I was surprised. There was a teapot and 4 pialas on the table. The berths were covered with green coverlets. The conductor gave out new bed linen to the passengers. Moreover the fare includes a pack consisting of: 2 "Slanyanskie" pryaniks (spice-cakes), 2 "Reyhan" jasmine teabags, 1 pack of "PIKNIK" biscuits (75g), 4 cubes of sugar, a tissue. It was too late for tea drinking, so I put the pack in my bag and went to sleep. In my sleep in the middle of the night I could hear the market women walking along the carriage and offering Samarkand lepyoshkas (flat cakes). This train makes a stop first in Jizak, then in Samarkand, Navoi. It stops 10 km from Bukhara, the terminal is Bahara-1 station. This is logical because extending a branch line inside the city will harm the architecture of the city. At 7:30 am morning I found myself on the platform where I was immediately surrounded by taxi-drivers. I reached Lyabi Hauz on the "Jiguli" car together with other passengers for 1200 soums. The city was preparing for the new tourist season.

Bukhara
Moving from one hotel to another I kept stumbling upon ruts. Turns out, work on the replacement of the plumbing in the old part of the city was underway. Now the water in Bukhara will significantly improve in quality. The tension of supplying it during summer time will be removed. The first time I visited Bukhara was in winter, before I used to come mainly in the period from May to September, therefore it was strange to observe deserted streets and art-salons, closed doors of blacksmiths' workshops, frozen water of the Lyabi Hauz itself, upturned trestle-beds. There was a completely different life inside the hotels. Hotels "Nodirbek", "Zargaron", "SALOM INN", "SASHA & SON", "NAZIRA-AZIZBEK" had repair-construction works underway. It was quite and deserted in the "CARAVAN" and "SHAHRISTAN" hotels. These hotels are quite large, they started working in the end of summer last year, therefore are not in need of repairs and construction. "BUKHARA PRESTIGE" Hotel was also closed. In my view, this is a rash action. Before the beginning of the season many tour operators work actively on reserving places. Here is some useful information for them.

Navoi
My next stop was in Navoi city, which is famous for its mining and smelting industrial complex. I went from the bus station from Bukhara to Navoi on Nexia for 2500 soums. Journey time - 1.5 hours. In Navoi I wanted to know what interesting (or pleasant) things a traveler would find for himself here. Another reason for my stop in here is to examin the hotel business here. In October during the Tashkent tourist exposition one young man walked around and gave out leaflets with the address and telephone number of a hotel in Navoi. I was in Navoi last time 2 years ago. I became interested, is it possible that good hotels appeared in this city? No, they did not. I was very disappointed when I saw the same old deserted hotel in the center of the city. It did not improve in during the 2 years (however it did not become worse either, which is good), but "Sarmish" restaurant of this hotel does not work anymore. I am leaving you the coordinates of this hotel (73, Halklar Dustligi Str., Telephone: +998-79 223-11-64, 223-30-52, 223-58-15) in case you get somehow carried to Bukhara. There is a children's disco called MEGA DANCE right behind the hotel. It is called children's because school pupils hang out here during daytime while in the evening they are not allowed, of course. On the first floor behind a plain (if not worse) door there is a quite cozy hall called "Rus" restaurant. A modest lunch - salad, pelmeni (ravioli), tea with lemon, bread - cost me 2500 soums here.

From the waiter's story, who kindly agreed to have a talk with me, I found out that the youth of this city spends their time in the evening in two places: TARONA bar-restaurant (Nizomiy Street) and PARADISE Club (Pervomayskaya Street). With great pride (and in strict confidence) he informed me that they have a topless style show-programme here.
But now I am heading to Samarkand in the car.

Samarkand
I am heading for the Samarkand stop called "Povorot", which means "Turning-point" (the name is invented by the inhabitants themselves) on the Nexia car again spending 3000 soums. The trip was cheerless and monotonous, the male fellow travelers were quite and made no attempts to make an acquaintance. But, having passed the Kattakurgan city, we witnessed an accident. For your information, the road in this area is very guileful. The drivers call it "accordion" because it consists of rises and slopes alternating very fast. So, we were driving and saw a small white "Matiz" car soar over the road, which was coming towards us. It soared and flew across the roads, landed on the dust and turned over. Our car pulled up to it and the men went out to help. This time everything turned out okay. The men put the car back on its wheels and pulled out both the young men. They were from Tashkent, driving on this road for the first time and, of course, did not know how dangerous this road can be. The most important thins is not to speed on this way and everything will be all right.

In Samarkand I stopped in "DILSHODA B & B" (150, Ok-Saroy Street). I really like this hotel - it is located 20 meters from Gur-Emir, the owners are very friendly, the rooms are cozy and warm. The owners have their own news - the construction of a building for 9 rooms will be over by May. One will be able to admire Registan from the windows of the new building, and from the balcony of the old one, as always, the magnificent Gur-Emir mausoleum.

In the city hotels are also busy with construction and repairs. I have no information whether the list of hotels in Samarkand will increase by new names, but the list of restaurants has widened. "Karimbek" restaurant-bar (intersection of Gagarina and A. Timura streets) deserves a special story. In half a year at the place of a plain choyhona grew a restaurant the interior of which is amazing. The national motives here are present in everything. There are short curtain hanging on small windows of separate rooms. The tree in the center of the inner yard is hanged with dried long pumpkins. Their yellowish colour harmonizes with the wooden staircase. The edges of a small fountain are laid with ceramic crocks. An old bullock-cart towers over by the entrance. If you visit Samarkand, definitely have your lunch or dinner in this restaurant. The restaurant is a corner building therefore look for the entrance into the bar from the direction of "Istiklol" restaurant. Come down the stairs and order "Baltika-3" beer. For some reason it is cheaper here than in Tashkent. On the whole, it is significantly cheaper to have a good meal in Samarkand than in any other city of Uzbekistan. And how delicious it is!

As successfully as "Karimbek" restaurant was devised and constructed, as incomprehensible is the purpose and the name of "Staraya Arba" (old bullock-cart) restaurant (92, Koshgari Street, Telephone: 33-44-99, reference point - SHER-DOR Hotel). There is modern furniture in three halls, portieres on the windows. The only national colouring in the interior is jugs, kumgans (pitchers), dishes, some murals in the arcs. There is only a wheel from the old bullock-cart here.

"ALT STADT" summer restaurant in the center of the city was subject to reconstruction (17, A.Timur Str., Telephone: 33-48-95). Now it is a beer restaurant on the first floor of a modern two-floor building. I really liked the entrance door and the hall. The restaurant always has some bonuses for the clients. In summer they offer every second mug of beer for free, and the first mug for new clients. Beer is brewed here in the restaurant.

During my evening walk along restaurants and cafes of the city, I became convinced that there are still many visitors in "Blues" bar and "Exclusive" restaurant. I found out from my conversation with young people that the youth hangs out at "Eldorado" disco. It is located not far from "Tomiris" restaurant. To my great regret, I could not find a more precise address of both the restaurant and the club. But in the next issue their addresses will definitely appear in the lists of restaurants of Samarkand. My general impression of the city was pleasant, as always. I felt the hospitality of people from the first minutes of staying in the city. I was greeted in a friendly way everywhere, people said: "Oh, time Out has visited us again!" They asked about the latest news from Tashkent with eager interest, took interest in the products prices, public transport fare in the capital, listened earnestly about the changes in hotel business in Bukhara. If they heard something praiseworthy about Bukhara, they said: "Well, this is Bukhara!" I responded that the best city of Uzbekistan for me was and will be Samarkand!
I returned to Tashkent by car.