Travelling and Things to See in Uzbekistan – Part 2

Sadly, there were no established bus lines going there, so the owner, whom I’d actually befriended by then, referred me to his friend who had a car. An old Russian Volga or “Russian Cadillac”. We settled on a price for renting the car for a day, which included him taking me there and back again. I offered him 20 euros and the old man agreed to it. Along the way, he explained how he used to be a factory manager, but is now retired and receives a low pension which barely enables him to live, so he works part-time as a taxi driver.

We arrived to the lake in about an hour and a half and there was actually a beach with hotels and various water activities on the lake’s shores. Judging by the local petrol prices, I thought renting a jet ski would be cheap, but I was wrong. The prices were relatively high and around five euros per minute, so I decided to rent a small paddle boat for an hour or so, after which I planned on going for a swim in the lake. The paddle boat could carry two people, so I invited my “chauffer”. The man was happy, which is evident by his smile revealing sparkling gold teeth in the photo. In case you don’t know, fixing teeth using gold was very popular in the former Soviet Union. We continued our conversation about how people used to live in the past and how things got worse now. Then we headed back to the capital in the evening, but first he had to wait for me at the train station where I bought a train ticket to the ancient city of Samarkand for the next day.

Samarkand – Uzbekistan’s historical city, rich in culture and tradition

The train journey took about six hours because I chose one of the cheapest local trains, but for such a long route it didn’t cost me more than five euros. About 20 taxi drivers poured in towards me at the station and they all offered to take me sightseeing around the city. I picked one and then he agreed to take me to my accommodation after we’re done with the sightseeing.

And we were really driving from one landmark to another, from one mosque to another, visiting the market and the ancient caves. I was really captivated by the city because it was so beautiful, plus I personally like old buildings that take you to another era. It felt as if I were in a medieval Arab country.

There were lots of tourists in the city coming from various countries, but it was only in the evening that the locals came out and the city truly came to life. There weren’t many locals in the streets during the day because of the scorching heat and the temperatures could rise up to 40 degrees Celsius. In the evening, though, everyone went for a walk and cooled themselves down with some ice cream. I have to tell you, this is where I had the best ice cream in the world, and just for ten cents at that, plus it was good, obviously.

I talked to a few locals who told me I should visit the Bibi-Khanym Mosque because it’s lit up in the evening and there’s a special light show taking place. Naturally, I visited the place and the 15th-century mosque really was lit up in all kinds of changing colours. It was a real treat as far as making photos goes. But that’s not all. A huge light show started at 9 p.m., which reminded me of some kind of sci-fi film about the origin of the humankind from prehistory to the present day. Even though the light show was in Uzbek, you could still understand the gist of the projection, which you can also watch in this video. After it was over, I went for a walk in the nearby park, which was also full of locals, families and children in general, all of which reminded me of some kind of carnival or amusement park. I stayed in the city for a couple of more days to experience the city vibes and its soul, which was amazing, so I would definitely recommend visiting Samarkand to anyone who comes to Uzbekistan. The city ob viously doesn’t disappoint.

This is also where I’m ending my month-and-a-half-long trip around Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Each country was special and none of them disappointed. Goodbye until the next time.