Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is often restricted to the lobby area. There are
plenty of internet cafes, however.
Ucell
(Bakhowuddin Nakshabandi 88; per hr
2000S;
h
9am-11pm) Right on Lyabi-hauz, this
place offers the cheapest access in the centre.
Amazingly Fast Internet
(Bakhowuddin
Nakshabandi; per hour 3000S;
h
8am-
midnight) great name, although it might not
always be the case.
MONEY
Most vendors around Taki-Sarrafon (Bakhowud-
din Nakshabandi) and elsewhere exchange
money at fair black-market rates. You can also
change money at the bus station and with
some hotel owners (others will have a money
changer who can drop by if they call them).
oicial exchange booths are at Taki-Sarrafon
and
Asia Hotel
(Mehtar Ambar). The latter also
advances cash for Visa cardholders, as does
Hotel Bukhara Palace
(
%
223 50 04; Navoi 8)
and the
National Bank of Uzbekistan
(M ikbola
3;
h
9am-5pm Mon-Fri).
Asaka Bank
(Bakhaut-
din Naqshband 168;
h
9am-5pm Mon-Fri) does
MasterCard cash advances.
REGISTRATION
OVIR
(
%
223 88 68; Murtazaev 10/3;
h
9am-
5pm Mon-Fri) Some way south of the center
of the new town, register here if you are not
staying in an official hotel.
TELEPHONE & FAX
Telephone & Telegraph Office
(Muminov 8;
h
24hr) international calls for standard Uztele-
kom rates.
TOURIST INFORMATION
For a place as geared towards tourism as
Bukhara, it's incredible that the once-excellent
tourist information centre has closed, and B&Bs
have had to step in to ill the void. Most B&Bs
can sort you out with just about anything you
need from drivers and train tickets to guides
and maps.
TRAVEL & TOUR AGENCIES
Several B&Bs have attached travel agencies.
The best are emir, Komil, Salom and Sarrafon.
Besides yurtstays near Nurata and homestays
near Yangikishlok (which just about any hotel
can arrange), area attractions include endan-
gered Persian gazelles north of Karaul Bazaar,
swimming in Tudakul Lake and the excavated
remains of the pre-islamic era city of Paikent,
60km southwest of Bukhara.
East Line Tour
(
%
224 22 69; www.eastline
tour.com; Bakhautdin Naqshband 98) runs
the full gamut of tours, but specialises in bird-
watching tours around Tudakul Lake and further
aield. it's also the only agency that rents bikes
(US$15 per day, leave your passport as a depos-
it). They'll also buy train tickets for you (with a
12,000S commission per ticket) and can organ-
ise guides, hotels and entertainment shows.
8
Getting¨There¨&¨Away
AIR
Uzbekistan Airways
(
%
225 39 46; Airport)
has lights from Bukhara to Tashkent (US$50,
at least daily), plus a weekly light to Urgench
(US$57, Sunday) in the high season. You can
only book domestic lights at the airport (and
must pay in US dollars), while international
lights can be bought at any of the numerous
'aviakassa' in the new town.
LAND
All eastbound transport leaves from the North
Bus Station, about 3km north of the centre. A
cab here will cost you 5000S. here you'll ind
plenty of private buses (Navoi 5000S, 2½ hours;
Samarkand 20,000S, 4½ hours; Tashkent
30,000S, eight to 10 hours) and shared taxis
(Navoi 20,000S, one hour; Tashkent 80,000S,
6½ hours), plus a few marshrutkas. Shared taxis
to Samarkand (40,000S, three hours) involve a
change of car in Navoi.
About 1.5km north of here is Karvon Bazaar,
departure point for Urgench and Khiva-bound
transport. Shared taxis congregate in a lot on the
less-crowded south end of the market. The going
rate is 70,000S per seat for Urgench (4½ hours).
Drivers demand a little extra for Khiva; you're
better of transferring in Urgench. For buses to
Urgench (20,000S, eight hours), you have to wait
out on the main road in front of the taxi stand and
lag buses originating in Tashkent, which come
through sporadically in the morning - start early
if you want to take the bus.
To get to the North Bus Station and Karvon
Bazaar take marshrutka 61 from the
secondary
Lyabi-Hauz marshrutka stop
(near Asia hotel).
The 'Sharq' bus station east of the centre no
longer functions as such, but it's still a shared
taxis departure point. Find transport to Karshi
(30,000S, two hours), Shakhrisabz (60,000S,
four hours), and Denau on the Tajik border
(70,000S, 5½ hours). Change in Karshi for
Termiz (from Karshi 35,000S, 3½ hours).
TRAIN
The
train station
(
%
524 65 93; Kagan) is 9km
southeast of Bukhara in Kagan. The 'Sharq'
express train zips from Bukhara to Tashkent
every morning at 8:05am (37,000S, seven
hours) via Samarkand (25,000S, three hours).
There are also far cheaper trains to both
Tashkent and Samarkand that use old Soviet-
era rolling stock - a good option for saving on
ticket prices and hotel costs.
otherwise, Bukhara is a bit of a backwater
for trains - the main national services from
