Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Uzbeks love their ubiquitous
kurut
(small
balls of tart, dried yoghurt) and their
noz
(finely crushed chewing tobacco).
Somsa
(puff pastry stuffed with lamb meat and on-
ion) are also ubiquitous and a great snack
when you're out and about at lunch time.
Besides green tea, nonalcoholic drinks
include
katyk,
a thin yoghurt that comes
plain but can be sweetened if you have some
sugar or jam handy. Despite the country's
Muslim veneer, it's easy to find beer, and to
a lesser extent wine and spirits, anywhere
in Uzbekistan and there is no taboo about
drinking it.
in recent years. Worried about Uzbekistan's
international image and keen to encourage tour-
ism, President Karimov has curbed the police
habit of shaking down travellers for bribes at
roadside checkpoints in the provinces. indeed,
taxi drivers now
prefer
having tourists in the car,
as foreigners supposedly provide 'protection'
against spurious roadside checks.
You may still be stopped, particularly on
Tashkent's metro, in the sensitive Fergana Valley
and in border towns like Termiz. With all of those
police around, petty crime and armed robbery
are relatively rare.
The main annoyances in Uzbekistan are the
need to obsessively collect limsy and utterly
pointless registration slips, and the need to
carry around huge piles of cash due to the
worthlessness of the som.
EMBASSIES & CONSULATES
Uzbek Embassies in Central Asia
Uzbekistan has embassies in Afghanistan,
Kazakhstan (p126), Kyrgyzstan (p307),
Tajikistan (p365) and Turkmenistan (p401).
Uzbek Embassies & Consulates
For more Uzbek missions abroad see the website
of the
Ministry of Foreign Afairs
(www.mfa.
uz).
Uzbek Embassy, China
(
%
86-10-6532 2551,
86-10-6532 6305; www.uzbekistan.cn; Sanli-
tun, Beixiao gie 11, Beijing 100600)
Uzbek Embassy, France
(
%
331-5330 0353;
www.ouzbekistan.fr; rue d'Aguesseau, 75008,
Paris)
Uzbek Embassy, Germany
(
%
49-30-394 09
80; www.uzbekistan.de; Perleberger Strasse
62, Berlin 10559) Consulate in Frankfurt.
Uzbek Consulate, Russia
(
%
7-499-230 00
54; www.uzembassy.ru; 2 Kazachy pereulok ii,
Moscow, 119017)
Uzbek Embassy, UK
(
%
44-020-7229 7679;
www.uzbekembassy.org; Consular Section, 41
holland Park , W11 3RP, London)
SURVIVAL GUIDE
8
Directory¨A-Z
ACCOMMODATION
The B&B scene in Uzbekistan has taken of more
than in any other Central Asian republic. By far
the best options are in Bukhara, with Samarkand
and Khiva gradually catching up.
Uzbekistan's irst community-based tourism
program (p186) is going strong in the Nuratau
Mountains. Yurtstays are possible too.
Accommodation rates are usually for rooms
with private bathroom and include breakfast
unless otherwise stated.
homestayers and especially campers face a
range of potential problems related to registra-
tion (see p222). it's just about possible to spend
a night or two in an unregistered homestay or
wild camping, but you'll need to register at a
hotel at least every third night, as the law
requires every tourist to do so at least once
every three days.
ACTIVITIES
Camel trekking
, usually combined with a
yurtstay, is the most intriguing activity, though
most trips are relatively short jaunts around
one of the main yurt camps.
east Line Tour (p199) in Bukhara is the author-
ity on
bird watching
, of which Uzbekistan is
meant to ofer the best in Central Asia.
other popular outdoor activities are
rafting
,
skiing
and
trekking
, all remarkably accessible
from Tashkent. other good places for a walk
include the Nuratau Mountains and the moun-
tains around Boysun and Shakhrisabz in south-
ern Uzbekistan.
DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
As in many totalitarian states, the main danger
is the overzealous police. That said, the
militsia
(police) have become much less of a nuisance
PRACTICALITIES
Any independent media dealing with
Uzbekitan is online and ofshore. The
government blocks politically sensitive
Uzbek-language websites, but you can
access mot English-language sites,
including Facebook and Twitter, from
within the country.
Cable and satellite TV are common
in all but the cheapet hotels. Satel-
lites receive thousands of channels but
usually only a few in English - the BBC,
CNN, that's about it.
