Uzbekistan - Central Asia - page 221

The fairly remote Denau-Tursanzade cross-
ing can see long lines, and other hassles are
reportedly common on the Uzbek side (though
other reports suggest that foreigners are often
invited to skip the line and enjoy a relatively
hassle-free passage). Denau is a 1½-hour drive
from Termiz or a ive-hour drive from Samar-
kand. You can get shared taxis to the border
from either city, and there are also a few morn-
ing marshrutkas. From Termiz, regular shared
taxis and marshrutkas head to Denau from the
bus station, and there are also three daily local
trains directly to the border town of Sariosiyo
(4500S, four hours), 15km north of Denau. From
Denau, take the train or a marshrutka to Sariosi-
yo, cross the border and proceed by taxi from
Tursanzade to Dushanbe (US$10, 45 minutes).
To/From Turkmenistan
The three border crossings between Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan are reached from Bukhara,
Khiva and Nukus. each crossing requires a
potentially sweltering walk of 10 to 20 minutes
across no-man's-land due to the absurdly de-
signed border posts. Shared taxis or buses are
sometimes available to ferry travellers across,
but don't count on them.
From Bukhara a taxi should cost around
80,000S to the border. Shared taxis (8000S,
40 minutes) make the trip from Kolkhoz Bazaar
to Karakol (or olot), about 10km short of the
border. From Karakol a taxi to the border costs
10,000S. You can also take a slow local train to
olot from Kagan (3000S, two hours, two daily).
once over the border, take a shared taxi to Turk-
menabat (8000S, 40 minutes).
From Khiva or Urgench it costs about 30,000S
to hire a car to the border, from where it's a
short, US$3 taxi ride to Dashogus. Alternatively,
you can take a bus to the border from Khiva
(2000S, one hour). There's an early morning
departure from a lot outside the North Gate ,
and two later departures from Dekhon Bazaar.
From Nukus it's about a 30,000S, 20km ride
to the Konye-Urgench tamozhnya . Alternatively,
take public transport to hojeli and take a shared
taxi from hojeli to the border (3000S). once
you've walked across the border you can pick up
a shared taxi to Konye-Urgench (US$2).

lights through travel agencies, was not possible
at the time we visited.
BUS & MARSHRUTKA
Clapped-out state buses are fast disappearing
from Uzbek roads, undercut by a boom in private
buses that do not keep schedules and leave
when full. They are newer and more comfortable,
but can be slow as drivers and touts are preoc-
cupied with overselling seats and transporting
cargo and contraband.
Marshrutkas usually take the form of 11- to 14-
seat Russian-made 'gazelle' vans, or seven-seat
Daewoo Damas minivans.
CAR
hiring your own car (with driver) is possible,
provided you have insurance from your home
country and a valid international driving licence.
Be prepared for the same kind of hassles you'll
experience anywhere in the former Soviet Union:
lots of random stops and traic cops ishing
for bribes. There are no car-rental agencies,
so you'll need to hire a taxi, which is generally
afordable even for several days on end; budget
around US$60 per day (excluding petrol). Driv-
ing is on the right.
SHARED & ORDINARY TAXI
Shared taxis save tons of time but are, of course,
more costly than buses. They ply all the main
intercity routes and also congregate at most
border points. They leave when full from set
locations - usually from near bus stations - and
run all day and often through the night. Prices
luctuate throughout the day/week/month/
year, increasing towards the evening, on week-
ends and on holidays. You can buy all four seats
in a shared taxi if you're in a hurry or just prefer
to travel in comfort - this is the standard way
most travellers with a midrange budget get
around in Uzbekistan as prices remain low.
TRAIN
Trains are perhaps the most comfortable
and safest method of intercity transport. The
express ( skorostnoy, or 'high-speed') trains
between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara,
with airplane-style seating, are faster than a
shared taxi and a lot more comfortable. Book
a couple of days in advance - they're popular.
These have 2nd-class, 1st-class and deluxe
'SV' class (private compartment) seating. First
class is not noticeably more comfortable than
2nd class.
other long-haul trains are of the slow but
comfortable Soviet variety, with platskartny
(hard sleeper) and kupeyny (soft sleeper)
compartments available. Slow, dirt-cheap
local prigorodny trains, with bench-style seat-
ing, cover middle-distance routes such as
Samarkand-Bukhara.

8 Getting¨Around
AIR
Air transport is dirt cheap in Uzbekistan, and
is a great way to cover the large distances
between big cities. Flights do get booked up
though, so try to book at least several days in
advance during high season. You can only book
domestic lights directly with the airline, which
usually means going to the airport in any given
city. online booking, or the booking of domestic