Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Directory A-Z
9830, 777-247 5537; r per person
4500T;
p
)
outside Almaty.
Budget accommodation
can be considered anything
under US$25 for a double
room in high season.
Midrange hotels and
B&Bs range from US$25 to
US$70 per night (US$50
to US$100 in capitals like
Tashkent, Uzbekistan and
much of Kazakhstan). For
this you can expect air-con,
satellite TV, an internet con-
nection (often patchy wi-fi)
and a decent breakfast.
B&Bs
Bukhara, Khiva and Samar-
kand in Uzbekistan undoubt-
edly offer the best private
accommodation, many of
which are stylish boutique-
style hotels in historic
buildings. Rates tend to be
around US$20 per person
and include breakfast. Meals
are extra but can normally
be provided for around
US$5 each.
Camping
In the wilds there's normally
no problem with you camp-
ing, though there is always
an inherent security risk with
this. Popular trekking routes
have established camping
areas, frequented by Soviet
alpinists during the Soviet
era. You can normally camp
at a
turbaza
(Soviet-era holi-
day camp) or yurt camp for a
minimal fee.
Hometays
Homestays are happily on
the rise. For a bed of blankets
on the floor and some type
of breakfast you'll probably
pay between US$10 and
US$15 in rural Tajikistan and
Kyrgyzstan, where travel has
been revolutionised by net-
works such as Community-
Based Tourism (CBT; www.
cbtkyrgyzstan.kg). Kazakh-
stan also has some rural
homestays costing between
US$25 and US$35 per per-
son with all meals.
Do not expect hotel-style
comforts; rural toilets, for
example, can be squatters in
the garden. Don't expect any-
thing exotic either - in larger
towns you may well end up
in a block of flats, in front of a
TV all evening. Levels of priva-
cy vary. You might get access
to a kitchen, especially if you
are in an apartment.
Many local private travel
agencies can set you up with
a homestay, though prices
may be double local rates.
Homestays are priced
per person but you generally
won't have to share rooms
with strangers; however,
friends travelling together will
be expected to share a room.
Accommodation
Accommodation options are
somewhat uneven across
the region. The budget
homestays of Kyrgyzstan
are excellent and the B&Bs
of Uzbekistan offer the most
stylish and comfortable
midrange options. Kazakh-
stan has a couple of back-
packer hostels, some rural
homestays, and good mid-
range and top-end choices.
Tajikistan's Pamir region in
particular has an informal
network of homes and yurts
that offer a fascinating and
intimate look at the way
local people live.
Budget travellers off the
beaten track may still have
to use the occasional fos-
silised Soviet-era hotel but
these are generally a last
resort.
Oddball accommodation
options include sleeping in
a
former medressa
(Map
p204;
%
998 943 152 600, 375
68 59; doniyoraa@rambler.
ru; Pahlavon Mahmud 1; s/d
US$60/80;
aW
)
in Khiva or
an
astronomical observa-
tory
(Map p72;
%
701-798
LATE-NIGHT TELEPHONE CALLS
Those late-night calls to your room aren't wrong num-
bers; all hotels with signiicant numbers of foreigners
attract protitutes, often with the compliance of the
front desk. All you can do is work out how to temporar-
ily disable your telephone and don't answer the door.
