Day 9 - Over the border and into Uzbekistan

September 17, 2023

So it’s goodbye to Kyrgyzstan.

After a short drive we’re dropped off at the border. We bid farewell to the terrific Olga, and the 2 drivers Ruslan and Vladimir.

The border was as chaotic as I’d expected. Very chaotic, but characterful. It brought back great memories of travelling in Africa back in the 80’s. Big queues of lorries created a foul stench of exhaust fumes that melded in with the ever present dust. We walked the last 200 metres to join the pedestrian queue, which was long with lots of families crammed into a narrow fenced walkway. Rather embarrassingly, we were waved onto the road and down to the customs hall - jumping in front of about 200 locals. It didn’t feel at all comfortable, but we weren’t about to argue.

Once in the hall we joined the queues there. Obviously, I got in the crappiest queue, and successfully moved from being the 2nd of our group into the hall, to last one out. Then a 100 metre walk over to the Uzbekistan immigration hall. The queues coming in the opposite direction were bedlam, with lots of women shouting and getting very agitated. A border guard chose to calm the situation by slamming a steel gate shut into the faces of the women trying to push through it. More shrieking. The immigration hall was relatively ordered in comparison, although streams of women seemed intent on pushing into the queues. Some were successful, but thanks to a more measured guard, most were ushered back. It took about half an hour to get through. We were lucky.

Two older American ladies in our group had more trouble, thanks to an incompetent immigration person who thought that they needed visas, which they didn’t. Either way, this gave me the chance to scuttle away from the rest of our group who were waiting for them. Off I went into the hordes of men hawking taxis and rip-off exchange rates to get an Uzbek SIM card. I was badgered constantly, but managed to get what I wanted. It was wild, and I loved it. A proper little adrenaline rush. Probably the highlight of the day, rather sadly! Obviously no photos from the border crossing, as the prospect of a night in an Uzbek jail would be stretching the adventure too far.

Once the Americans were through, our new guide Nilofor, and James had us onto a minibus and off into Uzbekistan. The difference from one country to another was very marked. You could see immediately that Uzbekistan was far more affluent and developed than Kyrgyzstan. There were far more buildings, that were more modern and properly decorated. The roads were wide and teeming with vehicles- - especially small Chevrolets, and Daewoos, which Nilofor informed us were made under licence in Uzbekistan.

We then stopped to exchange money. It being Sunday, the banks were closed, so it was down to a black market street exchange. Nilofor negotiated a really good rate on behalf of all of us, so the guy came onto the minibus to do the deals. The exchange rate is horribly confusing though, with £1 equalling 15,151 Uzbekistan S’om. A huge challenge for even the most dexterous at mental arithmetic.

Worth 7p, 14p and 70p respectively

Our first visit was to a silk factory in Margilan, which frankly, I was not looking forward to at all. Yawnety yawn on sea…boring! Well, how wrong was I? It was really interesting. Seeing the silk being manually extracted, and cleaned, dyed etc was genuinely fascinating. I take it all back.

Lunch was had in a really western place, and we had pizzas. It really felt like a treat after days of Kyrgyz plov (a rice and lamb dish - heavy on gristle).

Our last visit was to a pottery school in Rishtan. This time my preconceptions were proven to be right, but nevertheless, I doff my cap to the incredible skill of the potters and the guys who hand-painted the various articles. Twelve hours to paint one plate takes off the scale patience and concentration. I am renowned for my patience, so perhaps a new career beckons!