Travelling in Central Asia: live report

[gian]

Hi guys, as i am currently travel in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, i thought it might be helpful to report while on the road, when memories are still fresh. I have described my route in another thread but basically it is from Bishkek to Khiva (and back to Bishkek).

Day 1: arrived at 6am at the airport, made an early checkin and slept a few hours. I stayed in a new hotel 10 mins away by car from Ala-Too square, but pretty convenient as they have a free shuttle service. I spent the day in Bishkek, with dinner at Faiza. During the day I saw a lot of policemen, but none hassled me as it seems pretty common reading some articles over internet.

Day 2: very early start, arrived at the Osh Bazar at 7am to look for a shared taxi to Osh. Nobody speaks english around there, so one guy from the hotel took me there and did the talking for me for 300 som. As i have problems with my knee, i needed a front seat. He managed to get me into a rather new SUV for 1400 som (20 usd). I am pretty sure that both of them added a few extra som, but the price was within the range indicated by Caravanistan so I didnt complain. We left at 7.20am.
I heard and read many stories about the length of the trip, from 8 to 14 hrs. In my case it was 12 hrs, including a lunch break and frequent stops. The journey was less stressfull than i thought, probably because i was sitting the spacious front seat of a suv. They were a little cramped on the backseat, i can imagine that a small car is much worse. The first 5 hours are the most interesting as the lanscape is really great (despite horrible weather). Then it become boring. The road until the first tunnel is very damaged, so cars spend a lot of time trying to avoid potholes. Originally i wanted to stop in Uch Kurgon and cross the border to reach Margilan. Unfortunately it took a bit longer than thought (16.10) and did not want to risk to cross and find no connections at that time. So i continued till Osh and overnight there.
For people interested in intermediate stops, i have taken some times:
- bishkek: left at 7.20
- toktogul: 12.45
- kara kol: 14.10
- uch kurgon: 16.10
- jalal abad: 17.20
- Osh: 19.30

[steven]

Thank you Gian!