17 days in Central Asia: my itinerary

[gian]

Many thanks! Going to the airport now and arriving in Bishkek tomorrow morning. I will post updates every now and then with some info.

[gian]

Hello guys,
I am having some problems in finding a hotel in Margilan. The one I found on the forum (Atlas/Adras) seems to have closed. Do you have any reccommendation by any chance, as i will be in Margilan tomorrow (hopefully)
Thanks!

[bwv812]

I would consider staying at a homestay like Valentina's in nearby Fergana, as they are a better deal and likely much more interesting than the Atlas would be even if it was/is open.

[gian]

Thanks Bwv
I am in Osh right now, and will cross the border tomorrow, probably after lunchtime.
So the plan would be to take a shared taxi from the border to Fergana, then the following morning take a shared taxi from Fergana to Margilan, visit the silk factory and leave to Tashkent with another shared taxi. Doable? Will I easily find shared taxi at those locations?

[bwv812]

Fergana is at least as big a destination as Margilan, so from the border a share taxi won't be any more problematic (there's a good chance your taxi would be headed for Fergana but drop you off in Margilan, anyway). It's possible you will have to change in Andijan or somewhere given the border you're using, though.

I image there is lots of transport (including marshrutkas) between Margilan and Fergana, and even a private taxi should be cheap if it comes to that.

http://eurasia.travel/uzbekistan/transp ... n_fergana/

[gian]

Ouch, just read that the silk factory is closed on sundays, ans it is open until 5pm tomorrow.. As i wanted to visit the Bazaar and Suleiman Too in the morning and then cross the border, i'd say its impossible to be in margilon before closing time...

[gian]

Hello guys
I am in Bukhara now, leaving tomorrow for Samarkand and then Khiva.
I was thinking of making a detour from Samarkand to Termez, before leaving to Khiva. Is it worth doing that? What is the best way to optimize travels.
I also thought of moving to khiva, then take the train to samarkand, then go to termez and take the overnight train from termez to tashkent.. Although the Khiva-samarkand leaves at 3 and would waste a whole afternoon..

[steven]

If you don't have a lot of time, I would skip Termez because it is also a lot of travel (in the heat) and I think (I haven't been there myself) you need some time to organize travel to the interesting places there. So just spend a little bit more time in Khiva or Samarkand. In Samarkand, try eg. the paper museum - I found that quite interesting and I never read about it. It's a bit out of town, though.

Hope that answers your question.