After-rain-sunset over Chorsu Old Town, Tashkent. Epic.
T plus 44 - Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
On the face of it, one may be excused for describing Uzbekistan as a banana republic of sorts. And it is not without reason. The country's economy is primarily reliant on its cotton industry, and the export of natural resources; a massive gap exists between its official foreign currency exchange rate (2,500 Som to 1USD) and the black market rate (4,300 Som to 1USD), inflation is high at 11%; few outside the government believe the official GDP growth rate of 8%; the media is controlled by the state; the internet is heavily censored and unreliable; and independent watchdogs place Uzbekistan among the most corrupt countries in the world.
Foreign investors cite these, and other factors including a crony-led economic regime, a highly suspect human rights track record and a feeble legal system for giving the country the cold shoulder. International hotel operators have all but pulled out from Uzbekistan, many of which spooked by the infamous Andijon incident in 2005 where hundreds of civilian demonstrators were shot dead by government troops. Freedom House, an international NGO which ranks countries by civil liberties, placed Uzbekistan 195th out of 197 countries. North Korea is last, and Turkmenistan (which I'll be visiting soon - haha) is second last.
And although Uzbekistan calls itself a democracy, the legitimacy of the country's elections is dubious, to put it politely. President Islam Karimov is set to celebrate three decades of uninterrupted rule since the country's independence, being recently elected to serve a third term - winning 90% of votes from a 90% turnout of eligible voters. But only because the three other presidential candidates were handpicked, from political parties loyal to the Karimov regime. No surprise then, that they spent most of their election campaigns extolling the greatness of the present-day government. And the fact that Karimov is serving a term more than the two-term limit allowed by the country's constitution seems to have been conveniently brushed aside.
So, facts and figures aside, what does it actually feel like on the ground?
Surprisingly chilled-out, actually. Unlike in Kyrgyzstan, where everyone from the liquor store owner to the hostel operator complains about the government 3 minutes into the conversation, I haven't had anyone pour out their misgivings to me, yet. There are some things which I've found slightly strange though. The currency for example: USD100, which is not a huge amount, gets you 430,000 Som. In 1,000 Som bills. Which means every time I go to the money changer, I have to count out a enormous wedge of 430 bills, twice, to be sure. That's 860 times!!! Yes, you can get the new 5,000 Som bills, but the money changers will charge you more for it! So a local told me that when he went to buy a car, he had to use another car just to transport the money, and the counting (with counting machines) took 8 hours.
The registration process in Uzbekistan is a little draconian, if I'm honest. You have to collect a registration slip for every night in every hostel you stay at, and produce this bundle of pointless paper when you're checked by the police. Which is very often, because there are two checkpoints just to get into a metro station. Woe betide you if you lose the slips. Also there is obviously a monumental amount of bureaucratic inefficiency left-over from the Soviet-era. Buying a train ticket can be a half-day affair because it takes the ticket lady 5 minutes to issue one ticket. Doesn't sound like a lot, but multiply that by 15-20 people crowding around her. No, the concept of a queue doesn't seem to have caught on. People just gather in larger and larger concentric semi-circles around the ticket counter. Strangely, no one complains, shouts or shoves. I've never seen so much contentment in a system which is clearly so flawed.
Do I like Tashkent? Well, after the neon overload in Astana, and the leafy serenity of Almaty, there's not much which Tashkent offers which is truly unique. The common theme is that it feels very safe, same as everywhere I've been in Central Asia. The food is nice (see example below), if a little heavy on the oil. The people are friendly enough, but less openly embracing as their Kazakh and Kyrgyz neighbours. It appears to me that there is much more Middle-eastern ancestry in the Uzbek people, just from looking at the faces passing by on the street, and there are historical reasons for this. I'm sure I'll have a much better take on things once I spend more time here. Will update soon.
Here's a preview for now:
Kids splashing around in a public "pool", right in the middle of town. It's all very idyllic.
Haven't been to a circus in over a decade! I was deeply impressed by the guy on the balancing board - that's 5 axes of movement with a very high centre of gravity. The force is strong with this one.
Top: Chorsu Bazaar, completely empty by 7.30pm. Good life huh.
Bottom: Shashlyk (kebab) stall doing brisk business. Maybe this is where all the vendors in Chorsu Bazaar have disappeared to.
Bottom: Shashlyk (kebab) stall doing brisk business. Maybe this is where all the vendors in Chorsu Bazaar have disappeared to.
Top 3 pics: An assembly line of cheerful ladies preparing naryn, a dish made out of horse sausage and thinly sliced cold noodles. This was really unique, and truly delicious.
Bottom pic: A typical meat and potatoes platter with beef brisket (I think) and various lamb sausages wrapped in cabbage. Note the meat-to-carb-to-veg ratio. Seems like the food pyramid is upside down here. The pickled onions help to cut the richness of the lamb. They also like to pack rice into the sausages, which thankfully mellows it out somewhat.
Bottom pic: A typical meat and potatoes platter with beef brisket (I think) and various lamb sausages wrapped in cabbage. Note the meat-to-carb-to-veg ratio. Seems like the food pyramid is upside down here. The pickled onions help to cut the richness of the lamb. They also like to pack rice into the sausages, which thankfully mellows it out somewhat.
The opulent Soviet-era metro stations of Tashkent. A little over-the-top for my liking. Note that the count-down to the next train is actually a count-up. The clock tells you how much time has elapsed since the last train! Famous Soviet practicality at work. Saves them from having to synchronise the clocks to the trains!
This reminds me of an old joke:
So the Americans spent millions of dollars in the 60's developing a space-pen for their astronauts to jot down notes. Heaven forbid if Neil Armstrong couldn't keep a journal on his historic journey. This cutting-edge zero-gravity writing device contained a pressurised ink cartridge which dispensed the exact amount of ink to be absorbed onto a specially formulated paper etc etc.
Later, when asked how the Soviets solved this problem for their first manned space-flight, the Soviet Space Programme Director retorted: "What problem? No problem! Crazhy capitalistik Americans. We ask Comrade Yuri to use pencil!"
This reminds me of an old joke:
So the Americans spent millions of dollars in the 60's developing a space-pen for their astronauts to jot down notes. Heaven forbid if Neil Armstrong couldn't keep a journal on his historic journey. This cutting-edge zero-gravity writing device contained a pressurised ink cartridge which dispensed the exact amount of ink to be absorbed onto a specially formulated paper etc etc.
Later, when asked how the Soviets solved this problem for their first manned space-flight, the Soviet Space Programme Director retorted: "What problem? No problem! Crazhy capitalistik Americans. We ask Comrade Yuri to use pencil!"
