Uzbekistan travel advice

Andrew Appleyard from Exodus:
“Try and get to the opera in Tashkent. It is well worth it, and if you can’t get a ticket they often leave the doors open onto the main square. I listened to Madame Butterfly there, eating Pringles, as they were the only thing I could find to eat that was edible that night. But the opera and ballet there really are outstanding.”

Jonny Bealby from our supplier, Wild Frontiers:
“Learn a few words of Tajik (Farsi or Dari) as that is what people speak in Bukhara and it will go down very well.”

Jonny Bealby, from our supplier Wild Frontiers:
“Uzbek fare is delicious and since the publication of the cookbook Samarkand, is experiencing something of a revival. Plov is the national dish but I prefer laghman which is a kind of Central Asian spaghetti bolognaise. Eating this delicious dish, it’s easy to see how food passed along the Silk Road, just as goods and ideas.”

Linda Maguire from our supplier, Undiscovered Destinations, shares her advice on coping with the food, especially if you’re vegetarian: “The food in Central Asia is best summed up as simple. There is a lot of grilled lamb and the national dish, plov, which is stew with mixed vegetables is very traditional and is served everywhere. The food isn’t stodgy, but there is very little variety and it’s not the most exciting. We ate a lot of cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs and the ingredients are very fresh, so it does taste delicious. I wouldn’t say that vegetarians are well catered for as the rice that is available is often cooked in meat stock, so they could struggle after a few days surviving on salad and bread.”

Andrew Appleyard, from our supplier Exodus:
“I actually think that the food is the worst I have tasted in the world. I think I lost five kilos during my stay. And if you’re vegetarian, they really have no concept of it. If you are presented a meal with sausage in it and you say, no thanks I am vegetarian, they will take the sausage out and put it in the dish of the person sitting next to you. That sort of thing.”

Uzbekistan is generally a pretty safe country and the political situation is stable, remembering that it is a police state. There can also be security issues around the borders with Tajikistan (particularly around the Ferghana Valley), Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan, and uncontrolled border areas can be land mined. Keep up to date on FCO travel advice website. You should of course be vigilant just as you would be in most foreign countries where tourists can be seen as easy prey, by not flashing cash or valuables. Tashkent is seeing an increase in petty crime, so be careful at night and best not to walk around alone. One common scam is to offer to show you the ‘nightlife’. Best not. It is the law to carry your ID with you at all times, although a colour photocopy should be sufficient. Keep the original in your hotel safe, or with your tour operator. Nearly all our trips are with small groups, so your group leader will advise on all these matters. Be wary of people posing as police, asking to see your ID or imposing random fines. If in doubt, ask for their ID and insist on paying fines at a police station.