4 months ago
22
I've been wanting to constitute astir my travel to Central Asia successful summertime 2023. But being the lazy idiosyncratic that I am, I couldn't negociate to get started. It began with a flicker of information sparked by @Kashi053's captivating station astir their road-trip successful Kyrgyzstan.
After my archetypal planetary escapade successful Vietnam successful December 2022, I returned home. Yet I was not rather settled. The itch for exploration inactive lingered and led maine to ponder my adjacent steps with an Indian passport successful hand. Kazakhstan popped connected the radar with its generous 14 time visa-free offering. I person large involvement successful each things related to Soviet history, architecture, and life. So, Kazakhstan proved irresistible - a cleanable launching pad for my ambition to sojourn each the 14 erstwhile Soviet republics.
Digging into visa requirements for Kazakhstan's neighbors revealed:
1. Uzbekistan: Smooth e-Visa process, $20, 2-3 days.
2. Tajikistan: Tricky e-Visa, $50, imaginable delays and requests for much documents.
3. Kyrgyzstan: Also e-Visa, but with the added hassle of needing an invitation missive from a section question bureau ? a deal-breaker for my lazy question style.
Without further ado, I applied for Uzbek e-Visa (https://e-visa.gov.uz/main) and got it successful 2 days.
I decided to sojourn Uzbekistan first, its past cities and vibrant bazaars calling retired to maine with promises of adventure, and instantly searched for the cheapest formation retired of India to Tashkent. After immoderate digging, I snagged a deal?a one-way summons retired of Delhi for 12k.
You see, I've ne'er been 1 for round-trip bookings. My question philosophy? Keep it open-ended. No acceptable plans, conscionable me, a one-way ticket, and a satellite of possibilities waiting to beryllium explored.
I defaulted to my accustomed question routine?prepping with offline maps from Google Maps and Maps.me.
I landed successful Tashkent connected 24th May 2023, cleared immigration, and grabbed immoderate Uzbek Som from the nearest Bankomat (that's they telephone ATMs successful the Russian speaking parts of the world) with my trusty HDFC debit card, and acceptable off. Hostel booking? Check. Offline maps? Double check. No request for a pricey airdrome SIM card. With a backpack implicit my shoulder, I opted for a leisurely stroll from the airdrome to my hostel, taking successful the mundane hustle and bustle of Tashkent's suburbs. Four kilometers of axenic immersion successful the section vibe?a cleanable commencement to my Central Asian escapade.
After a bully hr of walking, I made it to the hostel, acceptable to get the check-in formalities sorted.
In Uzbekistan, each traveler staying astatine a hostel oregon edifice indispensable acquisition registration and get a registration slip. While I personally ne'er faced scrutiny from immigration, it's omniscient to clasp onto these slips arsenic they whitethorn beryllium requested upon departure.
The publication that sealed the Central Asian woody for me
View from the formation to Tashkent
Beautiful metros successful Tashkent (one tin bargain a summons for INR 10 equivalent Som and sojourn each the stations successful Tashkent!)
Those ads ruin the quality 
Registration gaffe looks similar this
I managed to marque immoderate friends astatine the hostel and here's immoderate bully clip with them.
That's it for now. It's astonishing however the net has transformed our attraction spans. Trying to compression 2 months of adventures into 1 station feels similar fitting a quadrate peg into a circular hole. I'll beryllium backmost soon with follow-up tales to support you entertained and possibly adjacent inspired 
