Tashkent, Karimov's Subjugated Fiefdom of Uzbekistan

Another shortie. Reasons below.

I have been told to bugger off by the Turkmen Authorities before I even set foot on their turf. The mere mention of Azerbaijan had them moving me towards the door of the consulate. Repeated assurances that I was not going to take the ferry were in vain. I have been denied.

This cocks up my overland trip and forces me to fly from Tashkent to Baku at soem point at the end of the month. This is why I will do only a very short post on Tashkent as I will have to return here to fly out. Bollocks.

At first glance, Central Asia's biggest city is suprisingly sedate. Few people are out and about and I have even spotted tethered sheep in the centre. It's pleasant in a sense and long walks to find the Turkmen Embassy and other essentials have led me into very cute neighbourhoods.

I have not done much sightseeing yet as I am feeling a bit under the weather and I want to make sure I don't get Mosque Fatigue (the Central Asian cousin of Temple Fatigue) before I finish the Uzbek grand tour of Samarkand, Buqara and Khiva.

The one reason I even bother to do this post is that I have wanted to write the following line for a while.

Next stop, Samarkand.

Take care,

Arabin