Good morning, my favorite travel buddies, from high above Samarkand!
As I write this, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to be on this flight. The reasons behind my gratitude will be revealed in due time. For those reading my blog for the first time, I am a 25-year-old corporate girlie, striving to balance the craziness that is life with my love for travel.
My trip to Samarkand was a weekend getaway, with our arrival on Friday morning at around 10 am local time (GMT+5). The first surprise was the visa-free entry for Kenyan passport holders with an Emirates ID. Fellow Kenyans living in the UAE, it's time to take advantage of this!
Passing through passport control was seamless, although my friend and I were the only black people there- something we’d have to get used to for the next three days. Once we collected our luggage, we found a SIM card stand offering cards from various service providers. We purchased a Mobius sim card for $5, which came with 50GB of internet data.
Next on our list was finding a taxi to our hotel. The locals at the airport recommended using the OK Taxi app, which we downloaded. However, from a foreigner's perspective, the user experience was not the easiest to navigate. We opted for Yandex, which proved to be reliable and affordable.
Arriving at the hotel around 11:30 am, we discovered that our room wasn't ready. We decided to make the most of this and explore the area, find an ATM, and grab a bite to eat. Oh, did I mention that it was raining? The things tourists do to experience as much as possible in a limited time! Keep in mind that both of us had hectic days leading up to the trip. One of us spent the whole day moving and unpacking, while the other came straight from drinks and dancing to the airport (which one of us did what shall remain a mystery😂).
The ATM in Samarkand was a 15-minute walk from the hotel, with temperatures hovering around 3 degrees Celsius. As a person from sub-Saharan Africa, this was quite an experience! After withdrawing cash, we found a charming little restaurant tucked away in Samarkand. Our meal for two cost us 90,000 Uzbekistani Som (7 dollars) I've included pictures of the delicious dishes we had below.
This trip caught both of us during a busy time, so we hadn't even planned out the itinerary. All we knew was that we had one day for Bukhara and one day for Samarkand.
Exhausted, we returned to the Sabrina Hotel around 9 pm. The next day, we took a train to Bukhara, where we spent a day before unexpectedly ending up in Tashkent for a few hours.
Here are a few tips that will come in handy when planning your trip to Uzbekistan:
- We booked our flights with Wizz Air in January, which cost us 300 AED for roundtrip tickets.
- For my melanin friends, be prepared for the attention you'll receive, including stares and requests for pictures. By the time we left the country, we felt like little celebrities. If you're seeking some extra attention, this is the place to go! You'll stand out.
- The people in Uzbekistan are kind. While they may stare out of curiosity and ask for pictures, we never felt unsafe at any point during our trip.
- Check the weather forecast before you go and pack accordingly. The cold on the first day was more intense than we expected.
- Train and bus tickets to different cities can be booked online. We deeply appreciated the helpfulness of the hotel receptionist, who assisted us in booking our tickets.
- In both Bukhara and Samarkand, the tourist attraction places are all located within walking distance of one another, so you don’t need to use a lot of money on transport to explore
- We took a train to Bukhara and booked a bus for the return journey. The train was somewhat pricey because we booked it the day before. If you know you want to take this trip, consider booking your ticket a few days in advance to secure an economy seat, as they fill up quickly.
- I used the blogs below to find places to explore in Samarkand and Bukhara. I think you would find them quite helpful.
For Bukhara: https://www.thediaryofanomad.com/things-to-do-in-bukhara/
For Samarkand: https://www.journalofnomads.com/things-to-do-ancient-samarkand-uzbekistan/
- Finally, please use Google Translate. This would have saved us a sleepless night and an unplanned trip to Tashkent.
As I write this, I can still feel the panic we experienced when we got to Tashkent at 4:30 am yet we had a flight to catch in Samarkand at 11:10 am.
After considering all our options, we decided to take a train from Tashkent to Samarkand. It was cutting it close, as we would arrive at the train station at 9:12. Long story short, we made it, and we learned the importance of using Google Translate and Maps diligently for our next trip. The language barrier can be quite challenging!
Overall, I fell in love with Samarkand, especially the Sabrina Hotel, which had a cozy and homey atmosphere.
Until next time, my fellow travel friends!