Before starting today’s breathtaking story, as usual, I have to explain the “Money Concept”; The highest amount in bills is 1000 sums (1 SFr, 0.8 $, 0.65 euros). Small notes of 500, 200 and 100 are also available. A ride in bus is 160 sums. A good meal in a popular place, like a market, is 1500 sums. The cheapest hotel, I’ve found, is 7000 sums. When you change money, you end up with the pockets plenty of money, as if you just had robbed a bank. A Dutch tourist told me, she saw people changing suitcases plenty of bills, they could even sit on all this mass of paper! It takes an eternity to count them, and that’s what happened this morning.
At 7 I go up, I think to take a shower at Maleva’s place for 2000 sums, but I realize I just have 200. I cannot even have breakfast with this, my stomach starts to “graunch”. At 9 I go to the closest bank. They’re not ready yet, what do they do? Obviously, they’re counting mountains of bills (no exaggeration when I say “mountains”). I try in other bank. I wait 20 min, I’m told to go to other room. After other 20 min of no action I just leave hoping that the first one is done with its counting. It’s almost 10, 1 hour after they started and they’re still counting! I go to the hotel and comment about the heavy and slow machine that is this system, heritage of the soviet era. The staff exchanges a few Russian words: “Potroski Nismayu Payalsta” or whatever. One of them brings me to the door besides, in the main hall of the train station, to an exchange office where the attendants are not counting money! My only 50 euro bill becomes 78 bills, 1000 sums each. Ufff, my pockets are full again!
As planned, I meet the two French guys (2 hours later than the original appointment, but they’re late also… ah the Latin species, we understand each other!) and we buy our tickets to Bukhara. Their budget is tight, they book in hard-seats class. I get a hard-sleepers bed (9500 sums), and yes, we are not in China anymore, with 10000 Chinese taking the same train, I book without problems for 20h.
The afternoon is Old Town time! I lost in the narrow friendly streets, close to the Chorsu Bazaar. I end up at the Telgashzakh Mosque with the oldest Koran on earth, 7th century! But I refuse to take part of the commercialization of all this religious patrimony, I skip seeing it for 1000 sums.
When I get back to the hotel, I meet the staff of the hotel invite me to have dinner with them. Unfortunately, my Russian still needs some adjustments to participate actively in the conversation, the body language is used instead. Very thankful, I say bye to them and meet the Uzbek railways. The train station is new and very clean, but the platforms have no light and it’s hard to make sure that the train in front of me is mine. A dim light allows me to see very vaguely those big Russian characters inscribed in those somehow nostalgic and grey wagons. The interior is worm and hospitable. Passenger prays short before leaving the train station. |
Photos Ouzbékistan
Carnets de voyage Ouzbékistan
Vidéos Ouzbékistan
Carte Ouzbékistan
Guide de voyage Ouzbékistan
Santé Ouzbékistan
Billets d'avion Ouzbékistan
