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This is a report of a solo-trip to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, undertaken during July/August 1994.

Turkmenistan

Pierre.Flener
2004-04-03 19:02:45

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for individual journeyers, because they are geared up only for embassy personnel (this hotel actually houses the US and German embassies) and foreign business-people on expense accounts, and for package tourists, who all don't mind being ripped off, or don't know that they are being robbed blind.

Bargaining being predictably useless, and asking at the Intourist joint being a predictable waste of time, I appeal to the resourcefulness of my taxi-driver (one of the rare opportunities where I appreciate a cabbie), and ask him to get me to the cheapest place in town, no matter where, no matter what kind of place it is. And I land in the funniest place I've ever slept for a fee!

About 1km south of the Tikinsky Bazaar, he drops me at what turns out to be a private mental hospital, or so! A bunch of harmless fools are living there in a commune, and a woman drops by in the mornings to look after them. They have a spare room with mattresses on the ground, and rent them out for $3 a night; I didn't figure out whose initiative that was. I share the room with some very friendly Iranians and Pakistanis, and they assure me that this is indeed the cheapest place in town. And arguably the coziest one, as the atmosphere is excellent. You may use all the facilities (fridge, cooking machine, hamam, TV, even A/C, ...), and I simply must recommend this haven of peace: the address is 106, ulitsa Shaumyana (just go south of the street going past Tikinsky Bazaar and the long-distance bus-station; every taxidriver seems to know it).

After the welcome tea, I take a shower, shave, and dress up as well as I can, because I need to go to the Iranian Embassy. But some background first: my project is to do the second half of the southern branch of the Silk Road, from Tashkent to istanbul, across Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey. I had bribed ($15) my way into an Intourist-independent ...