By train around Uzbekistan: Start in the capital Tashkent

Writer: Helena Bergström

Uzbekistan is a vast country, and we were here to discover it by train for a week. The trip started in Tashkent, where we flew from Scandinavia, and initially we were a group of seven travel writers: five from Sweden and two from Norway. We were here on a press trip, organised by the country's tourism organisation, and we were all very excited to see what the week had to offer...

By plane from Scandinavia to Uzbekistan

You can fly relatively easily from Stockholm or Oslo to Tashkent with Turkish Airlines, with a stopover in Istanbul. The flights are comfortable and the food served is beyond expectation, but of course the journey was still tiring.

We flew in the middle of the night and the journey was long - about 3 hours 45 minutes from Stockholm to Istanbul and then around 4.5 hours from Istanbul to Tashkent. The length of the last leg reminded us that Uzbekistan is far to the east - this is an exotic destination in Central Asia, in a part of the world that Scandinavian mass tourism has yet to reach.

Finally on the ground in Tashkent

The Swedish group landed in the early hours of the morning and had the opportunity to sleep for a few hours before the programme started. The Norwegian writers barely had time to check in before it was time to go out on the town. At about the same time, to our surprise, a nice Frenchman joined our group.

Although everyone was far from rested, it was now time to discover the city. This is what sets our group apart from the usual tourists - our programme is not designed for maximum comfort, but to see and experience as much as possible in a short time. Fortunately, we were all hardened travellers, equipped with a large dose of curiosity and desire to discover.

We travelled together with Annika from Travel Friday, Merete from World With a Suitcase, Lena from Travelletters and the writers Hélène and Magnus. And then there's Charles from France!

Lunch in Tashkent - an introduction to Uzbek restaurants

To gain strength, we started with lunch. This meal was taken at the restaurant Labi Hovuz. The group was now introduced to what restaurants often look like in Uzbekistan: large, open and with a 'banqueting hall' feel. It always feels a bit exotic to go to a restaurant in Uzbekistan.

Here we each ordered a dish, but we quickly learnt that it is easier to bring in some common dishes to share, at least when there are this many. For starters, it is common to order salads and bread, and maybe soup. Then the meat is served: preferably large portions of chicken, beef or lamb.

Alternative main courses can be different kinds of pies or dumplings, unless you choose the national dish "plov" of course. If you are a vegetarian, be extra clear. Uzbeks love meat, and although tourism is on the rise, many restaurants still seem a little unused to the concept.

Centre of Islamic Civilisation

Peter and I have visited Tashkent before. Two previous trips to Uzbekistan have not only led to a long series of reports, but also to our being named Tourist ambassadors for Uzbekistan in Sweden.

We were aware that this trip would involve some return visits, so it was surprising that the first attraction was a building we had never seen before. The whole thing was quickly explained: Centre of Islamic Civilisation is so new that it has not yet had time to open.

The Centre of Islamic Civilisation is a large cultural, scientific and educational complex in Tashkent, right next to the historical complex Hazrati Imam Complex, which consists of several madrassas (historical Islamic centres of learning), mosques and other buildings.

The aim of the new building is to study and preserve the heritage of Islamic civilisation, with a particular focus on Central Asia. The building, which has not yet opened, will include a museum, library and research centre.

Chorsu Bazaar

After this visit we travelled to Chorsu BazaarThis market is highly recommended if you are visiting the capital of Uzbekistan. It's lively, noisy, colourful and inspiring. You can look at odd cuts of meat, vegetables, spices, nuts, bread baking, crockery, clothes, jewellery and most anything you can think of. The market is very big!

Tashkent metro

The next stop was the Tashkent Metro - not to ride, but to look around. The Tashkent metro is a well-known attraction for several reasons. The art here is of interest to art lovers and history buffs alike. And for everyone else for that matter! We visited the station Cosmonavtlar, which tells the story of cosmonauts going into space. Find out more about different metro stations here:

Dinner in Tashkent

We ended our day in Tashkent with dinner at the restaurant Ibroxim Bek. Here, too, large banqueting halls are the order of the day, while smaller, more personalised rooms can be booked.

As usual, we had a starter with various salads and bread. Then came a large tray with different kinds of meat.

The meat was presented really nicely and deliciously at this restaurant, accompanied by spectacular smoke.

Morning and breakfast at Wyndham Garden Tashkent

The absolute best of the hotel Wyndham Garden Tashkent was the breakfast. I can say, without a doubt, that this is the best breakfast we had in Uzbekistan. Apart from having live music to listen to (!), we were offered things like quail eggs, lightly cooked crispy vegetables, small pancake rolls with feta cheese and various delicious sweets.

Train from Tashkent to Dashtobod

After breakfast, it was time to set off on our train journey around Uzbekistan. In the country there are both regular trains and express trains, the latter of which are really, really good and very modern. We travelled with the fast trains Afrosiyob, which operates between Tashkent and other destinations, Samarkand and Bukhara. You can buy a train ticket via eticket.railway.uz.

When you enter the station, your bags are scanned through a security checkpoint, similar to an airport, and a conductor checks your ticket before you board.

The trains, which can travel at up to 250 km/h, are equipped with air conditioning, power sockets, Wi-Fi, TV screens and modern, fresh toilets. Staff regularly walk round offering to sell anything from drinks to snacks, fruit salad or ice cream. In our case, we were given, at no extra cost, a small bag of bun, chocolate bar and coffee powder. And yes, soon after, paper cups and hot water were offered. A comfortable train journey, plain and simple!

We were travelling on the line from Tashkent to Samarkand, but we got off at Dashtobod, a train journey that took just over an hour. We were the only ones to get off at this small station and the conductor looked at us in surprise and asked "Where are you going?". Perhaps he was wondering if it was really right that we should get off here... but it was! We were heading towards Zomin National Park. To be continued!