Uzbekistan

This trip was special as it was the first time I traveled with my mother and sister. What made it even more unique was that, for the first time, the travel planning was done not by me, but by my sister.

Since we only stayed in Tashkent, the trip felt somewhat unproductive, two days are more than enough to explore the city. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the chance to visit Samarkand or Bukhara, which would have made the experience more complete.

English proficiency is quite low in Tashkent, so my knowledge of Russian turned out to be a major advantage. Still, you can often get by with Turkish, especially when it comes to numbers and basic daily expressions, as the two languages share many similarities.

Tricks

You can exchange money at the airport (it's more expensive in malls). While you're there, it's also a good idea to buy a SIM card (it costs around $10). Renting a car is quite expensive, so its much more affordable to use Yandex Go instead. Three-star hotels are generally quite good.