I slashed my journey instances by 60% on Uzbekistan’s high-speed trains.
Uzbekistan is well-known for its Silk Street commerce routes and historic structure, particularly in massive cities Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara – that are all linked by one high-speed practice route.
Uzbekistan’s premier practice, Afrosiyob, wasn’t only a sustainable approach for me to journey inside the nation but in addition essentially the most environment friendly: my journey from Tashkent to Samarkand was accomplished in simply two hours as a substitute of 5 by highway. What can be a 9.5-hour automobile journey between Tashkent and Bukhara might be shortened to simply beneath 4 hours too.
As I stepped onto the white practice adorned with blue and inexperienced stripes, I handed my paper ticket to the conductor who guided me on board.
The practice is cut up into three lessons: VIP, enterprise and financial system. Discovering my solution to the financial system class, I stowed my baggage away in one of many many obtainable compartments and settled into my denim-coloured seat (or leather-based when you’re feeling fancy with a VIP ticket). The seat was surprisingly spacious, snug and ideal for dozing off.
The carriage was completely clear, and the air-con supplied a break from the blazing solar as we launched into our journey to Samarkand, passing by the plush inexperienced countryside and valleys alongside the best way.
What cities does the Afrosiyob high-speed practice go via?
The rail routes for the Afrosiyob stay fairly restricted outdoors of bigger cities. It conveniently connects Tashkent, Samarkand, Navoi and ends in Bukhara, permitting you to go to the foremost historic and cultural sights with ease.
Alongside the journey, in style vacationer sights embrace the bustling Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent, the mosaiced Hazrat Khizr mosque in Samarkand and the historic Chor Minor – the madrasah of 4 minarets – in Bukhara.
It’s price mentioning that Afrosiyob’s departure instances are restricted since there are just a few trains obtainable every day. So in order for you higher flexibility or to cowl smaller cities and areas, a slower practice (that also departs every day) may be a greater possibility for you.
What are you able to eat on the Afrosiyob?
As my journey progressed, a meals cart made its approach via the carriages providing quite a lot of snacks like chocolate, crisps, nuts, juice and water to purchase. The treats are barely costlier on board in comparison with outdoors the practice stations, so it’s price stocking up beforehand if you’ll get peckish.
About 20 minutes later, one other cart made its approach via, giving us a beautiful shock: a complimentary gentle breakfast made up of a croissant, muffin and a espresso sachet. The practice workers fastidiously poured sizzling water for anybody who wished to organize their espresso. In my cosy seat, geared up with a pull-down tray desk, I loved my breakfast goodies whereas taking within the scenic views passing by.
Travelling whereas Black in Uzbekistan
For practice lovers, travelling inside Uzbekistan might be snug, pleasing and handy. Nevertheless, it’s important to handle some experiences I encountered on the Afrosiyob as a Black girl.
All through my practice journeys, I confronted challenges that different Black travellers ought to pay attention to. Native passengers on the practice constantly stared at me and tried to movie me with out my consent. Some people despatched their kids to take photos of me.
In a single occasion, an Uzbek man invaded my private house and shouted “Serena Williams” at me. On the practice platforms, individuals had been telling individuals to maneuver so they may try to take my image with out asking.
It’s unlucky to have skilled this distressing state of affairs – which repeatedly occurred on and off the practice. In case you are a Black traveller and select to go to Uzbekistan, it’s necessary to concentrate on the challenges you’ll possible encounter.
Whereas the practice expertise itself was snug, these incidents served as a stark reminder of our realities.
How do I e book tickets for Uzbekistan’s high-speed practice?
The Afrosiyob may be very in style and as a result of restricted variety of trains, you need to all the time e book your tickets upfront.
When you plan to journey in the course of the peak season from April to June, you need to purpose to safe your tickets a month forward of time. Even in the course of the off-season, it’s nonetheless a good suggestion to purchase your ticket not less than per week upfront to ensure a seat is out there.
Costs range relying on the category and route. For an financial system seat from Tashkent to Samarkand, you’ll spend round €8, whereas Enterprise is €11 and VIP class is €16. For the journey from Tashkent to Bukhara, it prices round €14 for financial system, €19 for enterprise and €26 for VIP.
You’ll be able to reserve your spot on-line at ‘eticket.railway.uz’ – the web page will initially be in Russian however you may swap to English. When you’ve made your reserving, you’ll obtain a QR code to point out in your cellphone to validate, alongside along with your passport.
An alternative choice is to go to the ticket workplace on the practice station and e book in particular person with a money or card fee. You get a printed ticket this fashion. If the variety of stops you intend to make, you should purchase your whole tickets in a single go to keep away from any potential points with availability. You’ll nonetheless want to point out your passport with a printed ticket.
When you’re in search of a extra reasonably priced possibility, take into account reserving a spot on the slower Sharq practice, which is about half the worth of the Afrosiyob. Or there’s the in a single day sleeper practice for a distinct kind of journey.
