I spent millions of Uzbeki som—but the conversion rate played out in my favor.
With historic urban center like Samarkand and Bukhara , Uzbekistan has emerged as a top address for tourists want to exploreCentral Asia — including me during a recent trip . Strolling through these foreign city with the odor of spice , pot of handwoven rugs , and phone of unfamiliar language around me , I could even pretend I was a fourteenth C traveler , caravaning through thedesert .
But I wonder if any of those travelers of yore had an substitution rate quite like the one I receive during my travels , when one Uzbeki som exchanged to 0.000079 USD . Put another agency , I had to spend over 12,000 som to rack up one US dollar .
My first ATM withdrawal scared me . get some walking around money at the airport ATM , I nervously press the button for one million Uzbeki som , hoping my calculations were right . Was I go to entirely pass over out my US depository financial institution account ? But no , one million som come out to just over $ 79 . That may not seem like much , but you’re able to have a portion fun in the relatively inexpensive , well forward-looking , and totally unique country of Uzbekistan for $ 79 . Here ’s what I spent during my hebdomad - long trip .
Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist
About the traveler
Job : Public attorney and part - time freelance writerAnnual salary:$101,000-$200,000 per yearLocation of residence : VirginiaAge:52
About the vacation
Where : UzbekistanHow foresighted : Seven daysBudget:$1,500
Upfront costs
Flights:$611 . I redeemed airline points and spent $ 611 in fee for line class seats between Washington DC and Tashkent , Uzbekistan , with a layover in Istanbul . As a 6’4 ” hombre , I esteem every in of space .
Day by day
Day 1 - Wednesday
Total cost : $ 23.45My teenage daughter , search for any excuse to ride her 2005 Toyota Camry , sink me off at Washington - Dulles aerodrome to room my flight . I connected throughIstanbul , where I had lounge access . This meant I spent $ 0 to share in sempiternal buffets of fresh food .
I touched ground at Tashkent´s Islam Karimov Airport just before 2 promethium . I remove some Uzbeki som and purchased a SIM poster with more minutes than I could ever practice in a workweek , plus a generous 20 gigabyte of data , all for only 50,000 som , or about $ 4 .
Tashkent , the uppercase of Uzbekistan since 1930 , is a modern , commercial-grade city , pleasant enough to travel to , but lacking the striking Silk Road heap of other cities . I mean to stay only for the quietus of the twenty-four hour period , spend the night at a Tashkent hotel ( free , with the salvation of points ) , and then catch the 7 am high - speed Afrosiyob caravan to Samarkand the next cockcrow .
I took YandexGo , the Uber of Central Asia , from the airport to my hotel for 16,000 som ( $ 1.27 ) . Once I was settled , I channelize out to explore several art - fill metro Stations of the Cross , then exit the tube to shop at the sprawling Chorsu Market .
Metro fare was 2,000 som ( 15 penny ) . I bought two fare , but later on discovered I mess up the return ticket and had to spend another 15 cent to replace it . My budget survived .
I notice myself wonder if 15 cents for outright occlusive in the safe , tune conditioned , and spectacular Tashkent metro was the best bargain on the planet . The resplendent and mesmerise metro stations became an unexpected highlight of my trip .
Photos by Jeffrey Yeates
go far at Chosu Market via a YanexGo from the metro , I cursorily bought some chocolate for 35,000 som ( $ 3.25 ) from a favorable salesgirl , and then the freshest strawberry mark I´d ever eaten for 20,000 som ( $ 1.50 ) . My eve hotel snacking needs taken care of , I proceed browsing , eventually bargaining two teenage boy down to 90,000 som ( $ 7 ) for a pair of ” I can get them marked-up and just leave them behind if I want to ” bloomers .
On the means out of the market place , I dine on beef kabob and a Pepsi for 70,000 som ( $ 5.50 ) , then render to the hotel . My YandexGo depend on to and from the Tashkent Metro impart up to 43,000 som ( $ 3.50 ) .
Day 2 - Thursday
Total cost : $ 107After a YandexGo ride to the train station for 8,300 som ( 66 cents ) and some breakfast pastries and bite ( 22,000 som , or $ 2 ) , I easily spotted the sleek Afrosiyob railroad train idle on the raceway and climbed on board . I seated myself next to a Uzbek university student studying technology , and the two - time of day ride to Samarkand passed quickly ( 204,000 som , or $ 16 ) .
During my YandexGo ride from the train post to the hotel ( 24,000 som , or almost $ 2 ) , the driver , please by my rudimentary attempts at Uzbek , told me I needed to try the traditional Uzbek “ osh ” dish at Joni Osh eatery . With a sincere Xyar ( “ bye-bye ” ) , I tell him I ’d do my best , and walked into the Boutique Kamila Hotel , where I paid 800,000 som , or $ 63 , for one night . Even though it was scantily 10 am , the Kamila , with a terrace overlooking the splendid Registan madrasah ( educational institution ) composite and an admit breakfast , accommodate my former check - in .
I dropped my luggage off and then maneuver back out , first walking to the tremendous fourteenth - century Bibi Khanyam Mosque , then taking a YandexGo ( 25,000 som , or $ 2 ) to and from the turquoise spectacle of the Shah - i - Zinda Ensemble of ornate mausoleums and tombs . I did n’t run into any Americans , but I periodically pick up English , which appear to be the nonremittal lingua franca between Uzbek vendors and crowds of tourist negotiating prices for the sempiternal array of Silk Road - inspire nontextual matter and wares : leatherwork , metalworking , intricate painting , framework , Soviet - epoch coins and pins , Uzbek chapans ( quilted robes ) , hats , scarves , andso manyrugs .
Photos by Jeffrey Yeates
By now , my groundwork were getting tired , eyes pleasantly overloaded on intricate tilework , and my breakfast pastry in Tashkent were just a simple storage . I decided it was time for Joni Osh . Walking in , it became clear that this was not only Samarkand ’s hotspot for osh , but also a space to see and be seen for Samarkand locals . No English was address here , but I only needed to hold up an index finger fingerbreadth to the cook to indicate that I want one dowry .
Also fuck as plov , Uzbek osh is a greasy , but oh - so - fulfil traditional dish of beef with rice , carrots , onions , raisins , and spices , scooped out of a gargantuan cooking bowl decently onto your plate . I meet Joni , the man himself , who was so proud of with my sojourn that I reckon he gave me a discount rate . I mirthfully paid only 75,000 som ( $ 6 ) for the best meal of my trip .
I drive another YandexGo ( 17,000 som , or $ 1.35 ) back to the Kamila , where I rested a bit , then headed out at dusk to see the uncomparable Registan , a accumulation of three mosque and madrasas that is so arresting , especially light up up at night , I could n’t intercept taking photograph . The combine cost for all of these salient sights for the day ? 80,000 som ( $ 6.50 ) , which was less than the cost of the Samarkand guidebook I bought for 90,000 som ( $ 7 ) .
Photos by Jeffrey Yeates
Day 3 - Friday
Total cost : $ 165I could n’t get enough of the fabulous shades of lapis and turquoise in the Registan area , so after an other ( included ) traditional breakfast at the Kamila , I walked back to gaze once more at the madrassas before they opened at 8 am . consort to at least one locomotion blog , precaution sometimes permit you climb one of the otherwise - off - limits minaret for a humble bribe . As I was about to leave , I descry a guard mosey towards me . certainly enough , he pushed open part of the fencing , pointed to a minaret , and tell I could climb it . How much ? Only 50,000 som ( $ 4 ) .
I happily start with the money and slipped through the logic gate , then find out the precaution unlock the ancient wooden door with an even more ancient - looking key . He ushered me up the curve stairs for a last , glorious dawn view .
I made one last stop at the Gur Emir Mausoleum ( 20,000 som , or $ 1.50 ) with its striking gold and lapis interior , and then took a YandexGo ( 7,500 som , or 60 cents ) , arriving back at the Kamila by noon . I had booked a tour with Nuratau Tours , and my driver , Ikram , was wait for me at the hotel . The plan was an all - inclusive “ get out of the metropolis ” interlude into the Kyzle - Kum desert near the Kazakh border . I paid 2 million som ( $ 160 ) and then we were off .
Photos by Jeffrey Yeates
After hours driving through the rain , and several kilometers on a muddy grease road , we pulled up to a yurt encampment . Twelve German tourists and I dined with a local family , and then enjoyed traditional birdsong play by an older young man on a charter ( the long - necked Tajik interlingual rendition of the guitar ) . We then go to bed to our yurts for a quiet quietus . Hiring a individual driver / guide for this tour is the single most expensive matter I did in Uzbekistan , but it was worth it . And I find to catch some Z’s in a yurt !
Day 4 - Saturday
Total toll : $ 151.50The next morning , I got up early , bask the dayspring sun after a rainy night . I boost around the desert , where I stumbled upon an abandon planetary house , a ruck of disinterested cows , and some delightfully shaggy Bactrian ( two - humped ) camel . After breakfast , Ikram differentiate me I could take a camel drive . I walked out and find out one of the shaggy camels I encountered earlier , now coldcock out with a bicycle seat and reins .
After feeling like a Silk Road desert spider on a camel for 20 minutes , I climbed back in Ikram ’s railcar , headed to Bukhara . We hold back by gleaming Lake Aydarkul and then the city of Nurota , where I explored the supposed well - weathered ruins of one of Alexander the Great´s fortress . I bribe some pen with perpetrate - out flags featuring photos of Nurota as souvenirs for my unseasoned nephew ( 5,000 som , or 40 cent ) , and by mid - good afternoon , we were in Bukhara . I bade farewell to firm Ikram , promise to leave him a right on-line reassessment , as he drop me off for two nights ( 800,000 som , or $ 63 , per Nox ) at what would become my pet hotel of the trip , the Amulet . It had a nerveless , unbend courtyard , a bench level , and was filled with Silk Road knick - hang everywhere I look .
I dropped off some laundry with the hotel ( 40,000 som , or $ 3 ) and take a YandexGo ( 11,000 som , or 87 cents ) to the Ark of Bukhara , a massive 5th century fortress ( 60,000 som , aka $ 4.75 ) . I wandered the ramparts , finally coming across a dramatic throne illuminated by the setting sun . People were sit in the can for photos , and I could see a lour man off to the side . I approached and see that the man had a collection of fancy clothes on a table next to him . I paid him 25,000 som ( $ 2 ) to take photo of me sit around on this brilliant throne in Bukhara , cloak in embroidered silk gown and holding a great sword .
Photos by Jeffrey Yeates
After my short - lived sentence as a crowned amir , I walked over to the Bukhara Tower and give 40,000 som ( $ 3.17 ) to take in the sunset from the twentieth - one C observation deck . From the tower , I could barely see the humble , yet charming , 10th - century Samanid Mausoleum in Samani Park , which I had visited earlier ( 25,000 som , or $ 2 ) . I listen to the evening call to entreaty , which came from the Bolo Hauz Mosque , with its unequaled carved wooden tower . reflect in a syndicate of weewee , the exterior light suddenly blinked on and the furbish hues of the mosque and its pillars blended into the late golden sunshine .
descend the tugboat , I walk around Bolo Hauz and then decided to grease one’s palms some magical peacock butterfly stitchery scissors hold for my married woman ( 90,000 som , or $ 7 ) . I view as them sorcerous because later I accidentally leave them in my carry - on luggage on the way home , yet they somehow slip past two airport X - ray machines and a concluding hand lookup through my bag .
I enjoyed a takeaway meal of some kabob and bread ( 20,000 som , or $ 1.50 ) , as I weave past too many mosque , monuments , and madrasas to count , back to the Amulet , another farsighted day complete .
Photos by Jeffrey Yeates
Day 5 - Sunday
full cost : $ 148.48I spent the day relaxing and reading on the Amulet ’s blowy terraces . afterward , I tried out Bukhara ’s good osh at the Plov ( 60,000 som , or $ 4.75 , plus a 14,000 - som — or $ 1 — YandexGo ) . It was almost as good as the osh I had in Samarkand . My young host offered to add some horseflesh , but I go down , not realizing it was a substantial offer until too late . Maybe next time !
I spent the rest of the even frequent my way through the eternal market place among the well-lighted mosques and madrasah . A jewellery store tuck inside a madrasah had some unequalled items , and I negotiate a terms of 750,000 som ( $ 59.43 ) for a fortunate pomegranate ring and snake jewelry for my wife and girl .
Later , I buy a Persian ink drawing so magnificent that when the merchant scarce shift on the damage , I bought it anyway for an even 1 million som ( $ 80 ) . Walking back to the Amulet , I found an elderly mankind sell more novelty on the street . I buy a few unequalled - looking Soviet - era coin for my nephews ( 25,000 som , or $ 2 ) .
Day 6 - Monday
full cost : $ 45.63I made a sunrise visit to the four singular bulbous towers of Chor Minor Mosque , each of which is said to represent one of four major organized religion ( 20,000 som , or $ 1.50 ) . I could even climb the tower up to the roof without paying a bribe .
I spent the respite of the day exploring other buildings in Bukhara , including a carpet museum inside a former mosque ( entry fee : 20,000 som , or $ 1.50 ) . I enjoyed a final late afternoon meal at Temir ’s Restaurant , next to the pool and fountain in Lyabi Khuase Square . grill veggies , pelf , salad , and a smoothie at this touristed eating place came out to 120,000 som , or $ 9.50 .
I got a 25 - bit YandexGo drive to the train station ( 24,000 som , or barely $ 2 ) . Even after 6 pm , the outdoor temperature was close to 90 degree , and I was looking forward to my restful first form partake in berth on the overnight train to Tashkent ( 392,000 som , or $ 31 ) .
I was proud of to scat with a cheerful local educatee devolve to Tashkent for lit studies , but less proud of to detect that the AC in our first category perambulator was third class , by which I signify not functioning . After sit in the sun all day , the toasty gear carriage kept give forth heat until past midnight , when I finally sink off to kip .
Day 7 - Tuesday
Total price : $ 1.62The gear pulled into Tashkent at 5 am , just before sunrise . I considered a step on it visit to a few more awing Tashkent Metro station , but decided not to cut things too close for my dayspring flight to Istanbul . Instead , I took one final YandexGo head trip from the train place to the aerodrome ( 20,500 som , or $ 1.62 ) .
Goodbye Silk Road , and goodbye Uzbekistan . If I was ever going to spend several million , it was a pretty smashing place to do it .
How it all broke down
Upfront and travel costs:$611Costs from the week:$641.86Final total:$1,252.86How I did against my original budget:$247.14 under budget
