Wild Frontiers

Flight Information

Flight time to Tashkent from London is 7:00hrs, with Uzbek Airways. Other common routings are via Munich with Lufthansa, Moscow with Aeroflot or Istanbul with Turkish Airlnes which all take around 10hrs.

Useful Tips

• Buy some dried fruit in the market in Samarkand, delicious

• If you're thinking of re tiling your bathroom, wait until you have been here - you can buy some fabulous tiles very cheap

• Have dinner at the Labi Hauz - it’s the coolest place to dine

• If flying out of Tashkent airport with excess luggage, you will be charged.

• Watch the sunrise from the western battlements of the Khiva old town

Recommended Reading

If you want to read up on your destination we recommend a variety of guidebooks such as the Odyssey Guides, The Rough Guide and Footprint Guides. All these publications have good general information as well as more specific country information that will help orientate you in the areas you visit.

Good books and maps of Uzbekistan are available at Stanfords in Covent Garden, London or online at www.stanfords.co.uk

Relevant Reading:
The first to mention is the utterly riveting, The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk. Chronicling the extraordinary history of the region, from Genghis Khan through to the Bolsheviks, it is a wonderfully readable book, focusing primarily on the wars, alliances and intrigues caused by the imperial rivalry of Britain and Russia during the 19th Century.

Also by Hopkirk, Setting the East Ablaze, specifically relates to the Bolshevik’s annexation of Central Asia, is a fascinating, enjoyable and arguably even more relevant book on the area. Other good books on the region include The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron; In Xanadu by William Dalrymple; Apples in the Snow by Geoffrey Moorhouse; Eastern Approaches by Fitzroy MacLean; Lost Heart of Asia by Colin Thubron, and most recently: A Carpet Ride to Khiva by Chris Alexander, a fascinating insight into what life is like in modern day Central Asia.

And if you’d rather fiction to tell you something of the history, then we strongly recommend Samarkand by Amin Malouf: a riveting and wonderfully written book, chronicling life in the region at the turn of the last millennium. And of course our very own Jonny Bealby’s book; Silk Dreams, Troubled Road.

When To Go

The best time to visit is generally May, June, September and October when the skies tend to be clear and the temperature warm. You can also visit Uzbekistan in July and August however it is hot and the temperature in Bukhara and Khiva can reach 40 degrees.

Packing List

Below is a list of general items you might take with you on a Wild Frontiers trip to Uzbekistan. With your booking confirmation you will receive a packing list specific to your tour, so please treat this as a general guideline only.

Luggage:
It is best to use a soft bag - rucksack/hold-all/duffel bag - so it can be transported and stored more easily.

On all our trips a small daypack is practical for keeping general items (e.g. camera, books, wallets etc.) at hand when your main pack is out of reach. It is also handy for day trips and excursions.
Clothing:

In general you should bring clothes you feel comfortable with but do be aware of cultural sensitivities. Therefore as a guide we suggest a packing list like this:
• 4 x Light cotton shirts or T-shirts, short sleeved and long.
• 2/3 pairs of cotton trousers. If preferred, women can wear dresses and skirts.
• 1 x Lightweight jumper or sweatshirt
• Waterproof jacket (lightweight)
• Sun hat
• Swim suit or trunks
• Pair of comfortable walking shoes/sandals
• An extra “outfit” if you’d like to dress smart on occasion

Equipment:
The following is useful extra equipment for your trip:
• Sleeping bag liner (cotton or silk)
• Travel towel, travel soap and toiletries
• Flip flops/sandals for bathrooms
• Torch (LED head-torch keeps your hands free)
• A bandanna or large handkerchief is useful for dusty tracks
• Pair of good quality sunglasses
• Water bottle
• Plug adapter (see ‘Electricity’ section)

Personal First Aid Kit:
While we do carry a large medical kit on all our group tours, we would advise that you take some of the basics with you. This should include:
• Any prescription medication required (please inform the tour leader at your pre-departure meeting about these)
• Antibacterial dry hand wash
• Painkillers: paracetamol & ibuprofen
• Rehydration salts (Gastrolyte)
• Malaria Tablets (if necessary)
• Travel motion-sickness tablets if required (e.g. natural ginger tablets)
• Diarrhoea remedies
• Antihistamines
•Cold/flu decongestants
• Mosquito Repellent
• Insect bite cream
• Laxatives
• Plasters/Bandage/Steri-Strips/Blister pads
• Sunscreen (30+ factor)
• Moisturiser/after sun cream/lip balm
• Contact lenses and solution if required
• Tweezers

(A kit with most of this in is available at www.nomadtravel.co.uk)

Optional Extras:
• Ear plugs (if sharing a room / camping)
• Alarm clock
• 3-4 plastic carrier bags are very useful for dirty washing, dirty shoes and rubbish
• Binoculars
• Small packs of tissues
• Money belt or secure pouch for money and passport etc.
• Eye patches if light affects your sleep
• Sewing kit/scissors
• Writing materials
• Spare batteries/camera memory cards
• Swiss Army knife
• Universal bath plug
• Calculator (for currency conversion)
• Trekking poles
• Lyons coffee bags if you cannot survive without ‘proper’ coffee.
• When wild camping a sleeping bag is provided but should you wish to take your own please feel free to do so.

NB: If you wear glasses, it is advisable to bring a spare pair since opticians are rare. If you wear contact lenses you may find that climatic changes and dust can create visual irritation, therefore, it is advisable to bring a pair of glasses.

You might be tempted to buy a few souvenirs here and there, so leave a little room for those extra purchases!!

Hand Luggage:
Although it is very rare that luggage goes missing on flights, it has been known to happen and so it’s a good idea to carry a spare top, toothbrush, wash kit, underwear and any other essentials in your hand luggage so that you can at least freshen up while waiting for your bags to catch you up. If you wear your sturdy shoes/boots it will also reduce weight in your luggage and keep them safe.

Practical Information

Time:
Uzbekistan is 5hrs ahead of GMT.
A useful website to check the time zone differences is www.worldtimezone.com

Food and Alcohol:
The food in Uzbekistan is not particularly varied. However, as you travel through the various regions, your guides will ensure you experience the delicacies of each region, which often overlap with the cultures that have lived and moved around over the centuries.

With regard to alcohol, the choice is limited to vodka, beer or rather filthy local brandy so anyone wanting something different - Scotch or Gin for example - should buy it duty free and bring it with them. However, be advised that mixers, like tonic water, are extremely difficult to find!

Electricity:
Those bringing video & digital cameras that require battery chargers should also bring a two-pin, continental style adapter. In most hotels you can charge from the mains using a travel adaptor plug. In Uzbekistan they use 220 volts. Be aware that electricity once away from the cities may not be guaranteed so please bring adequate batteries.

Money:
In Uzbekistan the official unit of currency is the Sum.
To check out the latest exchange rate for the places that you are visiting you can go to www.oanda.com
A few points to help you plan:
• It is strongly recommended you travel with US dollars or Euros in cash. Sterling or travellers cheques are very difficult to change.
• Ensure the notes you bring are ‘pristine’ as damaged, torn, written on notes are near impossible to use.
• Credit cards and Travellers Cheques are basically useless.
• Payments are mainly made in cash.
• If you attempt to use ATM machines, be sure to notify your bank before you travel.
• It is useful to bring lots of small denomination notes.

Language & Religion:
Uzbek is the only official state language in Uzbekistan, although the Tajik language is widespread within Bukhara and Samarkand due to the large population of ethnic Tajiks. Russian is the main language for 14% of the population and in the cities is an important language for interethnic communication.

95% of the population are Muslim with about 5% following Russian Orthodox Christianity. Over the years there have been many versions of the Islamic faith practiced in Uzbekistan.

Cultural Sensitivity:
At Wild Frontiers we are very aware of the ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures. We realise that taking a group of tourists through such a region can have a negative impact on the lives of those who live there and on all our tours we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive…after all, there are also many good things that the tourist can bring.

To help this process we ask that our clients do not hand out pens or sweets to children. As one sign in Egypt emphatically put it, ‘Please don't make beggars out of our children!' No matter how well intentioned, in our opinion the dolling out of free gifts fosters a ‘beggar mentality' that is ultimately extremely destructive to a society. In addition we do not condone giving out money to beggars or ‘students'.

However, we also realise that we are exceptionally privileged to be travelling in areas where most of the people have far less than us and that the desire to ‘help' can be very powerful. As a result we ask that you refer to your trip dossier for information on the Wild Frontiers Foundation which supports specific projects in the areas where we travel.

Photography:
Please remember, we are guests in the countries through which we travel and we may sometimes inadvertently cause offence by taking photographs without first asking permission.

Also many countries have very strict rules about taking photos of army, police or any official personnel; restrictions apply at borders, bridges and any government building. Please exercise care as the penalty may be to have your film and/or camera confiscated.