As I boarded the train to Tashkent at some ridiculously early hour, I realized that this might indeed be the last time I could take the trans-Caspian railroad. This formidable railroad really opened up Central Asia to trade and was originally constructed during the Russian occupation. Although I was excited, my excitement was curbed somewhat by the fact that my stomach was playing up…. again.

Fortunately the journey itself was very comfortable and I remembered just how civilized train travel could be. It wasn’t since taking the train in Bulgaria that I had used this mode of transport and I am resolved to use it again once I can. Looking out of the window it was a stark contrast to the desert scenery I had become used to seeing. Now the landscape was a luscious and fertile green. We hurtled along, and in 5 hours arrived at Tashkent’s main train station.

Tashkent is the real capital of Central Asia and is a bustling city. However it has a certain charm and it’s wide tree-lined avenues mean that the traffic is not too congested. I was going to spend a good few days here and it was pleasing to get such a good first impression of the place. Indeed as we turned up to Gulnara’s B&B we were warmly received and spent most of the afternoon, again, drinking tea in the courtyard.

Since it was Greg’s last night in Uzbekistan, we decided to go for a nice meal at an Uzbek/Eurasian restaurant in town. It was slightly more than the usual $1 meal, but it was great to have some really decent food in a nice atmosphere. It had been a great couple of days we’d spent together and I had appreciated the company, but Greg had a 6am flight to catch so after supper we headed back to the guesthouse.