Cooking in Kokand

 The bi-plane ride to Sohk felt like a pivotal moment during my trip. I loved every second of it. And after making the video and writing about it, I didn't feel like finishing the rest of the blog entries. But the more I looked at the images I took, in the end, I felt I needed to write about the rest of the trip as well. 

After landing, I took a taxi back to my hotel, and then had the driver drive me back to the train station in Margilon. I tried getting a ticket for the upper classes of the train, but at this point, only second class was available. So I bought one. Still high from the plane ride, I wandered around teh train station. Bought some food for the short ride. I got on the train and found my seat. The train was HOT. Or more precisely, second class was hot. Packed to the rafters. And no aircon. Even though it was a short ride to Kokand, it was still a cooking experience. Sweating protrusivly, I tried to cool myself off in any way I knew. I made a makeshift fan and it worked somewhat. But I was happy when we finally arrived in Kokand.

The first thing I did, was to find the ticket office. Hoping to get a first class or even VIP class ticket for the trip to Tashkent. But no. They were all sold out. So I had to settle for second class all the way to Tashkent. That was going to be brutal. I already knew that.

I walked the short distance to my hotel. Which proved to be quite nice. In the middle of everything. A short walk from all the stuff I wanted to see here.

But it was already late, so I opted to just go to a supermarket and get some food and drink for the night. I also had a delicious dinner before settling in for the night. It had been a long day and I was tired. I fell asleep quite early and slept like a baby. 

The sole reason for coming to Kokand was to see old buildings. I had already read that Kokand was called the pearl of the Fergana valley. And it didn't disappoint. I had some breakfast before heading out to see the sights. The three sights I wanted to see, were the Jami Mosque with its unique wooden pillars. The Khudayarkhan Palace, built in the middle of the 19th century, and last but not least, the Norbutabiya madrasah, built in the late 18th century. There was also an orthodox church here, but it was closed, so I could only catch a glimpse through the gates.

Jami Mosque, built in the early 19th century is unique in its construction. It is open, and has dozens of carved wooden pillars holding up the roof. I paid the small entrance fee and spent some time here. It was a unique sight. With beautiful roof patterns and wonderful carvings of the pillars. Like always, my images do not do it any justice. You have to be there and see it for yourself to truly enjoy the works of art this mosque is. 

2024  Mustang.... Convertible

The palace was built by Said Muhammad Khudoyarkhan, and was built during a period of flourishing economy. And the city was teeming with activity. The palace is almost 70 by 140 meters, and consists of more than 100 rooms. Should have been enough for the Khan... It also had an inner courtyard. 

I also walked past the old Norbutabiya madrasah. The outside was nice, but the inside wasn't too interesting, so I didn't take many pictures. At least none that I think would be of interest here. But this was the front :

At this point, I had walked around the city the whole day. My feet hurt, and I was tired. So I found a small restaurant and ordered some local chow. After I delcious meal, I went to the local supermarket and bought some snacks and drink for the evening. The day after, I was going to Samarqand via Tashkent. I did not look forward to the trip to Tashkent. Knowing it was many hours of grueling heat in a packed train.

The day after, I walked down to the train station, and found my bunk in second class. It was already stuffed. Moist air, and perfect temperature for baking bread. Or my head. I had brought lots of water for the trip. And they also sold some on the train. I tried to find a position that was as comfortable as possible. With as much air as possible. But even with the windows open, there was precious little breeze going on through the cabin. So I tried to focus on the scenery instead. But taking photos through a dirty, darkened window wasn't easy. But I did get some.

Arriving in Tashkent, I went straight to the ticket office to get a ticket for the train to Samarqand for the next day. Luckily, this time, I managed to secure a ticket on the speedy train. And in a cabin with aircon. I opted to stay one night in Tashkent. Because the alternative would be to take a night train. And I don't sleep well on trains. Or buses. Or planes...

As I left the train station, I was "attacked" by taxi drivers. Quoting ridiculous prices. I ignored them and started walking towards the main street. The prices suddenly dropped, and in the end I had negotiated a price not far from what I expected. I got into his taxi, and he drove like a maniac through the streets and to my hotel. Art Hotel. I paid and went inside.

I handed them my passport. They found my booking. "Can you please cancel your booking?" the guy behind the counter asked. "Cancel my booking?" "Yeah, if you do, we can rebook you ourselves, and we don't have to pay commission to you booking agent." "Mmmmm. No." I can sympathize with people trying to make money. But I don't sympathize with them taking money from those who bring them business. They asked to see my booking, and I showed them. When I came home, I found that they had used the pincode on my booking to write a starry review "from me".... I didn't figure out how to contact the people from the booking app about this, so in the end, I gave up. 

He took me up to a relatively nice room. But after I unpacked, I realized I was unable to close my door. I went down to the reception, and he came up and tried his best, but couldn't close it. It was jammed. He took me to another room where the door worked. And I had a wonderful nights sleep before the train trip to Samarqand.