Double landlocked – exploring Uzbekistan

After having way too much fun for my own good in Namibia, especially while being exposed to the beauty of the oldest desert in the entire planet, I decided confidently that it is time to continue to venture out again right into an arid, scorching terrain which will blow my mind.

Oman, not happening

Bearing that urge to visit a desert this old wretched mind decided to land in Oman. Known to be the Switzerland of the Middle East, populated by people who are stereotypically more similar to Norwegians in terms of their personalities and level of straight-forwardness compared to other Arab people, Oman has a lot to offer in nature exploration terms as well. Its nature is immensely beautiful, rich with mountainous and desert regions, while having the Arabian sea gently cuddling the coastline with warm water, blossoming with marine wildlife.

My research provided a massive and substantial insight of Oman as the days came closer to the flight. My excitement was rising through the proverbial roof, as I was progressively warming up to the culture and the land they live in. Eight days before the flight Iran was attacked by the US and Israel, which made my plans to visit Oman very unstable and possibly unsafe; even though Oman was unaffected directly by the attacks, and even played the safe haven in certain situations during this still ongoing war, I did not want to risk my safety by being in the vicinity and having my flights rescheduled, cancelled and in any way disrupted due to the war which was gaining traction at that moment. I was gutted when it was time to cancel every booking of the hotels, activities etc., as Oman is a place of which I was extremely curious about. Not to mention the war itself, which is still ongoing as I write this, coming with casualties and destruction which fill the newspapers with wartime horrors and dread.

The -stans within the cradle of civilization

After cancelling every Oman-related activity, I had to find another place to visit. I was desperate to stretch my wings in an unknown place, so unintentionally following the rule of visiting a place no one I know ever been to, I decided to visit Uzbekistan. Besides Liechtenstein, the only double landlocked country on Earth. Like with Oman, I found out that a lot of people either did not hear about it before and even more cannot put their fingers on the world map on this country. For me, this is unthinkable. I am a serious lover of Central Asia (Mongolia, right?) who’d easily land in almost any of the -stans (can you count them? Let’s go: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan) and had a lot of fun as the possibilities for exploration are ENDLESS. This area is essentially known to be the part of the cradle of civilization within Central Asia, including Uzbekistan at which I was aiming at – particularly known for its ancient oasis cities that served as pivotal hubs along the Silk Road. The region, known historically as Transoxiana, has been inhabited for thousands of years, with major urban centers like Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva boasting histories stretching back to over 2,500 years.

I spent 10 days in Uzbekistan, not including extra days spent on long flights from / to Oslo via Riga. I traveled across Uzbekistan while making almost 2 000 km and I really immersed myself in this society. The following descriptions of events and my impressions will explain why and how I enjoyed the visit.