Uzbekistan by Train! ¦ A Chaotic Travel Day From Tashkent to Bukhara and Back.

This was not how today was supposed to begin. I traveled to Uzbekistan a few days before with the nation's flag carrier, Uzbekistan Airways, on their direct service from JFK to the country's capital, Tashkent. A lot of people thought that I was crazy to go all the way to Uzbekistan by myself, but the few days that I spent wandering around the capital left me pleasantly surprised. The city is filled with parks and monuments, and a whole bunch of modern buildings are starting to pop up, too. And there's still plenty of reminders around of the over 60 years that Uzbekistan spent as part of the Soviet Union, including Tashkent's amazing metro system. Similar to what you'll find in Moscow, Tashkent has an elaborate metro system that has a series of beautifully decorated stations, including my favorite one that's dedicated to the Soviet space program. Up until recently, photography was forbidden on the metro because it also doubles as a bomb shelter, but thankfully the rules were relaxed a few years ago. But after spending a few days in the capital, I decided that I wanted to see a different side of the country, so I booked a $300 tour to Bukhara, which is closer to the border with Turkmenistan. And that's when everything started to go wrong. Originally, as part of the tour, I was supposed to be picked up from my hotel at 6am and driven to the airport for a 7.30am hour-long flight to Bukhara. After landing, I would then spend the next eight hours touring around the city and then catch a high-speed train back to Tashkent. But that's not how it worked out. On the day of the trip, I got a call from the tour operator explaining that he had forgotten about the trip and that he'd be a little late in picking me up. He finally got me 20 minutes before the flight was scheduled to take off, and we raced to the airport. He reassured me, several times, that everything was going to be alright. We ran into the airport a little after the flight was scheduled to have taken off, and we obviously weren't allowed to board, despite my guide's pleas that I should be allowed on since I was an American. Unsurprisingly, the airport staff was unmoved, so we had to turn to plan B, which was to catch a high-speed train to Bukhara, and that's about the time we realized that we had a flat tire. Eventually, the tire got replaced and we sped off to catch the train, which we ended up missing. Thankfully, though, I was able to get a ticket for a train that left an hour later. This whole ordeal was completely exhausting, but this was my last day in Uzbekistan and I was determined to make it to Bukhara, which I had wanted to visit for years. Normally, the videos I make are on these guys, so my knowledge of trains is limited, but I'll do my best. From what I found online, this is a Renfe Class 130, manufactured by Talgo, which is a company. Uzbekistan ordered these trains in 2009, and they were delivered in 2011, and two more were later delivered in 2017. This train has a premium cabin, but my seat today is 12H, which is an economy. The seats are all in a 2-2 configuration, and I found them to be nice and spacious. The legroom was great, and there were footrests. There's this little storage area here, and this massive tray table pulled out from in front of me. There are some seat controls down by my leg, as well as some power outlets. Overall, I was pretty impressed, and for the first time today, I felt like I could really sit back and relax. The train pulled out of the station on time, and I began my journey across Uzbekistan. The trip aboard this high-speed train to Bukhara will take about 3 hours and 20 minutes, and will cover a distance of 600 kilometers. The service began shortly after we left Tashkent. All economy passengers received a free snack bag, and inside, there was a croissant, a muffin, a pack of instant coffee, and one of these cool hand wipes. Later, they came around with some tea and some hot water for the instant coffee. I was really surprised that they gave us this free meal, and definitely grateful because I hadn't eaten anything. The first stop on the train was one of Uzbekistan's largest cities, Samarkand. When I told locals that I would be using the limited time that I had in the country to visit Bukhara instead of Samarkand, I got a lot of shocked looks, because Samarkand is known for its beauty and historical significance, but I had my heart set on Bukhara, so I guess I'll just have to come back and visit Samarkand on another trip. After leaving Samarkand, we began the next leg of our journey to Navoi. I had a little over two hours left on this journey, and it was over this long stretch that I truly came to appreciate how nice this train was. There really wasn't any sort of entertainment provided except for what was up on these TVs, but the seats were comfortable enough that I was just happy to gaze out of the windows. There was a dining car on board that I never managed to check out, as well as several restrooms. As we sped across Uzbekistan, the snow-covered landscapes gave way to the desert, and we eventually made a quick stop at Navoi, and then we were on our final stretch to Bukhara. I enjoyed my time aboard this train, the seats were comfortable, and the crew was very professional and spoke English, but because of the fiasco beforehand, by the time I reached Bukhara, I only had about three hours to explore the city. Since I made the train journey by myself, I was met at the station by a local guide, and we set off to tour as much as possible. Bukhara is a fascinating city with a history stretching back millennia. Located along the famous Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, religion, and has served as the capital of empires and emirates. Home to many UNESCO World Heritage sites, one young British diplomat who toured the city in 1938 described it as an enchanted city with buildings that rivaled the finest architecture of the century. Rumor has it that during his siege of the city in 1220, Genghis Khan spared the tower you're looking at now from destruction because he was so impressed with its architecture. My local guide was great, and I was able to see most of the major sites and have a quick lunch, but I definitely want to come back at some point. Once the clock struck 3.30, we rushed back to the train station, where I learned that the tour operator hadn't secured a ticket for me aboard the high-speed train back to Tashkent, and since it was sold out, I needed to take the normal train back to the capital, which I barely was able to get a ticket for. Traveling on one of these older trains wasn't ideal, but for a while there, it looked like I might not make it back today, and I'd end up missing my flight out of the country the next morning, so I was happy to get on this train. The seats themselves were fine, but it would take over six hours for me to reach Tashkent, which after all the traveling I'd done today was a pretty brutal way to end this journey. So, in conclusion, thanks for watching, and don't just trust any tour operator that you find on TripAdvisor, because things might not go according to plan.