Stage 97: From Chiwa back to Tashkent

After 15 hours train ride and feeling a bit tired, we were back in Tashkent. We briefly greeted our familiar host Anvar (who still had my bike), and then the odyssey continued. We had booked a day trip to the Chimgan Mountains. Our driver spoke good English and we could assure him convincingly that it wasn't his fault if we yawned. After a ride through 'New Uzbekistan' with many modern buildings and a new university, he dropped us off at the Amirsoy ski resort, where we could take a short walk. The modern chairlift was too expensive for us, so we preferred to wait for the old Soviet-era cable car in Chimgan. It was quite an experience, even for adrenaline junkies like us. The threatening creaking combined with an untrustworthy wire rope construction and the 50m deep abyss bothered us during the ride. But the view was all the more worth it!

Then we went to the Charvak Reservoir, which was still too cold for swimming at this time of the year. From there, it was not far to a few very old petroglyphs (estimated to be 40,000-100,000 years old), which unfortunately are not protected at all. After a good lunch, we headed back towards Tashkent, and on the way back we bought some strawberries.

The next day was unfortunately our last day together for now. We decided to stroll through Tashkent in a relaxed way and ended up in an unexpected place that is not yet mentioned in guidebooks or online recommendations: Tashkent Land! We were surprised to find a themepark sponsored by Pepsi in a former Soviet country. You can walk through colorfully mixed streets that are supposed to remind you of Paris, Berlin, Rome, or Texas. Probably that's how Uzbeks imagine Europe. The highlight was the Pepsi Castle, which strongly resembled the Walt Disney logo. Tashkent Land was anything but authentic, but all the more fascinating. The fact that there was an old mosque right next to it made it even more surreal. In the afternoon, we even had a quiet game of bowling. Later, we walked through a small park nearby before finding a nice restaurant just in time before the rain started. The next day, it was time to say goodbye again, Laura's flight was in the early morning. The two weeks went by way too quickly! I stayed in Tashkent for a few more days to make plans and mentally prepare for the next leg of the journey.