Day 12-15: Tashkent, Uzbekistan - The struggle is real or Bring on the VISA credit card!

We continued our journey to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on Monday morning feeling refreshed and tanned.

We decided to take a taxi for the 250 km journey because it cost only 4€ per person and was the fastest, most comfortable, cheapest, and hassle-free option. We had already arranged with the taxi driver to take us to our next hostel for this price.

Four hours later, we found ourselves in front of the colorful entrance gates of our cozy home for the next three nights. After bringing our backpacks to our 4-bed room, our first request was for a nearby restaurant and an ATM where we could withdraw money with our Mastercard.

Since we had to pay cash for our hostel in Samarkand that morning and didn't have much Uzbekistani Som left, we were in need of cash. Unfortunately, there isn't an ATM for Mastercard on every corner here in Tashkent. They can only be found in the largest hotels. The woman at the hostel told us about a hotel with an ATM that wasn't far from the hostel. When we arrived there, we realized that we couldn't withdraw money. It seemed there was no cash in the ATM, and the receptionists weren't sure either. They gave us the name of another hotel, which was about 30 minutes away on foot.

However, we faced the same problem there. Strangely, all ATMs for Visa cards were working perfectly fine...

To make a long story short, the search for a working ATM for Mastercard took us all around Tashkent and into the lobbies of the largest hotels, such as the Hyatt and the Radisson Blu.

Feeling a bit out of place with our sneakers and fleece jackets was one thing, but having only a few euros in our pockets after more than 3 hours was another.

However, we were lucky enough that the receptionist at the Radisson Blu managed to organize a free ride for us. It took us to a supermarket not far from our hostel, where we ended up buying a bottle of white wine and chocolate cake. If we were going to be broke, we were going to do it in style!

We had a cozy evening in the hostel's living room and met Arthur, a seasoned traveler from New Zealand who was probably around 70 years old. We would have loved to have another bottle of wine...

New day, new luck, we thought as we went to bed exhausted. But our sleep was short-lived, as we were rudely awakened by shaking beds around 6:30 in the morning. In our half-asleep state, we didn't fully realize what was happening, but a quick Google search for breakfast confirmed our suspicion: there had been an earthquake in Kazakhstan, near the border with Uzbekistan and just outside of Tashkent.

Fortunately, it wasn't a strong earthquake. It was reported to be a magnitude of 4.6, which means it is noticeable but doesn't cause any major damage.

Now that we can check "be woken up by an earthquake" off our to-do list, we packed some cash (about 20 dollars) and made our way to the hotel around the corner to give it another try. But this time, the ATM was completely out of service, so we had to exchange our 20 dollars to get through the day for now.

Our first stop took us to a large bazaar and market, where we spent some time observing the hustle and bustle and stocking up on fruits and pastries. We also went for walks to some mosques, and we are delighted that we could do these activities in the sun with temperatures as high as 12 degrees.

A glance at the weather app reminded us that it is currently -17 degrees during the day in Bishkek (last week, when it was -5 degrees, we thought we were freezing :D).

This morning, our first destination was once again the hotel, where we were warmly greeted by the receptionists with the news that the ATM was working again and had been refilled with cash. As they say, third time's the charm!

The rest of our time in Tashkent was very relaxed, and we are already looking forward to continuing our journey to Delhi, India tomorrow evening. Because there, we can expect temperatures of over 25 degrees!