Not listed in the Lonely Planet...

Quite a stunner of a hotel eh?! it sits in the centre of Tashkent next to the Amir Timur Maydoni - a statue of him on horseback.

More sightseeing today - we covered Independence Sq., The Crying Mother Flame (bit like the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow) a couple of metro journeys to see the different stations (again a bit like Moscow) and other parks and fountains, which were all pristine and clean and attractive. Plenty of pics for FB and Flickr (at some point). Tashkent is far nicer than I had imagined - I was supposed to be coming here for five months but it got changed to Almaty. Whilst there is much more to do in Kazakhstan in terms of places to eat, drink and be merry, I think I'd have been fairly content with a posting in Uzbekistan. We couldn't venture out of the city because D was on call, but I would seriously consider a return to the 'stans' for some more travel (without work getting in the way) so that I could do Samarkand, Bukhara and the Fergana Valley. Not to mention Lake Issyk Kol in Kyrgyzstan and a couple of other Kazakh delights. It's not been ruled out, but we'll have to see. So if you're ever in the area - Tashkent is worth a visit!

It was another corker of a day, which ended in the late afternoon with a dip in the pool and an impromptu BBQ and beers before I had to head back to the airport. Trying not to think about the journey ahead (after the antique I flew in on) the 'Good Luck' signs that greeted me as we drove up to the airport were very very funny! Much to my delight though, my ride home was on something a lot younger - a much more professional outfit in terms of its features - I think it even had loos!