MY WORST BORDER ENTRY EVER….
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Country 88
The Registan Square is a real gem located in the very heart of the ancient city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
I flew into Tashkent, Uzbekistan from Almaty, Kazakhstan and I read online that it was now possible to go 5 days visa-free in Uzbekistan, if you came by flight! So that was the plan.. Inbound/outbound flights was arranged, I thought it would be all good ✔
But there was one catch. You HAD TO have an outbound flight with Uzbekistan Air, and mine was with Astana Air. They told me to buy another ticket back to Almaty for $200 in 3 days, and with only $150 dollars on me and no ATM’s where I could access, I had to give my Visa-card and password to a random dude in order to proceed….
Probably the worst 30 min of life waiting, when he went to get the last $50, in the other end of the airport, with free access to my bank account 😳😱😱
When I then got back to the border control, they looked at the new flight ticket and said…. No.
BUT THEY JUST TOLD ME TO BUY THIS TICKET?!?!?! 😤 I was about to go berserk and I could see they enjoyed themselves so much. Their new demand was that I couldn’t go back to Almaty where I came from…. So back we went to the transit center. I was then told that the only option now was flying to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan and add $70 extra. I look super pissed at the corrupt agent and said, ‘no, that’s impossible.’
He could probably see that it wasn’t fun and games any longer and then said ‘okay okay’ and fixed my return ticket to Bishkek for the $200 already paid, and FINALLY they let me in…. 🙌😍👏🙌
4 HOURS OF waiting/discussing with the military, 2 cancelled future flights, lots of anger inside me, but now on the inside of Uzbekistan for 3 days and I’m here to make the best out of it 🌷💚
Travelling isn’t always as easy as it looks on pictures, there are a lot of obstacles on the way!!! But when you overcome them, the feeling is hard to describe.
All the troubles of getting into Uzbekistan was worth it, when going to ‘The Registan Square’ in Samarkand. Otherworldly place.
MY LAST COMMENT:
3 years ago I was actually rejected entrance in Rwanda in Africa, because I couldn’t control my temper when treated unfairly at the border, so guys, always remember to stay calm, when dealing with the border control.
Have a good day!
– Gustav
