16-Days Central Asia 2026 Day 2 : Tashkent to Bukhara

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

16-Days Central Asia 2026 Day 2 : Tashkent to Bukhara

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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Central Asia 2026
Day 2 : Tashkent to Bukhara

Central Asia 2026 Day 2: 16th May (Saturday)

Medium-size Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan)

Day 2 - Tashkent to Bukhara:

Tashkent (Reikartz Abis Hotel)>van>Tashkent Railway Station>by Sharq Train>Bukhara Railway Station>Bukhara>van>Khosa Palace>Bukhara Old Town>Reikartz Modarixon>walk>Ulugbek Madrasah>Po-i-Kalyan Complex>Ark of Bukhara>buggy>Reikartz Modarixon..

This is page 2 of a 16-page blog. Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D1: Tashkent | Go to Other Days | D3: Samarkand >

Route recommendations, here are some tips on travelling to and around Uzbekistan, Central Asia:

1. Traffic Directions!

Central Asian countries are left-hand drive and vehicles drive on the right side of the road. So do bear this in mind when crossing the road OR when sitting at the front passenger seat. I made this mistake several times and boarded the car at the driver's side with the driver giving me a surprised look 😂.

2. Getting to and from Central Asia.

Several airlines fly direct to Central Asia from their originating country. We were fortunate that AirAsia X flew direct from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
We flew return via AirAsia X, starting from KLIA Terminal 2 to Tashkent International Airport, and returning from Almaty International Airport to KLIA Terminal 2, buying tickets earlier to get cheaper fares. We also packed light (20kg checked-in luggage for two people plus an additional 7kg of cabin luggage), totalling 41kg of luggage.

3. Getting around Central Asia.
We were on a private guided tour, and had 16-seater vans, with local guides taking us between the cities/towns.
Within Uzbekistan we took the Sharq Train from Tashkent to Bukhara, and from Samarkand to Tashkent.
Note: Traders in bazaars, markets, and small local shops only accept cash. The "sum" (ISO code: UZS) is the official currency of Uzbekistan. The "som" (ISO code: KGS) is the currency of Kyrgyzstan. The tenge (ten-gay, code: KZT) is the currency of Kazakhstan. It is divided into 100 tiyn.
Touch 'n Go e-Wallet can be used in Kazakhstan, just make sure the e-wallet is set to Kazakhstan.

4. Immigration & Customs Requirements

Malaysian passport holders do not need a visa to enter most Central Asian countries for short-term stays, and can visit Uzbekistan visa-free for up to 30 days. There is no need to fill in immigration forms.

Note: Malaysian passport holders can install the MyBorderPass app for fast immigration clearance to get in and out of Malaysia; use the app to generate a QR code just before passing through the 40 dedicated MyBorderPass gates (only at KLIA & KLIA2, 20 gates each), and getting through will be a breeze!

5. Places & Things of Interests

There were many scenic and interesting places of interest along the route, but one should not miss the following (Note: click on the GPS coordinates below for a directional map to the respective places):
- Tashkent Northern Railway Station (Ташкентский вокзал) (GPS: 41.29136, 69.28693).
- Bukhara Railway Station (Buxoro I vokzali) (GPS: 39.72243, 64.54838).
- Khosa Palace (Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa) (Sitorai Mohi Xosa) (GPS: 39.81419, 64.44111).
- Bukhara Old Town (GPS: 39.77369, 64.41755).
- Bozori Kord Bathhouse (GPS: 39.77432, 64.41726).
- Bukhara Market Bazaars at:
- Toqi Telpak Furushon Dome Bazaar (Toqi Telpakfurushon) (GPS: 39.77385, 64.41725), also known as the Dome of Hat Makers.

- Tim Abdullah Khan Dome Bazaar (Abdullaxon timi) (GPS: 39.77545, 64.41711).
- Toqi Zargaron Dome Bazaar (GPS: 39.77638, 64.41664), also known as the Dome of Jewellers, sells exquisite Uzbek Jewellery.
- Toki Sarrofon Dome Bazaar (Toqi Sarrofon) (GPS: 39.77250, 64.41862), also known as the Dome of Money Changers.
- Uzbek Puppet Workshop/Museum (O'zbek qo'g'irchoqlari muzey-ustaxonasi) (GPS: 39.77256, 64.42006).
- Ulugbek Madrasah (Ulug'bek Madrasasi) (GPS: 39.77680, 64.41750).

- Suzani Embroidy Workshop (GPS: 39.77656, 64.41638) purchase/view the traditional making of Suzani Cloth.
- Po-i-Kalyan Complex (Poi Kalon) (GPS: 39.77603, 64.41509).
- Kalyan Mosque (Masjidi Kalon) (GPS: 39.77601, 64.41431).
- Kalyan Minaret (Minorai Kalon) (GPS: 39.77568, 64.41502).
- Ark of Bukhara (Buxoro arki) (GPS: 39.77803, 64.40976).
- Zindan Prison (Buxoro zindoni) (GPS: 39.77900, 64.41395).
- Eshonxo'ja Grocery Shop (for currency exchange) (GPS: 39.77312, 64.42264).

6. Food

a. Breakfast

Western Fare at the Reikartz Abis Hotel (GPS: 41.26454, 69.21968) in Tashkent.
b. Morning Tea
Beef/Chicken Somsa on board the Sharq Express Train from Tashkent to Bukhara.
c. Late Lunch

Uzbek Food at Labi House (Labi Hovuz) (GPS: 39.77335, 64.42026) in Bukhara:

- Uzbek Tea, Uzbek Bread (Obi Non), Double salad, Rice with Chicken Stew, Sarbast Beer, Halva Icecream & mixed fruits dessert.

d. Dinner

At the yard of the Nadir Devanbegi Madrasah (Nodir devonbegi madrasasi) (GPS: 39.77307, 64.42144) with a view of Divan-Beghi pond (GPS: 39.77302, 64.42051)in Bukhara:

- Uzbek Tea, Uzbek Bread (Obi Non), Greek Salad, Lepeshka/Qatlama (Katlama, flat bread with meat filling), Meat Rolls with Rice, Gozinaki brittle confection & Fruits desserts. - a fashion and dance show was hosted during dinner.
e. Note: Just in case we yearned for some spiciness, we brought along Uleg Sambal Terasi to add to our food. We bought online from Lazada at RM7:40 for ten sachets.

7. Accommodations and Tour Costs

This was a recce-guided tour that included all ground arrangements, food, entry tickets to parks, and accommodations, but excluded return airfare to and from Central Asia. We booked Air Asia flight tickets online through their website at a return fare of around RM2,000 per pax. Co-travellers who booked later paid more. Our two pax airfare included 20kg of checked-in luggage and an extra 7kg of cabin luggage, giving us a total of 41kg of luggage..

The ground arrangements included 16-seater van transportation between and around cities; Sharq Express Train fare from Tashkent to Bukhara, and from Samarkhand to Tashkent, and domestic Tez Jet airfare from Osh to Bishkek. The 4x4 Russian truck ride to and from Karakol to the Altyn-Arashan Valley was optional and cost USD40 per pax. So was the 4x4 van ride from Saty to Kaindy Lake and Kolsay Lakes National Park, which cost USD20 per pax.

Accommodations were in three-star hotels, homestays, and a yurt camp. For those interested in this tour, contact Eddie at +6012-6122600 for more details and ground arrangement costs.
At Bukhara we stayed at the Reikartz Modarixon Bukhara (GPS: 39.77387, 64.42511).

8. Communicating with Each Other

When travelling in a group, it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one gets lost from the rest.
I pre-purchased the Maxis 15-day Multi-Country Roaming Pass at MYR99 and had it activated on the first day of our tour. This pass included a complimentary Maxis Travel Care insurance for the pass validity period - i.e. MYR50,000 hospitalisation, and MYR2,000 lost baggage, T&C applies.
Alternatively, an almost similar GOGO physical sim card for 15-day 20gB can be bought on Lazada at (excluding delivery) for MYR120.

9. Communicating with Locals

Our local guides spoke excellent English, and those in the travel industry or bazaar traders speak passable English. Other locals speak their local language (Uzbek, Kyrgyz, or Kazakh) or Russian (as they were former Soviet republics). Or one can use Google Translate on one's mobile.

10. Weather

June is the beginning of summer, and the weather in Uzbekistan is dry, sunny, and hot across the board. In Tashkent, daytime temperatures average 34°C. In Bukhara, daytime temperatures average 36°C, while nighttime averaged 17°C.
A useful weather forecast site for Tashkent is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.

11. Navigation

Geo-tagging of places of interest was via FaceBook, Google Maps or Yandex Maps and Yandex Navigator.

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PRELUDE

Yesterday, we had arrived at U - taking a 76-1/2 hours Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tashkent. By the time we reached, it was evening, leaving us just enough time for dinner and then checking into our hotel.

Today, we leave Tashkent (no worries, we will be back for more time in the city) and take the Sharq Express Train to Bukhara, to continue our Central Asia adventure. Bukhara's historic centre is renowned as an Unesco Heritage City, and hopefully the beautiful architecture will be a feast for our eyes.

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DAY 2: TASHKENT TO SAMARKAND

Medium-size Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan)
Day 2 - Tashkent to Bukhara:

(Click here for the Central Asia 2026 Day 2: Tashkent to Bukhara Route Map)
(Zoom out to see Tashkent)

Most of the posts below are linked to my Facebook postings during the trip and are embedded here with some comments. (NOTE: Click on respective posts to link to the FB post to read more details. If you can't see the posts, please log out of your Facebook first.)

We kicked off the day with a Western Breakfast at Reikartz Abis Hotel.
It's an early breakfast, as we are in a rush to catch a train later. So not all the food is out, and I did not take many photos.

Leaving for the Tashkent Northern Railway Station and going along the Little Ring Road. We will be taking the train to Bukhara. Although called a little ring road, it's not so little and is a proper 4-lane road.

At the Tashkent Northern Railway Station entrance.
One has to be careful not to enter the adjacent Tashkent Metro Station entrance (GPS: 41.29316, 69.28763), which serves the intra-city Tashkent Metro.

Inside the Tashkent Northern Railway Station, we walk past several sleek-looking blue trains. These are the Afroyisob High Speet Bullet Trains, which travel up to 210kmh, and take only 3 hours 20 minutes to reach Bukhara.
I was happily taking photos of these trains, thinking that we would be taking one of these trains.

BUT NO!
I was wrong; instead, we will be taking the
Sharq Express Train (seen in the above photo, bottom right), which travels up to 160kmh, and will take six hours to reach Bukhara. The seats in these trains are not that comfy, sink down, and are slightly tilted; I hope my poor back will be OK.

(Click here for Sharq Train timetable schedule)

The photo also shows the slower overnight train, which takes about 8 hours for the same journey. It leaves Tashkent at 20:10 and reaches Bukhara at 6:00 the next morning. The train has compartments of different classes, including those with sleeping berths. So it's suitable for those who want to save a night at the hotel. We used a similar method when we rode the Red Arrow Sleeper Train from Moscow to St. Petersburg during a 2019 tour of Russia.

Click here to see the different Classes of Uzbekistan Trains, their speed, and travel time.

Below the seats of the Sharq Express Train are power points, convenient to plug in to charge phones, power banks, or use their laptops, etc.

Views of the Tashkent Railway Station as we leave Tashkent for Bukhara.

Bought a couple of Somsas from vendors who ply the coaches selling food. They cost 10k Uzbek Soms each (around RM3:40 each). They are somewhat similar to Indian Samosa, but with a thicker crunchy skin. Historically, Central Asian Somsa was introduced to the Indian subcontinent in the 13th or 14th century by chefs from the Middle East and Central Asia who cooked in the royal kitchens for the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. So, it should be said the other way round: Samosas are somewhat similar to Somsas.
I think they are made from beef and not horse meat, although I can't really tell as I have never eaten horse meat before 😨.

Stretching my legs and taking a walk over to the cafeteria car, where I find cozy café-style high-back seating, with the serving and display counters at one end. Inside the counters were trays of Somsas and cups of fresh fruits.

Inside the toilets, the signage is in three languages: Uzbek, Russian, and English. I think the English one does tell everything, as it's a bit short.
Also, I can't get used to disposing of soiled toilet paper into the wastepaper basket instead of flushing it down the W.C.

A Somsa vendor plying from the cafeteria car along the aisles of the coaches. There are other vendors selling fruits and drinks.

Some scenery along the train ride. Both cities are quite modern with high-rise apartments. Beyond the cities are vast tracts of farmland and grassland.

2:30pm - Arrived at the Bukhara Railway Station.
Fara, our Bukhara guide, was waiting for us with a 15-seater black Weichai Eurise midi-bus (Chinese version of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter). This van was just the right size for eleven of us..... plus luggage.

Knowing that we will be running short of time to visit the sites, Fara had brought Somsas for us to quell our hunger.

That was our lunch!
And we plunge straight into touring the city, starting with the Khosa Palace, the Summer Palace of Bukhara. It is also known as Sitora-i-Moh-i Khosa Palace, Tajik meaning the "Palace Like the Stars and the Moon". Built in the late 19th to early 20th century, it was a country residence of the Emir of Bukhara.

A souvenir/craft shop located between the palace buildings. I am always a sucker for these colourful things, and just got drawn to these attractive souvenirs like the crane-looking scissors and colourful plate.

The Guest House of the Sitora-i-Moh-i Khosa Palace.
Currently, these buildings house a museum of decorative and applied arts, with the guest annexe displaying traditional Uzbek costumes.

"Traditional clothing in Uzbekistan – with its bright striped silks, layered robes, and intricate embroidery – remains one of the most recognisable expressions of the country’s cultural identity. Many of these fabrics and decorative traditions developed over centuries in the oasis cities of Central Asia, where local craftsmanship was shaped by trade, travel, and cultural exchange".

The Harem Annex of the palace.
Uzbekistan has a law that prohibits the promotion of polygamy. While polygamy is illegal, having a second (or third) wife is still trendy.

Nice reflections at a pool adjacent to the Harem Room.

4:15pm - The van dropped us near our hotel - the Reikartz Modarixon Bukhara.
In a rush, I had no time to take photos of our room. Here's a link to the hotel rooms.

We just dropped our luggage and walked out for a very late lunch at Labi Hovuz, which means by the pond, as it is next to the Divan-Beghi pond. It was a good meal of Uzbek Food that included Uzbek Tea, Uzbek Bread (Obi Non), Rice with Chicken Stew ..... AND Sarbast Beer, Halva Icecream to cool us down on this hot day.

After lunch, it's a short walk to the archway leading into Bukhara Old Town.

Just within the old town, a discreet door leads to the Bozori Kord Bathhouse, one of two surviving old bathhouses (hammam) in Bukhara that are in good condition. A typical medieval hammam was a one-floor domed building with a lobby, a dressing room, and a washing chamber inside.
They allowed us men to enter to view the lobby... only the lobby 😂.

Along our walk along, we saw dancers performing traditional Uzbek dances, one was a group of ladies, and the other a group of men. The ladies wore colourful dresses and danced the Bukhara Dance elegantly. Surprisingly, the men dance very well too, especially one plump guy who went into a lively jig. So exuberantly that I couldn't help but join him.

Here is a "Uzbek Traditional Dance" video by Maria Zakrevskaya (Мария Закревская).

At the Ulugbek Madrasah. Although the tile work seems damaged, it is still impressive.
Madrasahs are a type of religious school or college for the study of the religion of Islam.

The Bukhara Market Bazaars of Bukhara Old Town.

The old town is a hive of traditional market stalls and activities. Most of these stalls are located in domed bazaars and the connecting corridors. These bazaars are the Toqi Telpak Furushon Dome Bazaar, also known as the Dome of Hat Makers, Tim Abdullah Khan Dome Bazaar, Toqi Zargaron Dome Bazaar, also known as the Dome of Jewellers, and Toki Sarrofon Dome Bazaar, also known as the Dome of Money Changers. And the vendors sell a wide range of things, from souvenirs, carpets, Uzbek jewellery, Suzani Cloth, and even colourful Uzbek puppets in traditional costumes!

At the Suzani Embroidy Workshop, a lady was making Suzani Cloth from a manual loom.
Suzani is a type of embroidered and decorative tribal textile made in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and other Central Asian countries. Suzanis are delicate; extremely few examples survive before the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Suzanis were traditionally made by Central Asian brides as part of their dowry, and were presented to the groom on the wedding day.

Further on was the Po-i-Kalyan Complex, which includes the Kalyan Mosque and the Kalyan Minaret.

At the Kalyan Minaret.

About a hundred years after its construction, the tower so impressed Genghis Khan that he ordered it to be spared when all around was destroyed by his men. It is also known as the Tower of Death, because until as recently as the early twentieth century, criminals were executed by being thrown from its 150-foot top.

A close-up photo, showing the beauty of its architecture, and intricate craftsmanship in it's motifs.

The Ark of Bukhara, a massive fortress that was initially built and occupied around the 5th century AD. The Ark's current structure was developed during the 16th century under the Shaybanid Uzbek dynasty, with all of its existing buildings constructed in the last three centuries. In addition to being a military structure, the Ark encompassed what was essentially a town that, during much of the fortress's history, was inhabited by the various royal courts that held sway over the region surrounding Bukhara. The Ark was used as a fortress until it fell to Russia in 1920.
After a long walk around the town, I was tired with knee pain, so together with the missus, we rested at shaded benches at the square on the south side of the ark.

Oh... yah.... Bukhara can get really hot in the summer, so drink more water to stay hydrated!

It was also a relief to have a buggy ride from Bukhara Old Town back to our hotel.

After a refreshing bath and rest at our hotel, we were out again to the yard of the Nadir Devanbegi Madrasah for a Uzbek Dinner with a dance & fashion show.

Dinner started with Uzbek Tea and was followed by Uzbek Bread (Obi Non), Greek Salad, Lepeshka/Qatlama (Katlama, flat bread with meat filling), Meat Rolls with Rice, Gozinaki brittle confection & fruit desserts.

Video of the dance and fashion show by Simple Entertainment.

As most of us couldn't exchange currency at the Tashkent International Airport (they ran out of notes), Fara took us to exchange currency at Eshonxo'ja Grocery Shop (GPS: 39.77312, 64.42264).
Often it's easier to change local currency at local grocery shops. They may even give a better exchange rate. We did a similar thing during a 2025 Laos-China tour.

Qanday uzun, ammo ajoyib kun!!

(That's "What a long but wonderful day!" in Uzbek)
(For more photos of Day 2, Click Here)

This is page 2 of a 16-page blog. Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D1: Tashkent | Go to Other Days | D3: Samarkand >

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