I travelled from Bukhara to Samarkand by train, ticket cost 85,000 Som or $10. The travel agent charged me 120,000 Som and he got me a ticket on the slow train (120kph) which takes 2:30hrs instead of the Afrosiyob High Speed train (upto 250kph) which only takes 1:30hrs. My Guest house arranged a taxi for me, the station is 7km out of the city and it cost 30,000 Som. There is security when you enter the station and your bags go through a scanner but they waved me through when I got beeped. There is a money changer at the station run by a bank and I changed some USD, the rates are much the same at all banks. I have not seen any money changers not run by banks though I heard you can change money in the market. This is because USD are freely available at ATM’s and there is no black market for them.
When it was time to board I tried to get on the Afrosiyob and that’s when the conductor told me that I had a ticket for the slow train which was leaving 20 minutes later. Anyway it was a comfortable journey with only two of us in a six seat air-conditioned compartment. The train made a few 5 min stops along the way, depart Bukhara at 16:10 and arrive in Samarkand at 18:45. There are taxi drivers waiting at the station exit and one guy said $5 or 40,000 Som and I agreed, it turned out to be an unofficial taxi which means a beat up old Lada hahaha.

Samarkand is a much bigger city with broad main roads but the back streets of the old city are still the same narrow lanes, clean but pot holed and dusty with an open drain running down the middle, not as charming as Bukhara.

Both Hotels I stayed at gave me a Registration slip, I have them in my passport, no one has asked to see them as yet.

Registan Square

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