The Silk Road conjures up images of distant lands, trails of camels, exotic spices and fabrics โ and now you can travel the route by rail.
A chartered special train, the Orient Silk Road Express, follows the historic routes and stops in Central Asia. The journey takes you through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in about 14 days.
Eighty-one passengers from 10 nations board the carriages in Uzbekistanโs capital, Tashkent, and our adventure begins when the train departs in the evening.
It is not hard to tear ourselves away from the station. Tashkent, a teeming metropolis home to 3 million, is not especially impressive, with its modern buildings, construction sites and traffic jams.
Ali Burkhanov, one of the guides, dispels the notion of a luxury train. โUsed toilet paper goes in the bin next to it.โ Those who have not booked the most expensive category share two toilets and one bathroom per carriage with others. Our shower times are scheduled on a list. The conductors clean, tidy up and make the beds.
The corridors and compartments are decorated in a Central Asian style, with carpeted floors.