Uzbekistan Warning or Danger Tips by mayafly

Uzbekistan in summer is frightfully hot. But Uzbeks also dress modestly, so don't expect to beat the heat by wearing tank tops and shorts, or going without your shirt. You don't have to wear a burkah or anything, but covering your shoulders and your knees is generally advisable as a sign of respect for the culture. Men and boys go swimming in the canals in Tashkent and in the countryside, but if you're a woman, you're out of luck. When I was there in June, it was over 100 degrees every day. Even after drinking tea and boiled water all morning, I could feel my fingers swelling up almost as soon as I left the house. I almost considered kidnapping a child so that I could join the mothers who were wading with their toddlers in the Tashkent fountains...
Popsicles sold on the street from vendors' carts are only 10 US cents, so that's one way to get some temporary relief. In Tashkent, I would also buy cold boxes of juice (expensive by Uzbek standards at one dollar a liter) at supermarkets. My favorite was the Mir (Turkish supermarket chain) black currant juice - yum!

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Before I left for Uzbekistan, I remember reading a posting on some travel site that there are no ATMs in Uzbekistan. "That's ridiculous," I thought, "There must be ATMs in Tashkent, at least." And so there are. The only problem? No soms (som is the name for the local Uzbek currency). Most of the ATMs I saw did not work because they had no money in them. The government doesn't print enough bills (maybe they're scared of inflation?), so often the exchange points - at hotels or even in the branches of the National Bank - cannot change your dollars into local money. You have to wait until someone decides to buy dollars with their soms. Or until the som fairy decides to bestow some more currency on the bank. Dollars (or euros) are still valuable, so if you have cash, you may be able to exchange privately with friends (as many prefer to do - don't exchange with strangers on the street however, or you risk being ripped off!). If you only have plastic or traveller's cheques, however, you may be out of luck. It is nervewracking to travel with a big wad of cash - however, you will be happy to have it in Uzbekistan.

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