To my followers who regularly fly from #Malaysia, are you also planning to fly to Tashkent from KL for the first time?
I have put together a checklist so you don’t have to! 📝
1. AIRPORT: Chances are you’ll be flying via @uzairways for a direct KUL-TAS flight. We flew from KLIA (not KLIA2) which you may also need to consider in terms of your pre-travel dining or shopping. There is also relatively more walking & feeder bus trips involved in this airport 🛍️ 🚌
2. DINING AT KLIA: It’s been a while since I last flew from KLIA & I must say the options are still pretty limited! We were hungry but made the mistake of entering the gates too soon, so we were left with overpriced Old Town for breakfast. If you fancy at least a Taco Bell (which is better imo), find it before you enter for the gates! 🌮
3. UZBEK AIRWAYS SERVES FOOD: Depending on the time of your flight, Uzbekistan Airways serve full meals, drinks, as well as snacks. We flew morning so we got a full rice meal (choice of chicken or beef only) served with lighter food like samsa, salad, cheese & sausage, fruits, & cupcake (Uzbek but make it foreigner-friendly). It’s roughly an 8hr flight so we got a 2nd round of snacks on the 2nd half of the flight, which was a cheese & tomato bun sandwich and apple juice. Drinks are generously served in-flight too: choice of traditional Uzbek wine, coffee/tea, fruit juice, or water. The food is definitely filling enough.
4. UZBEKISTAN AIRPORT: Prepare visas in advance if applicable (Malaysians do NOT need a visa to enter UZ). Nothing extraordinary about their immigration—just prepare for a but of queue buildup & don’t expect the officers to be friendly with you (but then again, it’s more or less the same with every other country!).
5. CASH: If you bring an international card for foreign currency purchases, it may come in handy as most restaurants & establishments in Tashkent already accept Visa/Mastercard. However, I would suggest you to withdraw some cash in case your card gets declined or the establishment does not accept card. There are ATMs in Uzbekistan Airport so remember to withdraw some cash before leaving.
6. SIM CARD: I’d highly suggest you buy a @beeline_uzbekistan SIM card. Prices are on the image I posted. Internet was stable throughout our trip and speed was very decent.
7. TAXI: Ok, this one requires some mental preparation. There are hungry taxi touts waiting for you & your $$$ outside the airport. Do not engage. I repeat. Do NOT engage 🤣 Now what you’re gonna do is download @yandexgo app on your phone, link your cc in, and your entire Tashkent trip will be a lot smoother. Drivers are pretty easy to find in the city and this e-hailing app will save you in so many ways.
Happy to share more about our first Tashkent trip in my future posts. Remember to save this for your future reference and follow @thefoodienomadcom for more travel tips like this! 😊
