Before I left Australia I had decided to say ‘Yes’ to any offer or invitation that came my way, as Danny Wallace did in the fun read ‘Yes Man’. The idea was to see what adventures this may lead me too, to get out of my hotel room, and to get out of my comfort zone. The only condition was that it had to be legal and not involve over inflated price gouging by older Russian ladies with so much make-up on they would resemble ‘the Joker’ if they cried (one step forward ladies of the night at the Hotel Uzbekistan bar in Tashkent).

Within one hour of my arrival in Tashkent I had been stopped in the street three times, my bag searched twice, and my pockets emptied out once by curt, unfriendly police. I was left in no doubt who was in control, although I was getting somewhat annoyed, but hey, this is Uzbekistan.

One of the best sites in Samarkand is away from the main tourist trail of Minarets, Madrasah and tombs, the remains of Afrosiab. This was the original city that pre-dates modern Samarkand. Described as ‘the most beautiful city in the world’ by a contemporary, it was a major trading station on the Silk road. Once occupied by Alexander the Great, it was destroyed by the violent Mongol invasion force in March 1220, with over 100,000 inhabitants being put to the sword.

Farflungplaces is off to Central Asia. My last trip to Uzbekistan was in 2010,  and this is one of my favourite photos taken as I wandered amongst the stalls of the Chorzu Bazzar in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.