Fergana Valley

11/06/09

This valley is the most populated area of Uzbekistan and the industrial centre. We had a tour of some silk producing factory and saw how they made silk from worm all the way through to finished fabric. Was like going back in time. Is a real craft and there are a bunch of stages. To become a ‘master’ at one of the stages can take years. Every machine or whatever had a pupil and a master working at it. Was cool. Felt a bit Chinese, like they were learning Kung Fu or something, except that they were making silk. We getting close to China now, cant wait.

Stayed in a big fuck off Soviet hotel in Fergana in the evening. Went out to a café Lonely Planet describes as ‘bohemian’. They had written ‘art café’ on the wall but that was about as Bohemian as it got. Food was nice though. On way back there was an outdoor dance floor with 2 dudes mixing tunes. They were pretty much the worse mixers of tunes ever. Would have sounded better if they had just let one tune finish then started another one.

Our hotel looks like the shining. It’s big and empty and has echoes. On the 8th floor is a bar. Weirdly this wasn’t empty but was full of locals. They gave us vodka and made us dance. In the morning a weird looking Russian lady in a turquoise dress made me eggs. It’s a very strange place. There is a sign in the hotel for massages. I think you get more than a massage if you go in the room.