5/5 Robert W. 4 years ago on Google
This
review
might
be
a
bit
long
but
I
still
don't
think
it
could
do
justice
to
how
incredible
our
experience
was.
In
my
fifteen
plus
years
of
globetrotting
I
have
never
met
a
nicer
pair
of
travel
professionals
and
only
once
before
have
I
ended
up
good
friends
with
one
(in
Istanbul).
I
can
happily
say
that
it
has
happened
again.
Anvar
and
Sindor
are
unbelievably
nice
folks,
who
went
above
and
beyond
to
make
our
holiday
fantastic
and
one
that
we
will
remember
for
years
to
come.
I
found
Global
Connect
after
scouring
the
net
for
an
Uzbek
travel
agency
that
was
willing
to
book
my
train
tickets
for
a
modest
commission,
payable
in
soum,
so
that
I
don't
lose
out
on
the
exchange
rate
(pegged
officially
at
less
than
half
the
traded
value).
Anvar
also
offered
to
provide
us
with
a
letter
of
invitation,
for
a
fee,
with
no
other
strings
attached
(most
other
agencies
required
me
to
buy
an
overpriced,
packaged
tour,
or
said
they
only
sold
LOIs
to
western
nationals).
Their
visa
support
service
was
prompt
and
extremely
professional,
and
our
application
was
processed
very
smoothly.
Anvar
was
very
patient
with
booking
our
train
tickets
as
well,
entertaining
my
almost
daily
reminders,
even
though
the
official
website
was
in
its
infancy,
didn't
open
outside
the
country,
and
kept
failing
to
release
tickets
for
sale
at
the
stipulated
time
(45
days
in
advance
for
the
regulated
and
10
days
prior
for
the
Afrosiyob).
For
one
overnight
train,
which
was
very
vital
to
our
trip
logistics,
he
even
managed
to
get
physical
tickets
at
the
station.
All
of
this
was
for
a
very
reasonable
commission,
unlike
with
every
other
agency
I
had
found
online,
that
quoted
gougingly
high
prices
that
were
between
double
and
quadruple
the
actual
fares!
From
then
on,
our
relationship
turned
to
friendship.
Anvar
and
his
friend
Sindor
surprised
us
at
the
station
in
Samarkand
where
they
were
waiting
to
pick
us
up
and
take
us
to
our
hotel,
helping
us
change
money
on
the
way.
They
then
took
us
out
to
lunch,
while
our
rooms
were
being
readied,
to
try
the
best
of
the
local
fare,
and
wouldn't
hear
of
us
paying.
Sindor
very
sweetly
offered
to
drive
us
around
Samarkand
during
our
stay
and
forbade
us
from
hailing
a
taxi
in
his
city.
:)
We
didn't
take
him
up
on
the
offer
but
it
was
genuine
and
heartfelt.
We
met
the
next
night
for
dinner
over
a
long
and
enjoyable
medley
of
eateries.
Again,
they
picked
us
up
from
the
Registan
and
dropped
us
back
to
the
hotel
once
it
was
done,
only
to
show
up
the
next
morning
at
8
a.m.,
to
take
us
to
the
station
for
our
next
stop,
Bukhara,
leaving
us
with
a
little
souvenir
of
our
time
together.
I'm
really
going
to
miss
Anvar
and
Sindor.
Hopefully,
if
they
ever
visit
my
part
of
the
world,
I
can
be
half
as
good
a
host
to
them
as
they
were
to
us.
If
you're
considering
taking
the
assistance
of
a
travel
agency,
which
is
almost
unavoidable
in
Uzbekistan,
you
couldn't
possibly
do
better
than
them.
