For many visitors to Uzbekistan, the capital city of Tashkent is the first stop. It's often the transit hub: somewhere to land and spend a day or two before the real adventure begins. And sure, it might not be as striking as Registan in Samarkand, or as beautiful as the...

Let me start off by saying: I was an idiot when I visited Uzbekistan. I did minimal planning and took the very Irish approach of "it'll be grand" to exploring Uzbekistan as a vegan. It was not grand. It was how I ended up in my hotel room in Samarkand,...

Here's a fun fact for you: In Russian, a large train station is called a "vokzal" (вокзал), and it gets its name from London's Vauxhall. Vauxhall was my first local tube station when I moved to London in 2010, and a vokzal was where I found myself on a sunny...

Note for 2026 Travellers: I'm gutted to report that as of Spring 2026, EcoCafe has closed its doors. It was a vegan haven in Tashkent for five years, but unfortunately wasn't sustainable longterm. As a vegan, I'm all too used to beloved places closing down, from London to Tashkent, so...