Once again, thank you for the trip you have organized for us and for having followed up while we were in Uzbekistan last week. The following is my feedback.
Tashkent
The driver (Obid) and the guide (Marifat) were the best! Obid, despite not speaking English, was very helpful, always attentive to details and to our needs, punctual. Marifat is knowledgeable, sensible and attentive to the needs of the clients. She shared quiet a bit of information also on the overall local culture and not only on the history, which is what I was looking for. Her enthusiasm made a difference, we all loved her! The tour was fine, nothing in particular to remark. The hotel - which was not booked by you - was good, especially the staff (at the hotel and at the restaurant) was very professional, accommodating and pleasant (hotel Courtyard).
Samarkand
The driver (Naimov) and the guide (Asal) were good. Asal in particular gave us good information, structured the tour well, was able to trigger our curiosity asking to guess some details of what we were visiting. She also helped with organizing my daughter's birthday party, anticipating also the money for the birthday cake (a bit expensive, USD 25, but it was very good). We started late and finished early the second day, with quite a lot of time to kill in the afternoon. The hotel was ok, frankly speaking I would have expected something a bit better, especially considering that 3 of the 6 nights were not provided by your company but booked directly by us. The staff was helpful but there was only one of them who spoke English (hotel Ideal). The pillows were not comfortable. The restaurant suggested by Asal was fine.
Drive from Samarkand to Bukhara
I don't see why we drove (4 hours) instead of taking the train (2 hours). It was kind of interesting for me but boring for the family. The driver did not speak English, the stop at the ceramic was interesting but the day before the girls experienced making a vase at the village in Samarkand. The girls were excited about making the bread and cooking and this did not happen. When we arrived they did not seem to know who we were and what to do with us, I had to text you. It's a very nice family, it was interesting and we bought some stuff there however it was disappointing because of the bread making, etc. We arrived fairly early to the hotel and there was nobody to give us at least an initial overview of the city.
Bukhara
We did not interact much with the driver but he was helpful when dropping us off at the train station. There was a senior guide who came to the hotel (a bit late) in the morning, he introduced a younger one saying that he would reach us later, which he didn't. The guide was fine, knowledgeable but not particularly engaging. Considering that we arrived fairly early in the afternoon and that we had to go to the train station early afternoon the following day, I would have split the tour in two parts. We rushed in the morning, walked a lot (I had to push the guide to ensure that we would cover everything) and frankly speaking I am not sure if we saw everything properly. The hotel was cute and the staff very helpful and pleasant (hotel Grand Nodirbek).
Mountain
Unfortunately the highlight of the day did not materialize, meaning that the cable car to the top of the mountain was not working. The view was negligible from where we arrived and there was nothing to do, nowhere to walk. The restaurant was nice. Again, the kindness and sympaty of Marifat made a difference and we were satisfied. If it was not for Marifat I would have been disappointed.
Reservation and support
Again, the difference between the original quote and the revised after staying half of the trip in an hotel booked directly by me was too little, especially considering the hotel in Samarkand where we stayed for 2 of the 3 nights. Natalia, you have been very professional, very responsive, adapted to the changing situation and kind in being ready to help us with the birthday and when my daughter was sick. All in all, I would definitely recommend Orexca. We had a good trip and good time, thanks to you and your staff. Thank you!
