Uzbekistan Travel Guide

First know that where ever you go you will be stared at. Especially if you have light colored hair, and blue or green  eyes! The boys will follow you (girls) and want to talk to you, just keep walking and stay in groups, they won't bother you if you keep walking and DO NOT LOOK AT THEM.

Before you go do some research into the culture, if you are in Samarqand the people are a very generous people but they can be very superstitious they know who the tourists are and do not expect you to follow all their traditions but you should know somethings to keep things safe.
Girls: DO not look directly in any local males eyes.
do not go outside with wet hair this marks you as a prostitute
Also wearing tank tops with spaghetti straps does the same

know some phrases in Uzbek the market language if you want to do your own shopping.
Simple phrases like
How much is that? Necha sum?
What is this?   Bu nima
NO.   Yok
you wouldn't say no thank you if you don't want it. Sellers will come up to you and try to get you to come into their shop saying things like "very cheap" which may be all the english they know. If you want to go go, but if you don't just keep walking and shake your head saying "Yok"
no.
if you traveling around by taxi take a small notebook with you and ask your tour guide or who ever you are there with, what to say to get where, and back. It may not be the street it may be a building, and it may not be where you actually want to go. You may want to stop before actually getting where you told him to go. TO stop say
Shuyerda tohtatang. meaning stop here.
you can also say stop which in Russian is for emergency stop so if the driver stops abruptly i warned you! :-)
But being tourists they will expect you to stay with English

Before travel to Uzbekistan it was my main aim. To see Samarquand and die. But to be fair, it is nothing in comparison to Buxoro. So that why it is better do it first. It is normal city with monuments in different parts of old town. Except few monuments, my advice will be to visit main market and go on half day trip to Shahrisabz.  I recommend hotel (or rather family guest house) called Bahodir. There is really family atmosphere and it is close to Regiestan.       To travel between Buxoro, Samaquand and Tashkent I recommend using express train. Price is cheep, it takes only 3h, plov and tea are included, and u can watch DVD (in uzbek language unfortunately – but maybe I had just  bed luck). In such train u will not be able to meet many locals, but if u don’t have time for long trip – use it. Much more better than popular Nexia!!!

In Lonley Planet said, that it is like natural heritage park.That is not true. Everything looks good, but it is so commercial place. All bus trips of old westerners made this city really expensive and u cannot feel that spirit of bargaining with locals. All prices are sharp, coz always old and rich Frenchmen and Italian will pay that price. 

Best place to stay – Mirzibozhi. U can also eat there cheep, familly meal.

Don’t go outside of old town – there is nothing there. Go to Muynaq and Nukus. Visit a minaret. Take some pix of sunrise.  
 
To go to Khiva - find some car from Buxoro. Lot of locals bring some turists to Buxoro, and they will HAVE TO go back. So that is your chance to bargain and find cheep price :) In my case, owner of our Buxorian hotel (Fatima) helps us to find a guy.  .