Some UZ and KG questions

As always, thanks for all the great contributions to the Thorn Tree!

I will be travelling to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan for 3-4 weeks in Sept./Oct. and have some questions:

1. This will probably seem like a silly question, but is it necessary/beneficial/a good idea to take my (2-3 season) sleeping bag? I like to travel light (less than 9kg in a medium sized backpack), and I've travelled before with a sleeping bag and never used it, so would prefer not to take one. But I'm not sure for Central Asia (first time), particularly Kyrgyzstan. I was not intending to take a tent, and so relying on local accommodation.

2. I fly into Tashkent with Transaero via Domodedovo (hopefully not too much of an arduous flight), arriving 04h30. Are the Tashkent International and National Airports open 24 hours? I was thinking of flying the day of arrival to Nukus - I believe the first flight may be 07h00. If one hangs around the airport for a couple of hours, is one likely to be hassled consistently? Would it be possible to buy a ticket to Nukus this early in the morning? (are there money changers if the ticket purchase need to be local funds?).

3. In Uzbekistan, how careful does one need to be with receipts for hotels, money exchange, and Visa advances/withdrawals? If one does not declare all ones money on arrival (e.g., not the emergency stash), is it necessary to ensure all the "sums balance" (so to speak) when leaving the country?

Many Thanks for any feedback,
cheerio,
sean.

1. I wouldn't bring one. I never stayed anywhere in KG or UZ where I didn't have many blankets or quilts available. KG has a well-developed system of community-based tourism homestays.
   
   3. It's a good idea to keep the ATM and/or exchangereceipts in case you want to exchange money back to dollars when you're leaving, otherwise you have to spend several hours finding a black market currency guy at the bazaar. And it's a good idea to have at least a few bits of paperwork just on the very unlikely chance you get asked. Otherwise, just don't have a bunch of visible cash you can't account for.
   
   You will have to keep track of those tiny lodging receipts for Uzbekistan, though. Folks say these are often examined upon departure. You don't have to account for every day, but at least a majority of them. Some places you stay will add on an extra day or two if you ask at the beginning.

Unless you're going trekking, I don't think that you'll need a sleeping bag. Even if you do go trekking, I suspect you could scrounge up a decent sleeping bag. Guesthouses will have all necessary bedding.

I've been at the international airport in Tashkent in the middle of the night, so I'm sure that it's open, but I don't remember it being very comfortable. I don't know about the national terminal. I don't think that you'll face any harassment, especially in the international terminal.

Keep all your receipts just in case, although I doubt you'll have a problem. I've never had any Central Asian customs officer ask me to document what I've spent against what I declared. You're more likely to have immigrations officers find fault - honestly or not so honestly with visas, registrations and the like.

The national terminal itself is open, however, the Aviakassa (the official local flights ticket booth, in a separate part of the airport) only opens at 8 or even 9 in the morning.
There might be a second flight to Nukus; destinations like Termez and Urgench are also covered twice a day...
Good luck,
Jakko

Tashkent Airport is the flight hub of Central Asia, the regional equivalent of O'Hare Airport in Chicago, though that's the only comparison. There's minimal signage, but it's usually in English as well as Uzbek and/or Russian. You have to listen for someone walking through announcing your flight in several languages, all heavily accented. Keep asking questions, even if you have gotten them answered, and if three people tell you the same thing, then you can probably count on it.

The bathrooms, though basic, are clean. Be ready to board much earlier than you might think, because they try to board early, and for most flights you have to take a bus out to your plane.

Akchully, most flights come in late at night from all directions, everyone waits around for hours and hours in a crowded building on not enough chairs, and then the connecting flights start departing in the wee hours of the morning.

I'm pretty darn sure dollars would be acceptable for plane ticket purchases. Carrying around that many som would just be unwieldy. I used dollars to buy plane tickets in KG and in Samarkand, though through agents.