We did so much yesterday that nothing seemed interesting to do today. Jim wanted to go to a museum outside of town, so we did that.
Samarkand is big, confusing, and very spread out. I underestimated how hard it would be to be in a country where I don’t speak the language and Google Translate doesn’t work particularly well. The taxi drivers call to tell us…something. (“Can you cross the street?” “I’m on the side street.” Who knows what they’re saying?) They hang up when we speak English.
The bathrooms here are often really smelly and usually have squat toilets. Our Airbnb is nice, but it’s in an, ahem, “historic zone,” and sometimes walking to it feels like walking through the rubble of a war zone.
I’m finding myself looking for a little familiarity and comfort. Partly because of all that, we spent much of our day changing plans to leave Samarkand a day early and head to Dushanbe—a modern city.
Enough whining. We did have fun parts to our day. We went back to Registan Square with its beautiful buildings. It was fun to watch people who came dressed up to have photos taken.
One surprise was that these beautiful facades conceal amazing, expansive courtyard gardens.
I know three words in Russian, including how to say “I love you.” (When Kelly was young, she had a doll that would say it.) Today I walked into a teeny coffee shop and ordered my complicated tea—black with a little milk. Eight young Russian women filled the tiny space. One asked, “Where are you from?” We always get the same facial expression when we say “America”: complete shock. 😮 (I’ve stopped saying “California” because many of them don’t know where that is.)
I said my one Russian phrase, and they all laughed. Then one of them replied, “I love you!” in English. It was such a great little moment.
It’s only been since last January that Uzbekistan relaxed its visa requirements for Americans. Other nationalities have been able to visit much more easily for years, but for Americans, it’s still very recent. We haven’t met a single American traveler here.
