Blogs from Uzbekistan, Asia - page 29

My head is full of lists in order by importance yet the order of importance is constantly changing. Errands- order by route. Damn, forgot one. Add, re-route, re-order. People to say good-bye to- order by importance. Another call, another must see. Add, re-order, re-schedule. Dear God, packing. Can’t fit/too heavy/forgotten item. Unpack, re-prioritize, re-pack. All the while I’m in this unfamiliar dementia of loving the chaos and the contents of my lists yet finding it near impossible to keep my sanity trying to maintain. Keeping my lists and my emotions in check in tandem has become a permanent buzzing in my head. I’ve become a little numb. Or have I just begun to feel? Can both being numb and feeling too much provoke the same behavior? Think. Why do I not cry saying good-bye to some ... read more

Vores første møde med Tashkent var desværre ikke så positivt som det kunne have været. Vi tog metroen ind mod centrum, straks efter vi havde tjekket ind på vores hotel, og i togvognen sad en ældre lokal mand overfor os og nedstirrede os i lang tid. Til sidst begyndte han at snakke vredt til Jason på russisk. Jason forstod selvfølgelig ingenting, og smilede bare tilbage, og det blev hurtigt tydeligt for de andre passagerer, der nu alle stirrede på os, at vi ikke var russere. En kvinde der sad ved siden af os, forsøgte at hjælpe os ved at fortælle ham, at vi bare var udlændinge. Det fik manden til at mumle til sin sidemand om Israel og Amerika, en tydelig reference til bombeangrebene mod den israelske og amerikanske ambassade et par uger tidligere. Han nåede ... read more

After our ‘fabled’ Silk Road City adventures we boarded the train back to Tashkent. Heading east again though the desert felt liberating. Communal train compartments bring people together with a mutual sense of adventure not felt on other forms of transport. People share food, drink and experiences - for many this is not simply commuting - most people are travelling the full length of the country at a major crossroads in their lives. In our own little transient universe, the major concern was arriving in Tashkent before noon the following day to catch the Chinese Embassy before it closed for the weekend. Jumping off the train in Tashkent there were the usual mob of taxi drivers to meet the train. In a complete roll reversal I grabbed the first one I saw by the arm and ... read more

Events conspired against our planned route through Central Asia… Turkmenistan was in the midst of a lover’s feud with Azerbaijan and closed their embassy in Baku. An Iranian visa was out of the question since my British imperialist kin were turning the Shiite holy city of Najaf into the next Stalingrad. Sealing another border tightly shut. We decided to take the boat across the Caspian to Kazakhstan, and then a train through the desert to Uzbekistan. Easy enough until some chaps blew themselves up outside the American and Israeli embassies in the Uzbek capital Tashkent - closing the land borders to foreigners (in an attempt to prevent the infiltration or escape of ‘foreign terrorists’). The same thing had happened after the bombings in April, and now there were stories of foreigners stranded inside Uzbekistan begging their ... read more

He finally caught up with me. The great Timur Lenk. Did I really think that I could get away with wandering around his most precious Bukharan jewels without having to answer for it? His point exactly... now it is time to pay. Without using too colourful a language, let's just say that I spend four hours of the night -that I would like to have back- in the bathroom. Fighting fire with fire I prepare for today's excursions by stocking up on loads of tissue paper and devouring a hefty dose of nasty pills, although that deep down I know that they will not help much. I am on Timur's turf now, and I have to play by his rules. His first rule is: You lose. Today's schedule covers the major Bukharan sites we did not ... read more