Last passenger — just made it
Today is the day we move to Samarkand! I woke up and hurriedly got ready. With about 20 minutes left until departure, we frantically hailed a taxi and headed to the station. The traffic was so bad it felt like we'd be late — my heart was pounding. We rushed through baggage inspection and the train was... there!!
Apparently we were the very last passengers, and the train left the moment we boarded. I'm so glad we made it in time. I know cutting it so close isn't good, but I guess it'll be a good memory.
In the taxi the atmosphere between us was tense — nerves, worry, impatience, all sorts of emotions. It was fun.
The smog on the train was still awful. I kept wondering how people live with so much smog.
But the scenery outside the window was really beautiful. Sonya fell asleep partway through, but I couldn't sleep.
We lost the key, but it'll be a funny story in ten years.
After a relaxed two-hour ride, we arrived in Samarkand.
Just as we checked into the Airbnb by taxi, the owner of the Tashkent Airbnb apparently contacted us asking, 'Where did you put the key?'
At first we thought Sonya had accidentally brought the key... but when we looked everywhere it wasn't there. The place that came to my mind was when we got out of the taxi and ran through baggage inspection — as we went through the electromagnetic gate we put our wallets and passports on a table temporarily and I must have left the key there and come away without it.
We made a bunch of calls and inquiries, but in the end the key couldn't be found.
Sonya was upset. But it's not the end of the world, and I thought in ten years it'll be an unforgettable funny story.
It's just a lost key. In the end the owner said they'd replace the lock, so it was fine. We thought it was a real problem that they didn't even have a spare key in the first place.
Samarkand has clean sidewalks
Samarkand exploration starts! Unlike Tashkent, the sidewalks were well maintained and the streets were clean. I definitely fell in love with Samarkand.
We were hungry so we went to a restaurant. We ordered kebabs, manti (like a giant version of pelmeni), bradda cheese, and eggplant.
There was cotton placed in the middle of the table, and it made me think Uzbekistan is famous for cotton. The atmosphere was really nice and a bit upscale. It was a lunch where we could really feel Samarkand.
Now is the prime of our youth
After eating we started walking again. We found a huge park and decided to walk through it. Lots of university students were walking around and everyone looked happy. Young energy is really something — it's awesome.
When you're 22 you want to go back to 18, and when you're 25 you want to go back to 23. In other words, we're spending our time without realizing that right now is the best time to be young.
That's why I thought it's really important to live each day to the fullest without regrets.
Maybe it's Uzbekistan's fashion, but everyone was wearing black leather jackets. I don't know if it's a subculture or just a fashion style, but everyone seemed to be dressed the same.
Caramel popcorn in the dry climate
While walking in the park we saw giant bags of popcorn, so we decided to buy some.
Caramel popcorn. I thought it would be stale and not tasty, but when I actually tried it, it was incredibly delicious.
It was surprisingly delicious. It was a hundred times better than the caramel popcorn you get at the movie theater.
Uzbekistan is dry, so there really is no humidity. So even if you leave it out, it won't get soggy. I thought it's a perk of dry weather.
We sat on a bench and munched popcorn. We had meaningful conversations about things like our views on life, what we think about body count, and Tinder. It was quite a meaningful conversation.
The golden mosque and Registan Square
We decided to go to the mosque. In Samarkand there are blue mosques and sites with tombs of old rulers.
Because Samarkand is one of Uzbekistan's old capitals, it's also a city rich in the arts.
Along the way we found some really cute pottery, so we bought it as a souvenir.
The sunset shone on us.
We arrived at the mosque and went inside. It was truly a sacred place where old rulers apparently rest, and everything was made of gold. It was really beautiful and perfectly symmetrical.
I've heard that in Islam symmetry is considered beautiful and that's how it's designed. The details were meticulous, and the blue used was really beautiful.
When we entered, it became so quiet it felt like another world, and we felt like we spent a peacefully meditative time.
I felt like I could understand the devotion of the people who built and worshipped in the mosque long ago. I really felt that the designers and builders of the mosque were amazing.
We sat on a bench and talked for about an hour and a half.
As evening came we left the mosque and headed to Registan Square.
This was a place where merchants from China and merchants from the Arabian Peninsula would meet and trade, and apparently a lot of goods used to be exchanged here.
I saw old photos and it truly hadn't changed, and as I sat there I was deeply moved thinking I was in a place symbolic of an era.
I think learning about history is really interesting. It's not just about visiting and taking pictures, but wondering what kind of place this was and what people did here. I understand that the past doesn't exist and only the present does, but when it comes to history, I think knowing the past is a wonderful thing.
A toast with samsa and wine
We were hungry so we decided to eat samsa nearby.
There was also a caravanserai, so we went to see it. It was really an interesting experience.
For dinner we went to a restaurant famous with tourists locally. Sonya and I ordered a bottle of wine and toasted our Samarkand trip.
If you asked whether the food was insanely delicious, not really, but in the end it became a good memory, so that's fine.
