Sonya's morning is grumpy
Day 2 in Samarkand. When she woke up Sonya was always in a bad mood. She got ready quietly without saying anything. Is INFJ really like this? Later I heard that mornings are the most important time for her and it takes a while before she can talk.
She's especially grumpy if she hasn't had breakfast and says getting some nutrition is very important. I'm the same mood regardless of that, so I thought people really are different.
ATM hell, a loss of 2,000 yen
We walked to get lunch. I only had two bills in my wallet, so we decided to go to a bank. I tried to withdraw cash at a nearby ATM but couldn't at all. It turned out to be a bank that didn't get along with WISE, so we went to another bank.
I tried another ATM but it also didn't work with my card. The maximum cash withdrawal of 400,000 som is really too low.
I wanted dollars, so the plan was to swap Sonya's $200 for som, which meant I needed to withdraw about 50,000 yen. But I couldn't pull any out and was getting irritated.
So I used my Sony Bank card and was able to withdraw without trouble — a total of ¥54,000. Later I checked: the fees weren't that high, but the exchange rate was bad and I ended up paying an extra ¥2,000. With WISE it would have been about a tenth of that.
I was annoyed about it all day. Just because they took ¥2,000. I kept wondering if exchanging dollars and som was even a good choice, or if I didn't need to rush so much.
I blamed my own clumsiness. I told myself over and over: money isn't the important thing. You can earn ¥2,000 in an instant. What's important is being 25 only once in your life and fully enjoying these ten days traveling Uzbekistan with Sonya.
A so-called 'hidden gem' restaurant that isn't hidden
So I told myself that and we headed to the lunchtime restaurant. It was one of those recommended 'hidden gem' spots written about by a Japanese blogger.
When we actually got there I thought it wasn't really a hidden gem at all. But they did have many kinds of salads and lots of types of shashlik. We ordered a salad with what looked like delicious mayonnaise, lamb and beef shashlik, samsa, and hot tea.
Every time we enter a restaurant we order lemon tea with sugar. For some reason drinking it makes us sleepy. Maybe it's relaxing. The taste was just good, not amazing, and the staff were cold.
Sonya was also very quiet and grumpy. I'm easily affected by things like that, so I responded coldly to protect myself.
Later she told me there was no reason aimed at me — she was just in a bad mood because she hadn't eaten. I was glad to understand a little.
After lunch Sonya completely recovered and smiled, saying she felt great.
I went to the bathroom but was still passing greasy stools. I imagined Giardia stuck to the villi getting in the way. I thought I should start taking metronidazole soon.
I love Samarkand 200 times more than Tashkent
We walked to the bazaar. Samarkand is the old capital. Around 1400 it was a relay point on the Silk Road, a place where many Chinese, Central Asians, and Arabs would stop to rest and trade.
So even walking the streets the sidewalks were easier to walk on than in Tashkent, the roads were maintained, the sky was completely clear, and the air pollution was better than Tashkent's. I fell in love with Samarkand 200 times more.
I almost felt like, what's the point of going to Tashkent anymore?
Tashkent feels like an artificial city where many people come for business. But Samarkand feels like a cultural city with more human, humane people and lots of rich nature.
By the way, Sonya often took photos of cars. She said cars in Uzbekistan are narrow and really cute. That's true — I hadn't seen cars that narrow in Japan. And they were mostly white.
We wondered why. We talked about how summers can reach 40°C, so maybe people choose white cars because they're hot.
Talking about religion at a giant mosque
We arrived at the bazaar. There was a mosque nearby, so we went there first.
It was huge. The design was similar to other mosques I've been to, all decorated in blue and beautiful, but the height this time was on another level.
I was learning Russian from Sonya, like what is 'high' in Russian? 'Low'? 'Wide'? I was teaching her Japanese in return.
Inside it was really quiet. Very peaceful — the chirping of birds, the rustle of trees, a beautiful mosque standing before us. We sat on a nearby bench and relaxed.
We talked about many things there: religion, different values. We had deep conversations that are hard to have between Japanese people.
In talking about religion she said that long ago, when big disasters and diseases happened, people made tangible objects like statues or mosques and believed in them. They thought if they prayed, the illness would be cured. In eras without developed science, when they didn't even know the structure of organs or the brain, of course when something incomprehensible happened they prayed to calm their minds.
Maybe that's how religion came to be. But now science has advanced, and many people are redefining what God or Buddha is. It feels like fewer people are actively practicing religion.
Traditional things are changing due to scientific discovery and the development of civilization. But that itself might just be the course of time.
She said that even if something doesn't exist and nothing happens when you pray, believing can still raise your happiness. I really thought she was right.
Early in my travels I learned that Muslims pray five times a day and believe doing so will lead to a better next life. In my own values, I think the next life is decided by how many good deeds you do for others in this life — my grandmother taught me that.
We talked about religion from many angles. Some people are saved by belief, others have their own personal philosophy. You can't lump it all together, and she taught me that believing can make you happy.
I thought there was some truth to that. The more you learn the deeper and more beautiful the world feels. It's important to approach it with respect.
We also talked about Japanese shrines. It's not enough to be satisfied with just praying — it's important to learn skills and keep working hard. I thought both prayer and action are necessary.
Sonya really liked this mosque. While walking she also talked about pine trees. She said pine trees look fluffy but actually feel a bit prickly when you touch them. A very Sonya-like artistic expression.
The sun and the mosque mixed together nicely and it felt surreal. I took a few photos. Sonya took a lot of pictures of me too.
Sonya said she drinks coffee in the morning and wished there was a place like this near her home. She really liked it.
Scam-baba's 2-kilo non
We headed to the bazaar. It was next to the mosque and many people were selling various things: Uzbek ceramics, non — a roughly 2-kilo bread stuck to the oven to bake — spices, and all kinds of items.
We walked through the bazaar. This was exactly the kind of Muslim bazaar or Silk Road merchant exchange place you imagine in Central Asia.
It felt very beautiful. Just by walking through, maybe because we looked different from the locals, many people spoke to us — though we thought most were scams.
An older woman was selling non, and we were drawn to the huge 2-kilo bread we'd never seen before.
She asked if we wanted to buy it. The price was 200,000, but we decided to buy it. It was truly enormous and very surprising. And extremely heavy.
Then we went to where vegetables and fruits were sold. There were ceramics nearby too, but they were expensive so I didn't want to buy. It was scam pricing. While looking for strawberries we found many women selling non and one said the price was 60,000.
So that earlier baba had quoted more than three times the price. That scam bastard baba. I guess it's instinctual — they need to make a living — but I hate deceiving people. So he's a shitty baba.
We left the market and walked. Eating non as we walked, really feeling Uzbekistan.
Sonya bit into the non while I carried the big loaf, and passersby smiled. I thought the sight must look ridiculous to them.
Taking pictures with the non in the wasteland
We went to a wasteland behind a nearby historical museum. In summer there are supposed to be sheep, but it was winter so the greenery was sparse and it really looked barren.
But it still felt Uzbek and was beautiful in its own way. I took photos with the non.
While walking we talked about body odor. I shared how one Russian friend came to Japan and the smell of his socks when he took off his shoes was unbearable, and she told me she once stayed in a hostel in Japan where there was an incredibly smelly person.
Smell is important to us; cleanliness is really important, right? I'm glad to have a friend I can talk about all kinds of things with.
The post office and Coca-Cola
We took a taxi to the room. We quickly prepared and went to the nearby post office to send my luggage. The woman there was very kind and processed my package.
It weighed 2.8 kilos and cost about ¥7,000. I thought that wasn't too expensive. Sonya handled everything in Russian, so it was thanks to her.
Sonya said she wanted to drink cola, so I told her I'd treat her and bought a Coca-Cola at a nearby shop on the way back.
She said she sometimes wants to drink it about once a month. Coca-Cola isn't available in Russia, so because of sanctions it's not easy to get and she misses it. She also said she's not a Pepsi fan.
Night mosque and walking friends
Back at the room we rested. She likes to take naps even if she's not particularly sleepy. While doing laundry she took a 30-minute nap. During that time I worked and did other things.
When she woke up we decided to go for a walk and first headed to the ATM. We hardly spoke while walking. But we both knew that and didn't mind — we each live in different worlds. That felt comfortable to me.
Uzbekistan's IPAK YOLI BANK has high fees, but at least the WISE card worked, so that was fine.
After withdrawing money we headed to a mosque. It was the most famous mosque that we'd somehow forgotten to visit. When we arrived it was pitch dark; some mosques still had lights but it seemed they weren't open.
We went inside and walked around. Actually, forgetting and coming at night was nice. Except for one group, there was no one there. We took lots of photos. It wasn't especially vast, and Sonya said she preferred Registan Square. I felt the same.
After leaving the mosque we walked back to our room. Of all the friends I've traveled with, Sonya is the only one who wants to walk everywhere and avoid taxis when possible. I also love walking and don't mind any distance. It was great that we clicked.
On the way back we stopped at a supermarket and bought Uzbek sirok, cream to spread on bread, and a camera battery. Sonya shopped happily. She was in a great mood.
Crane keychain
When we got home we both showered and relaxed. I gave her the Japanese souvenir I had forgotten to give earlier.
She was so happy; she put on the accessory right away and immediately attached the crane keychain to her keys. Seeing her genuinely pleased made me happy.
Japanese people don't usually do that. I think they'd say thank you, open it at home, and quietly put it on. Maybe it's a cultural difference. If I had to choose, I like both. But being used to Japan, I feel embarrassed when someone reads a letter or opens a present in front of me.
It was such a fun day.
