Istanbul to Samarkand

 One last hotel breakfast and a long morning metro ride.

On the way in to the airport I overhear North American English behind me and talk to a pair of young Canadians who are heading home from Egypt and Istanbul. “Boring dude, this place is so boring. You can’t go to a club unless you bring a woman with you and the food is so bad bro.” Reshat and Gul’s hospitality was fantastic but the moment I was let loose in Istanbul I felt lost. It was hard to do anything and I didn’t manage to entertain myself or eat well. I think after this trip I have no reason to spend time in the city center of Istanbul. It just isn’t for me. There’s a lot to love about the place. The history is old and rich, the architecture is beautiful, and wandering the streets can be exciting. I have heard more diversity of languages spoken on the street here than I would in London or New York, especially from places that the western world is sanctioning. That being said this place gave me the same feeling Rome did, I just felt like everything was there to pick my pocket. Unlike Rome, I can at least understand why someone would want to go there and not just for hair plugs.

Now to get out. I hate this airport. The scale of everything here is just silly. There’s one big terminal and since this is a huge transfer point that big terminal has to be really big. It’s a quarter of a mile walk from the metro station head house to the check in counter. Another quarter mile to the concourse. To walk from one end of the concourse to the other is a half mile. Why the Hell do people insist on designing airports like this. I’m sure it photographs well.

The Turks I met were surprised to hear that I needed a visa to come to Uzbekistan. It seems like the only country on Earth I need one for, that isn’t a war zone, and a Turkish passport gets you entry visa free. Makes me wonder what dumb spat my government got into here on my behalf. Two days ago we gave Maduro the helicopter ride of a lifetime. I won’t cry for him but it’s a stark reminder that the US government can make some questionable choices. What did we do to Uzbekistan? While googling around to get my answer, I discovered that as of January 1 this entry could be visa free. The announcement came a month after I hit the road and evidently hasn’t made its way to Turkish airport staff who have asked twice to see my visa.

The flight was blissfully uneventful other than having to gruffly defend my window seat, someone else was there when I arrived. The in flight entertainment that you access through your phone had backgammon which was a huge regional plus. Also, good tea with the in flight service. When we landed everyone applauded and crowded the aisle in record time. Seriously, I’ve never seen a group of people stand up and empty the overhead bins so fast. New flyers. A good reminder that I am extremely lucky to be doing this.

Passport control was a breeze and now I have a cool green stamp in my passport book. No visa needed. Now to get from the airport to the hotel. Being an Ex Soviet country, tech here leans Russian not American. That means no Uber. Yandex Go was giving me pains when I tried to create an account back in Istanbul. Now I have an account but I can’t add a credit card. I need a taxi and I have no cash. The ATM is broken. There’s no taxi rank I can see outdoors. Out of options I go outside anyway and I’m swarmed with people who’s only word in English they know is taxi. Even then, I don’t know of any language where taxi means something else. I pick a guy at random and explain to him that he can take karte or bring me to bankomat. He’s bewildered by my foolishness but agrees and leads me to his car. There are people in the back. All yes, a share taxi country. I go to the ATM and pull out 100k in local currency, Uzbek som. I’m expecting a wad of bills after Turkey and the machine presents me with a single piece of paper. When we arrive he asks for 150k. He settles for 100k. Later I checked the rate through Yandex, 10k. Oh well, $8 US is still a price for an airport transfer I can live with.

The hotel is big and comfortable. After linking in to the WiFi I draw myself a bath. I’m sitting in a bathrobe and slippers writing this post, feels nice to have a break after a shockingly hectic travel day. I review my Uzbekistan dates to make sure everything is in order and notice a problem. I booked my train ticket from here to Tashkent for the 9th of last month. I log on to their website to get a new ticket and see one seat left for that day. Thankfully, it is mine now.