Asia Tour 2026 - Day 9/25 - 18th August - Samarkand, Uzbekistan - City 6/15 - Country 4/9
Updated: Sep 29
We had breakfast at our hotel and packed our bags, afterwards we just waited in the garden for our taxi guy to arrive.
While lounging around in the garden an older man arrived with a dead sheep and turned it into a family affair. First he ripped out the testicles by hand, skinning them, then he took out the liver, a lady was handed the intestines and she washed them in the sink. Very quickly cars started arriving and bags of meat were handed out to family and friends. Meanwhile other family members were pruning the pomegranate tree.
Our driver arrived and brought us to the station where we dumped our bags and went for a walk. I ended up buying clothes and new sandals as it was so hot! After shopping for clothes we food at the supermarket and picnicked outside the station.
From the looks I got from the locals this was not a thing. The bread was wonderfully fresh and still warm with a kind of ajvar badımcan kürüsü, I ate most of the Belorussian cheese and put away the rest.
Satisfied with our picnic we went back to the station and waited for our train. WE went to the platform a bit early and just in time for a wonderful sunset over the tracks. Due to construction work we ended up having to manoeuvre our suitcases awkwardly to reach our compartment.
Once on board it all seemed very chaotic and our so called 1st class tickets were more 2nd class. There was a long carpet in the corridor and a brass hand rail along the windows. Somehow I think the carpet and brass fittings probably looked better 50 years ago. We were officially assigned beds 9 and 11 but they gave us the same room 9 and 10 but my bed looked like it had been used.....
The train had a carpet and brass fittings, but no shop, nothing. As there was not much to due, the power-banks came out and we turned the lights out and tried to sleep to the hum of the diesel engine. Every so often they would knock on the door asking for passports or whatnot.
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