uzbekistan: tashkent

My taxi picked me up at 0530 to bring me to the train station. My train departed on time and arrived on time in Tashkent, at 0830. It was basically the continuation of the train on which I'd arrived in Samarkand, a couple days earlier.

It was raining as I arrived, which didn't make me happy, but hey, what can you do. I walked to the same hostel at which I'd stayed during my first couple nights in the country. I wasn't going to stay there overnight this time, but I knew I could stay in the common area during the day.

While warming up in the hostel (it wasn't warm rain,) I ended up talking with a woman from Estonia. She was in the middle of a longer trip through a lot more of Central Asia, I envied her. She and I ended up walking together into the city 'center,' then going our separate ways.

I continued walking, I wanted to see a few more mausoleums marked on the map. I was able to find one of them, but another was behind a security gate. The one I did see was quite small, and had a couple people offering prayers when I visited.

I kept going in the rain (argh argh argh,) and walked toward a Soviet style monument. Called the monument to courage, it memorialized the 1966 earthquake that destroyed much of the city.

Near Tashkent Islamic University I found trees of blooming cherry blossoms. Beautiful, though the rain made them less so.

Eventually my walk brought me to the Jama Masjid of the city. The Friday Mosque, the main mosque of the city. This mosque was far more modern, not at all like the other mosques I'd seen around the city and country.

Behind this mosque was a wide open platz, it was really big. Since it was raining I was able to take a couple of my favourite kinds of photos, those with reflections. At the back of the platz was another old madrassa, also with the vendors about whom I'd come to have such ambivalent feelings.

I found a cafe not too far away (across the street, actually,) and stepped inside for a late lunch. I ordered too much, but it was nice to be out of the rain for a while. I think I was the only foreigner in there, I felt everyone staring at me for most of the time I was in there. Thankfully, I'm used to the feeling, and don't mind eating by myself.

After lunch I found the nearest metro station and rode the train to the stop nearest the hostel. I walked to the hostel, and took time to get all of my stuff organized in my pack. There is a difference in how you want to pack your bags when you're traveling by train/bus vs. plane.

The hostel called a taxi for me, which took me to the airport. The driver tried to get away with not giving me change, I had to ask twice. Sadly, I'm used to this kind of scam, so I had the patience to deal with it.

My flight back to Moscow was easy and smooth.

I'd like to come back to Uzbekistan, though the next time I will be exploring completely different parts of the country. After this visit I've seen enough of the cities of the country, now I want to see the landscapes.

uzbekistan: bukhara

My frustration with the lack of public infrastructure continued when I was going from Khiva to my next city, Bukhara.

My guesthouse in Khiva had arranged for me to take a shared taxi between the two cities, and it picked me up on time in Khiva. From there we picked up another lady, then went to a shared taxi stand in Urgench, to wait until more customers came along. After about 30 minutes the lady said something to the driver, who then spoke to me. 

She had suggested that each of us pay double the price, and start driving immediately, rather than waiting for two more customers to fill up the taxi. I agreed, as it seemed that it could be quite a while before we got anywhere if we waited for random passengers.

The taxi stopped twice, though neither stop was long. One stop was for lunch, and another was for buying melons from a random roadside stall. 

Remember what I said earlier about Uzbekistan growing water needy produce, despite being a desert country? Melons are another item to add to that list.

Eventually we arrived in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, and the taxi took me right to my booked accomodation. I was able to check in, and relax a bit in my room. Part of the check in process at this place was tea service in my room, which was a nice welcome.

I started walking, I didn't have to go far to get to the city center. One of the major areas tourists visit in Bukhara is called Lyabi Khaus, I think. It's basically a big platz, people could come together back in the day, and now. There is a man made pool, which was a source of water for the local population. The guidebook told me it was also a source of disease, as the pool wasn't cleaned very often, and water circulation wasn't very good.

The platz is surrounded by what used to be the market, what used to be a madrassah, and what used to be a mosque. The area didn't look very nice while I walked around, it was mostly empty. The pool didn't have any water, or very little. There were a few souvenir vendors, but not many, I assume this was because I was traveling in low season. At least, I hope that is the reason. Otherwise the lack of people would just be sad. 

I went into the old madrassah, which has been turned into a market for tourists. Each room had a vendor, all selling pretty much the same thing. Basically, it was a disappointment, it didn't feel like there was anything to see. I did enjoy the blue mosaic decorative tiling on the front of the building, but not much else.

After wandering around for an hour or so, I couldn't help but think "is this all there is to see in Bukhara? Why do people rave about the city?"

I found a few back streets to wander, hoping to see something, but it didn't happen. I'm normally pretty good at finding something photogenic in the normal daily life of a place, but I wasn't seeing anything that day. Argh.

I ended up eating dinner at what I thought was a random cafe, as I was the only person in there. When I got the bill I realized the place normally catered to tourists, as it was higher than I expected. Lesson learned.

When I was finished eating it was dark, so the platz was lit up a little, and looked somewhat better. Even so, I went to bed that night without a lot of hope for the next day.

The next day I woke up and had the breakfast included in the price of the room. Tea, bread, blinis, fried eggs, a hot dog, and cottage cheese. Despite the amount of food, it really wasn't all that good of a breakfast.

Eventually I got moving again, heading into a different direction of the city. On the street I passed the ruins of an old madrassa, not at all blocked off from crazy people like me who like to climb ruins. The stairs to get up to the second level were quite steep, and falling apart, but I liked the views, so it was worth it.

Eventually I walked past a GIANT old madrassa, and finally knew why tourists come to Bukhara. 

The entire front was decorated with tiles in mosaic designs, it was gorgeous. Across the street was another building just like it. Around the corner was a platz with a HUGE mosque on one side, and a fully functioning madrassa on the other side.

Going into the old maddrassas that were no longer in active use as schools was nice, but the front of the buildings are the amazing parts of the buildings. The interiors are now filled with vendors trying to sell things to visitors, which I think ruins the ambience of what should be a gorgeous museum. I wasn't allowed to go into the still functioning maddrassa.

The HUGE mosque was really neat to see, and it was easy for me to walk in. I was clearly there when it was not prayer time, and I was there during low season for tourists, so it was completely empty. Wow, just wow. I read somewhere that this mosque can hold 10,000 people, it must be quite a sight when all those people are there.

Next to the mosque is the Kalon minaret, but I didn't find it very exciting. It was tall, but there was no coloured tile decoration, unlike the big minarets I'd seen in Khiva. Hmmm...

I found the womens' hammam and entered, to find that I was the only person there. I paid what they asked, though I have no idea if it was the correct amount, or if I could've bargained at all. Either way, I didn't care.

An hour or two later, after being scrubbed, heated, showered and massaged, I walked out of the hammam feeling like a new person. It was amazing. I truly felt like I was glowing.

Since I was the only person in the hammam at the time, I was on the receiving end of some 'advice' from the lady who took care of me. Our conversation was a mix of Russian, English, and a little bit of Uzbek. She told me to get married and have kids, which I took with silence, since there was no point in discussing my differing views.

After the hammam I went to visit two more old madrassas, and found out they had entry fees. I was running very low on Uzbek currency, so I went to an ATM, but it only gave me the option of withdrawing dollars, which was not what I wanted. Someone asked me if I needed help and I was able to explain what I needed. This guy then walked me to an exchange point, where I was able to get more som. The madrasses ended up being full of vendors, argh. 

For all the desire Uzbekistan has for tourists, putting vendors right in the middle of the sights is a way to ruin the sights and drive away tourists.

I kept walking, eventually getting to the citadel area of the city. It's a large fortress, with plane stone walls. By the time I arrived it was getting dark, and closing hours had arrived, so I had to wait until the next day. Argh.

I did notice that across the street from the citadel was what used to be a functioning water tower. It isn't used anymore, (that I know of,) and now has digital lights along the structure, so I was treated to a bit of a light show.

The next morning I had the same breakfast, but some of the food seemed reheated, so it felt even worse than the day before. Ugh. There was a single teabag used in the teapot so the tea was too watery, and not 'traditional.'

I started walking, making my way to what I'm pretty sure is the smallest mosque in the city. It was very very small. When I got there I noticed there was a fake bird nest on top of one of the minarets. The inside of this mosque was not impressive.

From the small mosque I walked to the Jewish cemetery. Waaay back in the day, Bukhara had a strong, internationally recognized Jewish community; it is no longer the case. 

Bukharan Jews are a special group of Jews in the world. Because they have a history in Bukhara, they have a separate cemetery. When I got there I realized the entrance gate was in good shape, but very little else was. Sigh.

After visiting the cemetery I looked for the local synagogue, and ended up finding it. I was hoping for a quick peek inside, a quick photo, and moving on. This is not what happened. 

I'd forgotten that that day was a Jewish holiday, Purim. In Bukhara, the Jewish community has a community meal and gathering at the synagogue, I accidentally stumbled into this. They invited me to join them, so I did for a little while. I'm glad I got to see it, but it was really difficult to communicate, since most of them spoke only Uzbek, while I speak English with just a bit of Russian. 

In the west I've been told that Purim parties involve costumes, but each area of the world has it's own traditions. Sometime during this 'party' they tried to marry me off to one of the men in the congregation. Ummm, no.

After the synagogue I walked all the way back to the Ark (the citadel/fortress,) to make sure I was there during opening hours. 

Even though it looked huge from outside the walls, the area that foreigners/tourists are allowed to see seemed quite small to me. I don't know if this is because parts of the area are in ruins and not safe, or for other reasons.

I got to see a mosque inside the walls, with a great ceiling. I got to see the old throne room, where the coronations of Bukharan khans happened. There was a museum of money, which I loved, while the museum of ethnology wasn't as interesting.

After the Ark I followed the smaller roads leading behind the walls to get to the zindon (jail.) It had an entrance fee, and was not the entrance fee. There were a few signs describing who was held there, and why people could end up in jail, back in the day. I saw a couple cells, as well as a pit where some were thrown for a while. It must've been very cold for prisoners at this time of year.

I followed my map to find the Friday Mosque of Bukhara, which is currently the most important mosque of the country. I arrived at a prayer time, so I saw all the pairs of shoes lined up in front of the entrance, as well as men running late to prayers. They ran, took shoes off as fast as possible, and ran into the building. I didn't get to go in, but the ceiling of the porch area was gorgeous.

I kept walking, and found a couple old mausoleums. They weren't open anymore, to tourists or locals, at least not that I could tell. I appreciated the blue tiling on the front facades, and appreciated the quiet of the area. I didn't so much appreciate the way some of the 'windows' had been boarded up with plyboard. Such a sad ending for what should still be beautiful buildings. 

At that point it was getting dark, so I found another cafe for dinner, then went home. I went to sleep early, as I had to get up super early the next morning. My train left at 0500, but the train station was not close to town. A taxi picked me up at 0400, the drive was about 30 minutes. Thankfully, the train was modern, and the boarding process was straightforward.

china 2

our first major city in china was nanjing...it was the capital for a while, way back...these days, the city is probably most known for two things, the rape of nanking, and as being the site of the mausoleum of sun yat sen, the widely acknowledged founder of modern china...
the rape of nanking happened in the 1500s, i think...(can't remember for sure)...basically, the japanese were advancing and a confrontation seemed inevitable...instead of standing up, the leaders of nanking left the city...but before they left, they told the citizens to stand up and fight...then they left, and locked the city gates!! they only left one open, and loads of people were trampled or burned alive in the tunnel to the gate...anywho, the japanese advanced, and got into the city...and what they did to the citizens is awful...they massacred, tortured, etc...300,000 to 400,000 people died...that is, they were executed, (often after being tortured) sometimes in groups sometimes individually...in the first few days, nearly 20,000 women, ages 11-76 were raped...AWFUL...the japanese aren't known through history as being kind conquerors (or conqueror wannabes)...it's one of the reasons china and korea still harbour ill will toward japan...(that and that japan hasn't really apologized for so much of what it's done through history, and is now whitewashing what it did on many occasions)...anywho...
some of the city walls of nanjing are still standing, i wanted to see them...so i did...not that exciting, to tell the truth...i also wanted to see the mausoleum of sun yat sen...looking at the map in lonely planet, it looked like a longer walk to get there, but i reckoned it would be easy enough...i was wrong...the map in lonely planet left off a few things, and even the maps around the area made things look as if i should be able to go places i couldn't!!! the mausoleum is on a mountain (hill, really) just outside the city walls...there are also several ming dynasty mausoleums on the hill, but i wasn't so interested in those...a little, but not much...anywho, after walking all around and not really knowing how i got to various places, i finally found the mausoleum, and the entrance price had doubled!!! the guidebook was published in may, so who knows if they actually researched this particular site when they put out the new edition...argh...anywho, i still went in...the guy was actually pretty modest, and he probably wouldn't have appreciated what ended up being built...you walk up a bunch of steps to get to the mausoleum...he's in a marble casket, sealed shut...exciting, i know...there were lots of people there, even though the weather was awful...it must be absolutely PACKED when the weather is decent!!
speaking of weather, it was not good while we were in nanjing...there was a typhoon hitting taiwan and the south eastern coast, and the wind and rain definitely reached up to nanjing...ugh...because we weren't going to be in nanjing for very long, i didn't want to stay inside and do nothing...anywho...i ended up walking around the whole day in the wind and rain...the kind of rain that spins around so you never get to keep the umbrella in the same spot...and got splashed by water from cars who were going way too fast from the other side!! i ended up with blisters all over my feet...the only time chacos aren't bad is when my feet get wet, and stay wet...argh...by the end of the day, after being slightly lost, doing a lot of walking in bleeding pain, i was so ready to be back inside...oh well...
from nanjing we took another night train to tai'an...not a particularly exciting city, it's at the foot of tai shan, one of gazillions of sacred mountains in china...there is a temple in the middle of the city, which i enjoyed wandering around for a few hours, layna skipped that...the main reason we came to tai'an was to climb tai shan (mt tai in english)...after resting my feet for a day (remember the blisters i mentioned above?) we got up early one morning, walked to the foot of the mountain, paid the RIDICULOUS entry fee (nothing in china is free, not even mountains!) and started walking...steps upon steps upon steps...at least they were fairly regular, and not too big or steep...the whole way up/down there are lots of temples to stop in, they're mostly taoist...there are also lots of calligraphic inscriptions in many of the rocks...according to those who know, these are considered art...i thought some of them were pretty but since i couldn't read any of them, who knows...lol...half way up we rested, and watched people...chinese folks seem to be a bit more with it when it comes to footwear for hiking...they didn't all have hiking boots, but at least i didn't see any stilettos, which i did often see while hiking in korea...but i digress...since the trail was made of stone and such, hiking boots weren't really even needed at all...i could've done it in my chacos...(if the blisters hadn't still been there)...at several points during the hike i looked up and wondered if i had made any progress toward reaching the top, and it didn't look like it...LOTS OF STEPS...when we did finally get to the top, we weren't rewarded by amazing views...instead, we were able to see the brown layer of smog that hangs over the city...that layer hangs over sooooo many chinese cities, it's awful...there were a couple more temples at the top, and more calligraphic inscriptions...nothing exciting, but we were both glad we had done it...not surprisingly, by the time we got to the bottom, our legs were finished...as they say in french, mes jambes sont fracassee (sp?)...(and i know my tense is wrong, but that's beside the point)...
layna was wonderwoman, and that night took a train to beijing...she had a standing ticket, no seat!!

india part 7

agra, home to the most famous sight in india...though i am not sure i would have known the name of the city before arriving in india...the taj mahal...the most expensive sight as well...it was built by shah jahan, one of the mughal rulers...he built it for his 2nd wife mumtaz, after she died in childbirth...with her 14th child!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14 kids!!!!!!!!!!!! i can't begin to imagine that...layna did the math, and she spent just under half her life pregnant...WHOA...anywho, he obviously kinda liked her...his life ended up not being much fun though...for the last 8 years of his life, he was imprisoned in agra fort, and could only look out and see the taj mahal from 2km away...on a clear day...on a hazy day, he wasn't able to see the taj at all...the person who imprisoned him was his own son, aurangzeb...aurangzeb seized power by beseiging the fort and cutting off the water supply, then fought with his brothers for power...poor dad had 8 yrs in a mostly white marble palace inside the fort...the taj mahal is a HUGE white marble mausoleum...after shah jahan died, he was buried there as well, with a larger grave, of course...though mumtaz's grave is centered, so it's obvious it was built for her...there is a mosque on one side, made of red sandstone, that's still used a bit...it opens at sunrise, and closes at sundown...there are three gates, each with separate ticket lines for indians and foreigners...indians pay 10 rupees, foreigners pay 750...the line of foreigners is LONG...
i enjoyed wandering around the fort more than i did the taj...i was at the fort on the day the taj is closed (friday)...if you see both sights on the same day, you get a 50 rupee discount, but i decided not to do that, since i knew layna wouldn't be visiting the fort with me and i wanted to do it early in the morning...since the taj is closed on fridays, the fort isn't as busy then either, which ended up being awesome...the ticket guy at the fort gave me the discount anywho, AND i got to wander around in almost total quiet...there were very few other people in there while i was there...
i also took a day trip out to the old city of fatephur sikri...it was built as a capital city by akbar, but abandoned shortly after his death because there wasn't enough water...the ruins are still there, though it's a ghost city now...on one end is a mosque, still very much in use...another one called jama masjid...(i found out that jama means friday, which is the biggest day of the week for worshipping muslims...now i know why the biggest mosque in each city has the same name!)...the main gate into this mosque is 54m high...inside the courtyard is also a shrine to a sufi mystic...back in the day when akbar was still alive, he had 3 wives, and none of them had had kids...this mystic predicted that a son/heir would soon arrive, and when it happened, akbar built a city where this mystic lived...because of the pregnancy/family aspect of the mystic, women who want to become pregnant still come and pray at his shrine...they make wishes by tying little pieces of red string into the latticework of the shrine...the mystic is buried there, as are all of his descendents...to get to the area with the palace and gardens and such, i had to walk through a road where all the wannabe guides were hanging out...i didn't see a whole l0t of tourists, so they're all pretty desperate to find someone to hire them...they all tried to convince me that i couldn't properly appreciate the sight w/out their knowledge...i still decided against hiring one of them...all the signs inside were pretty descriptive, so i wonder what else they would've told me...
while in agra we also celebrated layna's birthday...this year she turned 33 on friday, the 13th of february...we didn't do much that day, in fact we spent most of the day waiting...waiting for the customs guy at the post office, waiting for the doctor (the bites on layna's feet were badly infected,) getting our hair cut, buying postcards, etc...that night we were on a train, so we couldn't even go out properly...i'm obviously not a good birthday celebrater...
after agra we went to varanasi...believed to be a holy city, along a holy river, the ganges...the city is mostly built on one side of the river, and there are ghats all the way up and down that side...a ghat is a set of steps leading to open water...(lake, river, etc)...a dhobi ghat is where laundry is done, and we saw several of those in varanasi...it's possible to walk for several kilometers along the ghats in varanasi, and by doing so, you get to see an amazing number of people doing an amazing number of things...bathing, laundry, and more...one of the ghats is the main burning ghat, where cremations are carried out...we were taken into a building that allowed us a higher view of this ghat, so we could see what was happening...first the body is carried through the streets by outcasts...then taken to the river and dunked in holy water...then the shrouded body is placed upon the pyre, and more wood piled on top of that...the guys who do this know exactly how much wood is needed to reduce the body to nothing but ash in 3 hours...the cost of the cremation is the cost of the wood...this is based on the weight and type of wood...sandalwood is the most expensive...we saw the start of 3 or 4 cremations, but didn't see what the end looks like...someone told us that the ashes are put in the river...before seeing the area, i imagined it would be rather smelly, but it wasn't at all...and the bodies are wrapped in shrouds, so you don't ever see a dead body...women (family members and friends of the deceased) aren't allowed to witness the cremations, because historically they would throw themselves on the funeral pyre...what an awful way to die...
as i've said before, layna and i like to walk, and we often walk out of the typical tourist zone in each town...this time we walked farther along the ghats than most people...at one point we heard some drumming, and saw some women dancing, so we stopped to watch...before we knew it, they had pulled us in and we were dancing with them...it was a wedding celebration!! i felt guilty, as we were getting far more attention than the bridal couple...they weren't dancing though...the sari of the bride was absolutely gorgeous...(traditional indian brides wear a red and gold sari)...anywho, the dancing was great fun, and it was one of our only interactions with indian women...we'd love to have more, but indian women don't go out and about like indian men...
walking in town we saw a couple other marriage processions during our days in varanasi...florescent lights (all connected to each other, and the generator being pushed along as well) being carried by people, guys in marching band costumes playing happy music, and women in nice clothes walking along...impressive, and fun...we saw other processions as well, but weren't able to figure out what they were...people dressed all in black, and hitting themselves (HARD) in time to the beat of a drum...a funeral procession? we saw circles formed around men and boys dancing/performing with knives and sticks on the streets too...varanasi is a city where you'll see a lot of traditions that have been a part of life for a very long time, but arent so much on display in other cities...at least, not that we've seen...
we did hire a boat a couple times, which is a typical thing to do...it's quite an experience to be rowed along the river, watching each ghat go by...they are all different, and it's a great people watching experience...our first ride was during sunset, which was great...until we were attacked by moths...not so much attacked as surrounded...yuck...they landed on us constantly, and we were very glad to get out of the boat at the end...the next morning we saw the sun rise, which was beautiful...it's the time of day when many people do their puja (ritual, giving an offering of some sort) along the ghats...and no moths to annoy us:)