Having got to bed at one o’clock last night I’d set the
alarm for six am. We had an early brekkie and had to be on our way promptly as
the local roads were being closed as the Uzbek President was visiting.
We piled onto the coach and went to the airport where we
said goodbye to our guide Fax… and with him gone we were no longer a group. For
ten days we’d worked together and been to wonderful places together. We’d had a
really good group which had gelled well. But with our guide gone we were on our
own and became a load of individuals and couples.
As we went through the airports we would see others from
our group and exchange pleasantries, but the holiday was over.
We did the airport things. We checked in. We handed over
our luggage and got searched. We did passports. And we were only an hour and a
half late getting on the plane.
As we flew for six and a half hours I fiddled wit the i-pad
thingy the airline provided on the headrest of the seat in front of me. I
watched a film. “Chickenhare
and the Hamster of Darkness” was one of those films that was so
dreadful that it was excellent. And with that watched I played 2048; a surprisingly engrossing game.
And eventually we touched down. Luggage collected, taxi
home found and we were home sixteen hours after we’d left the hotel this
morning,
“My Boy TM” and Cheryl brought
Morgan and Bailey home, “er indoors TM” got KFC for
dinner…
I
took a few photos as we travelled. As I do.
I’m now thinking about our holiday… “holiday” is
completely the wrong word to use. It was certainly a good time. But “holiday”
implies rest, and it certainly wasn’t restful. Ten nights spent in five hotels
made for a rather busy time. And…
- I found constantly making polite conversation and not swearing hard.
- Shoes off – shoes on at seemingly every port of call was wearing.
- The toilets were frankly feral; constantly clenching my arse was rather wearing. When one has had explosive dire rear for a week one needs a proper toilet to contain the explosion. A hole in the ground is no use to anyone. Not even daring to fart for up to ten hours is problematical.
- There was no shortage of food… but one soon sickens of a diet of raw tomatoes and raw cucumbers followed by boiled potato and carrot soup.
- The beds were rock-hard, and wi-fi was rarely found outside of a hotel’s reception area.
- There was a seemingly constant faint whiff of sewerage pretty much everywhere.
But don’t let me put you off. Some of our party alleviated the
toilet issues by bringing a supply of cereal bars and not eating any of the
local food. If you are thinking of Uzbekistan, there’s worse places to visit.
But bear in mind:
- The internet says everywhere takes American dollars. They don’t.
- Wear slip-on shoes.
- Get an Uzbek sim or e-sim for internet connection.
- And don’t drink the water.
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