Ah Trini Travelogue Trinidad & Tobago's most travelled blogger through 99 countries. Create and Re-Engineer your life for travel.
It’s been about a year since my epic first adventure through Central Asia and specifically being blown away by Uzbekistan as a tourist destination. In a somewhat perverse way, I also miss being a sideshow attraction of being a Trinidadian in Uzbekistan. For instance, when I was walking through the Walled City of Khiva, I subject to many curious glances and a lot of people said “Hi!” …if just to figure out where I was from … since they hadn’t seen a big brown guy before.
Everywhere Lev (my Russian guide 😛 ) and I walked, people were interested in chatting with us. They asked some of the following questions
- Where are you from?
- You’re not from India are you?
- You can’t be from India because you don’t look like an Indian, right?
- Where is Trinidad?
- Is Trinidad in Africa?
- Why are you friends with a Russian?
- How did you meet your Russian friend?
- Your accent is so awesome and funny … do all people from your country speak like that?
- Can I take a picture with you?
Having lunch in a restaurant, the staff wanted me to take a picture of them and with them.
I also miss the super terrible wine that I had in Uzbekistan. I’m not a oenophile but I know shitty tasting shit when I drink it, and that wine in Uzbekistan was super shitty shit … but it’s also a must do experience if you’re there in Samarkand.
How about wandering through Registan Square in Samarkand?
The other thing I miss is bypass all aspects of face control. This was a big concern of mine while I was over there. I thought that since they hadn’t seen many brown people over there, that I wouldn’t have free reign over where I wanted to go. This was never the case, even though I saw signs like this everywhere …
I think I was also the only person who could dance over there … and I am a terrible dancer for a Trinidadian unless I’m drunk, then I’m pretty awesome … (to my drunken self)
