The Cellar - Touring Uzbekistan as a tourist

The Cellar (http://cellar.org/index.php)

- Cities and Travel (http://cellar.org/forumdisplay.php?f=19)

- - Touring Uzbekistan as a tourist (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=33246)

And yes, I've experienced Poseidon's Kiss.

So, I'm going through all the new posts in this thread . . .

LOVING Limey's photos and travelogue (thank you so much. Beautiful!); trying to imagine myself in the middle of that crazy market, smelling all the wonderful smells and trying new and exotic foods, wondering "Is Hotel Uzbekistan anything like Hotel California?" and being instantly captivated by the ceramic cockbong (you know my history with cocks) . . .

And then I get to the bathroom discussion. Busted out in giant guffaws. Scared the bejeebers out of one of the cats.

:lol2:

Thanks guys. This is why I love this place.

Rock on. :thumb:

P.S. Limey, what is the raised, red cloth-covered item on the floor of your hotel room?

This?
Many people in Asia/Central Asia are more comfortable sitting on the floor so this is a low table and cushions for such guests. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1edd0e96d9.jpg

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Ahhh.

I learned another interesting thing today. Thank you! :)

You people are just amazing.

Comedy interlude. We arrived in Samarkand by train yesterday evening.
(It is forbidden to take pictures of locations/items of strategic importance, but this is what the train looked like)
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4f358021f6.jpg
It was January 1, and apparently there are no restaurants open, EVERYONE is on holiday. The Hotel restaurant isn’t open either. Mr Limey and I had noticed a grocery store nearby, so we suggested that maybe our best course of action is to buy something we can eat in our hotel room.
This is what we did (last loaf of bread, 4oz cooked sausage, 4oz cheese, 1 bottle 10% alc. by volume beer and a bottle of red wine $4), managing to snag a corkscrew, plates and cutlery from Hotel reception on our way back.
But ... but .... it’s not as though this holiday was unexpected. I find it mildly comic that neither the tour agency nor the Hotel had made advance provision for this.
Buying provisions
It certainly helps that I speak a local language. It seems that alcohol is not displayed for sale in corner stores so if you don’t ask you’ll have to go without. In Tashkent we had found a grocery store cum bar, and bought wine there. They uncorked the bottle 3/4 of the way so that we could just pull the cork out.
In Bukhara I asked in the grocery store where we could get wine and they fished some out from under the counter. They also had a corkscrew and were able to “do the honours”. But here in Samarkand the shop had no corkscrew, but fortunately the hotel did.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Pack a corkscrew in your luggage. ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce (Post 1001398)

Pack a corkscrew in your luggage. ;)

A good knife is also desirable: both would have to go in checked baggage.
I used to travel with a medium sized Swiss Army knife but it got nicked from my checked baggage. On the same journey someone opened the jar of Scotch bonnet [emoji892] I was taking as a present for a friend and ate one or two. They were a little careless in replacing the lid so I got pickle-juice in my smalls ...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Bukhara was amazing. Here are a few pics loosely grouped in themes. If you want to see 'em all drop me a pm and I'll send you a link to a Dropbox file next week.
Details of our accommodation. I reckon the painting/ carving was all done freehand.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...806f8abbb2.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...87c3f42ba0.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2dd1e4ecdc.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...eaf9e2520f.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...40ade79279.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8268d8f017.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b17e772330.jpg

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

I love all the details

Looking at all those structures it must be the work of thousands of people who had skills. Even if there were crews of say a dozen bricklayers, with one master bricklayer directing the crew, everyone on that crew was learning by doing. Then each trade developed the skills to pass down until generation by generation you build a nation of craftsman who know their shit. Unless of course war, famine, or rulers, force bricklayers to become farmers or soldiers.