Jasmine, a tall blondie, greeted me with a handshake and we almost hugged and kissed as normal Uzbek do.She is a friend of a friend that will show us around today. But she is more like a Russian than an Uzbek that I have been dealing with for the past two weeks. Se we went off in a premium BYD Yandex ( an Uber ride here). Wow! Is Tesla better than this (I wonder?). Chinese technology is at the next level whether Elon Musk approve it or not.
Our first stop was a restaurant for lunch. A busy time to have a proper meal. But here after two minutes from the time we finished ordering, our meal arrived with all the soups and side dishes. We had plov ( nasi pilau), mutton soup, etc…. the big round table was full with all kind of bread, dippings and salad. And finally on a tiny plate a few slices of cili hijau. Owh come on! at last someone understood Malaysian’s tastebud. Indeed, Jasmine, specifically requested for that cili hijau. She used to live with her daughter in Malaysia and know our dishes are not complete without chillies. They added another layer of smashing hit onto my local plov. I finished that big plate in no time. The mutton soup tasted blunt and forgetable but the meat was tender and juicy. Other fabulous side dishes were delicious.this friend of ours really made sure that we tasted Uzbek cookings and take them home so we don’t forget them.
After that big lunch, I felt like an Uzbek man; walking around with big tummy that looks like it gonna drop like nangka buruk. My stomach was full and everything else was numb. I pressed on walking with hazy sense of direction. Usually in this condition I would lie down for a couple of hours until the gas is out and my head is straight again. we headed to the metro station . The interior of each station was unbelievably beautiful. Russians built this underground train station sometime ago and now we are lucky to be having it for our use. The Russian made trains also can still be used today. Strong and powerful.I rode in it and it was dark and old inside just like everything else from Russia. The idea that someone was indebted towards the communists was absurd. We went into a park near Presidential palace and there stood a statue of their first president during the soviet era. He was a hero! I mean he could be a proxy of the government in Moscow and you praised him like an angel.
We stopped by a war memorial for some 400,000 men and women died fighting for the country. You mean to protect communism. But the war could never have anything good to offer other than destruction and death. Our walks were long and silent going through some beautiful landscapes and streets. Almost forgetting about the poor parts of this country we went yesterday.
We stopped by an opera house. The grandeur of the place brought us back in time when the rich and powerful roamed this place. Ballet performances were the favourite in those days and they performed here to entertain the upper classes of the society. The place was huge with stairs and cafe to serve massive audiences. That was my first time to be in the place like that and I was speechless. The police was everywhere to protect the place.
Fortunately, there’s a concert going on inside and we’re allowed to join in. The children were dancing and singing. I guess this is another part of the society that looks to hold the future of this country. Today has been interesting to see the many faces of Uzbekistan’s society. I came here to look for something but found something else.
The society evolved with the elements of equation within it. History tells us how it started and we witnessed the process until it shows the consequences. Sometimes it is lucky to be able to see the brutal truth it carries in the end.
