Getting Ready for Another Trip! On the Silk Route to Uzbekistan

Easter Monday, April 22, 2019

Bombay

Getting Ready for Another Trip! On the Silk Route to Uzbekistan

     Namaste from Bombay!

     Today was devoted to getting myself organized for my departure to Uzbekistan and week’s stay in the fabled country. I was a little nervous as so many of my basic arrangements had yet to fall in place—with less than 24 hours left before my departure. It is not like me at all to deal with such things at the last minute. But this time, with my visa coming so late, my ticket being issued only this morning and my hosts in Tashkent being informed about my arrival only after I got my visa, I felt as if I spent the entire day juggling duties between sitting on my laptop, packing for my trip and getting household chores accomplished before leaving.

      Breakfast was muesli with yoghurt, almond milk and apple—attempts to finish off everything in my fridge before departure. With some coffee, it made a nice meal as I watched Hinterland. I realized that I had begun with the last few episodes—and this is a show that has a line of plot continuity from one episode to the next. So I really did need to go to the very beginning to try and figure out what had happened in the beginning.

     That done, I made a To-Do List that was heavy on personal grooming, email correspondence with my hosts in Tashkent and affairs to be settled at Dad’s and mine. I hauled out my little stroller bag from my balcony (thank heavens I have one—it is the perfect place to stash my cases one inside the other) and organized my TUMI backpack for my trip.

      I checked the temperature in Uzbekistan during the week of my stay and found that it is going to be spring-like—in the low sixties throughout. I am delighted. It will be a relief to get away from the April heat and humidity of Bombay—although, that said, I am very comfortable in my little cocoon of a studio that has air-conditioning and stays cool with just a fan after the AC is kept on at night while I sleep. Seriously, I could not be more comfortable. 

     My packing went pretty well—I have taken only the kind of clothes I will need for cooler days—and I also pulled out my Uniqlo down jacket which folds into a tiny pouch—perfect for traveling and so light on the shoulders. When my clothes, underwear and nightwear were packed, I moved to shoes (sneakers and flip-flops only as I would be wearing my Mary Janes), stockings, knee-highs and socks, cosmetics and toiletries, medication, accessories (scarves, jewelry, baseball cap), decaf tea and coffee pouch with all the fixin’s), and electronic devices (camera, Ipad and keyboard and mobile chargers plus adapters I would need for Europe). I had kept my electronic items charging well so that they would be full by the time I left. That was it! Packing was done! All I had to do was add my pillow tomorrow morning just before I leave! I used up some blue cheese and a bread roll in my fridge to make a cheese sandwich that I will eat tomorrow morning after I check in at the airport.

     My ticket had arrived online by the time I finished packing. So then, I sat down to prepare for my Workshop sessions at Tashkent State University.  I finalized my Lessons Plans and Notes and started to create a PowerPoint presentation to make my points visual—as I am not sure what the English efficiency levels of my students will be. All I know is that they are undergrad students of English. Once the PowerPoint was done, I put it on a flash drive with my ticket, itinerary (which also contains my tourism notes from Lonely Planet) and Lesson Plan. I would need to go to my photocopier Jay in the evening to print out all of them.

     That done, it was time for lunch and I almost finished up leftovers in my fridge: chicken curry with potatoes, cauliflower with one chapatti. I have told Valerie to suspend my meal delivery service until I get back to Bombay. I continued watching Hinterland. 

     Next, I began corresponding by email with my hosts in Tashkent. They are half an hour behind India—so they would be getting into their offices. I requested Saida at the Fulbright Office to arrange a pick-up for me from Tashkent airport as I am not sure about the language difficulties I will encounter. She told me that a US Embassy car would be waiting to pick me up (with the flag of the United States of America on it!) Wow! I will get a taste of the lives of traveling diplomats. 

     Next, I contacted Nozliya Nomorodova in the English Department at Tashkent State University and told her to schedule our first session after 3.00 pm tomorrow—I shall by landing at 12 noon—which will leave me enough time to get to the Embassy and then to the university campus ready to start my first session. She said that she had the matter in hand. My other three sessions will be on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. This shall leave me the weekend free to travel a bit as I have Samarkand and Bukhara on my Travel Wish List.

     And talking about travel, I was told by my Fulbright colleague Greg who is currently in Samarkand, that I will need to book tickets on the bullet trains in advance—as this is the high tourist season and it might be tough to get tickets. Well, that meant contacting Saida to find out the contact details of the US Embassy’s Travel Desk so that they could do the bookings for me. And guess what? Most of the tickets have gone already—so I am left with very few choices and almost no tickets at all on the bullet train! Flights too seem to have sold out...let us hope that the travel agents can work their magic for me.

     Next, I decided to make the hour long journey by train to the city to buy some silk scarves made by the Gandhi Cottage Industry folks in Gujarat and sold at the Khadi Bandar. I left my house at 2.15 and hoped to be back by 4.15 pm. And that was exactly what I did. The train journey was swift. I walked to Khadi Bandar and picked up the scarves I wanted. I bought half a dozen to give away as gifts to various people in Uzbekistan who had been so helpful and kind to me in setting up my travels. 

      On my way back, outside Cathedral School, I spied my former professor of English at Elphinstone College and now a dear friend of mine, Soonu Kapadia, who since retirement has been teaching AP English at the school to students headed to the US for their undergrad degree. I have often told her that a few of her students at Cathedral have gone on to become my students at NYU—a fact both of us find pretty marvelous! She offered me a ride as she was hopping into a taxi and I was very grateful for it as the afternoon sun was pretty merciless. I was home by 4.30 with another mission fruitfully accomplished.

     I stopped for a pot of tea with nuts and took a TV break. That done, I had a shower and shampoo and did my grooming chores (manicure, pedicure, trimming of my bangs, etc). By this time, it was close to evening Mass time and I had told Dad I would accompany him. But I still needed to switch all my bed and bath linens as I leave them behind to get laundered at Dad’s each time I go on a trip. So the stripping of my home began: bedsheet, counterpane, pillow-cases, bath towel, hand towels and kitchen towels. This took a lot more time than I expected. Luckily, I found a rickshaw and took him via Dad’s place where I left my linen after throwing in the last of my food into the bag—I would eat it for dinner. 

     Dad and I then went for the 7.00 pm Mass after which I nipped off to Jay’s to get all my stuff printed. With that done, I returned for dinner to Dad’s. We were just about to eat when Jon Ken, an old friend dropped in after ages to see Russel. We thought it would be his usual short visit, but it stretched out to nearly one hour. It was about 9.00 pm when we actually sat to eat. I raced through my meal and then said goodbye to Dad and Russel and took my leave of them.

     Back home, I watched the last of my Hinterland episode as I ate some chocolate cake with which Dad sent me home. I placed my passport in its pouch in my backpack together with the ticket which I would need to show when I entered the airport. And then with my case and my backpack all ready, I had a chat with Llew on the phone and then went to bed. 

  I think I am ready for my travel adventures tomorrow. Let us hope that they go off really well. 

     Until tomorrow