posted by Alina Jidkova on Travel

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After New York I had a few days off , before I was on the plane to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  I haven’t been to Tashkent since 2000. Back then, I had bad experience in Tashkent. I remember promising myself to never come back there again. And not because it’s a bad city. But because I had bad tennis experience. Plus I got bad food poisoning.

Also, you have to know something. Good or bad experiences of a tennis player almost always depend on the results. Seldom, I talked to a player who said:” I played terrible, but I had fun here” Usually it is:” I lost, I am out of here.”

Eleven years later, I was hoping for a better experience in Tashkent. And everything was pointing to a better experience. Galina was in the main draw. We stayed at a better hotel in the center of Tashkent. Tennis club has improved since my last visit. But driving around Tashkent still felt like being in Soviet Union. Even the signs of stores like “Mango”, “Zara”  and “Armani” didn’t change that. I still felt like I was back in time. The other thing I will always remember, and that hasn’t changed. Is the amount of Uzbek money you get for exchanging $100. All the notes you get, don’t fit in the wallet. And it’s better to bring a purse if you are exchanging more then a $100.

Also, knowing where to go eat is a big plus. Especially when a “tennis queen” of Tashkent tells you where to go. And that “queen” is Iroda Tulyaganova. In the year 2000 she won her home tournament. Eventually her ranking went up to #16 in the world.

So with a little guidance from Iroda, we visited great restaurants! Tried many different Uzbek dishes. Like “plov”, “khonem“ and of course lots of different salads. I loved every dish of Uzbek food! 

While our food experience was going great. On court results were not so great. Galina just missed to be seeded and drew Ksenia Pervak in the first round. Pervak was seeded first. Although, the seed number doesn’t matter for Galina. Still, Ksenia and Galina always had long, hard matches. 

On the day of the match, Galina didn’t feel good. Her stomach hurt, and she was dizzy. I knew it was not going to be easy. But Galina gave her best. She lost in tight two sets. But she fought till the end.

That same evening we packed our almost unpacked bags, and were on our way to the airport. Seoul was our next stop.

And like eleven years ago,my visit to Tashkent was cut short. But this time around it was a much better experience. Maybe if we stayed longer I would’ve even had time to go explore Tashkent. Well, maybe next time! This time I won’t make a promise to myself to never come back again. And maybe next time I will also have time to visit a grave of my great-grandfather on my mothers side. My mother told me he was buried in Tashkent. It’s interesting, how you find out things about your family while traveling all over the world. I wonder if we have any extended family in Korea. Probably not! )))

 

p.s. photo above: $100 in Uzbek sum.