I hope domestic(ated) animals count as nature.
This is Vania, my friend from Karakalpakstan. We like walking with each other very much. According to an elderly man, Vania is a pure-blooded German Shepherd. To me it looks more like a “pavement mix”, though. Pure-blooded or not, we spent a very nice morning in the ship graveyard at the bottom of what was once the Aral Sea.
Goodlooking fellow
ReplyDelete… and very friendly. And maybe a bit bored with living in Moynaq.
DeleteHe has the face of a german shepherd but his ears are too rounded to be one. Either way very nice looking fellow.
ReplyDeleteVania was very cute. With its oversized ears, it looked a bit like a bat to me.
DeleteSo much goes on during the day! Travelling alone has one big advantage: people do not hesitate to approach you for a chat. And in Uzbekistan they are very curious, open and even more talkative than I am. Not a single minute of boredom. Love it here, even though at the end of the day I feel exhausted. Positively exhausted.
I was in Urgench today: a mid-size post-Soviet city with a lot of good vibes. I sat in Cafe Caramel negotiating an Uzbek-sized piece of cheesecake with “Hołd Me Closer” by Elton John and Britney Spears playing in the background. This reminded me of hotels along Sunset Limited route: in Sanderson, El Paso, Lordsburg. I heard this song every time while checking in and at breakfast. Wooow! It is as a good sign for the future.
Nice capture
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot. I liked the dog so much (and vice versa).
DeleteUzbekistan is such a nice destination: very polite and hospitable people, fascinating history linking the Far East and Europe for millennia. I speak Russian which adds to the fun and makes interactions with local people even more interesting. I am a railway fan so try to travel by train wherever I can. It may be slower than flying but so much more exhilarating. Trains follow the Trans-Caspian route here, built during the times of Russian Empire. Although I am happy that the Russian and Soviet Empires are history, I must admit they did a very good job.
Я учил русский язык пять лет в школе, но теперь все забыл. (I learnt Russian for five years in school but have now forgotten everything!)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother always told me: “You should know the language of your enemy”. I learnt Russian at school which was of great help later, when I started working in Moscow. Since then, I also forgot it but it takes just a couple of days and you are back in the saddle.
DeleteLike in most former Soviet republics, Russian becomes history in Uzbekistan, too. Young people speak English. They try their language skills on everyone that looks foreign. Children, who speak only Uzbek, use Google Translate. Truly, what a nice destination!