people

Breakfast today: two French, two Belgians, one UK (London), two Australians, one Swiss (Basel again), and me. The common language was English, which seems to be the most common travel language generally. By the time breakfast was over, four of them who had never met before had agreed to meet up later in the day and share a taxi back to Tashkent.

Late morning I was walking in the general direction of my hotel and someone popped right in front of me with a big smile. It was Curly, the woman from Melbourne that I met in Tashkent outside a mosque. We had lunch on a kang, and then I went off in search of the post office.

I went where the map said it was. Unable to locate it, I asked a man. He immediately called out to a young woman who was helping an old woman get in a taxi. She came running and addressed me in clear English, I asked my question, she in turn talked with the man, who told her something about where the post office could be found. She said, "Come, I will take you."  A few blocks later, she asked someone again, and there it was. It was a cavernous empty room, but indeed there was a postal employee who pointed out the box for my post cards. According to what I'm told, there is a good chance they will not be delivered, but the fun is in trying.

I am surprised at how helpful and hospitable people are here. As I walked back to my hotel, two young women wanted a photo with me. I don't know why, they just wanted that and nothing more. So I asked for one as well.