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7NNT25: Day 2 – Tashkent
Soundtrack: “Going Underground” The Jam Our first full day in Uzbekistan was spent exploring the old and new parts of the capital, Tashkent, with our driver and also a guide who tried to take us through 15 centuries of history in 6 hours. In summary: most of the cultures that have dominated Uzbekistan over the centuries have had a mix of good and bad elements, except the Mongols, who were all bad. Seems like the Uzbeks still have a bit of a grudge from the days of Ghengis Khan, which I’m sure would make an Uzbekistan Vs Mongolia ice hockey game rather interesting. So here’s the non-wikipedia version: the Uzbeks…
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Baltics24: Day 10 – Riga
Our first full day in Riga and, well, it’s closed for Jani Day, their midsummer public holiday. It turns out that in these parts, the pagan cosplay also involves staying up until dawn, screaming at the dawn, then going to bed. So we missed out on the majority of the celebration, but I’m okay with that, it’s cool that we are here at the right time but the Latvians have been through enough in their lifetimes, they don’t need a few extra tourists bumbling through their traditions and celebrations. While I’m sure we’d have been welcomed, from all we’ve seen Latvians are a friendly, hospitable people, but being real, we’re…