Final Moments with a Familiar Face
Khiva, Uzbekistan, on Saturday, October 25, 2014.
For my last few moments in Khiva, I headed to Bir Gumbaz, this centrally-located outdoor/indoor cafe where every indie traveler seemed to end up at since all other options were already closed for the season. It was there that I’d had dinner with a German/Russian couple I’d met in Samarkand the night previous, but my final evening was in solitude — until a familiar face showed up.
“Well, there you are,” said the Aussie voice. “May I join you?”
“Sure.”
It was Richard, the cheeky middle-aged guy I’d encountered in Tashkent and then again in Samarkand, who was also on the Silk Road tourist trail of Uzbekistan — akin to South America’s “gringo trail,” where you always run into familiar faces in each town along the way. He was sans his guide Mohammed, but would meet him later for dinner. (Apparently over the week, Richard drank him under the table.)
The temperature dropped so we went indoors for a session of beers and conversation. He too had the gingery hot “balls on fire” incident in the Bukhara hammam and reckoned it’s a prank they tell tourists to do for a laugh. (He didn’t last as long as I did; he immediately sought out water to extinguish his genitalia.)
I learned that Richard was not on holiday but on a research trip to survey the land before taking a tour group out in a couple of weeks. As former executive at major adventure tour company Peregrine, he eventually went on his own to lead smaller groups. I revealed my role in the travel industry and we bonded over philosophies of travel off and on the press/PR trip circuit. (I don’t believe they are truly free expressions of indie travel, which is why I seldom write longer narratives like this while on one of them. But I digress.)
I noticed it was getting late and that I needed to leave to get to the airport for my long haul back to Urgench to Tashkent to Istanbul to New York. Richard didn’t leave with me; he ordered another beer before sending me off with parting words: “I’ll see you… somewhere in the world.”
After an exhilarating and restorative journey through Central Asia, somewhere in the world I’d be indeed.
My favorite Indiana Jones quote adorns my t-shirt as I stand all along the watchtower of old Khiva. It is a motto that I’ve applied on this trip — as well as all the other indie trips on TheGlobalTrip.com. (Note: may also be applied to life in general.)
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