Finally, after 5 years (thanks Covid!), it was time to dust off the backpack and jump back into to world traveling; this time causing misadventure in a Central Asian country along the route of the Silk Road – Uzbekistan.

I hadn’t flown Singapore Airlines in a long time, but I do remember it being good and their reputation holding up. The 8 hour flight to Singapore, and 6 hours to Seoul, the airline sadly didn’t put them in the must recommend basket. Whilst the service was great, the food was shockingly bad. A mournfully tasteless beef mince with mashed potato on one flight, and some kind of weird beef flavoured rice pudding the next.

Yeah yeah, airline food huh, what’s the deal with it! But food had gotten good in past flights, back in that previous life. Is this because of the pandemic? Did they take what was still edible after the world woke back up to start flying again, and so like the Swedish Chef they concocted this left over inspired nightmare?

Well the Uzbek’s didn’t get that memo. The last 7 hour leg of this journey from Seoul to Tashkent was with Uzbekistan Airlines, and here were we served oranges, cupcakes, cheese and biscuits, and a main of Chicken Kiev… or is that Chicken Kyiv now? Do the Uzbek’s or the Ukraine’s or the Russians even call it that?

Of course the flight couldn’t just be normal and simply being served a happy meal. Firstly the air conditioning didn’t work. That’s 7 hours in an aeroplane in what must have been a good 26 degrees. I can tell you, I did not smell good when I set foot back on earth. I’m pretty sure I saw a bird fall out of the sky when I stepped out of the airport.

However much more entertaining were the Uzbek’s around me. I would have counted at least 2 dozen of them had just gone to Korea for Duty Free shopping. I’ve never see so much carry on luggage in my life. They rocked up with HP laptops, bags of confectionery and cakes, and god knows what else in bags I couldn’t see through.

Although, they did also buy mobile phones. And they promptly, before the aeroplane had even left the tarmac, started selling them to passengers for cash. I’m not even sure what type of phones they were, I even handled a couple as I became a mule passing the phones over the central isle. They were oddly heavy and solid, like something the military would use. Seems legit.

Just as with all long arse flying from Australia to the rest of the world, my coccyx celebrated the coming relief as we touched down in Tashkent. Now just to pick a taxi driver, get to the hotel in 20mins, and collapse in the hotel bed.

And that’s exactly what I did. Well, I did watch this weeks episode of Succession first. Got to know what those Roy kids are up to!