To Uzbekistan from New York City-

Oct. 9, 2023- NYC We’re off to parts unknown to us. That is, we can’t remember exactly where we’re going. Uzbekistan for sure. Then there are two other Stans. When we look at our itinerary it says, “ Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.” We have to trust that it’s accurate. So many Stans. My usual disclaimer is these emails are totally my opinion. I report facts as I learn them then give them my own personal reportage. There will be typos and grammatical errors. I apologize in advance. Most emails are written after a long day of touring, read to David ( who may be awake), then sent into the ether. Feel free to share these with whomever. I like getting responses, pro or con. Now for the elephant ( or donkey) in the room. We are traveling at an inauspicious time. Uzbekistan borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, two Stans we,hopefully, won’t visit. It is a majority Muslim country. As things stand with Israel and Hamas, we hope to avoid dramatic political discourse. I’ll keep this short as we’re exhausted. TSA took exception to David’s Miralax and gave it an electronic once over. It was cleared. Our one hour flight to JFK ended with a two hour trek to baggage claim, our shuttle and our hotel. We grabbed lunch at our favorite (only) deli across the street. We wished there were more places like that where a clerk safely spoke Arabic on a phone while checking us out speaking English. Bon voyage to us. We’re looking forward to getting on the plane tomorrow and parking our brains for three weeks. I’ll write next when we’re in Tashkent. Understand, Wi-Fi may be spotty. Don’t panic if you don’t hear from me daily. I’ll do my best. Toby