SAMARKAND UZBEKISTAN

It's almost a week now. After spending some time in Kazakhstan I flew to Teshkent, and after a few days now I'm in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Samarkand has been at the crossroads of world cultures since thousands of years ago and one of the most important sites on the Silk Routes traversing Central Asia. It was invaded & destroyed by Ghangis Khan and his Mongul armies when they conquered the area in 1220s, although by the early 1330s the famous Arab traveller Ibn Battuta visited Samarkand and described it as "one of the greatest and finest of cities, and most perfect of them in beauty" This is Registan ... means a sand place. In the ancient times, this central square was covered by sand. Registan square has always been the center of the city social life in Samarkand .The great architectural ensemble that has become a monument of the oriental architecture. It is a valuable gift that Uzbeks had inherited from their ancestors, embodying the entire charm of the eastern architecture. I think I explore this place through & though ... Even climb up to the top of minaret ( which is not worth the climb) If you love photography & architecture ... This place can be overwhelming. I think Kazakstan and Uzbekistan people are both friendly, but Uzbeks are more curious towards foreigners and more than willing to help if asked. While people in Almaty I think used to having a foreigners but quite shy when being approached for a direction. But I'll spend some more time in Kazakhstan next month, will see if it'll change my opinion of them. My first stop the other day was Almaty, Kazakstan. So I ride a public bus from airport to the city center. I'm sort of knew which bus I have to take and which bus stop I suppose to get off and change to another bus. But I'm totally underestimate the difficulty to navigate through cyrillic writing signage & lack of english speaker, I also overestimated my sense of direction without map & internet😂 . Maka terlepaslah bus stop yang sepatutnya dan terlajak lebih 30 minit, jadinya terpaksa la amik another bas untuk patah balik. Kena pulak time rush hour, berkicap la jugak berhimpit dalam bus tu. Sepatutnya perjalanan amik masa sejam setengah ja tapi 3 jam baru sampai 😆. PS : The struggle to find a decent internet connection in Central Asia is real 😅