Uzbekistan, again

I am on my way to Uzbekistan again. I was here in 2017 and had an epiphany about the potential of the region. It inspired me to plan a family trip in May 2019, and followed that up with a business trip May this year. The leisure trip was with M and D (J had to go back to serve his internship obligations) and what a glorious trip it is across the Fergana Valley and into historical trading posts of Samarkand and Bukhara. My trip earlier this year was all business and I met with the DPM amd Minister of Finance amongst others and promptly got a project sold!

I am heading there again for the official opening of the office where the Minister will grace. Am flying there after a Global Public Sector meeting from London on Uzbekistan Airways flight HY204 to Tashkent. Not surprisingly it was delayed for nearly an hour because the flight had arrived late by 30 minutes. I know the math doesn’t add up but out of a busy airport like Heathrow, turnaround times is slower and then you lose your air traffic slots. 

London remains one of the capitals of the world but I wonder for how much longer. Infrastructure has not kept paced with the population that driving anywhere within the city (esp. during rush hour takes an hour). No. 10 is now a revolving door with PMs coming and going, mostly because of party infighting. Then there is the low brow distaste that is served on public media and I was appalled with an episode of Naked Attraction I chance upon while surfing the channels in my hotel room. More importantly, the economy is anaemic and the pound has taken a beating as the markets did not appreciate the growth policy the (new) government has proposed. In fact, just before I flew out of London, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was dismissed: a scapegoat for the times. 

On the other hand, the former Soviet Union state of Uzbekistan has leaders who care about the development of their country. No doubt, some level of corruption exists, but unlike in many parts of the world, the leaders I met here are not out to manipulate the population for their own gains. Here, they are keen to learn of the successes and failures of others. 

When I was first here 5 years ago, I took a quick private day trip to Chimgan countryside and encountered people who looked like me and especially an old stall keeper who resembled my grandmother. The Hakka people are said to have originated from the north of China where we had lived as nomadic groups in the Steppes that spanned all across Central Asia. Maybe that is why I felt a certain kinship with this people and are back here again for the fourth time in five years and no doubt there will be more trips to come, perhaps with J in tow as well.

The Uzbekistan Airways flight is really basic. I am in business class, so the seats are bigger but that;s about it. There is no inflight entertainment, the pilots take longer to get to cruising altitude (or to let the passengers know that they are there) and the cabin crew generally just huddle in the galley than walking the aisles to serve the passengers. Reminds me of what it was like 30 years ago in Vietnam. Vietnam has certainly come a long way since then and these central Asia states are indeed the next frontier.

There is, however, some charm to this “old world” operations. I spent the parts of my flight reading. A Paul Theroux travel book no less (and this one is about his travels from Cairo to Capetown which is something I would like to do). And now midway through the flight, writing. Normally, I would have been on to my second movie on the inflight entertainment, a mindless activity that one would promptly forget unlike the more engaging reading and writing I am doing now.

So, there is a silver lining in every circumstance, and in the case of Uzbekistan, it may well be a golden lining! When I was here five years ago, I even encouraged the team to author a report and tell the world the potential of this region. Now, I am back here advising the government to live up to the potential.