Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, surprised me with how modern it felt—but despite the big city vibe, the taxi situation broke me. Without a local SIM, I couldn’t access ride-hailing apps, and after running in circles trying to sort transport, I gave up. Instead, I embraced the quiet: stayed in my upgraded hotel room, relaxed, worked out, and did absolutely nothing. Glorious.

Determined to make the most of my final morning in Uzbekistan, I had my driver return at 7 AM to hit my Tashkent highlight reel. Four goals, four wins. It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a driver!

1. Soviet Medals – Found them! After scanning a flea-market-style bazaar with older locals selling items sprawled out on blankets on the ground (it reminded me of old school yard sales), I discovered three vendors with old Soviet-era medals. Using a mix of Google and intuition, I picked out a few I believe are from the 1940s, including one for battle honors and another for 30 years of service. It was hard to tell what the medals were for, or how old they were, but regardless, they were real and they were priceless. There’s something so heartbreaking about seeing this generation selling off military medals. I would say this is just a ‘different part of the world’ but sadly, I think this type of thing happens everywhere.
2. Russian Orthodox Church – My SIL asked me to be on the lookout for a Russian Orthodox Church. I caught the beginning of mass and captured some beautiful photos and videos. A perfect moment for sharing back home.
3. Tashkent Tower – Checked it off. Iconic and easy to spot, it gave a great sense of the city’s modern scale. I wasn’t actually sure what it was. After Turkmenistan I thought maybe it was a monument of some sort. Turns out it was the broadcasting tower for the local news – HAH!
4. Chorsu Bazaar (aka: Knife Hunt Part II) – Mission success. The main bazaar is all about food, but tucked away was a man in a corner selling knives—at half the price of what I paid in Khiva. Hopefully, the quality holds up.

After a whirlwind few hours, I headed back to the hotel, enjoying one last peaceful moment before airport chaos. With five bottles of wine and six knives now in tow, I had to break open my second suitcase—not for space, but because of weight.