Sunset at Registan Square in Samarkand
Shakhi-Zinda in Samarkand
Bakery at Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent
Strawberry Stall at Chorsu Bazaar
I went to Uzbekistan for last year’s summer vacation. It was my first time visiting one of “stan” countries and I really enjoyed. I suppose it is human nature to try to catch lightning in a bottle twice. On my way back from Uzbekistan, because I had some hours to kill during transit at Seoul Incheon Airport, I started looking at this year’s calendar although I knew it was too hasty.
Japanese calendar works in favor this year. If I add two days off to Golden Week in May, I will have a nine-day break. Similarly, if I add two days off to Silver Week in September, I will have another nine-day holiday. With two opportunities of long vacations, I hoped to catch lightning in a bottle three times.
Thinking as an extension of the Uzbekistan trip, two keywords came to mind: secular Muslim country and Eurasia.
Turkey immediately came to mind as a country that fits two keywords. Although I visited Turkey around 2010, it has already been over 15 years. I still have a clear memory that two credit cards I used at the time were skimmed. Moreover, it was difficult to tell the difference between the many people who were genuinely kind and the many of whom were scam-like fake guides or rip-off taxi drivers. I traveled via Dubai back then, but All Nippon Airways (ANA) operates direct flights from Tokyo Haneda to Istanbul three times a week. With ANA, it is possible to depart from Tokyo on Saturday morning and return the following Sunday at noon. It looked like it would be a very efficient trip.
Another area that caught my eye was the Caucasus region. Countries like Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan seemed to have old Orthodox Churches. Armenia, in particular, has many ancient churches and is famous for its brandy. It looked like I would travel via the Middle East, and Japan Airlines (JAL) operated direct flights to Doha. Due to the aircraft configuration, it seemed I could fly in Premium Economy on Economy fare even for the long-haul route between Tokyo and Doha.
Since my summer vacation schedule does not align with my wife’s, I asked her if she would like to go to Turkey or Armenia during the Golden Week, and she immediately chose Turkey. Then, Armenia would be my destination for the Silver Week. Since both trip dates were likely to be crowded, I decided to book flights immediately even it was right after my return from Uzbekistan.
I began making various arrangements, such as domestic transportation in Turkey, from the beginning of this year. Geographically, most of Turkey lies in Asia separated by the Bosphorus Strait; but the travel expenses are on par with Europe. Although I was daunted by the higher-than-expected costs, I finalized the arrangements for trip to Turkey in January.
This year was significant because I might not be able to set off on the Golden Week trip as planned. War had broken out in the Middle East. Immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, JAL’s flights to Doha were canceled but ANA’s flights to Istanbul were still operated. Since Turkey is a NATO member state, the risk seemed to be lower than the Gulf; yet the country was temporarily targeted due to the presence of U.S. military bases.
Amid the uncertain regional situation, I decided to consider the possibility of having to postpone my Golden Week trip to Turkey. I was surely unable to analyze the situation in the Middle East, so I just reworked my plans for the two long breaks.
First, I reconsidered whether I really wanted to go to Armenia. I concluded that Turkey had higher priority. By postponing the Turkey trip to the Silver Week in September, I would be able to make better assessment of the situation. Meanwhile, I needed to find a travel destination that seemed to have lower geopolitical risks during the Golden Week in May. I decided Oaxaca in Mexico as a candidate. It is a city I have wanted to visit, and it happened to be in the dry season.
Once I had alternate plans in place, I began negotiations with my wife to move things forward.
Citing the uncertain situation, I asked if she would be willing to go to Oaxaca and she immediately answered: No. It was a valid argument for an average Japanese woman, she apparently could not see the necessity of going to Mexico two years in a row. So, I asked her if there was a place that could serve as an alternative to Turkey. Even though she had shown absolutely no interest last year, she again immediately answered: Uzbekistan.
This unexpected counteroffer added another option to the mix. I may not be an average Japanese man, but even so, I find it hard to see the necessity of going to Uzbekistan two years in a row.
The course of the negotiations had shifted, making it harder to decide. The issue was how to handle the new proposal. I would ignore it, respect it, or take a hard line. In other words, I faced with three options: to take the risk and stick with the Turkey plan; to make compromise and go to Uzbekistan; or to leave my wife behind and go to Mexico by myself.
At the times when world leaders were negotiating over the war, my dilemma seemed utterly foolish.
All I had was a strong determination to go somewhere for both Golden Week and Silver Week. That was my bottom line in the negotiations. Just like world leaders, I supposed that I needed to evaluate the pros and cons.
In any case, since they were peak seasons, available seats on flights were limited. Besides, with bunker prices rising, higher airfares were inevitable. I needed to rebook tickets as soon as possible.
I could not assess Turkey’s geopolitical risks, but I could at least to tell that traveling to Turkey would be expensive. Moreover, if I were traveling alone, I would be satisfied with visiting mosques in provincial cities; but if I was going to Turkey with my wife, we would have to go to Cappadocia. Since it is a world-famous tourist destination, hotels are expensive, and, perhaps due to inflation of the Turkish lira, air balloon rides and local tours require cash payments in Euros. On the other hand, going to Mexico during the Golden Week leaving my wife behind would cause many issues with high risks in a different sense.
Thinking about it again, there were still places in Uzbekistan I had to visit. On last year’s trip, I missed out on staying at Hotel Uzbekistan in Tashkent, did not have time to visit Shahrisabz near Samarkand, and had to give up on visiting Itchan Kala, the historic district of Khiva, due to scheduling constraints.
After careful planning, I was able to put together an itinerary that would allow me to check all those items off list. Besides, the merger schedule between Asiana Airlines and Korean Air had not been announced back then, so I could still earn ANA miles on Asiana flights. As a Star Alliance Gold member, I was even able to take advantage of keeping emergency exit rows for free. In the end, I came up with a pretty good plan; it was the time to accept the counteroffer.
My deal was sealed before the world’s leaders could reach theirs.
