Welcome back to Uzbekistan, one year later! This time though, it’s just me and the plov 🍽

Isn't it lovely that we can see how generally good and friendly people are all over the world if you give them a chance?

As a Tashkent native, I’m really grateful to you for the beautiful show of my old blooming green city of rock!

I see the date shown at the train station was 10th September. Things have changed drastically at borders in the vicinity since then. I hope Julia & her family particularly the men in her family stay safe and she can return to be with you soon Matt.

I visited Kazakhstan on a number of occasions over a three year period and was able to visit a number of cities from Atyrau in the west to Almaty in the east. Its a great country even if its a bit militaristic with police and Military on just about every city street corner but the people are incredibly friendly and outgoing. The diet was predominated by horse meat with replaces the beef of western countries and does take a bit of getting used to. I loved every visit I had and was sad to leave.

Beautiful video. Tashkent has suddenly come into my consciousness because Konstantin, who I also follow from Inside Russia, fled there yesterday to escape the draft. I had never heard of it before. I am starting to get very curious about the ‘…Stan’ countries. It is so educational following you and Julia. I’ll never forget the video when you visited her granny in snowy Siberia and helped her to get the snow off the roof. I love seeing how ordinary people live more than anything else. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing part of your journey, Matt. Wishing both you and Julia safety and safe travels. Tashkent looks great and the plov looked amazing.

Beautiful landscaping and buildings. I am born Canadian and speak Russian. Never been to Russia. I traveled to Europe, I loved Austria Tirol, Paris, Belgium, Italy, London England. Been in Senegal Africa for 2 years loved the pleasant people and their delicious foods. Came across your channel and enjoyed your video. New subscriber. 👍 ✌ ❤

Just found your channel and I really like the short subtitled bits of interaction with the people you encounter. Been studying Russian for about a year and this gives me a sense of the level of I’d want to be at to have a smoother experience traveling around Central Asia, or at least the cities.

What a gorgeous city. And yes, I have to admit, the layout is terrific, and love all of the gardens and fountains.

Thank you for showing our beautiful Tashkent to the world! Very nice video! I’m not in my hometown yet but counting down days to be there soon!

Thank you for sharing Matt. Stay safe and God bless you and Julia. ❤️

Matt you are a true gentlemen. You and Julia give me hope in humanity. Safe travels

His impression trying the plov for the first time was incredible 🇰🇿🤩👍

Ooooh Plov! 😍 I had a friend as a child whose ancestors were partly Volga Germans and therefore they immigrated to Germany. They came from southern Kazakhstan, his father had German ancestors and his mother was Uzbek. His mother made plov with poultry meat (mutton or lamb was hard to get in our rural area back then) when I was there for dinner once. That's almost 25 years ago and yet I still remember the taste, the mixture of spices....yummy!

Hello Matt ~ I’m new to your & Julia’s channel and so far have been following Julia and her return to see her grandmother. Am finding this all very intriguing but also worrisome. Hope you will both be safe. Cheers!

Thanks Matt for showing us your journeys through these countries; fascinating and enlightening.

Мэтт, спасибо за видео. Подборка саундтреков очень крутая!

What a breathtaking city! I have always wanted to go! Thank you for the bird's eye view I am soooo happy 😊

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing! I really appreciate the kindness and respect you show all the way and your Russian is pretty good too, congrats! I hope you and your wife will soon be together again and everything will be ok. Cheers!

STUNNING...thanks for taking us along to a city I will never see in person...the Plov looks AMAZING!!!!

A+ content. Thank you for taking us along with you. Hopefully you guys get the chance to enjoy your trips vs working/filming/editing.

Very entertaining + enlightening! Almost as good as being there in person. Thanks.

Very interesting countries! Beautiful and open landscapes, beautiful sky, thank you for the video!

Fantastic video Matt, you’re videoing skills are truly remarkable. You also do the narration so very well, it always holds my interest perfectly.

Awwww, I’m sure you miss Julia so much! Safe travels! The plov looks amazing!

Not very often you come across a KZfaqr who reads and likes most of the comments. I'm brand new to the channel and this guy seems incredibly genuine. You've got a new subscriber in me, thanks for having me "on board."

Glad you're doing fine Matt, hope you will be reunited with Julia soon!! Safe travel for both of you....

First time viewer and impressed with the beauty of Tashkent. Thanks for sharing with us.

Hi, I am from Indonesia, a country in Southeast Asia region. Stan country seems to be beyond my horizon, so it is interesting to watch the life of people on the other side of the world. Thank for the video, and I hope you unite with your wife really soon.

Good to see you doing ok Matt on your own. Your Russian language skill is awesome. Speaking of plov, Backpacker Ben is in that part of the world now as well and got the worst case of food poisoning from it in one of his recent videos. I hope you don’t get a bad one while there. Stay safe and as always I will look forward to the next video. 👍

Hi Matt 👋 (and Julia at home 🏡). Tashkent is a beautiful city, thanks for showing us some of the sights. I wasn't surprised at all that you met some friendly guys as you and Julia have that ability to put people at ease and they want to know and help you. The "wedding plov" looked so good. I love any dish with rice in it. ❤️🍚😋🤣. Take care, stay safe and have a great "reunion" with your "honey bunny 🐰 ". 👍❤️🫂🙏🌎

So nice to see you, Matt, clearly missing your good lady.I hope Julia is well and good wishes to her family. The city park is a statement all by itself! A great solo vlog.I hope you and Julia visit the babushka one day.

Lovely coverage of Tashkent and more of the beautiful and clean train journey. Background music was soothing, Thanks! Miss seeing your wife with you!!

Love these vids you and Julia do , and this one is as pucker as your others, well done mate.

Matt you are genuinely a good person, showing kindness at all times, God bless you!

Thank you so much for sharing your journey, what a beautiful city. The train was nice and clean.

These videos are so well done. Right up there with Rick Steves. Always a must watch!

I know you missed your sweet Julia!!! 🥰☺️ Can’t wait for the next video!!!

The video is really awesome, and the tour of Uzbekistan was amazing. Hope to see you and Julia together again soon! ♥

It's so strange to see you both travelling to different destinations! I am sure my brain inserted some "Julia-Giggles" into the background randomly 😄 I hope you're both doing well regardless, and are staying happy and healthy 💖🍀

Ты добрый парень. Очень вежливо общаешься и с уважением.

Hope you stay safe! Talgo trains are pretty good,made in Spain and sold to many countries around the world

Howdy Matt, what a nice train and trip plus the city looks nothing I would think. Very modern and structured. Have a pleasant time and stay safe. Greetings from Hamburg 🌏🌎🌍

Wonderful ! I learned a lot, and have started looking up Plov recipes. I also like the way you demonstrate a useful "truth" in regard to language learning, that if you pick one of the more widespread languages it can be incredibly useful as a shared second language in multiple countries ( Russian, Spanish, Arabic etc) . (I speak Mandarin, and teach EAL. ) Great video. I'm looking forward to seeing more

Just stumbled across your channel...love the relaxed nature and the camera work...bringing the world to our screens in great detail...new sub here looking forward to checking out more of your adventures!!

This just happened to appear on my recommended list. I have no idea who Matt and Juia are but this was a good trip. I'll say one thing, everyplace shown here was absolutely spotless and far from the pictures you see of rural Russia. I know something of Kazakhstan and two of the great performers who are from there. Daneliya Tuleshova has made a number of music videos that show some of the beautiful places nearby. If you haven't seen them, put that on your to do list because it is worth your while. You should also catch Daneliya's final winning performance on the Voice Kids - Ukraine. She was just a child but it is one of the most remarkable performances I have ever seen. I believe both performers are from Almaty. I know nothing of Tashkent and was shocked to see what a beautiful city it is. Rebuilt by Russia in the 60's? That means there are a lot of people beholden to Russia. As to Daneliya's final performance, 'Ne tvoya viina' by Okean Elzy, she wears a burned and war torn dress and gives a soliloquy to the circumstances of war; a child like no other - here it is: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y7-fd9aax93ec30.html NOTE: in retrospect it is a song with soliloquy that is especially important today:-(

I know a guy there called BORAT. He is really nice 😂 . He can get you to the USA 🇺🇸. A train cabin shared with a woman?! Unbelievable. But seriously, excellent way to know how other cultures live. I was very surprised to see how clean the cities are.. and the honest simplicity of the people. Thank you for showing us the world.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing! ❤👍❣️

Juliaaaa we miss you!matt is lucky to got a visa to Kazakhstan!! Looks beautiful Almaty (green mountain etc)

I really enjoyed jour video. I am very impressed with the solid clean big buildings and wide streets.

I haven’t caught up with you guys for awhile. It makes me so sad at what is going on over there and that you guys had to split up for awhile. I hope you both (and family) stay safe. Please keep us updated. Love to you both from Montana (USA).

What a nice lady! People seem so friendly there.

the plov looks delicious! I am so envious of your lifestyle. Tashkent looks beautiful.

I loved this video of Tashkent what a lovely place amazing.....the music really went with the video and was really lovely.

Matt, the *Spirit of Julia* 9:30 is a live and all around you. So glad you made this video, I was wondering how you were doing without your better half, last video was tough to watch... I was amazed how well you speak Russians in all your videos with ease you learn fast, and Julia must be an excellent teacher... btw: I kept waiting for Juila to pop her head above your shoulder for a quick comment like she normally does. Not seeing you two together is like *Salt without Pepper, Burger without Fries, Batman without Robin* I think you get my point. You two make a great *Team* ... LM

Got recommeded your channel by KZfaq and i like it. I'm a Russian speaker. I left Russia 30 years ago. You are very friendly and positive and people around you feel it.

I'm so glad all went well. I know you feel like part of you is missing and its your sweet Julia. Maybe it won't be too lonely before you are reunited.

Glad you made in time Matt! Nice train and Nina is such a friendly Babushka. My mouth was already drooling when she mentioned Plov; then you had to go ahead and order plov with close-up shots too... 🥲😁Must have been somewhat lonely without your Julia, but excellent video, thanks! ♥️

You made a very nice and interesting video. Thank you for uploading.

Wow what an absolutely beautiful looking city, seems really peaceful & easy flowing 🤠👍

Love your work and cinematography.

Love the laid back style. Spent a week in Tashkent by myself ahead of a Silk Road tour in 2019. Everything you say is good and more.... there was only a fleeting glimpse of the metro but would you consider a video walkabout on the tashkent metro looking at it architecture in the future?

Am sure it's a funny feeling to be doing this on your own when before this Julia has always been there... Your expression on food was just the same as Julia ,hehe . Sometimes we dont realise that after being together for so long, things we do or say sometimes it mirrors our partner . And love how hospitable people could be anywhere around the world.

Tashkent looks interesting, so well manicured and spread out. Unusual for a capital city, but I guess that is down to the earthquake. I saw Konstantin walking around night after night earlier In the year, so nice to see it in daylight!

I was in Uzbekistan 40 years ago, Planning a trip again this year. In particular want to go back to Samarkand and Bukhara. Tashkent looks good!

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR PASSPORT IN/OUT DATES! What I always do is, since I stay in a country up to 180 days max, is have a space in my spreadsheet where I list each month down, and in the next column over, I put down how many days there are in that month MINUS the days BEFORE I arrived, then full number of days for the subsequent months, and then sum these numbers. I always cut it to 175 days so that I leave with plenty of time before I am SUPPOSED to exit out, spend a week or two in another country, and if I want to come back, I can do so. I've been out of America for over 4 years now.

Thanks for the great video! 👍👍👍

Your video just appeared on YT watching for the first time, i thoght something happened so decided to watch . Was actually surprised by your Russian, and the fact that u went here, in Tashkent because im from here myself love to see it . Hope u having a good time here! ♥️

Hi Matt 👋 Nice to see you again! I am live in LA ,USA. Born originally at Tashkent. During the Soviet time, 1980 we immigrated to Israel, Ibwas 11 years old. At the year 2000 with my family we immigrated to USA. Haven't been there since. I actually planned recently to go visit Tashkent but unfortunately because currently situation...it will take us over 20 hours to fly with lay over in a few countries ...not even talking about the sky prices...😏. Hopefully next year we can visit there and can't wait to eat the Plov again 😋. Have a safe back journey!!!🙏🙏🙏

Love the scenery and the people being people.

You're amazing! I don't know how you can remain so calm and collected in just turning up somewhere with the intention of catching a train or arriving in a city without knowing where you're going to stay. I was a little surprised at the sleeping arrangements on the train. Rather close quarters for strangers of different gender.

I would really love to visit Kazakhstan. I can see the people are friendly and hospitable

First of your videos I've seen...You're very good at telling a video story...subscribed...thanks for the video

Excellent presentation. Thank you.

Hope you guys are well, another great video

Never found why you had to leave. Got bored skipping through all the endless shots of the trip, so I guess I missed the few seconds you said why.

We are praying for you all, may God be with you all and protect you all.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I WAS IN KAZAKHSTAN!!!!!!! Sorry, I just love the fact that I was there, and I enjoy watching people with the "KZfaq it" skill who travel to the places I've been to like that because I feel it. I'm American, NOT from a big city (or even a small one), and I studied Russian at University and two of my best friends in the world are from Kazakhstan. One of them is living in Russia now, but I was in her hometown of Aktau and it really meant a lot. And I love the fact that your Russian is due to your Russian wife. A lot of the travel videos are sometimes about "slavic women", but as a bit of a conservative who just loves the language and my friends, I enjoy what and how you share your travels. Anyway, really cool! You've got a new subscriber

May you always be protected 💐💐Oh dear thought you were there for a while...🤔Opps now I know why...its so heartwarming how friendly people are in different regions...but Matt you come over so friendly too...both of you💐Always fancied to go to Tashkent but nice Hostel 😊My sort of food.

Matt you are so nice. I love how kind you were to Nina.

Love your editing style. Subscribed.

The train is the same as the one I was on 15 years ago. It was diesel, as I recall. One car has a hot water samovar for tea and soup flakes. There's a tea glass holder in the cupboard. The blankets are paper thin. The temperature is cold at night in early April. I got a charley-horse, and couldn't find enough jackets and bags to cover them to warm up. The toilet paper in the washroom is as rough as cornhusks. But, it gets you there. If not a scary and intimidating experience. Soldiers pacing the platforms at every stop.

Sorry to see you two separated! Here’s a little extra (beyond my monthly Patreon contribution) to help soften the blow of you being apart. Hang in there, both of you. XO

Wow, you completely ran! Good on you mate!

I used to listen to _Radio Tashkent English Service_ on Shortwave radio 📻 up to the 1990's and collected QSL Cards from the staff there. It was a kind of romantic mental journey to other lands, far away from isolated Perth, Western Australia 🇦🇺

The music in this video is awesome man!

Great production quality, top notch!

What an absolutely beautiful place Tashkent is.

I love your work!

So in my country Plov is called Pilav. It's interesting to find out that we have same traditional dishes thousands of kilometers away. Greetings from Serbia.

thanks for showing us around Uzbekistan

Feel so bad that you and Julia had to go separate ways for a while. Hope you've reunited by now and doing fun things together. Tashkent is beautiful Enjoyed the video. What would have happened if your visitor visa had expired while you were in Kazakhstan? Also, does this mean you've lost your chance to bump in to Dimash? hehehe

Well done tour of a place I'll never get to. Thank you.

Great editing and filming!

6:31 Next to the timetable the panel on the right is something to think about if you plan stealing pillows or other things from the train. The left side is in Kazakh, the right is in Russian. Essentially it is an admonition to respect the property of the railway company and warns that everything has a RFID chip hidden somewhere. Don't steal.

Thanks for sharing your journey, I'll subscribe and keep following❤

Lived in Tashkent for a year during 2021. Loved it. You have managed to provide a pretty good sense of the place. And , yes, plov is bloody amazing.

Hey Matt. Great video mate 👍. My wife is from Kazakhstan and she is also Russian Kazakh. I have never been to Uzbekistan but I would love to visit and we hopefully will next year. We spent time in Almatty in August and we loved the city. Thanks for posting your trip. I really enjoyed it

Great video, such a beautiful city 👍