關於 silk road countries ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

Chinese President Xi Jinping told a meeting of leaders from Southeast Asian neighbors that Beijing will give financial backing to the region's COVID-19 response and will build a "digital Silk Road" to deepen ties with countries that China views as key allies.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3q5EHhE

習近平指，會為東盟抗疫基金提供資金，又會建設「數碼絲綢之路」。
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好幾天沒更新了，轉眼間已經走完這趟旅行的前1/3了，也已經跑完烏茲別克和吉爾吉斯準備要入境中國了，但動態更新竟然還停在第四天。為了避免因趕文章進度而一直活在過去，這裡簡單總結一下前幾天的行程。

It's been a while since my last update. I have finished the first 1/3 of the trip, visited Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and am going to enter China tomorrow. Here I'd like to quickly summarize what I did in the past few days, as I don't have time to make up in details.

拜訪絲路古城希瓦（Khiva）、布哈拉（Bukhara）
Visited Silk Road ancient cities Khiva and Bukhara

這兩個城市過去都是汗國的都城，因此保留了許多中亞與伊斯蘭風格的建築。「汗國」這名詞聽起來可能很遙遠（成吉思汗時代的產物），其實不然，中亞的汗國政體一直存在到1920年代被蘇共廢除為止，距今還不到一百年，這也是為什麼這些已經存在幾世紀的建築能被完好保存至今。

Khiva and Bukhara were both capitals of khanates until 1920, when Soviet Communist Party abolished them. The age of khans is actually not that far from us. Consequently, many Turkic and Islamic architectures are well preserved in these cities until now.

用三天時間品味鐵木兒帝國首都撒馬爾罕的輝煌
Enjoying Timur empire capital Samarkand for 3 days

我對中亞的第一印象應該是國中時在國家地理雜誌上看到的照片，一座方正的廣場上，三幢華麗的經院建築面向廣場中間三面並立，繁複的拼貼磁磚與渾圓的尖頂是我未曾見過的，中亞的伊斯蘭風味從那時起就吸引了我，這趟總算可以見到本尊。稱撒馬爾罕為15世紀的巴黎一點都不為過，中亞規模最大的伊斯蘭建築都聚集在這個城市；這裡到今天仍然朝氣蓬勃，即使待了三天也不覺無聊。

My first impression of Central Asia was from Samarkand, where around a square stand three madrassases with delicate tiles and rounded domes. Since then, Central Asia has been attractive to me. In 15th century, this city was as important as Paris, and today this is the place to find the biggest and most splendid Islamic architectures in Central Asia. Today it's still a vibrant city, and I didn't feel bored after spending 3 days there.

進入吉爾吉斯，在比什凱克（Bishkek）遇見台北
Entering Kyrgyzstan, and encountering Taipei in Bishkek

塔什干到比什凱克是行程中除往返外的唯一一趟飛行，之所以不走陸路是為了要以電子簽證入境，但電子簽證目前只開放機場入境。這趟飛完，下次再踏上飛機就是在芬蘭赫爾辛基了。

吉爾吉斯在中亞五國裡面經濟算後段班，但首都仍然是個活力十足的地方，隨處可見的行道樹與綠廊是它與眾不同之處。有趣的是這裡高層公寓與傳統矮房並立，而且居民似乎相當熱衷於裝鐵窗和外掛冷氣，乍看之下還以為回到了台北。

The flight from Tashkent to Bishkek is the only non-over-land segment on my trip, and I did so in order to obtain Kyrgyzstan's e-visa, which now only opens to air passengers. After this flight, the next one would be one month later from Helsinki, Finland.

Kyrgyzstan's economy is not great compared to other Central Asian countries, but its capital still flourishes and looks appealing. Greenways and street plants make its appearance especially unique. New high-rise apartments and old low houses both exist here, and interestingly, just like my hometown Taipei, they also like to protect windows with rails and have ACs hung outside buildings. While seeing this scene, sometimes I thought I was back in Taipei.

在頌湖（Son Kul）體驗遊牧民族生活
Nomadic life at Son Kul

頌湖是吉爾吉斯第二大湖，雖然規模遠遠不及第一大湖，3000多公尺高海拔的純淨藍天配上周遭保存至今的游牧傳統讓我將它列為必遊之地。前往此湖的熱門方式是向旅行社買套裝行程，由當地牧人當嚮導用兩天時間騎馬翻山來到湖邊，然後居住在居民的蒙古包裡體驗他們的生活和飲食。五月中旬來此還沒什麼遊客，當天參團的也只有我一個人，以費用來說是貴了點，但當我來到湖邊，一個人奢侈的享受整個湖的時候，我覺得非常值得。

Son Kul is the second largest lake in Kyrgyzstan. While being outsized by the first, its pure sky at high altitude and nomadic lifestyle made me decide to put it on my "must-go" list. People usually go on tours arranged by agents, where a local guide leads you to ride horses for two days and cross over mountains, and then after arriving at the Lake, you can stay in yurts and experience the life and cuisine of the locals. As it was fairly early in season, I was the only tours that day, which means I had to pay a bit more. However, as soon as I got to the lake and felt the solitude, I thought it was totally worth the price.

下一站
Next stop

離開頌湖之後我一直在搭車——先是2小時下山、3小時回到首都，接著馬上是15小時的夜車從北跨到南部大城奧什（Osh），然後再3.5小時到達今晚過夜的Sary-Tash，一個位在帕米爾高原上海拔3170公尺的小鎮，準備明天一早翻過山進入新疆喀什。從山上下來又搭夜車，已經連續四個晚上沒洗澡了，期待明天到達喀什可以好好給他洗洗睡 :)

明天就要進入五聲音階（CDE_GA_）的國度了，祝我的VPN運作順暢。

Since leaving Son Kul, I've been riding vehicles: 2 hours to get out from the lake, 3 hours to go back to Bishkek, which was followed by a 15-hour night ride from Bishkek to Osh, and then a 3.5-hour ride to Sary-Tash, where I will spend my night at. Tomorrow I'll leave in early morning to enter China via Pamir Highway. My destination is Kashgar. It's been 4 days since the last time I got a shower. Looking forward to doing that in Kashgar tomorrow :)

開往西方的列車 Train to the west

入境烏茲別克的第一晚並沒有在青年旅館住宿，而是直接搭上了一路向西的臥鋪夜車，直奔遠在烏國西部的絲路古鎮希瓦（Khiva）。烏茲別克在地圖上看起來不大，搭個火車從東到西卻也要15小時的車程，如此長距離的移動選擇臥鋪夜車再適合不過——既不浪費白天時間又省下一夜的住宿費。

一上車，時光彷彿倒回了50年，車內的木質裝潢已經顯得相當有年紀，油漆表面也已經有些斑駁，更神奇的是走道旁邊竟然還有著燒煤的熱水爐。三等車廂稍微有些擁擠，裡面的乘客多是老人和小孩，在沒有空調的悶熱空間裡等著火車開動送來涼風。我睡在下鋪，而上舖睡的正好是兩個年紀相仿的烏茲別克青年，其中一人英文還算流利，長輩緣也莫名的好，在他的幫助下我很快就和身邊的老人家們有了互動。

Instead of staying at a hostel, I slept on an overnight train on my first night in Uzbekistan. This country doesn't look big on the map, but a train ride from Tashkent to the ancient Silk Road city Khiva still takes 15 hours, and overnight train is the best option to save daytime and hotel expenses.

The train itself is like a world from 50 years ago. The wooden and painted interior look aged. More surprisingly, the hot water barrel in the car was fueled by coal! Most passengers were seniors or children, waiting in the hot and stuffy car for the train to move and bring in breezes. My up-berth neighbor happened to be two Uzbek young men, and one of them spoke decent English. With his help I was able to interact with other people on the train.

原本以為火車開動之後，大家會早早鋪好床然後馬上就寢，沒想到真正的「夜生活」才剛要開始。首先是對面的老奶奶，開始從身上的大包小包裡拿出了囊餅、水煮蛋、小黃瓜與番茄，接著上舖的年輕人隨即掏出了兩大盒烤牛肉，並且從那個燒煤的熱水爐那邊拿來了熱水泡茶，我也拿出了上車前在超市買的麵包。這些食物擺滿了整個桌子，臥鋪瞬間變成了一場筵席。

車裡的對話當然都是烏茲別克語，我大部分時間也就是和大家分享著食物，努力從這個第一次接觸的語言裡抓出一些規則或韻律，偶爾通過懂英文的年輕人和其他老人有點互動。他們問我，你一個人旅行嗎？我說是的；接著他們又問，沒有人幫你翻譯？我說沒有，他們露出欽佩的眼神。

接著他們又開始說要來交換護照（烏茲別克似乎有規定即使本國人使搭國內火車也要帶著護照）。他們看著我護照上蓋著世界各國的入境章覺得新奇，我則看著對面老奶奶的烏茲別克護照，想像當年她的護照從蘇聯被換成烏茲別克時的光景。

What happened afterward was totally unexpected - instead of quickly falling asleep, people started taking food out and share with others. The old lady in the opposite berth took out bread, eggs, cucumbers and tomatoes, and the young men up-berth brought out two boxes full of grilled steak. They also brought hot water from the coal-fueled barrel mentioned earlier to make tea. I shared the bread I bought before broading as well. Suddenly the sleeper car was returned into a feast!

All the conversation was in Uzbek, which I didn't understand, but I tried to listen carefully and see if I can catch some patterns from this unfamiliar language. They occasionally brought me into the conversation with the help of the English speaking young man. They asked me, are you traveling alone? I said yes, and they followed, no translator with you? I answered no. They were amazed.

Afterward they exchanged their passport with me. (It seems like even Uzbek citizens have to travel with their passport in hand.) They were fascinated by the number of countries I've been to, and I stared at an old lady's Uzbek passport, imaging the day when it replaced her Soviet Union passport.

素未謀面的幾個人，在火車上透過食物很快就打成一片，兩位年輕人還拿出了事先早就準備好了的伏特加，似乎一直在等待氣氛對的時候拿出來。他們用力的向我推銷，我自知酒量不好，堅持只喝一兩口，他們也很貼心的先幫我倒好了一杯可樂，讓我喝完伏特加之後解解辣。

或許是因為時差和酒精的雙重作用，還不到十點，雖然我仍在努力地從烏茲別克與的對話中尋找規律，眼皮卻幾乎已經闔上；他們大概也看出我是真的累了，很體貼的讓我先睡了。火車相當平穩，規律的搖晃彷彿像搖籃一般有助於入眠，我在烏茲別克的第一個晚上竟然就這樣睡好睡滿了八個小時。

隔天早上醒來，火車在一望無際的不毛之地繼續奔馳著；昨天一起開趴的鄰居們也一一起來，昨夜的剩菜便順理成章的成了早餐；此時的車上除了乘客，還多了來回穿梭的小販，賣的東西無奇不有，從食物、衣服、玩具到飾品無所不包。

這趟意外豐盛（無論是就食物或是人際互動而言）的火車旅程，挽回了我前一天在塔什干留下不太好的印象——原來火車可以不只是交通工具或住宿場所，還可以是和當地人交流認識的地方；我心裡也默默決定，接下來旅程中還有16個要睡火車的晚上，我一定會在上車前準備好食物，用它們還和身邊的鄰居們搏感情。

Strangers got along quickly on the train. The two young men then brought out one bottle of vodka - I guess they'd been waiting for a right timing to do that. Although not a alcohol person, I compromised and agreed to take a little. They seemed to understand that, and were kind enough to prepare a full cup of coke on the side, to let me alleviate the spiciness after taking the vodka.

While still striving to learn something from their Uzbek conversation, jet lag in combination with the alcohol made me really sleepy prior to 10pm. They understood that and let me sleep while everyone else was still having fun. The train was very smooth, and its slight movements helped my sleep. I got a wonderful 8-hour uninterrupted sleep on the train!

The feast continued next morning with the leftover from the previous night. The train was still running in an uninhabited desert. What's different during the daytime is, many vendors went back and forth between cars, selling various items from food, clothes, toys to apparels.

This train trip made my time in Uzbekistan (even before getting to any destination) - train here is more than a vehicle or a lodge. It's a good place to build friendships with locals. There are still another 16 overnight train rides on my trip, and I now know what to do: I will always get food before boarding, and make friends with the food.