Qazan

Today I decided to take my next blood test in Kazan at a private clinic before my next dental implant surgery. My family members also decided to go on this trip with me so we could visit our relatives afterward. But something went wrong. When I finished my business at the clinic, we got a message saying they had already gone from the city to their country house. So we changed our plans and drove there instead, as we had some presents for them and couldn't just cancel the visit.

Last days I started to receive messages during my mornings, and today I had another message from my dentist’s office. They texted me about an appointment time for today after lunch for a consultation about a treatment plan. So after my morning routine, I immediately packed my backpack and went to Kazan. There we discussed the prices from my previous clinic, because I was really curious why there is such a big difference in prices between the clinics.

I still haven't finished dealing with my teeth issues, so today I visited another dentist's office to get their opinion about the next four dental implants and receive a treatment plan. Naturally, everything was good. The office was clean and bright, and the staff was very kind. They explained every detail of what I needed during my visit. 

Finally, after about five months, my crowns were installed — I started this whole process back in December last year. I want to share how it feels to have artificial teeth in my jaw now. Luckily, during normal talking and speaking, I don’t feel any discomfort at all. The crowns even look like my real teeth — maybe even better (okay, that’s just a joke, but still, they really look great). However, at the same time, I do feel a bit of discomfort with the lower crowns when I eat. It feels like I can’t chew completely normally, like something is slightly in the way when I grind food. These sensations mostly appear during meals, and it’s not something terrible, just a bit unpleasant.

Yesterday I felt a bit drained and low on energy, so I decided to go to bed earlier than usual — around 11:30 PM. Even so, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. It was obviously too early to get up, so I just checked my phone for a minute and went back to sleep until 7 AM. That’s when I noticed my battery had dropped to 10%. I honestly can’t remember the last time I used my phone with such a low charge, so seeing the extreme battery saver mode for the first time was surprisingly weird. It felt really uncomfortable to use, and my Android suddenly looked completely different, which confused me a little.

I had a dentist appointment in Kazan at 5 PM, so I didn’t rush out early—I left sometime after lunch, around 3 PM. The day itself was pretty standard, nothing particularly memorable. I wrapped up a few personal tasks and spent some time watching podcasts, easing into my first weekend after the first full week at work. I didn’t plan much for Kazan either—just a quick stop at a hardware store and the visit to the dental clinic. Still, even with such a simple agenda, I didn’t make it back home until around 10, maybe even closer to 11 PM. Overall, though, the trip felt worth it. There’s something oddly satisfying about driving through streets you used to know so well—I used to be there almost every day four years ago—and that familiarity made the whole experience unexpectedly enjoyable.

Today’s trip to Kazan turned out to be one of the most stressful travel days I’ve had in a while—two flights, tight timing, and a bit too much optimism on my part. I flew from Seoul to Tashkent and then onward to Kazan with Qanat Sharq (HH822) and Uzbekistan Airways (HY649). In hindsight, not researching the airlines—especially Qanat Sharq—and giving myself only a two-hour layover in Tashkent was a mistake. I’ve taken similar risks before and gotten away with it, so I guess I trusted the pattern a bit too much. This time, though, it nearly cost me my second flight and added unnecessary stress (and expenses) along the way.

My vacation honestly couldn’t have started better. I already managed to explore the city a bit and now I’m mentally ready for my next destination—Tokyo. I’ll write about Tokyo tomorrow though. For now, I just want to capture how fascinating and surprisingly smooth today turned out. When I booked my flight, Turkish Airlines included a free Istanbul tour program, so from 4 pm until 9:30 pm I joined this really well-organized excursion—with dinner included. And not just any dinner, but proper Turkish cuisine. What made it even more interesting was the company: I ended up at a table with a family from California, so I got to hear real, natural American English in conversation.

Today, I began my day with cloudy and foggy weather. I especially noticed the fog during my trip to the tire service, as the road was covered in it and visibility was quite low. Honestly, it didn’t bother me; I arrived safely at the tire service, where the work feels familiar to my people. There, I changed my winter tires to summer ones because the weather was already warm and the roads were no longer icy. Even though there are still some patches of snow in certain places, I decided it was time. 

The process went smoothly without any issues. It took around thirty minutes, maybe even less, as three workers operated quickly and in good coordination. For the service, I paid 2000 rubles (about $24.90) for my 16-inch radial tires.

I didn’t manage to finish all my promises from yesterday’s post, but I did get all my main tasks done. I went to my bank, extended my debit cards, and got some certificates about my account. Then I visited my barber for a short haircut—it cost 700 rubles, about $9, and included a head wash. That was my main goal, and I got it done easily, no problems.

I didn’t have time to walk around or visit my favorite places. The weather wasn’t great—snow had melted, it was around 0 or maybe +1, and everything was full of puddles. So instead, I stayed warm and dry in my car while driving around.

Today I drove to Kazan for a dental check-up. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a rather unproductive trip. I spent nearly three hours on the road, while the appointment itself lasted no more than ten minutes. The dentist simply checked my implants, asked how I was feeling, and confirmed that everything was fine.

To be honest, I already knew that. I haven’t experienced any discomfort, and the surgery area has fully healed. So I couldn’t help but feel slightly confused — was it really worth spending so much time on the road for such a brief visit?

Yesterday I took a day off, and today, during my lunch, I went to Kazan. I had an appointment at a dental clinic for surgery to install dental implants. You probably remember that I previously installed Brazilian dental implants (Riellen) in my upper jaw, under teeth 24 and 25. Honestly, those teeth were covered with crowns, and their condition was not good enough. I realized this when one of the crowns fell out. After that, I had only two options: install dental implants or use dentures. I really didn’t want dentures. I’m still young, and I can’t accept using them at my age. I’m not sure how comfortable they are, but people who use them say it’s okay.

This time, I chose dental implants from South Korea (Osstem) and installed them in my lower jaw, in the places where teeth 35 and 37 used to be. Those teeth were removed back in 2020, and until today those spaces were empty. They didn’t cause me any discomfort, and they weren’t visible, so I postponed the treatment. These two implants cost $2,152.71, or 165,000 Russian rubles, including all the work.