HOMEWARD

ISTANBUL

ontheway — Sun, 4 May 2008 17:15:00 GMT

This is the final part of the journey .We planned to meet up with Caths sisters . During the last week we have been getting texts to say they cannot find accomodation ....no worries we said there is always room at the inn

Flew into the airport and wham no accomodation . so lets get the metro into town to look ,for ourselves the man points to the TV cant get the metro they are throwing tear gas in the streets of parts of the city we want to go through ....OK taxi then .....Our taxi driver must have asked at more than a dozen hotels in the old city .....no accomodation full house.

FINALLY by absolute good luck and good timing we were offerd an apartment to stay in Ideal for the 4 of us really ,so the owners of the flat moved out for a few days and we moved in ..felt a bit strange moving into a strangers house but ..

Anyway despite the crowds and the hassle I really liked Istanbul and if I got the chance I would go back to see it properly .Unfortunately 3 cruise ships and the formula 1 Grand Prix and Mya Day holiday all coincided and the place was packed but e spent many pleasant hours drinking coffee and enjoying the ambience of this great old city.

TURKMENISTAN

ontheway — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:46:00 GMT

The final of the stans for this trip .After passing through the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistatan is obvious that it is gong to be quite different from the other stans .Its getting hotter very hot and the sites we see are not the well restored mosques and minarets of Uzbekistan but empty spaces which you have to fill with a lot of imagination .

intersting facts about Turkmenistan

Capital Asgabat .this city is weird ........where are the people .The city wass rebuilt after an earthquake destroyed it in 1948 .after 1991 and independence from USSR the new president decided it was going to be a showplace ,so huge marble edifices have sprung up everywhere .Lavish buildings with fountains and surreal lighting in the evening .........but there are no people no one can afford to live there ....

this is a country where a haircut cost more than a air ticket to fly from the north to the south .[haircut was USD3]

A country where statues of the late president preside over every town and hamlet .....some gold leafed some gold painted ...THE statue at the main square in Ashgabat is particularly interesting as it it gold leafand it revolves to follow the sun each day

it has the biggest mosque in the world ........of course it is empty.

It has the largest carpet in the world

it has the most interesting sunday market I have seen on this trip [yes there we saw people]

Historically Turkmenistan is very intersting and we did spend 5 hours crossing a desert to see the ancient city of Merv one of the major old cities on the silk road .Next day we crossed back over the desert wondering why we were not taking advantage of the cheap air fares .

The whole country seems out of balance somhow and considering they are sitting on some of the largest oil reseves in the world I would say in the future watch this space on the world map something has to happen here

UZBEKISTAN

ontheway — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:28:00 GMT

Sorry folks for not writing more but internet is not that reliable and it is very slow . We are fine and just about ready to finish our time in Uzbekistan and move onto Turkemnistan tomorrow. Uzbekistan has been interesting in many ways for instance In Ferganana Valley we looked at mainly handcrafts ,ceramics and woodwork and silk culture .Tashkent very proudly showed us the “modern” side of the country including its metro which is very grand in design We had a great guide for a day in Tashkent who shared with us many stories of his life during the soviet times .How as a young man he was first motivated to learn English through the Beatles and how owning a pair of Levis [cost three months salary ] was but a dream and how as a young father the treat for the family was to go to the park for a Coca Cola………….and this wasn’t that long ago We then traveled through to Samarkhand which has had major restoration and was the seat of incredible learning when Europe was still in the dark ages …Bhukara with its thousands of shops and then through the desert to Khiva. Lots of minarets, mosques and madrssses [I think we are pretty well m and m and m out by now and have a huge number of photos of blue tiles] .We now decline going to the bazzars which are full of the same chinese goods everywhere Khiva until early 20th century was the centre of the slave trade and had particularly blood thirsty rulers there have been 48 of them , of these 1 died of natural causes 47 were helped on their way to wherever . Minarets evidently had three uses One for calling prayer ,two as lighthouses for caravans traveling through the desert and of course a third as dropping off places for “ursurpers” who were wrapped in sacks and pushed over [If they didn’t die the first time they were taken up and dropped again ] . During the trip we have a macabre interest in the number of monuments that are proudly displayed in spite of the fact that these people were dictators and mass murderers or slaughtered millions of people . The cities are sitting in a desert with not obvious resources except mud and a little water but with the help of thousands of slaves [who were executed for working too slowly] they constructed amazing cities. So we are moving from the lands of Minarets and mosques and Madrasses to the land of meglomaniacs .Will keep you in touch

BISHKEK TO UZBEKISTAN

ontheway — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:28:00 GMT

We have covered some kms over the last few days .Bishkek turned out to be a really nice city and easy to get around .Had a night out at the sweet sixties club and listened to 60,s rock and roll and blues feom Russia as well as a few that we knew ,Two days drive through Kyrgyzstan over mountains and through gorges finally brought us through to OSH , and then across the border into Uzbekistan. Luckily there is two of us one to look after the bags the other to elbow their way to the immigration desk . We met out new guide and driver on the other side and after about an hour were wondering how we could politley ditch the guide ,,,,,,we decided to persevere for a couple of days. and today were surprised when he left us ,Not sure what was going on but we hope the new guide is a bit more knowlegable and less "spivvy" Going through the Fergana Valley was really a trip to handcrafts doll making ceramics wood carving and of course silk ,Cath is much more informed on the history but it interesting making the connections One of the highlights was finding the Bravo Cafe where they served good coffee ,Had plenty of good quality vodka and Hookahs [tobacco only] on demand and again good live music in the form of a violinist with a fairly wide repotoire So tomorrow Tashkent and then a day off I will try and send photos on the day off when we have more time

KYRGYZSTAN

ontheway — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:42:00 GMT

Tourgart Pass

Left Kashgar and headed up to the Tourgart Pass through the military zone .The customs check post on the Chinese side is about 120 kms from the border we were first there but the last to get through as the immigration told us to take rest until the required permits were verified and busloads of migrant chinese workers were processed .Two hours later ……..after a lot of rest we were on our way again with the sound warning that if our visas were not on the Chinese – Kyrgyzstan border I could not come back .I had visions of spending my life in a yurt in no mans land. However on the top of the pass a lone vehicle and driver was there to pick us up to take us to the Kyrgyzstan customs and immigration. As soon as we drew near the barbed wire compound the soldier threw his gun on his shoulder and departed for lunch……….another rest. Finally got through the immigration and customs which considering there were only two of us in the place took ages …by now we were way ahead of the buses.

Kyrgyzstan .The first days drive took us over high mountain passes, through vast snowfield and along highland grasslands .Nothing in sight but sheep and horsemen ,snow and ice …It seems that every half hour the environment changes .Unfortunately the shock absorbers on our vehicle collapsed on the way up and the roads are not sealed so a dusty noisy 200 kms or so and very slow

We are now at Issyl Kul a huge mountain lake reputed to be the second largest in Asia . Staying in a soviet style hotel owned in part by the presidents son Surrounded by snowy mountains .Alpine scenery very much like Switzerland except this is Kyrgyzstan and everything has a look of being run down and in disrepair

Tomorrow we head for Bishkek

KASHGAR

ontheway — Mon, 7 Apr 2008 20:03:00 GMT

Finally got the trunks and boxes off to New Zealand .. Packed my bag and left Beijing on Friday .Said goodbye to friends and colleagues in Urumqi met up with Cath and arrived in Kashgar yesterday .Although Kashgar is 3,500 kms from Beijing there is no time difference so the sun is still shining at 9pm .Its a bit like having jet lag.Tomorrow when we cross over the Tourgat pass I guess the clocks will change by at least 3 hours .....its going to make for a long day . Looking forward to being on the road tomorrow and back in the mountains ..the highest pass tomorrow is a mere 3,800 metres.

Some of the delights of Kashgar are the dried fruit and nuts especially the apricots and almonds ..... the people who are a mixture of many races a bit of a melting pot really , the slow pace of life after Beijing ..there are still plenty of Donkeys on the road [thats going to change fast]

Next time I write I promise some pictures

Beijing

ontheway — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Finally packing up and getting ready to leave .This new journey has been a long time in the planning [this is not something I usually do when I am travelling ]and has had a few problems not least being the first part of the trip to Lhasa to say goodbye to my friends there, has had to be cancelled .Maybe on the later part of the journey I will get there. Just got the ticket to Urumqi for Friday 4th where I will meet up with Cath and fly to Kashgar ,We hope to be able to hit Kashgar during the weekend market but it really is too early in the trip to be considering buying more carpets . Will have more to add when I am actually on the way