Out n' About

Leaving Lhasa

snaps — Sat, 3 Jul 2010 19:22:00 GMT

After six years, I found it hard leaving Lhasa: closing work, packing up and saying goodbye. But the job iss done and it was time to move on. I have not lived any where for so long in my adult life! So now I am in Kathmandu for a few days pondering on quite what to do next. I have a round the world ticket and an appointment to meet Teresa in a months time. But in the meantime............

Istanbul

snaps — Sun, 4 May 2008 23:40:00 GMT

Now at the end for us, and what a great way to end! Fran and Jillian joined us in Istanbul for a few days. Unfortunately the last few days have been extraordinarily busy here - so much so that all hotel rooms were full. But with the help of a taxi driver we rented the home of a hotel receptionist and were all quite comforatble. Still the Grand bazaar was unpleasantly busy and the queue for the Basillica too long for us to be tempted to join.

I was last here in 1974 as a scruffy hitch-hiker. The Blue mosque is still the same but the area that was suited to be then is now suited to me now as we have both changed. It is now rather up market and sedate. Even the Pudding Shop, the icon of the hippy route to Goa, has been up-graded.

Turkmenistan was marginally bazare, as expected, just because of ex soviet politics. The capital is full of Italian marble buildings that reminicent of of wedding cakes, glorious looking theatres and public buildings - but all empty. Everywhere are golden statues of the great leader (and various members of his family) who died just over a year ago. One of them stands on an enormous plinthe. It is over 10m tall and rotates so is always facing the sun! As we photographed it a guy came up close to listen to our conversation - obviously KGB.

However it was interesting to us to visit the histroic sites of Urgench and Merv. These unrestored after being flattened by Ghengis; thus a comparison to the cities we had previously visited - Samakand, Bukhara and Khiva.

I did take a few snaps and will put them up on this site when I get back to Lhasa!

Khiva

snaps — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:29:00 GMT

The one thing that seems to have dominated the history or Tashkent, Samakand and Khiva is mass slaughter with hundreds of thousands being killed by Stalin, Talermane, Ghengis Khan and various lesser known historical figures. History also includes terrible suffering from medieval tortuous deaths from such things as being sewn into a sack full of wild cats (there to tear you apart) or getting tossed from the top of a minaret. Here in Khiva the minaret is short so people were tossed off several times before dying. Still it is the learning and culture that has left traces in this steppe country. Here studied the guys who invented algerbra and modern mendicine, and the one who first figured that the world is round. I do have photos of blue tiled mosques, minarets and madrassas but still have not worked out how to load them up for you to see. Tommorrow we are going over the border into Turkmenistan. I think of this part of our trip as the loony adendum as that country is reportedly very trange. However I am surprised how isolated from the stangeness of this country we are, protected by an itinary and tour guides.

Tashkent

snaps — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:27:00 GMT

So we arrived in Tashkent today! It was a long drive through mountains from Bishkek to Osh. Osh is one of those famous old cities of the Silk Road but to be honest it rained all the time we were there so I dont have a great impression of it! Some say that Alexander the Great reached the city - but others say he did not! And we crossed over the border into Uzbekestan to spend a couple of days in the Ferghana valley - famous for winged horses and carrots in ancient China but known more recently for unrest. It appers rich agriculturally and I also noted some small oil derricks so maybe rich in other ways too. We had such a bad guide that it was funny. First we laughed when he took us to a museum that was closed, then we laughed when he took us to a bank that was closed.... But we did get to see some handicraft places where traditions have been handed down through generations. Wood carving, silk weaving, knife making...Facinating to see people still working in conditioons of centuries ago. Even the mechanised weaving was on machines that Dickens would have been familiar with! I have some photos to show you but have yet to work out how to upload! I will keep trying... I'd got the impression from my reading that this country was troubled but things seem to have lightened up since the elections. On the surface that a tourist sees anyway. Changing money is a bit of an ordeal of bits of paper to sign and a degree of lethagy amongst the tellers - otherwise our brief encounters with bureaucracy is quite normal really. And we have found a couple of pleasant little cafes with live music, 'fusion' I guess you would call it. Russian, rock, blues and vodka! Now we are off for dinner! Tomorrow to explore this city.

Bishkek

snaps — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:59:00 GMT

The trip through the Tian Shan mountains was spectacular. From Kashgar into the desert and through dry canyon country and over tourgat pass into a snow field that took us hours to drive through. This side is obviously wetter - and fatter sheep. We went on to Issy Kul, a wonderous blue lake for a couple of days before coming to Bishkek yesterday. It is a rather run down town, but surprizingly pleasant. Lots of trees and soviet statues. To me the country seems rather soviet still. The hotels and our guide are orderly - and rather would like me to be too!

Kashgar

snaps — Mon, 7 Apr 2008 19:57:00 GMT

So I have a photo of Alison in front of the most westery positioned statue of Mao. Kashgar does not feel like China in that the population is largely Uiger - a moslim minority. We laughed as I left Lhasa, noting that here too is 'tense'. But many were detained so it must be safe. And indeed a local Pakistani resident assured me that it is a great place to live.

Setting out

snaps — Wed, 2 Apr 2008 00:04:00 GMT

I had been thinking that life was a tad dull so have been itching for an adventure. Like most this adventure started on a bar stool, when I persuaded Alison to join me on a trip from Lhasa to Istanbul on motorbikes. Needless to say, the trip has been modifed and more sedate. We will travel overland from Kashgar to Asgabat and then fly on to Istanbul where we will meet Fran and Jillian. Alison will then wind her way home by a long route and I will come back to work.

Funny though after the last few weeks in Lhasa, I dont really need an adventure! Still I am very much looking forward to this little jaunt.

Cath