A lot of people asked if we became sick while traveling, so while it wasn't horrible, we both did have our share of a few ailments but I like to think our stomachs are pretty good to adjusting, having grown up overseas and used to eating street food.
Bali, Indonesia: Sabeen and I decided to rent a moped to explore the island and the plan was to just get one and share like the locals...actually the locals manage to get 5 or so people on one but we decided what the heck and the price was good. The moped looked solid and it was automatic, so wouldn't have to mess with gears. I hopped on it, seemed comfortable. Here was my mistake, I should have test ridden it, especially with the two of us on it. Instead, I paid the guy, Sabeen got on the back and we were off, almost anyway. I didn't start off so well, the traffic was bad, so weaving in and out was impossible. I somehow managed to get to the end of the road and stopped at a red light. I was nervous, so as the light turned green, I gave it gas, maybe a little to much, and the bike went with Sabeen barely holding on and me trying to stop it. Luckily, we ran into a curb, where a concerned policeman came running over and shut off the engine. Embarrassingly, I walked the moped back to the shop owner, who refused to refund me the money as my 10 minutes of riding had apparently equated to the entire day's rental money.
Bardia National Park, Nepal: Sabeen drank a whole glass of really suspicious water that was partially brown and tasted of dirt. We had just arrived after a hellish 19 hour journey on Nepali buses and were tired and hungry. Normally, the water that has been served to us is fine but this one looked strange. Sabeen asked the kid serving us if it was OK and he gave the approving nod, so down it went. After an hour or so, Sabeen started feeling nauseous and having stomach cramps. Shortly, she started throwing up, which continued throughout the night. After two days, finally went to the only clinic in town run by USAID. There was no electricity but the man acting as the pharmacist did have a flashlight. He suggested taking the pill before giving a shot, which we prayed wouldn't be necessary given the conditions. The pill worked and happily the shop owner making fresh nan (bread) next door invited us all to dinner. (Afterthought)....Incredibly, I drank two glasses of this same water and was fine.
Karakol, Kyrgyzstan: Both of us had gone to the hot springs in the mountains and so on the way down, no one was able to take us down, as there were only 3 of us at the lone mountain lodge. So, Sabeen and I hiked the 14 kms back down in snow/ice to town in the only cold weather gear we had, which was a pair of sneakers, a wind breaker, two shirts underneath, and a wool hat. My feet were completely frozen, especially the left one and my shoes had shrunk as the previous night I had put them too close to the wood stove and the front had sorted melted. The combination of the frozen foot and the half melted shoe, resulted in me eventually losing my left toenail. It bothered me until Israel, as I didn't have the pain threshold to pull it out, where it eventually fell out on its own in Egypt.
Turkey: Since, I've been wearing a lot of my sandals, my heels have been taking a beating from being constantly exposed to the elements. I developed deep cracks in both of them, which would start bleeding and hurt like hell. I applied skin moisturizers but wasn't able to keep a regular regimen, so the problem would resurface. I resorted to wearing my sneakers but that would get annoying from having to wash socks all the time and the fact that they were slightly misshapen. This problem (meaning my heels) plagued me the most during our travels.
Singapore: Ironically, one of the cleanest countries, where we had the worst case of bed bugs at a dorm near Little India. I developed a rash on my hand, which spread to my legs and back. It turned out to be some kind of Eczema, which I might have developed from using cheap soaps purchased throughout.
All in all, not too bad. We had travel insurance but thankfully really didn't need it.
Showing posts with label Kyrgyzstan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyrgyzstan. Show all posts
Tajikistan Highlights and Lowlights
The country of Tajikistan is a haven for natural beauty with towering mountains of the Pamirs and Hindu Kush. The country's neighbors include Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. Most of Tajikistan's population belongs to the Persian-speaking Tajik ethnic group, who share language, culture and history with Afghanistan and Iran.
Highlights:
Highlights:
- Sleeping at homestays instead of hotels and spending time with the locals
- Witnessing the beauty of the Pamir Mountains
- Successfully communicating with our hands due to the language divide
- Seeing ruins and forts from by gone years
- Nan, Sharchai, homemade (butter, yogurt, milk, jam)
- The Badakshan hospitality
- Tajik music
- Caveman paintings and the isolated but magnificent surroundings
- Drive from Khorog to Dushanbe
- Almost losing our life on the Pamir Highway
- Getting stuck on no-man's land for 5 days
- Almost getting thrown out of a car at the Tajik/Kyrgyz border over a money dispute
- Leaving Kyrgyzstan and then having to turn back around due to the condition of the car and icy roads
- Dushanbe (capital city)
- Soviet style hotels
Kyrgyzstan Highlights and Lowlights
Kyrgyzstan is all about natural scenery and the interaction and stories we have are too many for this blog, so here are the highlights instead for brevity:
Highlights:
Highlights:
- 14 KM hike back from Altyn Arashan through knee deep snow with possibly a chance to see a bear or wolf
- Million year old petroglyph boulder field of archers, animal hunts, and human figures all to ourselves
- Endless rounds of green tea
- No tourists
- Lake Issakol
- Burana Tower
- Hospitality of Osh
- Receiving a Kalpak as a welcome gesture
- Eating Lagman
- Being forced to drink vodka in a car packed full of strangers
- Getting kicked out of a Kyrgyz hotel after agreeing to the price and conditions
- Constantly being hassled to show our passports
- Soviet style hotels
Mountain Springs
Getting around Central Asia isn't very easy since public buses don't exist and the only way to snag rides are via private taxis. Such was the case coming into Karakol, a mountain town with a few churches and a small hotel that looked haunted from the inside and out. The hotel was manned by an elderly gentleman who showed us to a large but spooky interior with old Victorian furniture, creaky stairs, and doors that would lead to different parts of the house. The place was a maze and we were the only ones here.
We slept well in the old house with the sound of the wind, melting icicles hitting the ground, and a few barking dogs.
In the morning an ancient Russian truck picked us up to go to Altyn Arashan, a set of hot springs deep in the mountains. The driver didn't look like he was all there. He looked like he had been working on a farm and might have had manure stains on his overalls. He was completely disheveled, looked hungover but had a smile and cracked jokes in Russian. The scenery along the river was either jagged snow covered peaks or deep dizzying valleys.
The jeep only got so far before we had to foot it to the hotel near the springs to meet Valentin. There were just a few of us at the hotel, two guys from Poland who had come to snowboard the backcountry, a couple from Holland, a quiet bearded hotel helper, and us. The little lodge provided simple meals around a woodstove. During the day, we would soak in the amazingly hot springs and then go for hikes around the valley with massive 10,000 feet and above peaks all around.
We slept well in the old house with the sound of the wind, melting icicles hitting the ground, and a few barking dogs.
In the morning an ancient Russian truck picked us up to go to Altyn Arashan, a set of hot springs deep in the mountains. The driver didn't look like he was all there. He looked like he had been working on a farm and might have had manure stains on his overalls. He was completely disheveled, looked hungover but had a smile and cracked jokes in Russian. The scenery along the river was either jagged snow covered peaks or deep dizzying valleys.
The jeep only got so far before we had to foot it to the hotel near the springs to meet Valentin. There were just a few of us at the hotel, two guys from Poland who had come to snowboard the backcountry, a couple from Holland, a quiet bearded hotel helper, and us. The little lodge provided simple meals around a woodstove. During the day, we would soak in the amazingly hot springs and then go for hikes around the valley with massive 10,000 feet and above peaks all around.
Capital of Kyrgyzstan
The capitals of countries we find are usually boring. Too bureaucratic, lots of monuments, and not to mention expensive. The capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek is nothing extraordinary either, except for the looming Tian Shan Mountains, which dominate the horizon on clear days. We came here from Osh to get our visa for Tajikistan and the drive up was amazing, passing snow capped peaks, open grasslands, and alpine lakes.
At a few high mountain passes, the snow had barely melted from the road and we feared if our car, which wasn't equipped for the conditions would pull through. On top of that, our young driver drove way too fast and must have burned through all of his profits from being pulled over by the vigilant cops at least 5 times.
Our driver was nice enough to drop us off near at the hotel and even waited for us while the owner came to retrieve us as we couldn't find the location.
Getting our Tajik visa was easy enough, the embassy was easy to find, didn't need an LOI and got our GBAO to visit the Badakshan all in a day.
Woke up the next day to celebrate Sabeen's birthday and found it snowing hard, so got some sweets to celebrate the day at the local bakery.
At a few high mountain passes, the snow had barely melted from the road and we feared if our car, which wasn't equipped for the conditions would pull through. On top of that, our young driver drove way too fast and must have burned through all of his profits from being pulled over by the vigilant cops at least 5 times.
Our driver was nice enough to drop us off near at the hotel and even waited for us while the owner came to retrieve us as we couldn't find the location.
Getting our Tajik visa was easy enough, the embassy was easy to find, didn't need an LOI and got our GBAO to visit the Badakshan all in a day.
Woke up the next day to celebrate Sabeen's birthday and found it snowing hard, so got some sweets to celebrate the day at the local bakery.
Troubled but Hospitable Osh
The first stop after leaving China was the Kyrgyz city of Osh, situated in the south of the country, close to the border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Arriving here after an obseleny long journey in the morning, we grabbed our bags and went in search for lodging. Traveling is amazing and right away the contrasts between the two countries couldn't be any more different. Osh felt a little bit like Europe with cafes along the sidewalk, few Mercedes, and a lot of old Soviet cars. Of course the people looked different too with Caucasian and Asian features mixed in.
We went in search for lodging based on a tip but finding proved to be a challenge with a lot of non-descript Soviet style apartment buildings with hardly a number or a street sign for guidance. Luckily, in our confused and frustrated moment, we ran into a student, who spoke English and guided us to the location, only to be met with just a sign but no one answering the door. Knocking on a neighbors door, a Russian woman kindly used her phone to call the hotel but since there was no answer, explained to us to wait for the owner to return.
Throughout our travels, we have met some amazingly gracious and kind people and Osh would prove to be no different. We were tired and hungry, so instead of waiting, went in search for another hotel and luckily landed on the steps of the Taj Mahal. Being on a budget, all of the nice hotels, are out of our category, so at first looking at the Taj, weren't sure if it would meet our needs but went in anyway.
We inquired and luckily they had dorms and so checked in, which would have suited us just fine had we not met Onoor, the hotel owner. She asked the typical questions of where we had come from, names, etc but like other countries, many are interested in our faith and upon learning that we are Muslim and on top live in America, she broke out in a huge smile and commanded us in Russian that we leave the dorm and check into a private room so that we could have the privacy to pray. We protested because first, we didn't want to pay more for a private room and second did not want to take advantage of her hospitality. She wouldn't have it, so we grabbed our bags and went into our own big room with our own bathroom offered at the same price as the dorm.
Osh has a lot of burned out buildings due to its recent violent past, where the Uzbeks and the Krygyz had a massive religious riot in 2009 and a few hundred people were killed overnight in the ensuing swift movement. Talking to the people, many are optimistic that things are better now and will continue to be but there are still tensions between the two groups and because of this fear many tourists are avoiding the area. We, however, found the people to be extremely hospitable and full of smiles.
Arriving here after an obseleny long journey in the morning, we grabbed our bags and went in search for lodging. Traveling is amazing and right away the contrasts between the two countries couldn't be any more different. Osh felt a little bit like Europe with cafes along the sidewalk, few Mercedes, and a lot of old Soviet cars. Of course the people looked different too with Caucasian and Asian features mixed in.
We went in search for lodging based on a tip but finding proved to be a challenge with a lot of non-descript Soviet style apartment buildings with hardly a number or a street sign for guidance. Luckily, in our confused and frustrated moment, we ran into a student, who spoke English and guided us to the location, only to be met with just a sign but no one answering the door. Knocking on a neighbors door, a Russian woman kindly used her phone to call the hotel but since there was no answer, explained to us to wait for the owner to return.
Throughout our travels, we have met some amazingly gracious and kind people and Osh would prove to be no different. We were tired and hungry, so instead of waiting, went in search for another hotel and luckily landed on the steps of the Taj Mahal. Being on a budget, all of the nice hotels, are out of our category, so at first looking at the Taj, weren't sure if it would meet our needs but went in anyway.
We inquired and luckily they had dorms and so checked in, which would have suited us just fine had we not met Onoor, the hotel owner. She asked the typical questions of where we had come from, names, etc but like other countries, many are interested in our faith and upon learning that we are Muslim and on top live in America, she broke out in a huge smile and commanded us in Russian that we leave the dorm and check into a private room so that we could have the privacy to pray. We protested because first, we didn't want to pay more for a private room and second did not want to take advantage of her hospitality. She wouldn't have it, so we grabbed our bags and went into our own big room with our own bathroom offered at the same price as the dorm.
Osh has a lot of burned out buildings due to its recent violent past, where the Uzbeks and the Krygyz had a massive religious riot in 2009 and a few hundred people were killed overnight in the ensuing swift movement. Talking to the people, many are optimistic that things are better now and will continue to be but there are still tensions between the two groups and because of this fear many tourists are avoiding the area. We, however, found the people to be extremely hospitable and full of smiles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)