Some final thoughts

Privet,

I heard someone has been complaining about my lack of recent updates.  Well Dr. Perry, here are some final thoughts on my trip through the Stans.

First off, it's good to be back home.

I had a lot of fun in Baku, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan... Kazakhstan not so much.  Probably not coincidentally, Kazakhstan was the only place where there weren't many backpackers or hostels. It was a struggle to keep within my budget during my time there and I even had to carry around my 10kg backpack around Almaty for an entire day.

My favorite place was Uzbekistan, specifically Samarkand and Bukhara, and the Gas Crater in Turkmenistan.  Uzbekistan is, without a doubt, the most tourist friendly (lodging and sights) of any of the Stans. One word to describe Turkmenistan is weird.

People have been asking me if I met any interesting people.  I met a bunch and I think the reason is because it's probably a certain kind of person (recognizes the uniqueness or has a special interest in the region) that decides to backpack through the relatively unknown countries of Central Asia.  I met a couple from Israel that had been backpacking for 4 1/2 years!  They had even stopped for a year in Shanghai and took on jobs in order to earn enough to continue traveling.  I also travelled with a New Yorker in the middle of a year long trip around the world.  He had quit his job as a corporate lawyer and decided to travel for a year before deciding what to do with the rest of his life.  He carried around a hookah (shisha) that he bought in Iran and set it up every night.  It was a huge hit with all the truckers at the truckstop in the middle of the Karokam Desert.  For all the NYCers out there, he throws a huge Halloween party every year.  If you want an invite let me know.

Some tips on traveling in Central Asia in no particular order other than how they came to me...

1. Spend very little time in Kazakhstan - there's not a lot to do outside of mountain trekking, which can be done in Kyrgyzstan for less money
2. Try to have visas arranged before going to Central Asia.  I'd recommend a company called StanTours based in Almaty if you want honest and knowledgeable visa support.
3. In Turkmenistan focus on the Gas Crater and Ashgabat.
4. In Uzbekistan stay at the B&Bs - even the cheapest ones are very clean and comfortable and they are a great place to meet other travelers.
5. Learn Russian or travel with someone that knows Russian.  You can get around with just a phrase book, but it's tough. 
6. Be prepared to spend at least $30 per day if you are not couch surfing (couch surfing is illegal in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan).
7. Crossing borders overland sucks.  It takes a lot of time and sometimes money, but the worst part is the way these officials act like they are the most important people in the world and the security of their nation rests on their shoulders.  The whole border thing can be extremely frustrating, but it can make for some great stories afterwards.
8. Most important - Don't plan too much! Nothing ever worked out the way I had planned. You've got to play it by ear.
9. Vodka should be taken after meals to kill the bacteria from the food that can make you sick. It worked for me. 

I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my trip through the Stans as much as I enjoyed actually being there.  The trip was a great experience and outside of the time in Kazakhstan I had a lot of fun.  Take care and I'll see you guys later.

Spasibo,

Vinod

Back to Almaty, Kazakhstan before heading back to the States

I'm back in Almaty where I'll catch a flight back to JFK on the morning of the 10th. When I get back home I'll make a few more posts summing up my thoughts on Central Asia and my backpacking trip. Special thanks to Pudge for making the last part of the trip bearable.

Turkmenistan

I'll just stick to the highlights (there are only a few) in my post about Turkmenistan. I crossed the border on the morning of July 2. It took 3 hours total - 15 minutes on the Uzbek side and 2 hours and 45 minutes in Turkmenistan.

I spent 3 days total in the capital city of Ashgabat, a brand new city of white marble, that is supposed to display the greatness of Turkmenbashi (father of Turkmen, founder of Turkmenistan, first president of Turkmenistan, Saparmyat Niyazov) and the golden age of Turkmenistan. There are huge white marble palaces and buildings everywhere almost all built within the last ten years, but there was something missing, the people! You just didn't see people around unless they were watering a garden, cleaning a fountain or sweeping the street. The best monument in Ashgabat was the Arch of Neutrality. It was erected to honor the unanimous decision by all citizens of Turkmenistan to adopt a position of neutrality in matters of foreign affairs. Its topped by a 12m tall gold statue of Turkmenbashi that follows the sun throughout the day.

I thought the personality cult of Turkmenbashi was a little overhyped. There are definitely a bunch of statues of him and buildings and streets bearing his name, but I was expecting it to be over the top with daily parades celebrating his life. However, I did like the amusement park he had built, Turkmenbashi's Land of Fairytales. The new president Gurbanguly Berkimesomething (rumored to be Turkmenbashi's illegitimate son) definitely is following his predescessor's lead. There are pictures of the guy everywhere, but he has yet to put up any statues or anything.

The Gas Crater in the middle of the Karakom Desert is by far the highlight of traveling through Turkmenistan. It's a huge crater in the middle of nowhere that is on fire. The story is that the Soviets were drilling for gas when all of a sudden the earth gave out from under them and this huge crater formed then caught on fire and it still burns today. Only in Turkmenistan is it even fathomable that there is a crater full of fire in the middle of the desert 100 km away from the nearest sign of civilization. That night we went to a truckstop for some food (the worst I've had on this trip) then slept in a yurt in the Karakom Desert. The pictures below do not do the Gas Crater justice.

While I enjoyed my week in Turkmenistan, in my opinion, the only reason to travel through the country is to see the Gas Crater, experience the weirdness of the cult of Turkmenbashi and the city of Ashgabat and just to say you've been to Turkmenistan (which I can).

Turkmenistan views my blog (and the internet) as a threat

The reason for the lack of posting on the blog is because Turkmenistan is a police state. The government decided it was in their best interest to block any access to my blog. In all Turkmenistan there is only one public computer with internet access and its dial up and costs $7 an hour to use. I was asking around if there was an internet cafe in Ashgabat (the capital city) and people didn't even recognize the word internet.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Bukhara was one of the holiest cities in all of Central Asia and how could it not have been so since it has an old medrassa, mausoleum, mosque or minaret on every street corner. Those are all great, but the reason I was interested in Bukhara was the Ark and its place in the Great Game.














The Ark is the royal fortress where the Emir of Bukhara, Nasrullah Khan, and one of the most evil characters in the entire Great Game reigned and where he had British spies Connolly and Stewart imprisoned in the "bug pit" (which is actually in the jailhouse behind the Ark) and eventually executed. Seeing the actual bug pit has been one of the highlights of the trip.






















The hotel we (I've been traveling with two Germans and an English woman) are staying at is an old caravanserai near the heart of old Bukhara called Amulet. I'd recommend it since it's cheap with private bathrooms (best showers I've encountered on the trip) and delicious breakfasts.

Last night, a couple of us went to dinner at the best restaurant in Bukhara with a local music shop owner/taxi driver/security guard. The food was horrible (I think I had boiled lamb), but his stories of working on then getting fired from a US army base and shacking up with a 40 year old Russian and her young son and how he badly wanted to marry her were hilarious. The scary thing, however, was the pride with which he spoke about his ability to drive drunk (most men in Central Asia have this skill) and avoid the Uzbek police.

Tommorow morning, I've got another land border crossing into Turkmenistan and I'm hoping this one goes much smoother than the last. Turkmenbashi (not even death can kill him) here I come!

Samarkand, Uzbekistan and SHOTS!

I've been in Samarkand (the commercial capital of Central Asia during the heyday of the Silk Road and also the homeland of Amir Timur) for a couple of days now and seen all the main spots. The Registan, the center of Samarkand at its height, is amazing. This is when I'd love to be able to upload photos. There also a bunch of mosques and mausoleums around all dating from 13-15th centuries. This is really nice, laidback town. Any trip to this part of the world must include a few days in Samarkand and its B&Bs.














Last night, another American and I went to the most popular chaikhana (simple restaurant serving street food) in Samarkand across from the Registan for dinner and a few beers. When we were leaving the owner asked us to sit down and chat for a few minutes. The other American spoke Russian so he translated during the conversation. The few minutes turned into many and after rounds of toasts (with shots of vodka of course) to friendship, Uzbekistan, America, the Registan and other stuff we were somehow able to make it back to the B&B in the middle of the night. Needless to say, this morning I had my first hangover of the trip.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

I spent almost a day in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. I stayed at a wonderful B&B (Uzbekistan is known for it's B&Bs) next to the big Chorsu bazaar. While buying a Coke I met a young Uzbek and he offered to show me around the city during the afternoon of my arrival. Tashkent is a sprawling city with monuments everywhere. It has a really good underground metro, which has beautiful Soviet-designed stations. I got stopped by an official in one metro station, but didn't get hassled.

This morning I went to the Tashkent bus station and got a mashrutka (shared taxi/mini-van)to Samarkand, the commercial capital of Central Asia during the time of the Silk Road. So that's where I am right now.

I don't know why the Kazakhs hate the Uzbeks so much(an Uzbek told me the feeling is not reciprocated), but give me an Uzbek any day of the week unless we are playing a sport because then I probably want a Kazakh. The Uzbeks have been so much nicer and more open. Also, more Uzbeks seem to know English, which for me is a huge positive. I've been in Uzbekistan just over two days and I can tell you without a doubt that Uzbekistan is much better for traveling and backpacking then Kazakhstan.

Uploading pictures probably won't happen while I'm out here. The computers and the connections make it very difficult. Sorry guys.

Crossing the border from Kazakstan into Uzbekistan

So I took the bus from Almaty to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. By Tashkent, the bus operators meant the border on the way to Tashkent.

At the long distance bus station in Almaty I was waiting outside before the bus left when an intrepid young Kazakh officer came to me and asked to see my documents. He checked out my passport and claimed that since I entered the country on the 18th of June I had to leave by the 23th (it was the 24th). This was complete bullshit anyway since I had a visa for 30 days. I told the guy that I only knew English and explained I had a 30 day tourist visa. The bum kept insisting and then he handed my passport to some random guy and that's when I got pissed. The guy waved at me to walk with him. I started yelling at him to give my passport back. Then he put it in his pocket and I grabbed him and got in his face and told him to take it out and give it back to me. By this time we were out of eyesight from anyone and I think the guy thought I could speak Russian and that we'd work out a monetary solution, but since I was about to clock him and no one was there to see he immediately gave back my passport. The bus operator told me not to get out of the bus until we leave.

There was one thing wrong with my passport that the officer didn't realize. I was missing a stamp which the passport officer in Aktau forgot to give me.

Then came time for the border crossing. The bus dropped us off about 200 meters from the border and we have to walk the rest of the way. Immediately upon descending the bus, local immigration "facilitators" approached me. I went to the bus operator and she told me to stay with an Uzbek family that was on our bus and go through with them.

The family was a mother, two young sons and an older aunt who knew a few words of English. I gave my passport to the mother (a little badass of a woman) and we were off. There were at least 1,000 people clamoring to get through. There was no line, no organization, no nothing. All the Uzbeks were just crawling under a gate and bypassing the first passport control window. My family did this too. I followed. Apparently if you're an American it's illegal to leave Kazakhstan without having your passport checked out. I got caught, but my Uzbek mother took care of the situation. In the end, we pushed people, climbed under and over gates, bypassed x-ray machines and eventually made it to Uzbekistan in 90 minutes, though I was about $42 lighter after various bribes. My Uzbek mom's strategy was to keep me as far away from my passport as possible so the "authorities" couldn't extort me. They would just salivate at the sight of me. The Uzbek family ended up giving me a ride all the way to my hostel as well. There's more to the story, but I don't have time to include it all here, so if you want to hear more about it just remind me the next time you see me.

Turkistan and Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Turkistan has the greatest architectural monument in Kazakhstan. It's a mausoleum to a Muslim holy man and was one of the last things Timur had built. It's actually pretty impressive with a huge blue tiled dome. There's an underground mosque nearby as well. Other than that, Turkistan is just another village in a developing country. Although they love to blast American pop music late into the night at both evening eateries.

Shymkent is one of the few second tier towns in Kazakhstan after Almaty and Astana. I went to see its heralded bazaar on the way back to Almaty from Turkistan. It was closed for remodeling. Shymkent is just like any other town of 300,000+ in the developing world.

I've taken a couple of the late night long distance buses and I wouldn't recommend it if comfort is your most important consideration. I like it because its cheap and overnight so I don't have to pay for a room.

I just got my visa to Uzbekistan and am going to catch the late bus to Shymkent (700 km, 12 hrs) and then take a bus to the border where anything can happen.

In the past couple of days I've met 4 peace corps volunteers. We've all reached a general consensus. Unless you're trekking in the mountains or maybe riding horses there isn't much to see or do traveling in Kazakhstan.

Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and hopefully Khiva here I come! Then on to Turkmenistan.

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Almaty was the former capital before they moved it to Astana ten years ago. The backdrop of the city is a spur of the Tian Shan mountains that borders the entire southern edge of Almaty. You can see the snow capped mountains from almost anywhere in the city.

It's pretty easy to get around by bus or foot, eventhough there is not one single sign in English. The streets are laid out in a grid and if you've got the Lonely Planet guide with you it's really simple.

I saw the Monument to Independence. Considering the amount of "independence" in Kazakhstan the crappiness of the monument is probably warranted. I went to Paniflov Park and saw a graduation ceremony for military graduates or something. All the soldiers, each with a girl, took part in a procession then an organized dance while the military band played. When it was finished they all through their caps in the air like they had just graduated. All this took place next to the War Memorial.

I'm going to Turkistan by bus (15 hrs) Saturday evening to check out the best Timur era architecture in Kazakhstan and should be back in Almaty Monday to pick up my Uzbek visa.

Aktau, Kazakhstan

I flew into Aktau at 5am on Thursday morning. Flying over the Caspian you can see the offshore rigs lit up in the dark.

Aktau is where the desert meets the Caspian. The temperature is pretty mild and the beaches are supposed to be some of the nicer ones along the Caspian. Give me Galveston or Corpus any day. I tried to go swimming and got knee deep, but decided to get out since the water must have been about 60 degrees max and it was raining. It's also famous for its cliffs along the Caspian like the white cliffs of Dover, but not as white, nice, famous, or worth a visit.

When I got to Aktau I walked around town for an hour looking for a cheap place to spend the night. After an hour plus I found it for 100 USD.

Aktau sucks. It's what I imagined a Soviet holiday spot in Kazakhstan would look like (concrete buildings with covered in peeling pastel paints, crappy beachfront, wannabe Western restaurants), but the people were nice. Nazerbayev has said that Aktau will be a major resort town by 2010. Good luck with all that!

I'm going to Kazakhstan

Tuesday, the first day of the week that the Kazakhstan consulate is open, I went to get a visa, but didn't have any more visa pages in my passport. It was my fault and something I told myself to fix weeks ago, but completely forgot about. I also think the passport officers in Prague, Macau and JFK deserve some of the blame for putting a single stamp on entirely blank pages.

I got the pages added and went to the KAZ consulate this morning and within ten minutes had a new visa. An hour later I booked my flight to Aktau (on the east coast of the Caspian, southwest of the Tengiz and Kashagan oil fields) and the flight from Aktau to Almaty. In Aktau, the one thing I want to do is swim in the Caspian before its destroyed by those irresponsible operators, Eni.

Final thoughts on Baku... the city center and Old City are really nice places and very cosmopolitan. The women are beautiful. The suburbs are just like any large city in a developing country, not much to write home about. I could live here, but probably not for more than a couple years. From speaking with younger locals, Ilham Aliyev is not the bad guy, it's the old crusty Soviet henchmen who are advising him. Their feeling is that if Ilham goes down then so does Azerbaijan.

I don't know how much I'll be posting before I get to Almaty and I'm still working on uploading pictures. If you've got questions go ahead and ask them and I'll try to answer.

Baku, Azerbaijan

Over the past couple of days I've seen much of Baku's central city and the Old City (UNESCO World Heritage site).

The Old City is just what it sounds like and dates back to the Middle Ages. It's just a maze of narrow cobblestone streets. The neat thing is it still operates and isn't really a tourist attraction. It's full of shops selling anything from cellphones to carpets to fruit. It's also full of private residences. A local Azeri told me that a small house in the Old City costs about $180,000. The hostel I'm staying at is in this part of Baku.

Inside the Old City is Maiden Tower. It's about 30 meters high and overlooks the entire Old City, the Caspian and the rest of Baku. It's called Maiden Tower because back in the day it was considered impenetrable. But the legend is that a prince or something fell in love with his daughter and wanted to marry her. She wasn't having any of it, so she went to the top and jumped off. It's a better story, but not true.

I also visited the Shirvanshah's Palace. It's a palace that was recently meticulously restored, almost to meticulously if you ask me. Some of the rooms in the royal residence had light fixtures and electrical outlets. The best part is the views from the main courtyard looking out over new Baku.

Another spot worth mentioning is the park along the Caspian. The locals call it Bulava or whatever Boulevard is in Azeri. This is where families and couples go out for a stroll. I've discerned this is a place where you take your girl and conservatively canoodle. From talking with a few locals, I think the people of Azerbaijan are pretty conservative, so you can't get away with too much (canoodle is a good description). The waterfront would be really nice, but it's on the Caspian where the water is oily, gross looking and smelly. Someone told me it's because the oil just seeps out of the seabed, but I think we should just blame the Soviets and their haphazard drilling.

For those who know their oil history, you can see Oily Rocks (one of the first major offshore production facilities) on the way to Baku from the airport and from a distance along the waterfront.

Baku is a much more cosmopolitan city than I imagined. Parts of the city have a very late 18th century European feel. People definitely have a lot of money here, it's just that I'm not sure they know how to spend it. The locals are nice, but you usually have to engage them first and hope they know a tiny bit of English.

That's probably the longest post I'll have because I'm honestly getting a little bored here and can't wait to move on to Kazakhstan.

First full day in Baku

I spent some time today just walking around Baku and checking out a couple of the main spots. I walked around Fountain Square and the park, which serves as a waterfront along the Caspian. A lot of people were out today since it was Sunday and tomorrow is some kind of holiday. I think it's the 85th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev, but his birthday was last month and he's been dead for a few years. It doesn't really matter. I'm up for anything to celebrate Heydar!











I'll probably spend most of the week here in Baku not because I think it's such a great place (although I have to say this city has surprised me a little bit), but I can't leave until I get another visa to Kazakhstan. So I've got to spread out the activities to give myself something to do over the next few days.

I got my backpack from the airport and was able to take a shower and change clothes, arguablythe most important thing I've done today!

Amy, I think I am have the gear to post pictures, but the PC at the hostel is seriously old, uses a dial-up connection and doesn't have the right ports and things. I promise I'll get some pictures up here.

Takeoff was a little bumpy

I almost forgot my iPod. The plane from JFK sat on the runway over an hour, which happened to be the only hour I slept. I almost missed my connection to Baku in Kiev, but my backpack didn't. Yeah, I've got no backpack. Supposedly, it will be waiting for me at the airport tomorrow after 7pm.

The drive from Heyder Aliev airport to Baku is one of the ugliest rides from an airport in the world. Houston Intercontinental ain't got nothing on GYD. Coming in to Baku, the first thing that hits you is the smell. It's smells like one big oil refinery.

Change of Plans

My visa to Uzbekistan has yet to come through, so that means I can't go into Turkmenistan as planned because I don't have proof that I can leave. This means the plans have to change.

I'm going to land in Baku Saturday and try to get a visa to Kazakhstan then fly from Baku to Almaty as soon as possible. I'll go overland from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan then to Turkmenistan then fly back to Kazakhstan either from Ashgabat, Tashkent or Baku (whichever is cheaper). By the time I reach Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan I should have the required visas to get in and out. The initial plan was to travel west to east, but now I'll be going east to west.

Also, I tried to upload a picture of my backpack but realized I don't have the cable to transfer the picture from my camera to my computer. This is a relatively easy problem to fix (I think) so until I can start uploading pictures imagine a picture of me carrying a blue North Face backpack like the one below.

False Start

Right now, I should be on a plane on my way to Baku, but apparently you can't travel internationally without a passport. The stupid visa expediting service I'm using forgot to send back my passport in time for my flight this Sunday, so now I'm leaving on Friday and I'm pissed. On the bright side, I get to spend a few more days in hot and humid New Haven!

Thanks to A Briggs' incompetence, I may not get a chance to go through Turkmenistan. The arrangements I'd made were for this Thursday, but now I won't even get to Baku until Saturday. More than likely my original plans probably aren't going to work out, so now I'll be playing it by ear in true backpacker style.

In honor of A Briggs, I encourage everyone to visit FAIL blog.

I'm going to blog while traveling (I think)

I'm going on a solo backpacking trip through Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from June 8th to July 10th. I know a bit about the history and culture of the region, but don't know a lick of Russian or any of the local languages and that should make the trip a lot of fun.

This blog is so you can keep track of my adventures, since you shouldn't expect me to be calling or emailing anytime during the trip.

Anyway, please LEAVE COMMENTS and maybe we can use that as a way to communicate. Most likely I won't have daily access to a computer or the Internet, so there may be days between posts.

Here we go. Let's hope this works.