A first impression of our travel itinerary through Central Asia – that is Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – may be that we were wandering around the area aimlessly, criss-crossing back and forth, zig-zagging when we were finished criss-crossing and backtracking when we were done zig-zagging. Well, I blame Dave for all this – he was the mastermind and spiritual leader of our travel through the Stans and there definitely … Continue reading →
Our time in the safe hands of our driver Manus and our guide Ilyas was coming to an end after an extraordinary week exploring northern Kyrgyzstan and eastern Kazakhstan. But we still had one day to go before reaching our final destination of our Central Asia adventure – Almaty, the thriving western city of Kazakhstan. Let’s get to it! The lands of eastern Kazakhstan were dramatic on every count – … Continue reading →
One of our favourite travel sayings is ‘Think about where you are on the map’ and that line has never been more relevant than when the six of us, Julie and I plus our travelling companions Dave, Warren, Nichole and Jan stood on a remote vantage spot looking down on what is called the Mars Panorama. Towering sandstone mountain buttes, soaring weather-carved monoliths, vibrant desert colours and a fierce desert … Continue reading →
Our body clocks were on 3am and we were standing in a narrow alleyway surrounded by rundown buildings in the pitch dark. I found myself arguing with our taxi driver who was in the process of scamming us for some big bucks on the ride from the airport to the apartment we had booked for the night. Language was definitely a barrier because we didn’t speak very good Russian or … Continue reading →
