A Disappearing Shoreline: The Aral Sea, Uzbekistan

After leaving Khiva, I headed towards west towards Nukus and with some days to spare before my Turkmenistan visa began, I was hoping to find fellow travellers to share the cost of heading to the Aral Sea.

Luckily enough, on arriving to Nukus and speaking to receptionist where I was staying, I managed to meet a nice Japanese couple Keigo and Naoko who also had the same idea. Having asked around and hotel who wanted to charged an over-inflated price, we managed to talk to a taxi driver who happened to know a driver in Moynaq who we manage to get the number. After some negotiating with the driver directly, we managed to get a MUCH more agreeable price and about half of what the hotel wanted charge!

Like a local, the next day we headed to the bus station for the local bus towards Moynaq where the old port once was.

Local bus for Nukus-Moynaq

Ugly truth behind Khiva (and Uzbekistan)

Just outside the little beautiful old city of Khiva where most of the inner city, fortified by a 10 metre remains intact, lying just outside the western gate of the inner city, lies a empty block of land about 200m by 200m where only 3 guesthouse stands. Intrigued by the empty land, I asked the guesthouse where I was staying about it only to find out by the owner that a few years ago the government declared the residential block as "unsightly" for tourist and ordered the whole block to be knocked down. Of that, only the 3 guesthouse/hotels remains with most of their neighbours now relocated and living in the capital, Tashkent.

Beyond the tragic effects of tourism, Khiva remains a beautiful town with much to offer and see. Walking through the inner city lies a beautiful and well maintained city with friendly locals.

Within the inner city, around the backstreets away from the main tourist attractions, kids happily playing soccer/football.

The not so tacky Uzbekistan: Bukhara

Moving on from the Samarkand, I headed west towards Bukhara. Once a major trade centre of the the ancient silk road, Bukhara was also known as a religious centre. Today, much of the town remains preserved and one can see reminiscence of the past without the flashiness of Samarkand. I found Bukhara a much more intriguing city. While lacking the sights at the scale and beauty of Samarkand when looked at individually, the sum of it parts is what makes Bukhara a much prettier city in my opinion.

Outside Nadir Devon Begi Madrasah 

Into Uzbekistan! Mixed feelings on Samarkand!

Leaving Shymkent Kazakhstan, I hopped onto a shared taxi towards Chernayeka where I was dropped off on the main highway. Having no tenge to spare, from the main highway it was a 3km hike to the border crossing and probably one of the most chaotic border crossing I've experience Central Asia. For those trying to use this border, careful of changing money here as they are all a bunch of cheats! My advice, over the Uzbek side after leaving customs, walk 1km to the little town and try to change in a shop there and ask around there and then try to hitch a ride into town from a local as everyone seems to be a taxi driver here(taxi are bona fide arsehole here).

Border crossing from the Kazakh side.

Having spent more than 2 months surrounded by mountainous landscape, I was quite excited for some cultural and historical enrichment of the ancient Silk Road and escaping from my short and relatively expensive stay in Kazahkstan. Having read about the great Silk Road city of Samarkand, Buhkhara and Khiva, I must say I was somewhat disappointed by Samarkand to some extend, having been so heavily restored during the early 1900s by the Russians, it felt like something built in the last century as opposed to some centuries ago albeit still magnificent sites. No better example of this can be seen than Resgistan Square in Samarkand surrounded by the 3 majestic madrasahs. One is left to imagine about it's glorious original form.

While there were many sights to see, I found myself picking and choosing and being rather selective where to visit given the entrance fee of going into such places. It didn't help that Uzbekistan liked to charged foreigners five to tenfold what the locals pay.

Thoughts on Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan didn't strike much interest when I first did my research, looking nothing more than a rich and overpriced stan country with nothing all that much to offer. With my time in short time in Kazakhstan, I must say it wasn't all that impressive, especially when compared with it's cheaper neighbours, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan which offers far superior landscape and cultural/historical richness respectively.

Out of the places I visited in Kazakhstan, the only one probably worth mentioning is Astana. A fairly new and rapidly developing capital offering some funky architecture with not too many souls. One can't help but feel they decided to build a city in the middle of nowhere for no one.

Constant development

Top Highlights of Kyrgyzstan

Having spent 24 nights in total in Bishkek sorting out visa bureaucracy I was happy to finally get out and get a glimpse of what Kyrgyzstan had to offer beyond the city. My 3 highlights below:

1. Kyzyl-Oi

A small village/town located about 200km south of Bishkek, I was first attracted to here due to a national horse game event organised by the CBT giving me an opportunity to see the Ulak Tartysh games. A polo game where they gallop around on horseback with a headless goat.

Having met the previous night 2 fellow Australian Sam and Zach who had ended up in Bishkek after escaping visa trouble in Uzbekistan whilst on the Mongol Rally, Icak from Indonesia and Jessica from the US, we left for Kyzyl Oi the next day.

After some hiccups with a scrumbag taxi driver, we're finally glad to be in Kyzyl Oi and finding a cosy little homestay ran by a lovely family and getting a homemade Kyrgyz dinner. From Left to Right: Zach, Jess, Sam, Icak.

Tajikistan P6: Continuing the Pamir towards Osh

Leaving Khorog, I headed towards Murgab for the At Chubysh festival, a festival celebrated on the the 2nd weekend of August which celebrates the horsemen heritage  of the Kyrgyz people. The festival itself was interesting and the drive provided some scenic views. However, the seating arrangement of the shared taxi to Murgab was something less to desire, being stuck in the middle row with 2 adults and 2 kids(5 total) but made up for the friendly locals in the car. Not to mention the car constantly breaking down with a leaking radiator.

Road to Murgab

Stuck in the middle seat...

Tajikistan P5: The Wakhan Valley

Having stayed in Khorog for a fews, my plan was to set out to the Wahkan Valley. I thought to try my luck at the local CBT office in Khorog PECTA to find a group who would want to share a car. To my luck, I met 4 other travellers, Dimitri, Nico, Gabi and Camilla who happened to arrived at Pamir Logde the night before where I was staying who had the same plans. Nicolas, who had kept contact with his driver from Dushanbe made arrangements to call our driver.

The next morning, our driver Mukhtor promptly picked us up from the Pamir Lodge where we were staying ay 8am.

Our 4WD for the trip.

Tajikistan P4: To the Roof of the World Music Festival

Leaving Sarytag, the homestay organised a driver back to Savoda on the main highway before I tried to hitch my ride to Dushanbe (technically not hitch since you pay for a ride. Everyone seems to be a taxi in this part of the world).

The road to Dushanbe proved an interesting right as you enter the "tunnel of death". A pothole filled tunnel with absence of good lighting and airflow whatsoever. Originally built by the Iranians, the tunnel is said to be so bad that it is unfixable and even the Chinese do not want to get their hands dirty according to the locals.

The "tunnel of death".

Tajikistan P3: Penjikent and the Fan Mountains Highlights

My journey in Tajikistan continued leaving Istaravshan towards Penjikent. Initially not planning to head this way, I was intrigued by it's history after meeting a fellow traveller David the night before who sold me on the prospects of Penjikent and it's ancient Silk road past. Penjikent offered some interesting archaeological sight and a nice springboard to visit Kaft Kul(Seven Lakes) in the Fan Mountains.

Going through some high passes and mountainous roads, it gave a nice taste of what Tajikistan had to offered. Although, somewhat taxing conditions as most roads were badly maintained and unsealed but providing some great views.

The road to Penjikent. One bumpy ride.

Tajikistan Part 2: Amazing Istaravshan

Leaving Khojand, I hopped on the local marshrutkas to Istaravshan located about an hour from Khojand. Istarafshan was a surprise in itself. Being a small town and limited information provided on the Lonely Planet guide I venture out to explore the town. Although nothing all that fascinating and a lack of major sights, it was made up by the warmth I received by the locals here. By far, my favourite place in Tajikistan.

Waiting for the marshrutkas to fill up before it heads to Istaravshan

Tajikistan Part 1: Entering through the Norhwest (Batken-Isfara-Khojand)

Whilst most people coming from Kyrgyzstan into Tajikistan choose to go via Sary Tash-Murgab using the eastern border, I decided to come from the western side via Batken-Isfara and cover Tajikistan in an anti-clockwise direction. I was not disappointed, and past some amazing places and mid some amazing people. Tajikistan was full of hospitality and friendly people.

My journey began from Osh, Kyrgyzstan travelling like a local on a marshrutkas to a little town Batken where I technically got my first taste of Uzbekistan as the road crossed over the border, then crossing over to Isfara, Tajikistan and changing buses before heading to Khojand.

Osh-Batken-Isfara

Whilst nothing interesting, I was forced to stay in Batken for a night as the local buses for Isfara only leave in the morning. Batken was a small town with the lack of any fellow travellers in sight and locals a fairly friendly bunch although quite camera shy.

Inside the local bus to Batken 

Part 3 Southern Laos: Si Phan Don, Baloven Loop, Thakhek Loop

My apologies this post comes more than a month late as battling with a stable internet connection in Central Asia is no fun. 

My journey into Laos began with a memorable 19 hour "VIP" bus ride from Phonsavanh to Pakse. Starting out at 6am in the morning, I was promptly picked up by my Tuktuk and taken to the bus station for the 6.45am departure.

Eventually arriving at Pakse at 2am, I decided to go straight to the bus terminal to catch my next ride to Si Phon Don (4000 Islands) . Arriving at the 8KM bus station, I and 3 fellow traveller who also came from Pakse were greeted by a friendly ticket seller who told us that the first bus leaves at 8am and kindly invited us in to join him to watch the World Cup.

The VIP Bus/Cargo: Even a motorbike on the roof...

Part 2, Northern Laos Hightlights

My departure from Vientiane began with an 11 hour "VIP" bus ride to Luang Prabang. I was promptly picked up from my hostel by a tuk tuk and ushered to the northern bus station located about 8km from the centre which served all the northern routes.

The tuk tuk ride to the bus station

The Forgotten Land, Laos Part 1: Vientiane

As described by most guidebooks, Laos is much referred to as "forgotten". While having essences of Thailand and Vietnam influence, it is Thailand without the over commercialisation and Vietnam less the traffic and noise. A truly laidback environment with charming people and quite a nice change from the pace of Vietnam and Thailand.

Day 1
Having spent 3 days in the new capital, Vientiane is fairly quiet and quite small city with most of attraction being within walking distance from most accommodation you'll find and very easy to explore the city within a day if one chooses to do so.

After flying in from Vientiane from KL and feeling sleep deprived, my first order of business was to put in a solid nap before exploring the city nightlife. My first stop being the night market, located by the Mekong River and a short walk from my hostel, which also provided a nice opportunity to see the sunset.

Sunset by the Mekong River in Vientiane

Sunset by the Mekong River in Vientiane overlooking Thailand in the horizon.

Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia

After many goodbyes and farewells, my journey to KL began on a 2nd class sleeper overnight train ride from Woodlands Train Checkpoint, Singapore to KL Sentral, Malaysia. This involved an 8 hour train ride which was bumpy at times. It didn't help with people constantly snoring. Besides that, the train ride was quite pleasant and comfortable ride with the train arriving promptly in KL at 7.30am.

2nd class sleeper cabin

Keeping your plans fluid. Setting up for a year short travel

Initially when I decided to take a belated gap year some six months back, my plan for the trip was to reach Europe by land starting out from Singapore. From Singapore, I would follow the train route through South East Asia and into China. I would then follow the ancient Silk Road into Central Asia and eventually Europe. However, these plans quickly fell apart in recent months due to:

1. Political situation currently in Thailand with the recent military coup and bombing near the southern borders in Hat Yai.
2. Violence outbreak in China with the recent slashing in Guangzhou and Kunming and recent bombings occurring in the Xinjiang region.

These events have made me reconsidered traveling through this region and tweak my plans. My plans have now changed in the last few weeks and instead I will depart Singapore on the overnight train to Kuala Lumpur. From there, I will fly to Laos where I will stay for about a month before departing back to Kuala Lumpur and then fly to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where my journey of Silk road will begin.

My point here is we should constantly reassess the situation and keep our plans flexible to adapt to such fast evolving situations. Even with my accommodation, I plan to leave this to once I reach where I am travelling to arrange and not booking more than my first few days stay in each country.