Blogs from Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, Asia

I didn't made up the name Karakalpakstan. This is a true region, even a former republic. The place had been part of Russian empire in the past, but it's now part of Uzbekistan! As would say a drunk man in the street of Kungrad at 3pm...welcome to Karakalpakstan, we do have the Titanic here....welcome to the Aral Sea! I have to admit, I've reached a less traveled place on this blog. The train from Beyneu was packed, but I was happy to have a decent berth....at least I could sleep....if only for a very short night. An hour after we left Beyneu, it was already time to cross to Uzbekistan. The train is full of migrant workers, most of them working in wealthier Kazakhstan but coming from Uzbekistan. Just crossing the border took us a good ... read more

We'd envisaged Moynaq being a dying, decaying ghost town but the reality was quite different. The population was bigger and younger than we'd expected and whilst there were quite a few abandoned buildings and not that many shops, restaurants etc there was plenty of activity. There are programmes underway to increase the number of newly created lakes and wetlands around the town and to offset some of the environmental problems caused by dust and sand from the dried up seabed. It's unlikely to ever again be the thriving place it once was but things look to be on the up. It was a pleasant surprise. The film, exhibits, and photos we were shown in the small museum really brought home the enormous changes that have happened to the Aral Sea over the last 50 years. Our ... read more

Als letzte Station in Usbekistan fuhren wir nach Nukus. Die Fahrt von Urgentsch nach Nukus wollten wir ursprünglich im Bus antreten. Aber wohl durch die staatlich organisierte Baumwollernte (von der Polizei eskortierte Bus-Kolonnen mit den Pflückerinnen) hatte es nur einen Buskurs früh am Morgen. Wohl oder übel mussten wir uns also auf einen Taxifahrer einlassen. Wir hatten uns maximal 50 USD für uns beide vorgenommen und erreichten diesen Preis. Allerdings ging es betrügerisch weiter. Mit dem Taxifahrer fuhren wir vom Busbahnhof zum Basar. Dort wurden unsere Koffer zweimal umgeladen. Ein anderer Taxifahrer versicherte mir, dass wir zum ausgemachten Preis fahren würden. Dieser Taxifahrer erhielt uns für den Preis von ca. 10 USD, da ihm der erste Taxifahrer angab, wir kämen von Chiwa. Als Andreas während der Fahrt schliesslich den Fahrer aufklärte, dass wir nicht von Chiwa ... read more

Monday morning, and our last excursion into the wilderness is at hand. Having covered the area west of Moynaq we will now travel to Jyltarbas lake and the nearby plantations on the eastern side. But first we need to get our tickets for tomorrow's flight to Tashkent. We drive to the national bank office which is situated at the local municipal buildings just a block away from the hotel. We stand around patiently waiting for them to open up the office. Otabek cleverly makes use of my foreign looks to sneak us past the waiting crowd outside, past the guards and inside the bank building. It still won't help much because the women at the exchange office are out of CYM. Now, where have I heard that one before? Not to panic though, apparently one of ... read more

It is a beautiful morning. Seven a.m. and the sun is shining on the plains. Birds are chirping in the brush, and dirty flies are sitting on my face. I wake up and feel intensely relaxed. Before the others get up I quickly sneak out to take some pictures of the slumbering station. Soon we are sitting on a blanket in the shadow offered by the car having our token noodle, tea and bread breakfast, spiced up with some canned meat and tomatoes. We head out into the plains for the final leg to the coastline and I am beginning to get a bit plagued by the heat again. There is not a single cloud about and already and the car is turning into a sauna. The trail turns to gravel and we head down from ... read more