Blogs from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Asia - page 3

The feeling is back...I started packing my bag 6 days before I was due to depart by land from Tashkent to the Kazakhstan border up to Shymkent. My roommate and fellow teacher here is the the type to get excited at the very last moment and looks at me strange when I tell him 6 days ahead of our departure that I'm 75% packed and 100% ready. He's been to over 130 countries and maybe has lost the travel feeling, but I on the other hand have only 15 on my resume and still get extremely excited to pack my bag well ahead of time! I have been working as an English teacher in the neighboring "stan" since September and...well...it's .....not "my cup of tea". The students are good students, but the school is poorly managed ... read more

Met meer dan twee miljoen inwoners is Tashkent een grote stad en was al een handelspost langs de zijderoute in de 4eeeuw. v. Chr. Tashkent groeide toen de stad in 1865 door de Russen werd veroverd en later in 1930 hoofdstad werd van de Oezbeekse Sovjetrepubliek. De stad werd getroffen door een aardbeving in 1966 en daarna geheel volgens Sovjet planning herbouwd met brede, rechte straten. Wat we horen van andere toeristen is dat er niet echt veel te zien is in de stad, dus daarom blijven we hier ook maar een nacht om vanavond naar Bukhara te vliegen. We krijgen een simpel ontbijt in de guesthouse en praten wat met twee Spanjaarden die bezig zijn aan een overland trip terug naar Europa. We besluiten eerst naar het Hazrat Iman Complex te lopen door kleine steegjes. ... read more

Friday 30 Aug. Just starting the second full day in Tashkent. Had breakfast and now waiting for three Kiwis to arrive and then we'll head off to the markets. As today is Friday I don't know what will or won't be open. Friday is the main prayer day in the Islamic week. Yesterday spent most of the day out. Went to the Uzbekistan Museum of Railway Technology (also known as just The Railway Museum or Transportation Museum). Got there by using the subway. One of the doorman at the hotel wrote down the stations I had to go to and where I changed trains. Initially it was a bit confusing until I worked out that the three connecting stations have different names depending on which Line you are on (Red, Green and Blue). The nearest Metro ... read more

The group has arrived and it is an interesting mix .Diane ,Gerald (retired teachers ) and their daughter Lynette (an emerg doc) from Alberta ... Melody and CC from Singapore ..., Pru and Billy (retired teachers ) from Britan ...and Kim and Jeanette from Sydney Australia . A mixed group and I think they'll be interesting companians. Lynette must have paid the single supplement so I get a single room after all . Our guide is Yura a russian-Korean Uzbek who was THE boxing champ of Uzek for 3 years in the late 90's . He has been a guide for 15 years and knows his buisness well. Enough of that We spent today touring around the city and it continues to amaze me . There are parks that stretch for blocks and blocks (green spaces ... read more

I'm here ! The sun is shining with a high of 27 expected for today . I arrived here this morning at 6:30am and went through the Visa process and customs quite quickly . They didn't require a photo so I didn't need my scarf pics after all . I THINK Bursa could be a pretty place but it was rainy and really cold so I didn't have the energy to do a lot . The mosque built in 1349 is awesome . It doesn't have the minerets that the Blue and the AyaSophia have ,it has domes ... 20 of them . I was looking at some photos of old Bursa and it really stands out (it is huge ) but the neighbourhood is also full of minarets . It reminded me of the church ... read more