The next day I finally have an easy border crossing and enter Uzbekistan. I stay in the historic town of Khiva, inside the ancient city walls. After Turkmenistan it feels really nice here - people are friendly, relaxed and interested, and of all the muslim countries I've been to, it's by far the one that ahs best integrated the religion into their lives without it interrupting it. I walk the streets of the old town, taking lots of photos of mosques and madrassas. I was sorry to only spend such a short amount of time here, but did have my first [View Full Entry]

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On to Bukhara - another ancient and historic city - famous for it's huge prison. The weather really begins to heat up in Central Uzbekistan and my farmer's tan comes on quite nicely. (For some reason, city tours always happen in the heat of the day). Bukhara had the feel and charm of Khiva, but it was much bigger and more touristy. The city walls were huge and imposing and the central square, with it's large pond and surrounding shashlyk (kebab) restaurants, was stunning. One evening, I went to what was alledgedly a cultural evening at a restaurant in the courtyard [View Full Entry]

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Next was Samarkand, a much bigger city than Bukhara, with as much history, but without the warm fuzzy feeling. This very much felt like a big place - the people weren't as friendly and everyone seemed out to make a quick buck, but there historic sites were good (if heavily renovated due to earthquakes) and I got to stay in a traditional Uzbeki yurt in the Kyzylkhum desert before coming into town, with an obligatory evening camel-ride. From Samarkand I travelled to the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, which is a huge, sprawling metropolis, with even less going for it than Tbilisi. I [View Full Entry]

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Kyrgyzstan is the most beautiful country I've ever seen. It's known as the mountain kindgdom and for good reason. I have no stories to tell, I spent two weeks bush-camping the most glorious countryside, taking hikes through the mountains up to waterfalls and glaciers, watching herds of wild horses run through the camp-sites, and then a couple of days in the capital, Bishkek, before heading into the world's most populous country. China. [View Full Entry]

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I enter China high in the Tian Shan mountains, through the Torugart Pass. At 3700m above sea level it's about 2.5 times the height of Ben Nevis, and you can really feel it. The scenery however is spectacular. I'd heard the Chinese border crossing can be difficult, but less than an hour later I'm heading down, out of the moutnains, to the Uighar city of Kashgar. The Uighars are descendents of middle-eastern muslim merchants (sorry for the alliteration) who have traded along the Silk Road for more than a millenia. The far Western province of Xinjiang was once part of the [View Full Entry]

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After crossing the Taklamakan desert (lit. go in, don't come out) and visiting the world's second LOWEST late (near Turpan, 175m below sea level) I cross into Gansu province and head for Jiayuguan to visit the fort at the very Western end of the Great Wall. Building work on the wall began in abou 220BC by the Qin (pronounced Chin) dynasty, and the remaining parts of these sections are made from mud-bricks. The stone parts of the wall that we're used to seeing pictures of were mainly built during the Ming dynasty 1500 years later, in an attempt to keep the [View Full Entry]

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I stopped briefly at Wuwei to visit an Eastern Han tomb, dating from 100AD, where the region's most celbrated relic, a bornze Flying Horse was discovered. The symbol has since been adopted by the Chinese tourist board. The tomb is deep underground and very cool, compared to the 35+ degree heat outside, but all of the original statues and artifacts that were found in the tomb have been removed to be displayed in museums in larger cities. [View Full Entry]

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I say for a couple of nights in a town called Liujaxia, where they obviously don't see many Westerners from the looks I got, and caught a boat up the Huang He (Yellow River) from the huge Dam, 60km to the Bingling Si Buddha caves. An enormous seated Buddha has been carved from the cliff face. At 27m high and 1600 years old, it's an amazing thing to behold (though not the biggest in China by a long way) and some of the other carvings there are both old and beautiful, a bit like me. I took a half hour walk [View Full Entry]

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I stay a couple of nights at Pingliang, possibly the world's most boring city, but visit Mount Kongtong, a Daoist monastery, perched precariously on the top of a cliff. It's quite a walk up the mountain, but absolutely worth it and looks just like you imagine China to look like, with little temples and Pagodas clinging to the tree-lined slopes. When you see these stunning views, it becomes immediately obvious why religious shrines and places of worship were sited here. [View Full Entry]

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From Sumela I head to the Georgian border. I stay at a homestay with a Georgian family in Kutaisi, and wander around the local ruined cathedral in the early evening, before spending the rest of the night eating and drinking Chacha (the local firewater) with my hosts. I leave early the next morning for Kazbegi, high in the Geogian mountains, not far from the Russian border, and spend a couple of nights at another, family-run, homestay, which is nice and warm. It's snowing outside. Over breakfast the next morning, and old, rugged and very drunk old man busts in and starts [View Full Entry]

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