Downside to independent travel Traveling the world without a plan is a good thing as it allows you to just wing it. Your last few days you've been confronted with the down side to this independent travel. It is give and take and sometimes a hard decision when to trust their tour and when to sit in the pub. Balance is the key. When you get back home and reflect on this wonderful adventure it will be interesting which of the "Stans" was your favorite. If we were going to just one which one would you send us to? Fortunately we always travel with our kindles so we can sit and read if we've planned poorly but you get mad at yourself as it feels like you are wasting valuable travel days. Good luck on the next stops.
Sorry about the rave We both hesitated about ranting on the worlds friendliest travel blog site, but in the end we wanted to be honest about how we felt, but still held back a little bit. Uzbekistan was the best for the history and grand sites, but Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan was by far the nicest people we have ever met and the mountain scenery was incredible. Kazakhstan I guess we really shouldn't judge too harshly as they don't accommodate independent travellers well.
Border Crossings and more So many borders and so little time....you do it with ease now. Sometimes it is better to go behind the public toilet and squat. I can't imagine them washing the clothes and not drying them. What's up with that? I freely admit the older we get we are the less tolerant we are of the low end public transportation. We now spend the extra money for more comfortable transportation. I applaud your efforts. I'm glad you found some internet so you could make a plan.
What no Air con? It is funny how as you get older you appreciate the creature comforts more, and how it is harder to do without. Travelling makes you understand how you change from a free wheeling teenager to a cranky old bugger.
Do it youurself Thanks Keith, Salalah was our favourite town in Oman and the coastal drive back was sensational, and would really recommend hiring a car and doing it yourself.
Providing us an education We were woefully ignorant about this region of the world. Your trip has really educated us.I'm devastated to hear of the destruction of this area. That is when you wish you had a vaporizer gun and could zap people doing incredibly horrible things to the environment. A mud covered night in a tent does not sound appealing. Good decision.
History repeating It made us angry knowing how this can happen, but angrier when you know a similar situation is happening in Australia to our Barrier Reef and our Governments aren't doing much to stop it's destruction. As for swimming in the Aral Sea, Shelley had her swimmers ready, but that mud didn't look too inviting.
Great Rant! Hey guys hope all is well. What a sad story of why its goodbye to the Aral sea. What are governments doing to these natural systems, poor fish and of course the surrounding towns people. Looks like our great reef will suffer a similar fate, it really worries me. Guess you've heard. we go to the poll's on July the 2nd, i have a feeling the Parliament will be hung again. Sounds like you both had a nice adventure this time around, the grave yards are certainly huge, look a bit creepy, guess their just old, lots of old dead souls. Stay safe love us 3 xxx
One disaster after another Thanks Traudy, Yea we had a bit of a discussion with our guide about the barrier reef, us humans don't seem to learn from damaging and destroying the environment. We are sssoooo glad not to be enduring a 2 month election campaign, I guess it will be the usual lies and hot wind from the main players. Kisses to you and the kids.
Kangaroos and the stare bears! Fabulous adventures at the poor, dying Aral Sea and the wonderful cemeteries of the dead cities! Shocking the before and after maps--what a huge environmental disaster! When you said the lake was saltwater and drying up, I imagined it might leave great salt flats like Uyuni. Too bad it's dirt and chemicals--what a hard life for those left! Best wishes for smooth sailing across into Kazakhstan!
Not so salty Yes it was sort of weird that the seabed didn't look too salty, but apparently some German NGO has been planting a shrub that eats salt which is helping. Every where else around Uzbek, all you see is useless salted ground from the over use of water. It was really sad to look on what is left of that sea and know it is vanishing. Thanks Tara.
80's disco & desert forts Flashbacks of disco balls .... oh my. I wasn't a fan in the 80's so certain it would not do much for me now. The buskers can ruin a beautiful place. That is how I felt about Petra. Amazing but too commercial for me....but amazing. If we saw one more selfie stick at the pyramids we were going to scream. Not our idea of seeing the world but that is ok I guess everyone has to do it their way. You have to go to towns like Kiva to make sure and it makes you appreciate the others all the more. And your summary is correct...sometimes it is timing. We've been places we loved and gotten emails from people with a different story asking really? And so many people love Kathmandu and even though it had a few lovely parts overall we thought it was a sh__hole.
Blog anger management After our first day in Khiva I wrote up the blog bagging the place, and was perhaps my nastiest blog I have ever written. After another day their I calmed down and with Shelley's help toned the whole blog down, which I am glad we did.
Money Rules!! I wonder what the word for commercialism was in ancient times? Probably greed. How times have changed so much yet remained the same. The fortresses outside of the city look impressive and the scrubby desert has its appeal. I see what you mean by the Ronnie stalls outside of the sites, makes it all seem cheap and too western progressive. Russian's have a good reputation for tackiness actually. The Disco bar sounds comical. Hope you have a pair of Hazmat suits with you? I wouldn't want one of your noses to fall off in Karst :) xx
Ruski's everywhere Central Asia is a huge blender of ethnic groups but if you could take a huge gulp of it, it would taste a lot like Russian vodka. The forts out in the desert was our favourite part of Khiva. Thanks Traudy
I feel the vibe. This Town sounds so peaceful and looks just beautiful. I love the photo's too. What a cruel story, the one of the Brits. The mosques and minarets look so cared for and well kept. Nice facade too. The sunset moment at the cafe sounded amazing, its the simple things of nature's beauty that I feel one tends not to forget. Enjoy. Hopefully your next stop is just as nice, fingers crossed.
Looks fabulous! I was going to read the blogs of yours I've missed in chronological order, but I couldn't resist this Samarkand one... it's a place that has fascinated is for a long time. We love train travel too, it's easily out favourite way to travel. Always love your photos, but these ones are super special :)
Samarkand Thanks. It has been on our hit list for a lloooonnnggg time so it was incredible to finally see it. Standing in front of The Registan is almost as amazing as the Taj, but be warned it is a lot more touristy.
Maybe not what it seems The photo looks like we just stumbled upon some kid practising on a wall, but in fact he was part of an elaborate film/TV show. If we had used the wider photo you would see all the camera crew and actors - think this photo works better.
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Ranting is fine
The best travel blogs are the honest ones that share your real emotions at the time. We've done a bit of ranting in ours at times.