Tag Archives: car

Venturing further into Tibet

July 29, 2010 Shigatse, Tibet Today we left for Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet.  We had a long drive to reach it from Lhasa, about 7 hours.  Nobody was really looking forward to the drive, especially Alisa who … Continue reading

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Last Stop, Shanghai!

August 8, 2010 Shanghai The past few days have been a whirlwind.  We left Tibet with a heavy heart and went to re-visit Chengdu.  It certainly has changed a lot since we were there last.  Things are now barely visible … Continue reading

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Ust-Kamengorsk to Olgii

Considering how the day began, it is pretty miraculous that I find myself sitting in a Turkish restaurant in Mongolia.  Our flight was originally scheduled to leave yesterday but was rescheduled for today because of a persistent drizzle.  It took … Continue reading

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Astana

Astana is a city filled with the unexpected.  Everything from the moment we arrived in the periphery of the city has surprised us.  Kazakhstan’s president, Nazarbayev decided in 1997 to move the country’s capital from Almaty to Astana and start … Continue reading

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The Train to Astana

We didn’t get much sleep on our last night in Shymkent.  We luckily were able to switch to the cheaper room at the hotel next door.  There wasn’t a sauna but there was a shared bathroom where the women’s room … Continue reading

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Food of Uzbekistan

The food in Uzbekistan is a fantastic mix of Middle Eastern and Eastern European.  I may also be partial because it happens to combine my two favorite ethnic foods.  Uzbekistan certainly does have many dishes to choose from.  Here are … Continue reading

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Shymkent Day 1

After breakfast, around 9:30 , we set off for Kazakhstan.  It actually turned out to be more complicated than simply getting in a cab and driving.  First we had to walk to the Chorsu metro, go 2 stops, change trains, … Continue reading

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Back to Tashkent

I am so glad to be back in Tashkent!  Samarkand was really starting to get on our nerves!  After three days of everyone trying to milk us for every sum we have. Our day started out smoothly.  The guesthouse was … Continue reading

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Khiva

Today we officially bought the entrance tickets for Khiva which gives us access to the twenty some odd historical sites in the town.  There were swarms of Uzbeki tourists today, all of whom were very eager to chat and practice … Continue reading

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Moynaq

What an unbelievably long day.  We woke up around 3 am due to jet lag.  We had arranged for our driver to pick us up at 5 am and we began the 2.5 hour trip to Moynaq.  The roads were … Continue reading

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