After our brief stint in Kazakhstan, we negotiated our way through the easiest border crossing yet (Ben didn’t even have to get off the truck due to his broken leg…the friendly and helpful Kazakh and Kyrgyz border officials came on board to stamp him out of and into country), and soon we were in the…Continue reading Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek & Ala Archa & Altyn Arashan
Kazakhstan – Aksu Zhabagly Nature Reserve
Crossing the border from Uzbekistan into Kazakhstan (Yalama / B. Konysbayeva) was hellishly long because two members of our group (Daniel from Canada and Kevin from Ireland) had neglected to obtain their Kazakhstan visas prior to arrival. Since they had already been stamped out of Uzbekistan, they were stuck in no-man’s land because the B.…Continue reading Kazakhstan – Aksu Zhabagly Nature Reserve
Uzbekistan – Bukhara & Samarkand & Tashkent
From Khiva we made our way onward to Bukhara, an ancient oasis city on the fabled Silk Road. Bukhara is an easy city to explore on foot and we enjoyed getting lost in its back alleys while exploring its highlights (Ark Citadel, Char Minar, Samanid Mausoleum and the Kalyan minaret). After 2 days here, we…Continue reading Uzbekistan – Bukhara & Samarkand & Tashkent
Uzbekistan – Nukus & Moynaq & Khiva
Crossing the Turkmenistan border into Uzbekistan brought no relief from the relentless heat. If anything, it was kicked up a notch or two. And we still had a few more bush camps to get through…yippee!! First stop was in the town of Nukus to do a bit of money exchanging and cook group shopping. It…Continue reading Uzbekistan – Nukus & Moynaq & Khiva
Turkmenistan – Ashgabat & Darvaza Gas Craters & Konye Urgench
Turkmenistan! Our 5 days/4 nights here flew by and its time to jot down a few thoughts of this fascinating and bizarre country. Getting into Turkmenistan was surprisingly easy. We were efficiently stamped out of Iran and into Turkmenistan in less than 2 hours…compared to last year’s border crossing taking well over 6 hours and…Continue reading Turkmenistan – Ashgabat & Darvaza Gas Craters & Konye Urgench