Tag: blogsherpa, Border Crossings, customs, kazakhstan, maps, Mongolia, Route planning, russia, tashkent, Uzbekistan
Eastern or Western Route North from Tashkent to Russia?
Before leaving Tashkent I spent several hours pouring over countless maps of Kazakhstan and Russia, trying to work out the best route to...
A Week of R&R in Tashkent
It is an amazing thing to meet up with one’s parents in the middle of nowhere. We met my folks in Tashkent for a week of R&R at...
Drinking Cultures from Around the Globe
There is something very strange about the way humans approach booze, and how each nation address alcohol both politically and culturally in...
ATC 2010 Mongol Rally Route
It’s official! We’ve finally ironed out our route details to the finest detail. We have decided to head from London to Paris,...
The Movie Transsiberian
From the Beijing Train Station to the corrupt police on the far Eastern route of the Russian Trans-Siberian Railroad, the 2008 movie...
Leaving Central Asia
As we depart Central Asia, we’re hit with a bittersweet feeling partially of relief and partly of sadness. Central Asia is like no...
Statistics from Shanghai to Ashgabat
Originally, the trip was planned as a Shanghai to Ashgabat adventure. Well, we have an announcement to make—we have decided to keep on...
Into Turkmenistan by Foot
The rest of the day, including two long walks through no-mans-land between customs in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan seemed easy after dealing...
Goodbye Uzbekistan
After recovering the cell phone in Bukhara, we decided it was time to move on as we had been in Uzbekistan for almost 25 days and in...
The Great Cellphone Saga
Somewhere in the ruins of the Urgench fortresses the cell phone dropped out of my side bag and into the hot, desert sand. It was not until...
The Bukhara Local’s Market
Shopping in old town Bukhara is an expensive endeavor. A meter of fabric is $8 USD, “hand made! Very beautiful!” while a T-shirt is...
There and Back Again, a Lauren’s Tale
For those of you who got the reference above to Tolkien, I salute you. (and for those of you who got the ‘I salute you’ reference from...
Khiva A Silk Road Oasis
Khiva was once renowned for its exotic and plentiful slave trade along the silk route. Slaves were captured in distant lands and marched...
Inshallah We Shall Arrive in Khiva
Having decided to leave Bukhara, we endeavored to find a way to Khiva, a city on the western side of Uzbekistan. There was a train, but it...
The Bukhara Underbelly
We arrived in Bukhara this afternoon and were a bit shocked by the strange reception we received. Having met the owner of a B&B on the...
Daniel’s Tomb and Ulugh Beg’s Observatory
After taking a walking tour of several mausoleums and the ruins of Ulugh Beg’s (the famous Central Asian astronomer) observatory, we...
Top Ten Uses for Plastic Bottles in Central Asia
Across Central Asia we’ve noticed that plastic bottles play an important role in everyday life once drained of their liquid contents....
Shanghai to Samarkand and The People We’ve Met
When traveling you get to met people from every walk of life with all kinds of beliefs ranging from the mundane to the insane. In...
Samarkand Where the Insects of Legend Dwell
Since arriving in Uzbekistan we have seen an inordinate about of insects of every shape, variety and color. In Tashkent, upon walking into...
Samarkand is Marco Polo’s Secret
Our first day in Samarkand left us spell bound and awe-struck. There is no exaggerating this place, because exaggerations are impossible...
Tashkent Uzbekistan
We were fortunate enough to spend seven full days in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, staying at the Grand Orzu hotel near the center...
Tashkent The City of Food
Having lived in Shanghai for over a year, I thought I had experienced a truly versatile and adept cuisine culture. While Shanghai has a bit...
Driving Through the Mountains of Uzbekistan
We left mid morning for the lake, in Tashkent province, about an hour and a half north-east of the capital. The drive was peaceful and from...
Best Foods of the Silk Route
Lamb kebabs – Urumqi, Xinjiang. Urumqi has an amazing night market near the park with beer, kebabs, nan, plov and other Central Asian...
Top 5 Illegal Things We’ve Seen in Central Asia
1. A marijuana plant growing on the side of the road in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 2. Multiple people on the train shaking the border guards...
