Tag: Uzbekistan

Thursday 25 September 2014 Now I know why the flight back was so relatively cheap. My routing took me back via Baku airport, in Azerbaijan. However, Baku airport has two terminals, in effect one for flights to/from the ex-USSR, and the other for all other international flights. The trouble comes …

Wednesday 24 September 2014 The view from the top of the hostel wasn’t as impressive as you’d think – possibly because all you really see are roofs of the houses below you, and none of the really pretty buildings are that tall. Bear in mind that the hostel is down …

Tuesday 23 September 2014 Haven’t done a lot today. I think I’m getting travel-weary, plus seeing the heart of yet another town with pretty buildings is getting slightly old-hat. Yes, these are some of the most impressive buildings of their type in the world, but I’ve seen similar in Tashkent, …

Monday 22 September 2014 Turns out I wasn’t charged for Friday night … this is just as well as I’m loath to exchange any more hard currency, especially as I still don’t know yet how long I’m staying in the country or where I’m going next. There’s something about last-minute …

Sunday 21 September 2014 A couple of people in the dorm got up early (before dawn) to take photos of the sunrise. One of them is a South African photographer who spent most of his time playing with his photos – of all of us he seemed to be the …

Saturday 20 September 2014 Well, isn’t it a small world, backpacking I mean? So, I’m pretty much staggering into the hostel at 7.30am, stupidly early (or late, depending on your point of view), wondering if I’d be charged for last night or even if the hostel had cancelled my reservation …

Friday 19 September 2014 Oh my absolute … today is best represented in a timeline. Be aware I am seriously peeved. (all times 24 hour clock) 0820 – leave hotel for bazaar 0850 – arrive at South Bus Station, Nukus. 0905 – get bored of taxi drivers and wander into …

Thursday 18 September 2014 I have mentioned it before, but this is Transoxiana, the land beyond the Oxus river that often felt like a ‘boundary’ between worlds. The Oxus river itself, now the Amu Darya, flows from the mountains in the South of Tajikistan, forms part of the boundary with …

Wednesday 17 September 2014 It appears the hardest part of living in a remote community by the shores of the Aral Sea is the lack of women. This was revealed to me late this evening when one of the local men, who’d come in to answer the phone, wondered what …