Transsiberian Railway

For the "way home" we were able to realize a long time dream, the Transsiberian Railway Beijing - Moscow. It was long more dream than plan due to the difficulties getting Russian and Chinese Visa outside our home country and before the Olympics. Finally it worked out and we're more than happy about this! On the first of July we leave Beijing towards Ulan Baator, Mongolia where we do the first stop over. From there we then head to Irkutsk at the Baikal lake to spend two nights in siberia at this amazing lake. In another four days we "cruise" from Irkutsk to Moscow arriving on 10. July.

Beijing

WOW - probably the best summary of our time in Beijing. We spent 5 marathon days in and around Beijing and were absolutely amazed. The historical sites, the new parts, the people, the food and last but not least the pre Olypmic atmosphere. We had a great time!

Beijing, China

Xi'an

Another night in a train (the Chinese train system is excellent) brings us to Xi'an. It feels like you have crossed a border over night. As you leave the train station, touts approach you in English offering maps and accomodation and one of the first views of the city is a Mc Donalds restaurant. Guess we haven't seen such a touristy place for a long time. There are nice sights in and around Xi'an but for our taste it was way too much tourist focus (in large cities like Beijing are much more tourists but you can walk around in peace whereras in Xi'an it seems like you're contiuously surrounded by somebody who want to sell a TShirt, Warrior or something else - too bad).

Xi'an, China

Lanzhou

23 hours train ride bring us from Urumqi to Lanzhou. The countryside looks kind of "moon" like. There is not much besides huge wind farms (Vestas) and some oil fields. Lanhzhou is again a large city, situated the banks of the Yellow River. A highlight are the night food markets where various dishes such as sheep brain are on offer... . There are also less positive sights such as the vendors of real tiger praws... So far we haven't met a single tourist in China but as we walk through Lanzhou we meet Daniel again. The Polish guy who we met in Iran and traveled through Turkmenistan together - the world is small!

Lanzhou, China

Urumqi

Crossing from Kazakhstan into China you pass wonderful countryside but pretty much no people. Some yurts where a few people live, some camels grazing in front of the snow mountains in the back. So what to expect from the first city in China, Urumqi? Yes, some more yurts and some more people. Wrong, big time! Urumqi is a massive city (over 3 Million people) with high risers, modern shopping malls etc - big surprise. Besides this it's a very different China to the coastal areas. Being over 2000km from Beijing other influences are very strong. The Uighur minority who lifes in this area is much closer to Kazakhstan in terms of food (Laghman etc) and language. Interestingly their language is written using Arabic letters making a great mix. Last but not least you're most successful with Russian than English - a different China.

Urumqi, China

Searched to the bones

We expected tough border checks in Iran and Turkmenistan but the "winner" is definitely the Kazakhstan - China border. Well, Almaty - Urumqi isn't exactly a busy tourist route which may explain part of it. On the other hand China has increased both Visa and custom regulations significantly as the Olympics are upcoming and the protests around the world were not what they were looking for. In fact we were very lucky to get a Chinese visa at all. Most travelers we met in Central Asia tried both in Europe and Central Asia and were refused a Visa. Probably Ethiopia (where we got our Chinese Visa) has different regulations... . We even met Japanese guys coming to Kyrgystan from China who spent 3 days in jail as they had a "Free Tibet" sticker in their luggage... So there we are at this border. Soon three border guards are around us asking all kind of questions out of curiosity. It seems like and easy game but then it changes. They seperate us, Katrin into one room, me into another room. 5 guys watch me unpacking my backpack to the last pair of dirty socks. They look at the pictures on the camera, want to look at the phone numbers on my mobile and even search my backup CDs of the pictures... . Eventually they've seen everything and we are allowed to pass.

Sleeper bus Almaty - Urumqi

From Almaty there are 5 buses a week to Urumqi in western China. It's a comfortable sleeper bus which makes the 22 hour trip very convenient.

Almaty

When you enter Kazakhstan from Kyrgystan it doesn't seem to be much different at first - until you reach Almaty. Almaty is very European in terms of buildings, roads, cars (actually nicer cars than in Europe...), cafes but also prices. A Cappuchino in a "hip" Coffee sets you back 5 USD. The people are really dressed up here, we kind of felt underdressed wherever we went...

Almaty, Kazakhstan

"Mallorca in Kyrgystan" - Cholpon Ata

Kyrgystan is about as far away from any sea as you can get. To compensate for this they established their own "Mallorca" at the Issyk-Kul lake in the north east of the country. We were there during low season when it's a pleasant place at a lake. But even then you got a flavour for how it must be in summer. Most restaurant have a life singer performing all the famous songs but with Russian text and even charge about 50 cents extra for the performance (believe me, you would be willing to pay much more if he would just stop!). In general you can say tourists like two things - Vodka (starting 1 USD for a bottle here) and loud music (really loud and everywhere - including the nice restaurant for breakfast...). In June it was cold (we were wearing fleeces) but to locals and Kazakhs this is no problem. They were swimming, playing beach volley as would it be hot...

Cholpon Ata, Kyrgystan

Bishkek

We arrived in Bishkek on a Saturday morning and were suprised that the city was almost dead. As we walked on and saw the flags on half mast and the huge gathering we asked - it was the funeral of Aitmatov. Absolutley impressive, it seemed like the entire city was here. We walked on to our hotel but it was closed - the people had gone to the funeral. Besides many locals several presidents from surruounding countries and TV stations were there. The people were very proud of Aitmatov. Besides this there is not that much to report of Bishkek. We saw the Spain-Sweden game with "half the Spanish Embassy" (that's the way it felt like) and met this Spanish soldier on the way home from his assignment in Afghansitan (Bishkek has a large US airbase - which is actually within the regular civil airpot - and is a major base for Afghanistan supplies. You can see many tank transporter planes there). After telling us his story he asked what we would do here. He almost colapsed when we said holidays. He repeated about 3 times, you - here - holidays, vacaciones???

Bishkek, Kyrgystan

Pamir 4 - Karakol to Sary Tash and Osh

The last part of the Pamir highway brings last wonderful views of the mountains, too many checkpoints and border controls (including emptying all luggage 3 times as this is a famous drug route out of Afghanistan) and wonderful Kyrgyz yurts with horses in front. Osh isn't really a big city but after the Pamir it feels like heaven. A warm shower, a real bed, your own room, shops and restaurants and even media to update you (although the news were rather bad - Switzerland was already out of the EURO). There is delicious bread and dumplings, omnipresent "mineral water" boxes where you can get a drink on the street and a lot of the traditional hats.

Pamir 4 - Karakul to Sary Tash and Osh

Pamir 3 - Murgab to Karakul

Karakul is an amazing alpine village. At 3900m next to a beautiful lake surrounded by nothing but mountains and only meters away from the Chinese border life is quite different. Solar ovens are used to heat up water, donkeys for local transport and hospitality is as big as it can get. We stayed with this family with their two lovely kids - simply great!

Pamir 3 - Murgab to Karakol

Pamir 2 - Langar to Murgab

From Langar you leave the Afghan border and cross a further pass with many animals using the same track. You reach amazing water and salt lakes, pass by women doing laundry in a river and see Yaks grazing. For the first time the Chinese influence becomes visible with restaurants having both Russian and Chinese names. Murgab is a "wild east" city, which is even in June pretty fresh (over 3000m). Water is pumped manually and digicams are not very common (we met these 3 kids who wanted a picture of them that they can look at them selves - withing seconds over 20 kids were around us asking for a picture). The people are very innovative. At our homestay they used an old car gas tank over a fire to heat water which was the "bathroom" (in Europe this would be called Hammam these days and cost a lot). Interesting to see was that the Swiss goverment supports several projects in the area and that most maps are made by a Swiss guy or the University of Bern.

Pamir 2 - Langar to Murghab (Tajikistan)

Pamir 1 - Khorog to Langar

From Khorog we went through the Wakhan Valley which divides Tadjikistan and Afghanistan. It's a wonderful mountain valley with small villages on both sides and the Hindu Kush (= Killer of the Hindus) in Pakistan in the background. In this part of the world gas stations are old trucks and vehicules are marked with a "no gun" sign. We spent the night with a local family in a very basic house. The "toilet" is a whole in the ground and the "shower" the little spring running by.

Pamir 1 - Khorog to Langar (Tajikistan)

Pamir Highway

Having grown up in Switzerland I thought I know what mountains are. Well, the Pamir area showed me a new dimension of mountains. You can be at 4500m and feel like being at "sea level" as you are surrounded by 6000er and 7000er - absolutely amazing. The Pamir highway (a road through this area) was built by the Sowjet Army in the 30's to supply their troops in this strategically important but geographically very remote area in the border region of Tajikistan, Kirgistan, China and Afghanistan. We went from Khorog along the Afghan border to Langar, then to Murgab, Karakol and then Osh traveling by 4WD and staying with local families - a wonderful experience.

Flying from Dushanbe to Khorog

Again it's either 22 hours car or one hour flight. This time the flight is kind of famous. On one hand for the fact that it was the only flight on which Aeroflot paid danger money to the pilots as it passes between 7000m mountains. On the other hand for the fact that there is only one flight a day with just 15 seats and typically about 100 people trying to get a seat... . Obviously there is no system to book these seats, the only way to get one is go to the airport the day before the flight, wait, wait, wait and then fight. It was quite a mission (about 5hours) but eventually we got a ticket. The flight is absolutly amazing. You really fly between these 6000 and 7000m mountains covered with snow and glaciers. Sometimes it feels like you can almost touch the snow...

Flight Dushanbe to Khorog (Tajikistan)

Dushanbe

Mmmh, how can you describe Dushanbe? On one hand it is a real capital with a "Barcelona like la rambla" and street coffees selling snacks and beers. On the other hand it still has the odd Sowjet reminders such as some "not very nice buildings" and the old men with the bear... Dushanbe was also the place where we saw the EURO 08 opening game, Switzerland - Czech Republic. Well, the result is nothing to write home about but the atmosphere was interesting. We were in this bar with a guy from Yvory Coast (the head of the European Commission in Dushanbe) and a couple locals.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Flight Kohjand - Dushanbe

Tajikistan is a very mountainous country with bad roads making most ground transports neverending long. Flights on the other hand are operated by old Antonov planes. What to go for?
Well, we tried our luck with an Antonov 24, which didn't exactly look brand new. There were no seat numbers and at the plane the crew said woman and children first... . Once they had their seat the men were alowed to fill up. Inside the plane looked even older. The seats weren't really fixed and incredibly close together. There was no fentilation making it incredibly hot. Nevertheless we made it safely to Dushanbe and celebrated with a cold Baltika beer.

World champions in red tape

The (hopefully) last visa related post... . Tajikistan is definitely world champion in charging red tape, absolutely amazing how they handle this... First you need a letter of invitation in order to apply for the visa (35 USD), then you can apply for the visa (if you don't want to wait forever this is 80 USD), after entering the country you have to register withing 72 hours with OVIR (22 USD and a process with going to the bank and then to their office etc). To enter GBAO (a district of the country - where the Pamir area is) you need a special permit (another 80 USD). In this GBAO you have to register again with both OVIR and KGB... . Last but not least there are many checkpoints along the street.

Fast wheel...

  
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan aren't best friends for various reasons (eg border disputes). Therefore there is no public transport between the countries (no flights, no bus, no train) leaving no other option than taking a shared taxi to the border, walk over and take a new taxi. That's nothing special as such but our taxi in Uzbekistan was "excellent". Once we were full (4 passengers) in Tashkent we took off and everything went well for the first hour. Then there was this strange noise and we stopped. The driver opened the front of the car and had a look at everything. Shortly afterwards we drove again. Then there was this smell from the back right side. Everybody was kind of guessing what this could be when the car fell to the right and our own back wheel flew past the car... Even the locals had a good laugh before we changed to another car leaving the poor guy with his tire in the field.

 

Tashkent

The Uzbek capital is a center for entire Central Asia and as such a very developed city in every aspect. From an excellent metro system to ATMs (even dispensing USD) to an excellent opera and wonderful markets. We took advantage of these possibilities and organized two further visas here while enjoying the city life. A highlight was definitely the opera visit - we splurged and went for the top seats in the 3rd row (for 4 USD...) and saw a great show.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Samarkand

As Bukhara, Samarkand was a major trading city along the silk road and is an impressive sight today. Combined with the delicious food and the hospitality simply a wonderful place. (We mentioned some foto stories from Iran. Here we were even asked by a wedding couple to take a picture with them. Well, they dressed up very nice and we in our ... clothes - at least they were happy)

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Bukhara

Bukhara in southern Uzbekistan used to be an imporant city on the silk route and the impressive buildings from these days remain today. A wonderful place to enjoy ancient culture, have a good meal around the wonderful water pods and stay at one of the beautiful houses.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Merv

Merv is a desert city in the middle of Turkmenistan. We waited till 18.00 to go out and visit the famous sites but it was still incredibly hot! Besides the ancient ruines there are many camels on and next to the roads. After the "hard work" in the heat we enjoyed "kebab" and local beer.

Merv

Central Asia

Central Asia covers a large part on the world map (half the size of the US) but is hardly recognised in media or travel reports. That's why it was a bit difficult to imagine how it would be like here. As it was part of the former Sowjet Union one would probably expect something very Russia like. In fact it's quite different. People look rather Chinese than Russian, Food is rather Turkish, Religion is Islam and Language is a mix of national languages and Russian. It's amazing to see a Chinese looking Moslem eating Turkish Pide and speaking Russian!

Cave lake (Koew Ata)

It's probably not obivious that you go to a thermal bath when outside temperatures are close to 40 degrees but it's an amazing experience nevertheless. Close to Ashgabat is a large cave with a hot (36 deg), mineral rich (yes, nasty smell) lake at the bottom. Locals go there (in their underwear) and have great fun. Part of the experience was getting in. We were told we have to wait one hour as a VIP group would come. Indeed some minutes later a series of brand new, black Mercedes limousines arrived in a convoi with Police in front and back (could have been a movie). The eldery men with "largerly" bellies entered the bath and waiters followed with cold beer. While they were in, the bath was closed and we were told that these are "friends of the president". Later they came out only wearing a towel, jumped into the waiting cars and drove away. No wonder everybody wants to be a Politican...

Koew Ata, Turkmenistan

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Have you ever played SimCity? Then you can imagine how downtown Asghabat looks like! Everything is brand new, clean and empty (built with petrol dollars according to Turkmenbashi's plans - mostly by French companies). But there are some features which SimCity doesn't have. For example the dozens of golden (real gold) Statues of Turkembashi (the former president) or the Walk of health (35 km of concrete stairs built into the mountains south of the city...). Once you leave downtown you come to "normal" Turkmenistan where everything looks quite different. One thing every location has in common is that it's incredibly hot - it's a desert! We had a great time with Daniel & Greg, two Polish guys we met while applying for the Turkment visa (that's the good thing about waiting for visas...).

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan