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Sean Plamondon
Sean Plamondon

Sean Plamondon

traveled in 90 countries Read more🇨🇦Ottawa
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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    11

    Kazbegi

    July 21, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Taxi'd back to the airport to pick up our rental car and headed due north high up into the caucasus mountains. Stopping several times to take in the beautiful scenery and lakes and high lookout points. Much colder in this part of the country and a tshirt definitely wouldn't be enough.

    Finally arrived in Kazbegi, and drove up to picture perfect Gregeti Trinity church and its amazing panoramic views. It was really hard to leave. But i was getting super hungry. So we drove down the mountain and to the town for food. Super yummy stew type meal. And then found a small hotel to crash at for the night. Early to bed to recharge our batteries.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Tbilisi - Day 2

    July 20, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Slept in and met up with Marcus and Maria in the old town at a craft beer place they found. Raquel eventually joined us and then we all went to a wine tasting in a cool basement winery. All the wines we sampled were really good and different than the wines I'm used to.

    After that, Raquel and i found a nice restaurant to grab a good meal at and while sitting there, a girl sat at our table with us. Turns out that restaurant was the meeting spot for a pub crawl and that girl thought we were part of the group. Fairly fortuitous so we decided to join the group.

    Lots of dancing and socializing with a very diverse international group. Fun night.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    1

    Tbilisi - Day 1

    July 19, 2024 in Georgia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Arrived in tbilisi around 6pm and met up with my Brazilian friend Raquel who flew in from New York to travel with me for about a week. Had a quick beverage together and then we set off to find a good restaurant and later to meet up with Marcus and Maria once again (from Norway). They led us to a craft beer place and we all did a sampler flight.

    After Marcus and Maria left, Raquel and i found a nice basement bar for a beverage. And then after that found a super packed street of all lounges and nightclubs. Popped in and out of a bunch and finished up at a really fun irish karoke spot where we met a ton of people.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    11

    Baku - Day 2

    July 18, 2024 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Spent the afternoon walking around the old town stopping occasionally for a glass of wine here and there. Popped into a lovely winery and found an awesome rooftop location.

    It was a much less social day and just to to myself wandering around. As i headed back towards my hotel, i saw bunch of women cooking food in a park with their kids. I decided to sit down on some steps not too far away. They were so kind, bringing me a cup of tea, and then some bread, and then some pastries and desserts. All the with a kitten in my lap :) And they also insisted i do some purification thing in a smoke kettle of sorts. I was

    Just before leaving, i took a quick snapshot, which they unfortunately didn't like. And some of the teens followed me for a few blocks insisting i dont publish that picture. So i will of course honour their request and omit it from this entry.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Baku - Day 1

    July 17, 2024 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    I had a long trip to get to baku. 5.5 hours from bishkek to ankara, turkey. Then 2.5 hours from ankara to baku. My connection was only 2 hours, and my flight was an hour late arriving. I thought for sure i would miss my connection because in bishkek i wasn't given both boarding passes and i was thinking i would have to exit security and check in again in ankara. But fortunately i found desk inside the security zone to give me a boarding pass.

    Baku is both old and modern simultaneously. Really beautiful city. I wandered the old city a bit before relaxing at a place with great dolmas and a beer and extremely friendly kittens. Eventually wandered around some more and found a place with a great live band. And after that went to a small pub and met some really nice azerbaijan guys who shared my world views quite a bit surprisingly. We chatted and played pool for a few hours before ending the night    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Tim from kentuckyRussian friend

    Bishkek - Day 3

    July 16, 2024 in Kyrgyzstan ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    My excursion started at 830am. Aziz picked me up first and we had to wait for Kati's plane to arrive from Germany. Pretty crazy she is going from an overnight flight right onto an excursion!

    First we stopped at Burana tower. Not much left of the former city here. Climbed to the top and walked around the site a bit. Then lunch at a restaurant along the way and finally hiked into Kongorchuk canyon. Took about 1.5 hours to hike to the end which was spectacular red rock formations as a reward for the tiring effort. Hurried back because a big thunderstorm was rolling in and we got back to the car minutes before hitting us.

    Took a 3 hour nap and one last evening at Pivo where i met Tim from kentucky and a russian guy who is escaping the war.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Kyrgyzstan stop signAwesome Navat restaurantMy $3 meal at NavatTijou from OregonMax from FranceAlina and co-bartender whose name escapes meRita from BishkekDavid from Quebec

    Bishkek - Day 2

    July 16, 2024 in Kyrgyzstan ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Decided to not plan anything for this day and needed some sleep after the very late soccer match. Nice to slow things down a bit. Eventually got going and walked a few hours around the city. Lots of soviet era statues and monuments and soviet style buildings. Not the most creative architecture.

    Went to a traditional restaurant Navat and ordered something that was much more asian tasting with veal, vegetables, soy sauce and lots of different spices. Super tasty.

    Then back to the Pivo pub and chatted to the bartender Alina a lot plus met many other travelers. One guy from france drove all the way to Kyrgyzstan from Paris!! Crazy. My canadian friend david eventually joined me as well. Very social evenings in Kyrgyzstan.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Ascension cathedral in almaty
    David, Marcus and Maria

    Bishkek - Day 1

    July 14, 2024 in Kyrgyzstan ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Another travel day, this time to Kyrgyzstan. Visited a cathedral and also had an awesome meal called Ossobuco before heading off to the airport. Almaty's airport is easily the newest, nicest, biggest airport in central asia. Bit sad i didn't have more time in Almaty. Really nice city!

    Upon landing in bishkek, found out my norweigan friends were also in bishkek, and we made arrangements to meet up again. Another canadian, David, joined us too, who i met on a Facebook travel group. Had some really good craft beers at a place called Pivo (russian word for beer) and then we found a place to watch the Euro football final match between England and Spain.

    Game started at 1am because of the timezone difference.. so it was a very late night but such a fun time with friends.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Charyn canyon
    Charyn canyonCharyn canyonCharyn canyonMoon canyonMoon canyonStone shelfStone shelfHorse meat meal

    Almaty - Day 2

    July 13, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Early start to the day for my canyons excursion. Sergey picked me up at 7am and off we went.

    Took over 2 hours to reach beautiful Charyn canyon. Hiked the length of the interior red rock area and also hiked most of the upper rim for panoramic shots. Wow it was hot inside the canyon, over 40C. Super popular and teeming with people

    I thought that was awesome until we drove off road to the Moon canyon. Spectacular tight golden rock formations. Continuing off road, really off road, to Stone Shelf which was perhaps even better. We had lunch right there. And deeper off road to two spots Napoleon and Austrian viewpoints. Geez it really didn't seem possible to keep getting better, but it did. Came across a number of camels in our off road venturing and even some on the highway. All these off road locations we were the only souls anywhere.

    On return i briefly rested and then made my way to a craft beer place i had researched. Finally some really good beer 🍺 😋 From there went to a traditional kazakh restaurant that Sergey recommended and i hesitantly ordered the traditional horse meat meal. Pretty good but one time deal for me :) Also tried fermented horse milk which is also absolutely never happening again! Yuck!!! It was 100x worse than i was anticipating haha, and my expectations were super low.

    Bounced around town to a few other places, trying more kazakh wine in a few nice places, chatting with some locals and eventually calling it a night.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Almaty - Day 1

    July 12, 2024 in Kazakhstan ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Flight to Kazakhstan was rescheduled for 1pm but again by 3pm the flight showed "closed" on the big board and i was starting to think my Kazakhstan leg of the trip might not happen at all. But fortunately at 4pm we were in business and my 21 hour delay was over.

    Turned into mostly a travel day. By the time i arrived at my downtown apartment, it was well after 6. Then had problems finding a bank to pay for the apartment plus some difficulty coordinating with the apartment owner. Finally sat down for supper around 9pm.

    First impressions of Almaty are great! Very close to a huge mountain chain. Large boulevards with lots of trees and buzzing nightlife. I came across many pedestrian streets filled with street performers, shopping and restaurants. Very lively and safe city.

    Decided with my limited time to try out a local brewery for both some food and local craft beer. And also went to a winebar to sample some Kazakhstan chardonnay too. The beer was average and the wine was definitely better than i expected. And then off to bed for my 7am excursion.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    1

    Dushanbe - Day 2

    July 11, 2024 in Tajikistan ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Got up and took some more pictures at Iskander lake before the 3 hour drive back to Dushanbe. Such an incredible drive. My pictures do not do it justice. We stopped by Hisor fortress on the way which was a cool hilltop walled fort. Unfortunately not much remains on the interior. But very scenic spot. But again the heat made climbing the fortifications extremely hard.

    Then just killing a few hours before my 7pm flight. All the airports in this part of the world are tiny and not somewhere you want to hang out for very long anyways. So i went downtown for a few hours to a couple different places. Got to the airport 3 hours early but i wasn't even allowed into the checkin area until 2 hours before my flight. Things are just different here.

    Disappointingly, my flight was delayed 2 hours and eventually got cancelled. And supposed to get rescheduled for tomorrow at 1pm. I'm really tired and don't really mind that much because i can sleep in now. I was supposed to have a 7am excursion which I'm relieved i was able to reschedule a day later too. Apparently the airplane struck a bird on its way to dushanbe so they grounded the plane.

    Got put up in a really nice hotel for free, paid me for my taxi and apparently i will be refunded my meal tonight too. Could be a lot worse :)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Iskanderkul

    July 10, 2024 in Tajikistan ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Farzona and her brother picked me up at 8am and off we went north into the mountains for another tour. Apparently Tajikistan is 93% mountainous and holds the world's second highest mountain chain after the Himalayas. And these details became apparent very quickly. Within 15 minutes of leaving the capital, we were entering some pretty crazy terrain. And it got more dramatic as we went.

    3.5 hours later we arrived at Iskander lake. Didn't really see the lake on arrival, and we had a big feast again immediately. Then farzona and I embarked on a two hour hike. First past the turquoise lake, and eventually to a canyon and waterfall. Beautiful throughout.

    On the way back, got even better shots of the iconic iskanderkul lake before hesding to snake lake. Bit of a challenge getting there but was a very nice place to relax for a while. Also went to some natural springs along the way.

    Returned to a rustic spot by the lake where we they rented us a house but with food and beverage service too. Big family operation. Me and Khurshed had some beer together on the dining table and then moved things to the lakeside. For a brief period the lake was so still and we unwittingly got some crazy awesome pics. Followed by endless food and then just relaxing on the cushion table until bedtime. I'm starting to get used to relaxing on pillowed tables haha. Life is rough 😁    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    My private museum tour guide
    Tallest flagpole in the world. Super random!The white houseParliament1Crazy spice options at the marketNuts for nutsSitting ON the table :)My spacious hotel room1Looked like i got cat food with my beer hahaLocals i met before the soccer game. Super curious about me

    Dushanbe

    July 9, 2024 in Tajikistan ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Got up at 5:45am to make my 8am flight to Tajikistan. The international terminal in Tashkent is pretty chaotic but the organized chaos kinda works at the same time. Entering security depends on your flight time. I had to wait until passengers with much more pressing flight times got through security first. Getting there super early has no benefit.

    Hired a guide for a tour of Dushanbe. To my surprise my guide (Farzona) offered to pick me up at the airport which was super nice. Farzona's brother Khurshed was our driver for the day while we chatted and walked around.

    First stop was the National museum of Tajikistan where farzona had hired a museum employee (kasymova) to give me a private tour of the entire museum. Wow. Extremely detailed.

    Then Farzona walked me through beautiful parks to several monuments and both the parliament and president's "white house". After that we went to a massive food market and farzona chatted with many different vendors and got me samples of tons of different fruits and nuts there without ever giving anyone money. I must ask her more about this tomorrow

    After filling up on fruits we went to a traditional restaurant and had a huge feast in a private booth. I really wish i hadn't just come from the market because i was pretty full from so much sampling. Very different "table". Basically, we are sitting on the table with cushions and all the food in the middle. Food was soooo good. Especially the creamy dish.

    And after 5 hours together i was dropped off at my hotel. Where I napped for 3 hours. I really needed that. Plus the heat was intense again. Looking forward to some mountain temperatures tomorrow. The city is really nice and almost feels like a big american city like Washington. Huge avenues, lots of flowers and monuments. Very safe and comfortable.

    Got going again around 6pm and found another huge monument near a pub i was trying to find and then sampling some Tajik beers at a great outdoor spot. Not finding any real craft beers yet here. At least not any Tajik ones. But enjoying the city. Its definitely not what I expected. Very modern, and western feeling. I would never know i was in central asia right now. Very few girls wearing headscarves and most dressing in stylish garb. Even the ones who are much more conservatively dressed often look really sharp and bedazzled :)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    I had to navigate a km of this by foot. UghInsanely beautiful subway platforms. And each one completely differentMarcus and Maria from Norway

    Tashkent

    July 8, 2024 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Day started with a 730am drive from Khiva to the Urgench airport which took about an hour. Then a 2 hour flight to Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital.

    Couldn't check into my hotel until 2pm, so I went for a long walk to the main bazaar and eventually to the massive muslim spiritual complex with tons of different ornate structures - mosques, madressas and minarets. I had no idea it was so huge. And they are just about done building the biggest mosque I've ever seen. Pictures dont show it properly at all. Shame it was closed still because i really wanted to check it out.

    My walk there wasn't so great. I decided to take a route through residential streets and get off the big noisy roads. Big mistake. Those residential streets were under massive construction and took me forever to navigate them. And because of road closures and also making a wrong turn, cost me an extra 45 minutes in the heat.

    But i did walk all the way back in a much more direct fashion to the hotel. Quickly checked in and then had earmarked a few nice restaurants to check out. Decided to try the subway. Wow every station is an elaborate art piece. Just beautiful. I wish they put that level of detail into signage though haha. Super hard to know which direction each platform is.

    Messaged my Norwegian friends i met in Samarkand for some ideas about a good beer place here in tashkent. Turns out they had just arrived in Tashkent too! So we agreed to meet up for a beverage later that night.

    First place i tried was more of a store with tables. Second place was super nice and more of an expensive lounge restaurant. But the third was amazing. Beautifully situated along a river and prices were good too. Met up with Marcus and Maria and shared stories for a few hours. Nice finish to a bit of a frustrating day. Will see them again in 10 days haha. Fun!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    My tour guide1

    Khiva

    July 7, 2024 in Uzbekistan ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    Khiva is a far away place that looks amazing but every traveler has to grapple if it is worth the effort. Out of all the adventurous souls i have met so far, only one made the trek... but he's also traveling for 6 months. Time is not a factor for Dan.

    The train option is at 4am and takes 8 hours. Ugh. The flight option is much more pricey and requires two flights to do it. Or just skip it. I chose option 2. Got up at 7 and eventually made my way to the airport. Connected in Tashkent and landed a tad before 3pm in Urgench and still required a 40 minute taxi ride from there to khiva. Its a lot of effort for just one night in khiva. Worth it?

    Yes! Khiva is gorgeous. Properly walled city and feels even more authentic than bukhara. Beautiful madressas, mosques and minarets throughout. Attractive alleyways connecting everything and markets set up throughout.

    I got offered a tour by an uzbeki student where i could set my own price because she is still practicing her english vs the real tour guide telling me it was 40US I was tired and still fighting my cold but I decided to give it a try. She gave me a ton more info and into buildings i never would have entered. Worthy expenditure as i gave her 15 dollars and cut it short cuz i was melting in the insane heat.

    Minutes after my guide left, two uzbeki girls approached me and asked if they could interview me for a khiva tourism video they are making. I agreed and they mic'd me up and started rolling the camera. I hope i did canada proud haha.

    After that i just needed relief from the scorching desert environment. Got an ice cream and walked with that to a nearby 2nd story indoors restaurant near tons of the sites. Waited for the sun to drop a bit and then went to the top of a nearby watchtower for more great views.

    And then to a few different restaurants for the views and eventually a really good local meal. Walked around more after sundown but ultimately I'm too tired to persist. Plus this small town seems to be shutting down early too. And gotta be up early for my flight to Tashkent anyways.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    One of many many madresses in the registan
    My second home at the oasis part of townChor Minor madressaThe ArkBukhara old town from The ArkNo way i was getting on that camel and i kept my distanceThe ArkRe-entering the registanSoooo many carpet shops hereShops like this everywhereMy hotel's rooftop restaurant view. Part of it. Total panoramic views not possible in one picAnother lamb dishSunset over madressa and The Ark in the backdropSwiss siblings handing Switzerlands euro loss well :(Owner of the place i keep meeting so many people while watching the Euro soccer tournament

    Bukhara - Day 2

    July 6, 2024 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    Woke up at 6am to watch Canada beat Venezuela at the Copa America on my phone and shockingly advance to the semi finals. Then back to bed until noon. Had an awesome lunch back in the oasis area of town and then ventured off to the Chor Minor madressa. Very disappointing that it was closed and i wasn't able to climb one of its 4 towers.

    Found a driver nearby to take me to The Ark, which is a walled city within a city. Super nice guy. Only $1 for a 15 minute drive. He didn't speak any english but really tried to connect with me. People here are just so authentic and kind natured. And all respond very happily to my canadian nationality.

    The Ark looks really cool from the exterior but unfortunately was mostly destroyed by the mongols and soviets. Massive restoration project under way. Some great views of Buhkara's old city from the top of The Ark though.

    From there got myself back to the registan and was so incredibly relieved to walk into my air conditioned room around 5pm. The intense heat is killing me. Plus I'm fighting a small cold. So lay down for 3 hours and then to my hotel's rooftop restaurant for supper at 8. Possibly the best viewpoint in the city. The panoramas are so incredibly striking. Had another lamb meal there and then headed back to the same bar as last night to watch the England Switzerland Euro match.

    Met a nice Swiss brother-sister pair there and felt awful for them when England beat them on penalty shots. All the while texting the british guys from the prior night, congratulating them :) The owner was really happy to see me again too :) And eventually called it a night. Back on the road tomorrow morning.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Samarkand train station
    Entering the walled old town area by footView from my hotel rooftopEvery building opening is both a market and a passagewayOasis in the middle of the old town.Amazing "Melted Lamb stew"The cats in this town are extremely affectionateThe cellar bar outside the old town1Dan and Rogen from England

    Bukhara - Day 1

    July 5, 2024 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    Took the 2 hour fast train to Bukhara and arrived at 130pm. Plus a 40 minute drive including circling around cuz it was prayer day and many roads were closed. No joke. I could eventually see on my google maps that i was relatively close to my hotel and i opted to walk the rest.
    On my walk through the old town, i quickly appreciated how well bukhara has been kept in its original state.

    Everything here is a sandstone style. With lots of curved sandstone domes but also the beautiful mosaic madresses and turquoise domed peaks like in samarkand. But its very different and perhaps a more authentic feel here. Hurts to say it because i really loved samarkand.

    I walked around amid the gorgeous mosques and quaint alleyways and markets. Hard to explain but its quite special here. But also a much smaller city and definitely quiter too

    After about 30 minutes wandering around and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful structures, i made my way purposely to Labi Huvoz plaza to relax with some cold beverages. The heat here is unforgiving. Relaxed by the oasis area for number of hours and had an amazing lamb stew.

    Eventually decided to see if i could find any craft beer in this town. Found a place on google maps outside the historic old town and ventured off down several narrow alleyways until i came across it. Sat down in this attractive stone cellar tavern amongst the locals thinking "i will definitely not meet any other tourists here tonight" as i was way off the tourist trail.

    An hour later, the spain germany soccer match started up and two brits asked if they could join my table to my surprise. Hung out with Dan and Rogen for a few hours and then I eventually made my back through the very quiet streets to my hotel.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Amir Temur
    Amir TemurMountain range we had to cross overLook how small the people are bottom-rightShahrizabzShahrizabzShahrizabzShahrizabzShahrizabzRandom mosque we drove by in ShahrizabzView from mountain restaurantFaro my driver with our lamb feastRandom driver to take me to the beer garden again. Happiest guy on earth hahaAli and the owner at Gusto beer gardenAmir Temur at nightRegistan at nightNew friends at Sam CraftNew friends at Sam Craft

    Samarkand - Day 2

    July 4, 2024 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Beds are pretty firm here. Didn't sleep great. But fairly early to bed and up around 7. But with lots of hours catching up on US politics craziness too cuz i couldn't sleep.

    After breakfast, walked to very impressive Amir Temur complex. Wanted to take a pic inside the dome but there were 50 people praying and i didn't want to be disrespectful.

    I unofficially had a car rented, but a guy outside the Amir Temur asked to be my driver today. After some haggling agreed on $60 to bring me to Shahrizabz. Its a 2 hour drive each direction plus he gave me as much time as i wanted to explore the sites. Which were really impressive. But unbelievably hot walking around. My phone kept shutting down from overheating!

    To get there and back, we had to pass over a big mountain range. Faro, my driver suggested we stop at his favorite restaurant at the top of the mountain for lamb on the way back. Sounded good to me. Awesome views to go with a big feast. I wasn't terribly hungry so i told him to bring all the leftovers home to his family.

    Got back at 4pm, and despite having air conditioning the whole drive, i was destroyed from the heat. Lay down for 3 hours at the hotel and re-energized. Then easily found another driver quickly to bring me back to the beer garden (Gusto) i was at Day 1. I love how every car in Uzbekistan is a potential taxi haha. I got the happiest driver possible. We didn't understand a single word from each other but it was super enjoyable.

    Met up with Ali the bartender again who definitely speaks the best English of anyone i have met so far here. Super nice friendly guy who has taken care of me so far. Had 2 beers chatting with him and the owner before venturing off to other places. All the staff were really happy to see me again too. Kinda sad i won't see them again. My samarkand family.

    Made my way to some cool ancient sites to get nighttime pics while all lit up. Then decided to finish my night at the same craft beer place i was at last night. The front deck area was bustling and full so i went inside and sat at the bar again. Was maybe 10 minutes later that i waa chatting with some other travelers who invited me to join them.

    Really nice couple from norway. Two other guys from norway. Another nice couple from india and taiwan. And also eventually two more nice couples from belgium and france too

    Got contact info from several and we all got booted aa they were closing. But supposed to meet up with the Norwegian couple in Geogia in 2 weeks. Fun!! Kinda surreal because i spent 2 days feeling like the only tourist here. Bit of a shame i am leaving tomorrow    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Beer gardenSam CraftAwesome shawarma at Sam Craft

    Samarkand - Day 1

    July 3, 2024 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    My Old Silk Road journey starts here. Which i think is a pretty cool starting point. Arrived at 5am, got some local currency at the airport's atm and quickly found a taxi to my hotel and passed out.

    Got going again at 1:30pm and immediately to the very nearby Registan right outside my hotel. Walked in and out of the 3 huge impressive madressas. Got directions from a local to the other ancient sites and off i went.

    Super hot and sunny but lots of nice parks to walk through along the way too. Stumbled across the massive Bibi khanym mosque. Then the much smaller but pretty Hazrat Hizr mosque with great views of the city. And finished at Shah I Zinda mausleums area, which was easily my favorite. The detailed mosaics covering each building plus the striking blue domes throughout are quite something to witness

    After that trek through ancient sites, i needed some food so i just stood next to a crazy busy road and within seconds an unmarked car pulled over and took me to the "russian town" of samarkand where there are lots of restaurants and nightlife. 30 min drive in heavy traffic cost me $2.

    5pm seems to be too early here. Many places closed or i was the only one there. Eventually found a newly built beer garden and made that my home for a few hours as i caught up on messages and figuring out some logistics for the next number of days. Nice surprise that they had excellent beer too!

    On my walk home found a 24 hour car rental place, so made arrangements for tomorrow for $25 including insurance. Much cheaper than the $75 driver plus guide i was gonna hire. And just before my hotel i found a craft beer place. Nice spot to finish my day. Totally exhausted from the long trip, and so many km of walking today too.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    En Route

    July 1, 2024 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This trip has been in the making for 5 years now. I had flights booked to central asia pre covid but the world shutting down took away that travel year and my flight in 2020 got cancelled, like everyone else's.

    I had spent a full year researching and planning it. There's so many borders that are not open to tourists in this area or just sporadically close for everyone. This time around i decided to bypass those concerns and unknowns by booking flights inbetween countries instead. And oh boy there's going to be a lot of countries!! Mostly really affordable flights too. But definitely less of a real world experience. There's usually so much amazing culture to absorb on the local transportations. I will have to find other ways to immerse myself.

    I have 3 flights to get there. Over 20 hours total travel time across 9 time zones. But i am flying business class the whole way, with a bed for most of it. So, i will be a happy, semi well rested guy on arrival hopefully.    Read more

  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia
    1Entrance to Mahdia medina
    Sousse medinaSousse medinaEntrance to Hammamet medinaHammamet medinaMy beer spot while soni shoppedSidi Bou SaidSidi Bou SaidSidi Bou SaidSidi Bou SaidSidi Bou SaidSidi Bou Said

    Sidi Bou Said

    May 19, 2024 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today needed to drive north all the way back towards Tunis because we were flying the next day at noon. But first we went to the Mahdia medina for some shopping for Soni. And apparently for me too cuz i bought a few things as well

    Then drove about 1.5 hours to Sousse which has a huge endless fortification around the medina. We walked into the medina and it was like an indiana jones movie. Narrow cute passageways with market shops throughout with really unique arabic stuff. Found an awesome restaurant in the middle of it and had an awesome lunch before taking off again.

    Drove another 90 minutes to Hammamet and visited their medina too. This medina was like a disney medina. Modern and made to look authentic but definitely contrived. Still, lots of shopping for soni while i relaxed on endless pillows and a beer. Seafronts of both sousse and hammamet were beautiful sandy beaches and resorts all along the coast.

    Drove another 90 minutes south of Tunis to absolutely gorgeous Sidi Bou Said. It was like being on a greek island. All the buildings were white and blue, narrow cobblestone roads, full of restaurants and shops on hills overlooking the Mediterranean sea. So beautiful and quaint.

    Had an amazing traditional fish meal there and some really good tunisian wine. I had no idea tunisia even made wine but we both loved it. Things closed down semi early so got back to the hotel at a good hour to rest up before the long flight home.

    I absolutely loved tunisia. Its beautiful with awesome roman history. There's so much i didn't get to see and i feel this is part 1 and to be continued. Tunisia's biggest treasure are the people though. Soooo incredibly kind and warm. Genuinely sad to leave.    Read more

  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Mahdia

    May 18, 2024 in Tunisia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Got ourselves to the Tunis airport to pick up the rental car and headed due south through a rainstorm. I thought it was interesting to see highway signs that said 110kph normally but 90kph while raining. Another first.

    2.5 hours later arrived in small El Jem for one huge main purpose. The roman ampitheatre! And it was magnificent. Super similar to the roman coliseum in rome (romans conquered tunisia 2000 years ago, so it checks out haha). But i think its better. Can climb everything, almost no people and camels! Haha.

    I tried to take a picture next to a camel but it didn't approve at all and pushed me 5 feet away with its nose. The camel owner told me to get on for a picture. I didn't expect the camel to stand up and i almost toppled over its head because it stands its hind legs up first. Took me for a walk in front of the amphitheater.. none of which i asked for. But was very amusing.

    Had lunch right across from the amphitheater and the owner was hilariously giddy that i was canadian. Had some chicken kebabs there and back on the road.

    Made our way to Mahdia, which is a coastal town semi nearby. We decided to book an all inclusive resort because it was only 100 cad for the night. Soni was in heaven, while i looked southward down the coast to the old city in the distance and longed for more adventure. So soni basked in the sun and i walked 40 mins along the beach shoreline to the medina and castle in town.

    Took me a while but i finally found a place serving beers outside the medina. I'm seeing a pattern perhaps. Then headed back to the resort to meet up with soni for dinner and planning out our last day in Tunisia tomorrow. Food at the resort was awesome and a bit of luxury wasn't terrible either.    Read more

  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia
    Commercial plane with zero markings

    Tunis

    May 17, 2024 in Tunisia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    One last time driving on the left side of the road to get the car back to the airport. Despite doing pretty good in my opinion, i have never been so happy to hand over the keys to a car haha.

    Flight to Tunisia was supposed to be at 4pm but delays pushed it back to 6pm unfortunately. So spend most of the day in the airport, catching up on seth meyers and colbert at the Hard Rock cafe.

    Our plane to Tunisia was really old and it wasn't even painted. An all white commercial airplane. Very weird haha. On landing, exchanged some dollars for dinars and got a taxi to the medina to our hotel. Taxi driver left us about 300 meters from the hotel because the streets in the medina are extremely narrow and only pedestrian.

    Started walking into the medina and the hotel staff was kind enough to come meet us half way. Super nice. Checked into our super authentic Tunisian hotel and ended up eating at the hotel's restaurant. We both got fantastic couscous meals (one chicken, one fish), each of which could have fed a small family.

    Soni was happy to relax in the room to cap the night. Whereas i wanted to find a place for a beer to write my blog, as i usually do. Asked the hotel staff where i could go and they said the medina is too religious to sell beer but there's a place 20 minute walk away. I wasn't gonna go but Aziz said no problem, he'd be super happy to walk me there. I didn't really feel like going that far but i also felt it was great luck to have a temporary tour guide to show me through the medina.

    So off we went and it was really cool. Mostly covered narrow cobblestone streets winding through the medina maze. I feel like i got into yet another time machine. Eventually ended up at a crazy busy spot and I was set up nicely at quick makeshift table where there wasn't one minute ago. I bought Aziz a beer before he had to go. He protested but he eventually relented and accepted my thanks for his efforts. Then Aziz gave me his number and told me to contact him and he would come back to get me and bring me back to the hotel.

    An hour later, i paid up and was ready to go. I felt bad asking Aziz to come all the way back to get me so was debating finding my own way back. Chatted a bit with some locals behind me who were really nice. I asked them if it was dangerous to walk through the medina now and they both assured me it was not dangerous at all. The girl asked me if i wanted to go to a nightclub with her, but i had to be up early, so i politely declined. And the guy Dali also gave me his phone number and told me to contact him for any questions etc. Super nice.

    I got about half way through the medina and i came across Aziz who was coming to get me of his own volition. So nice. Walked me back the rest of the way and emphasized again that i should contact him for anything i might need the rest of my trip. So far, i definitely see why people say Tunisians are so nice and hospitable.    Read more

  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Valletta again

    May 16, 2024 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Started the day driving about an hour to the really pretty fishing village of Marsaxlokk which is especially famous for multi coloured painted boats everywhere. Also a wonderful place to sit by the water for lunch and shopping in the seaside market. Had an awesome raw fish platter for lunch and got back on the road.

    Drove to gorgeous St Peter's Pool, which is a natural swimming area along carved out sandstone rocks. Then headed to The Three Cities which right across the grand harbour from Valletta and has tons of gorgeous cathedrals and fortifications plus the usual cool narrow streets everywhere. You really can't go wrong in this country any direction to opt to head.

    And finally finished the rest of the day back in Valletta. Soni was super happy to have a free shopping evening. I had ambitious ideas to explore valletta's fortifications and waterfront but instead found myself back at an awesome vertical street full of restaurants. Had my favorite pasta (truffles) of the trip and thats saying a lot considering the first 5 days were in italy.

    Soni eventually caught up with me and we headed back to the Kapitale bar and luckily enough both Alice and Neggy were working again. Big hugs all around and they both sat down with us for quite a while. That place closed pretty early again but this time Neggy took us to another bar with more of their friends. Really fun last night in amazing Malta. I can't recommend this country enough.    Read more

  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Mdina / Rabat

    May 15, 2024 in Malta ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Malta was controlled by the british for over 100 years, which i didn't know. Ergo, I also didn't realize my rental car would be driven on the left side of the road. Which i have never done before!!!

    But there's a first time for everything, right? 😁

    Holy crap that was challenging to adjust to. If cars were in front of me, it was a bit less on the brain.. follow the crowd. But all the roundabouts were clockwise instead of counter clockwise, and left hand turns did awful things to my brain. Always looking behind me for a car coming up on my right instead of a car coming in front on my right.

    But otherwise i think i did really well!! I could hear Soni pounding her shoes against her imaginary brakes in the passenger seat haha. But she kept telling me i was doing really well and it was her that was forgetting we were exactly where we should be haha. Oh boy, what a hilarious experience and on crazy roads and crazy busy roundabouts with cars going every direction.

    Ok back to where we went. Drove to the northern tip of the island and took the ferry to the island of Gozo and got ourselves to Victoria in the middle of the island. Beautiful fortress and maze of narrow streets below to yet another gorgeous cathedral.

    Checked out the sights and then headed back to the ferry to the malta main island and to the elevated fortress city of Mdina. Yes that's spelled correctly. Which is a twin city to Rabat. Amazing walled city on a hilltop. Felt like a prince walking through such amazing grand buildings and cobbled passageways. And outside the fortifications, Rabat was wonderful too. Narrow maze like streets filled with beautiful churches and restaurants

    We found a cave restaurant that offered a somewhat expensive 5 course meal maltese foodie experience and we went for it. Sooooo good. I'm such a spoiled person wow.    Read more

  • Sicily, Malta & Tunisia

    Valletta

    May 14, 2024 in Malta ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Flight to Malta wasn't until 3pm, and still over an hour drive away from where we were. With a lot of time remaining, decided to maximize our time and drive to the town of Enna perched high up on a mountain. Managed to walk the cute streets to some pretty piazzas and cathedrals. But didn't linger very long and got back on the road to return our rental car and get to the airport.

    Landed in Valletta, Malta a while later and immediately could tell malta was going to be something special. All the buildings are beautifully ornate and grand. And all are the same sandstone color too. Incredibly striking. Every turn and block offered something beautiful. And extremely lively place with endless restaurants and shops throughout.

    Found a place for a quick bite on a really cool vertical street filled with tables and chairs on every stair going down the steep hill. Then found a craft beer specialty spot and settled in. Alice the bartender shocked me with her beer knowledge and was super sweet to chat with too.    Read more

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