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Central Asia and Caucasus
  • Sean Plamondon
July 2024

Central Asia and Caucasus

A 31-day adventure by Sean Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 1, 2024
    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

  • 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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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 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

    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
    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

    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
    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
    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
    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
    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

    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
    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
    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

    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
    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

    Haghpat

    July 22, 2024 in Armenia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Very big drive from the furthest northern point of Georgia into Armenia. Left around 9am, stopped for food around 11am, got stuck for an hour trying to get through tbilisi and took a good hour to get through the border crossing. Didn't arrive at our hotel until 7pm.

    The border crossing was a bit more involved than i thought. Raquel had to exit the car and go through the customs buildings on foot while i drove the car through both the georgia exit and the armenia entry. Tons of paperwork involved and car searches. And i was forced to purchase car insurance on the armenian side but that was a fun experience too with locals and their curiosity of me.

    Beautiful drive into the huge mountains very shortly after entering Armenia and all the way to Haghpat - which is an ancient monestary atop a mountain. After checking out the monestary, drove another 30 minutes to our hotel in the middle of tight mountains and a river. Definitely the nicest stay of the trip. Had a multi course meal and great wine sitting by the river. Just as we were finishing up, we got invited to join a table of 8 armenians who were having a huge feast, so we joined them. Hilarious, nice group of guys.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Yerevan

    July 23, 2024 in Armenia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Drove about 2 hours to Saghmosavank and visited another ancient monestary. This one was situated on the edge of a huge, striking gorge. Took some time to marvel at both the ancient church and the incredible scenery. Then got back in the car and traveled another 15 minutes to another ancient church Hovhannavank on the side of the same Kasagh gorge. These are the oldest churches in the world.. so amazing they are standing and look to have very little restoration work done.

    Was another 45 minute drive to get to downtown Yerevan, the capital. Very hot day again, so while walking around to see the different sites, also ducked into various places for cold beverages. Yerevan is a really nice city. Full of parks and sidewalk terraces throughout. Its a bit short on monuments but definitely a place i could enjoy living in.

    Found some good beer places but nothing too amazing either. German wheat-style weizen was the best i could find, but a lot better than many cities on this trip. And ate lamb at local favourite Yerevan tavern. Finished the night at a hip little lounge bar below the hotel and respectably in bed by midnight :)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    In Limbo

    July 24, 2024 in Armenia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    This was a messed up day.

    Loaded up the car and drove to see the blue mosque and the very impressive cathedral before heading to the airport.

    Raquel and i had both done our online checkin the day before and had our digital boarding passes. But once at the airport, Raquel was allowed onto the flight to Moldova but i had been re-booked for a flight there two days later. Which was fairly disastrous for all my pre-booked plans and reservations. Apparently there was a problem with the plane so they switched it to a smaller aircraft with less seats and i was unfortunately one of the people that drew a short straw.

    After finding the FlyOne office to complain, and calling their head office, the best i could do is cancel completely and receive a refund. Poor Raquel now had to fly to moldova herself. And i had to figure out how to get out of this mess.

    Spent about 90 minutes talking with the airport information girl for every flight that day departing from armenia to western europe and hope i can find a way to belgium via train once there. Discouragingly, every single flight was full. Started to become a very stressful moment because of how much the rest of my trip was going to ruined. People expecting me in belgium, and olympics were in jeopardy. So i had to start looking at the next day. Semi luckily i found a direct flight to brussels.. the unlucky part was the cost: $930. And it was 1:45am, arriving at 5am. But it would save the rest of my trip, so i had to bite the bullet.

    Spent the rest of the afternoon back in yerevan killing time at sidewalk cafes, and arguing with FlyOne airways people about compensation for making me lose 2 flights, one hotel reservation in moldova and the costly flight i had to purchase. They did give me about $400 back, so thats a semi victory. And decided time to just move forward.

    Booked an extra night in brussels so when i arrived i could go to bed right away. Got there at 6am and passed out. Lets not do that again.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Charlie first to meet up with me in brussels
    Mike showed up nextRaquel eventually found us

    Brussels

    July 25, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    During my trip in the amazon last November, i met two awesome guys from belgium who told me i gotta swing by and visit them sometime. So i dedicated a few days of this trip to doing just that.

    After a few hours of sleep after my red eye flight, Charlie met me at my hotel at noon. He was nice enough to drive from bruges to brussels to meet up with me and give me a great walking tour of central brussels. Its a much nicer city than i realized. Tons of beautiful old architecture throughout.

    Mike had to work, so he showed up around 6pm after taking the train from Ghent. And their friend Wim joined us too, as we all reunited on a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city.

    A couple hours later, Raquel arrived from moldova and we all had supper at a traditional belgian restaurant. Followed by bouncing around to some fun bars and sampling world renowned belgian beers. Mike had to take the midnight train back to Ghent because he had to work the next morning, but Charlie stayed the night and shared my hotel room with me.

    Super fun day and night. So glad i splurged to get here from Armenia after the FlyOne debacle.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    1

    Ghent

    July 26, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Late morning start, Charlie and i walked to european part of brussels and had a good italian lunch right outside the european union buildings. Relaxed there until Raquel found us and charlie gave us a small tour of all the European headquarters in brussels. Then onto some nice parks. Ubered to his car and he drove us to Ghent to Mike's house for some pre festival drinks and snacks.

    The Ghent festival is insane. 200,000+ people a day attending. Its a 10 day, 24/7 party. It literally never stops going until the final hour on the 10th day. 12 atages, djs, street parties, its all just so beyond what i can describe.

    And Ghent might now be my favourite medieval city. Its soooo amazing. Towers, castles, cathedrals and canals all over. I had no idea. Constantly picking my jaw off the ground.

    Mike gave us a tour of ghent and then we ate at a very traditional belgian restaurant. Wim also made the drive down to join us. He's such a nice guy too.

    After supper, we found a fun concert area where we hung out for a few hours. Then wandered through the crowds and different party areas. Eventually Raquel decided she should get back to Brussels because she's going to Amsterdam in the morning. And Wim was super sweet to wait until she wanted to leave and then drove her all the way back to brussels. I think they departed at 2am.

    Charlie and Mike took me to a small packed bar in the middle of the chaos and we danced there until i had to get out of there. I think it was 430am. My 20 minute walk to my apartment turned into an hour walk because i got stuck in a crazy massive party crowd and could barely move. Annoying but definitely a unique experience too.    Read more

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