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A 31-day adventure by Sean Read more
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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and Caucasus
    Day 1

    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 Caucasus
    Day 3

    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 Caucasus
    Day 4

    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 Caucasus
    1
    Day 5

    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 Caucasus
    Day 6

    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 Caucasus
    1
    Day 7

    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 Caucasus
    Day 8

    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 Caucasus
    11
    Day 9

    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 Caucasus
    Day 10

    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 Caucasus
    1
    Day 11

    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

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