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Two people, Tom and Jo, travelling from Australia to Germany. In their car "Hans". As environmentally friendly and socially responsible as we can. Read more Brisbane Queensland, Australia
  • Going home
    2
    Day 203

    Jo's perfect Sunday

    September 29, 2019 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    What a day! It started with getting up early, a cup of coffee made by Tom and jumping into the nearby lake. Though our campspot on the parking lot of what could pass as an amusement park was far from perfect, at least no one else was around this early and we enjoyed the short swim.
    While heading back to the car, the weather decided to cheer up and I was looking forward to breakfast and researching Georgian festivals (internet reception was quite good). Little did we know that we were in for a surprise: Tom called me to the back of the car as he was cuddling one of the cutest puppies we've met in a while. "Tara" (we named her and were seriously considering taking her along) kept us busy with cuteness overload. She staid around for a few hours, but headed off when it became busier and she had the prospect of getting some fresh fish from the fishermen. So no dog, yet...
    And time for research with no distraction 😉 Tom repaired a few small things around the car and I got all excited about the many opportunities in Georgia. There is a city festival "Tbilisoba" in Tiflis next weekend that I don't want to miss. Tom, having finished the repairs, had found out about a beautiful National Park just after the border and so our plan was fixed: head towards the National Park, spend a few days there and then live in an AirBnB over the weekend to explore Tifllis and the festival. And on top of that we'll attend a cool DJ event working with the symphony orchestra!
    Wow.
    Now time is precious, so we pack up, ready to go. At that moment, yesterday's flower seller returns to his workplace. He had gifted me a lovely bunch and I wanted to say thank you again. So I get some biscuits and a bit of money, but he refused. Instead, I get another flower. Unfortunately, he wouldn't take a picture with me, but he was such a lovely soul, it makes me smile every time I look at the flowers that are now in my keepcup in the cupholder on my door.
    We have time enough to visit one more sight in Azerbaijan so we head to Sheki. A beautiful village, home to a still actively used caravanserai (silk road resting place) and two of the Khan's palaces. Small, but beautifully restored, I love walking through them on our cultural excursion.
    To take care of our hungry bellies we feast on our earlier bought fresh local bread and cheese (sor is a kind of quark and dangerously yummy) and move to our campspot for the night. It's only 10kms from the border along a small creek. Lush green surrounds us. I'm fearing to be sushed away when a man walks quickly right towards us, but no, it's a local fisherman. I mistake his hand movement for wanting to take a picture of the car but am handed 4 small fish instead. Ok... He heads off and I suddenly feel movement. Tom tells me it's probably just muscles working after its death but I'm not convinced. It's moving again! On Tom's suggestion (I am far less experienced with fish), I carry it down to the creek. It's breathing! After a few minutes being held underneath the surface and gullping up the fresh water, the fish actually manages to swim away. What a win!
    The not so lucky ones we'll fry over a campfire tonight (both of us would have preferred if we had been able to rescue all of them). With a glass of wine, we'll toast our short but beautiful trip through Azerbaijan.
    What a day!    Read more

  • Going home
    Day 202

    Random observations in Azerbaijan

    September 28, 2019 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    What can you learn about a country in just two days? Well, not much really. But some things we found noteworthy nonetheless:

    Azerbaijan is the first country on our journey where geese seem to be super popular. It felt like every second house in the mountain villages had some.

    The road from Baku to Gabbala leads through very diverse countryside. While you start at the Caspian Sea and then drive through semideserts, the landscape changes drastically as soon as you reach higher altitude. Lush green forests and vineyards greet here. Furthermore, there are hundreds of beautiful looking restaurants along this stretch, nestled on hilltops or underneath trees, inviting to take a break and enjoy the scenery. (With hardly anyone around, we were, however, wondering how on earth they all survive...).

    Another find, crucial for our travel planning, is the very good cellphone reception all over the country. Something we haven't been used to so far.

    And we were also positively surprised by the first recycling machine we spotted in a supermarket. Yes to waste management!

    Good for our budget: diesel ist finally cheaper than petrol and every gas station has the same price. Is it government regulated? Don't know, but we're leaving all fuelled up.

    As we're looking for nice campspots, we can't help but notice the dried out riverbeds everywhere. It's hard to imagine a full flowing river here, but after all, it's autumn and it might be different in spring with all the snow melting in the mountains? The debris that's lying around suggests that way. We might have to come back and check it out!
    Right now, we head to lakes instead. However, as refreshing water sources seem to be scarce, the ones that exist have been capitalised on: the two lakes we approach have been taken advantage of a hotel with a boom gate denying entry to non-paying guests. What a shame!

    Last but not least, we realize that Russian isn't very popular here anymore. The Azeri language sounds very different and they use yet another alphabet. A strong Turcic influence can be detected. Time to move on from Russian and learn new words!

    We leave, feeling that we haven't explored enough of this country's landscape and culture. But mountains are calling and we need to take advantage of the great weather forecast. Azerbaijan, you deserved more but we tried to make the most of it.    Read more

  • Going home
    Day 202

    Taking the ferry across the Caspian Sea

    September 28, 2019 in Azerbaijan ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Due to our difficulties to get a Russian transit Visa (processing time and location just didn't work out), we finally decided to cross the Caspian Sea by ferry. It's not very we organised yet, there is no timetable and no clear information about costs etc. but that's part of the experience. We know it leaves from Aktau, so we head to the port there first. Not being able to identify the right building, we ask a woman in a Café for help. She's super friendly and helpful and gets us to call a guy with further information. There is a ferry at 2am, but we need to head the port a little further down South. There, they've built a big new terminal to process the ferries quicker. However, no one is around apart from Tom, a motorcyclist from Tasmania. Turns out we had met in Murghab already. Small world 😊
    With a bit of effort, we find a guy to talk to and he simply tells us to wait. And so the journey begins.
    (Note: this might be a bit too detailed, so I won't be offended if you don't read it!)
    3.30pm we arrive at the new terminal, establish contact and make sure people know we want to take the next ferry to Baku (hardly anyone speaks English)
    We wait for hours that we spend talking and in my case playing with a super cute dog.
    11pm We get waved through the entrance gate, the car is checked quickly and we're surprised that the vodka isn't being taken.
    Next, we are led to a big hall, where we get the ticket for the car. The hall is huge, well signposted and clearly built to process masses. This late at night, with just the three of us in there, it feels a bit like we're the only survivors in a zombie movie. They then send us back out to drive to the ferry. As it's nowhere to be found we head back to the parking where Tom and I sleep in the car. Motorcyclist Tom stays inside.
    3.30am Moto Tom wakes us up (which apparently took a while). We go inside again to our get passenger tickets and car customs paperwork sorted. The ferry has arrived and is unloading at the moment.
    4.45am Time to board the ferry. This time, we're following an officer's car to not get lost again. Our gang of three is joined by another backpacker, but no other cars or trucks in sight.
    5am A welldressed guy checks our paperwork while we have a quick coffee and pack our bags on the loading deck. We're motioned to move forward (still not much English around). Our passports are stamped in one of the rooms on the main deck and then we're allowed to choose our rooms. They all are kept simple, but we manage to find a two passenger cabin with a bunkbed, a couch and even our private toilet&shower. Not too shabby at all!
    6.05am we can't quite believe it, but the ship is leaving! As far as we can tell we're the only passengers. All of us are fairly tired, so we go to sleep. The day passes without any turbulences, we have lunch & dinner, read and watch a few episodes of our current TV series.
    11pm The anchor goes down, we can see the mainland but we're too early to go on shore. We had expected to be on the boat for 20-22hrs, but surely we'll be able to leave earlier?
    2am the ferry moves towards the port
    3.45am we arrived. We are asked to leave the ferry and go to passport control. This time it doesn't happen on board.
    Everything is empty and deserted. Again, no one really tells us what to do but by standing around and waiting somehow someone moves us forward. The guy who held on to our paperwork still has our car registration which causes a bit of confusion at customs. He wants to keep it as he still wants us to pay for the boat. Reluctantly, he joins the Tom's and customs gets sorted.
    5.15am the Toms "just" need to pay for insurance, road tax and the ferry now (the vehicles cost more than we paid in Aktau). While they're gone to the payment office, I wait in the car. One of the older guys working here seems to have grown quite fond of me. He zwickt my cheek, talks to me shortly and then pets my head before heading off. Does this happen to others, too? He's got very kind eyes, a cheeky smile and reminds me a bit of my grandpa....
    5.40am there is a problem with the banking system and we can't pay the road tax. That means waiting for another 1.5-2hrs. Moto Tom is free to go though so we say goodbye
    5.55am Moto Tom comes back. Apparently we're missing a paper slip and can't leave the port just yet. So the boys head to the ferry again and get the Bill of Lading
    6.35am second try. Moto Tom hadn't been asked for the road tax proof, so all of us try to get through. No luck, one paper is still missing. Back to the office building again.
    6.53am next try. We paid a bridge fee (maybe the road tax?) and get through!

    Despite of all of this sounding super tedious, we actually enjoyed the ferry crossing. Pleasently surprised about not having to wait too long for it to leave (people wait for days sometimes), we feel we made the most of it. It only took 1.5 days and saved us hundreds of kms of fast driving (our friends only got a 3day transit Visa for 800kms). And now we're super excited to explore Azerbaijan.    Read more

  • Going home
    Day 198

    Border crossing Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan

    September 24, 2019 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We enter another country for the second time. First, it was Russia that we entered twice with the car. Then, we entered Kyrgyzstan three times on this journey (though one doesn't really count as we had left and came back by plane in between).
    Today, we come back to Kazakhstan, this time at the Western side of the country. These countries are so vast, it's hard to grasp!
    At the border, we're allowed to bypass the long line of trucks again. Having arrived at 12.44pm, we cross the Uzbek side quickly and are out a mere 15min later. The young customs officer inspecting Hans clearly would have loved to take Hans for a ride, as he even sat down behind the wheel!
    On the Kazakh side, trucks and cars are waiting alike. No bypassing here as it seems we arrived at lunch time. Oh well, at least we have time to eat something. During the wait, few of our fellow travellers would love to have a conversation. By now, Tom pronounces "I only speak a little bit Russian" in Russian so well that people don't really believe it. After a few tries they understand at last and stop asking further questions, a bit disappointed. Foreigners with a car still cause curious interest all around. And yes, we still need to work on our language skills.
    Then the gate opens and everyone gets waved through, only to line up inside again. As tourists, we're pointed to the side, but still have to get our passports stamped along with everyone else. The queue isn't long. On Tom's turn, the officer enquires about a long piece of paper, that we don't have. In the end, he simply waves us through, upon us asking saying we won't need it. Alright then.
    Afterwards Tom and I are separated as usual as he needs to get the TID for the car. I walk back to Hans, on my way meeting an officer. He speaks no English at all, but I manage to explain that Tom is getting the rest of the paperwork done. I'm allowed to wait by the car, but he doesn't want to do the customs check yet.
    On Tom's return, we're a bit clueless about what's next as no one is around. After a few minutes, Tom walks up to the passport control area for the second time. At the same time my non English speaking officer and another one in formal uniform show up to check Hans. They, too, ask about the paper slip. Turns out, we should have gotten it at the main gate at the entry and it needs to be stamped by passport control and customs! So Tom goes to receive it and get it stamped while I show the official officer around. It's a simple examination and his face lights up when he sees the hoola-hoop (usually people notice the guitar first. I guess this guy likes gymnastics 😊). Tom returns, the slip is checked and we're done. Driving out, we hear the officer shouting "I love you". That's a first!
    All in all it took 2hrs, one of which was spent waiting during the lunch break.
    We're so eager to hit the road (still lots of ground to cover to get to the ferry) that we almost forget to get insurance. It hadn't been obligatory in the last countries we entered, but it is in Kazakhstan! Thank God for the booths, lining up right after the border, reminding us. Since Tom needs to do most of the work related to the car, we decide I go to get it this time. The young guy selling insurances barely speaks English, but is excited enough about me to call his friends over to join him. While he's typing in the details, I'm bombarded with pseudo-German stars (mostly soccer players and somehow Ronaldo and Messi end up in their name game). It gets a bit tricky when they ask about how much money I earned last year. I try to get away with asking how much they make: 1000USD a year. So when they ask for USD 30 for the insurance, I simply agree without checking the price. Noticing it, one guy asks for 35, but that I refuse. I'm not that easily fooled (or so I think). A quick and confusing discussion between the three of them follows, involving my $30 and 4000Tenge (approx $8) being shuffled over the table, but then I'm handed the insurance and we say goodbye.
    Back at the car, I feel a bit cheated still and talk to Tom about it. A second look at the insurance reveals that it only costs the equivalent of $22. While I'm too embarrassed to go back, Tom decides it's about principle and gets back another $5 at the booth. I suppose it's important to make clear that foreigners shouldn't be tricked, but at the same time I'm also painfully aware of the harsh contrasts of the worlds we live in. It's not easy to deal with it on an every day basis. We're not some rich kids on a holiday, but surely it must look like it from another perspective. But instead of being tricked into paying extra, I'd rather buy another bag of fruits and veggies of the next local farmer. One way of supporting the local economy. And I'll keep on thinking about other ways, too. Promise.    Read more

  • Going home
    Day 193

    Tales of 1001 Arabian nights

    September 19, 2019 in Uzbekistan ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Have you ever read or watched "Aladdin"? Or put your nose into a big old book titled "1001 nights"?
    If you have, you certainly must have dreamt about big palaces in the desert, oasis and camels, beautiful princesses and princes and a kind Sultan reigning over his land. Or maybe you thought about groups of scarf covered bandits, chasing through the dunes on mighty looking horses, holding their long swords high above their heads?
    Uzbekistan's silk road cities Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva give you a good impression of these dreams in real life. Or at least the buildings do. Huge mosques and medressas (education buildings), minarets and mausoleums greet you around every corner. They're very accessible, some with free entry, some cost a marginal fee, every one of them a monument taking you to a different time. Yet, some of them are still actively used in their old purpose as well.
    I was deeply impressed by all the handcrafted tiles and mosaics adorning the in- as well as the outside of the buildings.
    Taking into account the beauty and uniqueness, of course, you'd barely walk around on your own. But sitting down in a quiet corner, reminiscing all the stories you've heard that are vibrating colorfully in your head, that's something.
    We liked Samarkand's Registan the most, especially during sunset, but go and explore for yourself.
    Just maybe skip the driving yourself part, the desert can get to you after hours and hours of nothing but heat, rocks and sand.    Read more

  • Going home
    Day 192

    Random Uzbekistan

    September 18, 2019 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    There are so many wonders and wonderfully surprising things to notice everywhere you go. Uzbekistan was no different. Here are some of the little things we noticed:

    Corn is dried simply by taking off the husks and spreading it flat on the side of the road.

    There are lots of big houses. Some of them are just being built despite many looking empty and deserted. Quite a contrast really.
    There are also many stretches with small houses looking exactly alike. Usually around the bigger towns and cities. Leftovers from the Soviet era? Hard to tell.

    While we read and heard that Uzbekistan is touristy, people looked at us as if we were some sort of alien species in the first town we stopped at in the Fergana valley. Was it my hair? I might have to tame it a bit more as otherwise I think I was dressed appropriately (I had put on a leggings underneath my dress as I knew we were driving into Muslim dominated territory and I didn't want to stand out. Sidenote: not many women wear a headscarf in Uzbekistan after all). The amount of people greeting us from their cars and waving from the side of the streets seem to confirm our theory that tourists are still quite rare in this part of the world.
    The big silk road cities (Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva), however, really were quite touristy. Especially Bukhara and Khiva where big tourist buses throw buckloads of tourist groups all at once at the historic centers. No one to blame here, the sights are super beautiful, impressive and definitely worth visiting. But life as a local must feel weird in these museum parts of town that are raided day in and day out.

    Diesel and petrol are hard to come by. Most cars run on gas, which means big gas cylinders on the roof and even bigger gas stations, obviously marked by big sign posts from the main street. They're built a hundred meters or so away, I reckon not to threaten the traffic.

    Everyone we talked to was fond and proud of plov, the National dish. It's basically spiced fried rice with meat, veggies, fries and raisins, cooked in large pans over the tandoor oven. Unfortunately, we only had quite a poor version of it in Khiva, but I can imagine how good it can taste!

    While water- and honeymelons were in season and plentiful, the real national fruit is pomegranate. The tree is also seen as tree of life and often depicted on paintings, tiles and mosaics. And they were in season, too! Not bad for a country that mostly consists of desert.

    We haven't mentioned it before but since we've entered the Stans there is another thing that stands out: many people have golden teeth. Not just a crown, sometimes as many as six teeth or more covered in shiny metal. Uzbekistan was no different in this regard.

    And last but not least, the bazaars. We very often noticed a roof covered area where people were selling all sorts of groceries, but mainly fruit, veggies and dried fruit. Amazing variety, especially in the nutrient rich Fergana valley.    Read more

  • Going home
    Day 192

    First day in Uzbekistan

    September 18, 2019 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Can you feel at home at several places at once? Or maybe home really IS where the heart is? I had no trouble adapting to the life back home and enjoyed being in my family home a lot. At the same time, moving back into Hans felt familiar and right as well.
    Having underestimated the time it gets dark here, we drove much longer than we usually do after crossing the border yesterday. But the Fergana valley is heavily populated and we needed to find a place to sleep. We reached our destination around 8pm in pitch black, had a quick snack and went to bed.
    Hence, settling in was left to this morning. Still accustomed to a different time zone, we got up around 8am, with the sun shining on our roof and a flock of sheep passing by our campsite next to a small canal. Curious people walk or cycle past, most of them just nodding or waving hello, some asking where we're from but none of them intruding. Just after breakfast, a man and his son walk up, a bit more interested than the others. We converse with hand and feet and a few words in Russian and I gift two pens and a notebook to the little boy. Turns out, we had just met our neighbours, living just 100m down the road. We're invited for tea, but knowing that we need to move on, we decline gently.
    It's time to get Hans organised after all! Thankfully we didn't bring back as many items as we took home, so everything finds its place quickly and Hans's tidyness is restored. Just as we're about to finish our neighbour's wife comes over. She gifts us grapes and dried apricots from the garden and smiles broadly. How I wish I could communicate at least a little bit more... Our heartfelt "spasiba" and "thank you"s must have made their way through despite of the language difficulties though. And so we part ways.
    While we were planning to take the shortest route to Samarkand, we need to get money and a sim card. Coincidentally the next opportunity to do so, presents itself next to a silk factory. Well, we don't want to miss it, especially since we're travelling on the silk road and Uzbekistan is the world's third largest silk producer. The detour is totally worth it. We get money & a simcard, super fresh veggies and fruit at the local market and the tour through the factory is super interesting as well. Every step of the production is handcraft and super impressive. And our Russian speaking guide is doing such a good job that we even understand his explanations (there are English, French and German speaking guides, too, but he was free and eager to show us around).
    To top off our already super exciting and successful day, we're then invited for tea by the owner of the house where we parked Hans. There are only so many times you can say no and so we agree. Quite an interesting household! We're asked to sit down in the entrance area, where we're served a Fanta like drink immediately by one of his daughters or daughter-in-laws. Tiny quails are kept in cages made out of pumpkin skin that hang high just underneath the ceiling. Their chirping could definitely act as an alarm system! During the course of the conversation our host explains he sells them at the Fergana market.
    As we're drinking the Fanta, we're offered kefir as well. Wary of our horsemilk experience, we're reluctant but there is no saying no. The kefir is homemade from milk that the goat in the courtyard is providing. And it is delicious! Pleased that we like it, our host asks us to take the whole jar (made a beautiful sauce for our dumplings at dinner!) and a loaf of bread on top of that. We finish a few cups of tea, talk about this and that (interrupted with frequent glances towards the birds at the ceiling whenever we get lost in translation) and then bid farewell. There is not much of the day left and we want to cover a bit more ground. An hour later, we find our second campspot in Uzbekistan and take a deep breath. We're on the road again. And people are simply wonderfully friendly.    Read more

  • Going home
    Day 191

    Border crossing Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan

    September 17, 2019 in Kyrgyzstan ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    This border crossing was a special one. Why? Well, we had just arrived back in Osh at 4.10am this morning! Tom and I had flown back to Germany for a few days to see friends and family and attend two weddings. After a super exciting and special time that really felt like a holiday from our overlanding journey, today was the day to be reunited with Hans again. Quite wonderful.
    We pick up the car at Vlad's garage, get a few last bushings fixed, fill up the tanks (both of them as we're not sure about Diesel in Uzbekistan), get the last few groceries and head for the border.
    We know it's not far out from the city, but yet we're surprised how quickly we reach it. The Kyrgyz side is bustling with market stalls and money exchange booths but before I can suggest to exchange some money, we're already at the front gate. Tom had simply passed the long line of trucks and no one seems to mind. Quite the opposite: once we're through the first gate cars are even asked to move so that we can proceed. Tourists definitely enjoy advantages here. Someone picks up our temporary import document for Hans, our passports are stamped through a side window so the we don't have to queue, a quick look into Hans and off we are towards the Uzbek side.
    Here, we're not separated for the first time and both Tom and I get our passports checked by the (very good looking) guy who processes the paperwork for drivers. Lucky me, the "normal" hall seems to be a beehive! Tom and I are witnessing loud shouting, long queues and general discomfort while waiting for our papers. In the customs area just in front, things are much calmer. Our passports are stamped quickly, Tom takes care of Hans's paperwork and I get the honour to lead through the customs inspection for the first time. The customs officer actually laughs with me as I present the spatula when asked if we carry any weapons. Besides not getting a temporary import document (let's hope we won't need it) and a bit of confusion if we can go or not (we needed to stop for the dogs again, but were quickly released thereafter) a very nice and smooth border crossing. All thanks to us being tourists. Being preferred felt weird but at the same time we were super grateful as the day had already filled out heads with so many thoughts and impressions I'm not sure we would have been able to handle any problems. So thank you, sweet people in line and border officers. Uzbekistan, we're ready for you.    Read more

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