Middle-aged flash packers

Last day in Baku today, flying home this evening. We’ve had a very pleasant time here. The old town is quaint and perfect for getting lost in, but my favourite part is the sea front which is full of parks with fountains and trees for shade. We walked all the way along the front to…

Executive Summary: Poison water strikes;Timur’s tomb is magnificent ;Oybek turns out to be about 14; Tsunami of people at the station; Reunited with the Road Warriors; Baku – major disappointment overcome Steve’s tummy has been struck down again by the poison water. As with his back, I am feeling slightly responsible although it was his…

Executive Summary: Train journeys with other people are awkward when neither of you speak the same language ; Steve’s back goes ping struggling with my outsized bag; be wary of taxi drivers at a station; bad vibe apartments end up costing you a lot of money; Samarkand is the grandest of all; some Uzbekistan observations…

Executive Summary: nice breakfast; alternative Bukhara; back to the Madrassas; dicing with a dodgy tum Hearty and delicious breakfast this morning which was great as we ate very little yesterday. Enjoying staying in this little local gem so far. We are tucked away up a small alley just off the Layabi-Khaus pond which is pretty…

Executive summary: Khiva supermarket gets the thumbs down; Chernobyl Ferris wheel finds new home; people wander about carrying armloads of som and don’t get mugged; train journeys are the new cruising We had a bit of time to kill this morning before our journey to Bukhara so we took a wander to the nearest “supermarket…

Executive summary: feeling out of sorts; very long tap; the other faces of Khiva; strange and creepy museums; Khiva is beautiful at night Today we had a bit of a lie in. 7.45am. Our tummies woke us up as they were griping. Probably the water. Although we try not to drink it, and even use…

Executive Summary: Airport and plane anxiety;environmental issues; everybody wants Sum; Disneyland meets the Silk Road; Uzbekis love shoe horns too Our flight to Urgench (nearest airport to Khiva) saw us up at 5.30am. Our hotel was very laidback about what time we should set off for our flight, and when the taxi didn’t arrive when…

Our last day in Almaty was spent doing a few touristy things. We went to the green bazaar (markets are the same pretty much the world over), Kok Tobe Tower (you can’t actually go up the tower but I did have my photo taken with the Beatles) and a bit of shopping in the Dostyk…

When I say this walk was hard, I’m not joking. Do not take any notice of anything that tells you otherwise. 1600 meters of ascent and not a gentle traverse, just ludicrously steep paths. At times it felt that if you stopped, you would slide all the way back down the mountain/hill. Chuck in some…

No executive summary today Charlie – it’s too short Today we warmed up our legs by catching the cable car to the Talgar Pass and walking to the summit of Mount Shymbulak. Or Chimbulak if you’re Russian. Annoyingly the first section of cable car (you have to catch 3 to get right to the top)…