Central Asia
Budget: Kazakhstan (R)
This budget is a bit lower than might be expected, because I Couchsurfed for the 11 days I spent in Almaty waiting for an Uzbekistan visa. An expensive city, having had to pay for a hotel there would have significantly increased the overall cost of Kazakhstan. Also note that the […]
Pretty Little Penjikent (R)
Its very rare that regional capitals, in Central Asia at least, are anything but a transit point to get to bigger and better destinations. The city of Penjikent, though, is a wonderful little backwater. Though once easily accessible from the Uzbekistan city of Samarkand, a disagreement over hydro issues between […]
Faces of Murghab (R)
Murghab is, in one word, remote. The closest big city is in another country (Osh, Kyrgyzstan). The nearest Tajik town is, at the moment, besieged by the military in response to problems with the nearby Afghan border. The road to town was built by the Soviet Army in the 80’s, […]
Bukhara – The Triumphant Return (R)
Kalon Mosque (R)
The other main sight in Bukhara, and to my mind far superior to the rest, is the Kalon Mosque and Minaret complex. As impressive as the minaret is now, think about how it would have looked to someone who saw it when it was built in 1127. It was said […]