September 26, 2008
Samarkand: artistic impression
As we took it easy in Samarkand, Floris had plenty of time to make a sketch of the famous Registan. The real thing is even more impressive!
September 25, 2008
The Turkmenistan Visa
The only visa we weren't able to get in Shanghai (apart from those after Iran, which should present no problems) is the Turkmen visa. The guidebook and other travellers assured us that Tashkent is the best bet to get a transit visa.
We went to the embassy early in the morning to put our name on a waiting list: we thought we were there at 7 a.m., but that turned out to be 6 a.m. as our watches were still on Kazakh time. Listed as number 10, we were urged to come back to apply for the visa at 11 a.m.
Of course, this list used by the Uzbek guards turned out to be little more than a joke: the only real way of getting in the embassy is paying them (we heard 10 USD) or just being very patient. We opted for the last option, meaning we queued outside for over 1,5 hour in a blazing midday sun.
Other people had different strategies, the best of which was the one used by an elderly Uzbek woman: she used her full weight and her impressive bozom to literally brush the rather embarrassed guards aside. The guards didn't really know what to do with such a theatre, and she did manage to get in before us.
About 15 minutes before closing, we managed to get inside the embassy as well and we frantically started filling out those long-awaited application forms. We applied for a 5 day transit visa, entering on the 9th of October. According to our application, we will stay in some of the best hotels the country has to offer (Grand Turkmen Hotel and Ashgabat Palace or something of that sort) and use mainly taxis for transportation. We will take the southern transit route (Bukhara-Turkmenabat-Mary-Ashgabat). Just after we handed over our forms, 2 copies of our passport and 2 passport pictures, the office closed - even as there were still people filling out forms. Moreover, there were people who didn't manage to get in at all.
Next week, we are going back for another day of queueing and waiting - and hopefully also actually getting that visa.
We went to the embassy early in the morning to put our name on a waiting list: we thought we were there at 7 a.m., but that turned out to be 6 a.m. as our watches were still on Kazakh time. Listed as number 10, we were urged to come back to apply for the visa at 11 a.m.
Of course, this list used by the Uzbek guards turned out to be little more than a joke: the only real way of getting in the embassy is paying them (we heard 10 USD) or just being very patient. We opted for the last option, meaning we queued outside for over 1,5 hour in a blazing midday sun.
Other people had different strategies, the best of which was the one used by an elderly Uzbek woman: she used her full weight and her impressive bozom to literally brush the rather embarrassed guards aside. The guards didn't really know what to do with such a theatre, and she did manage to get in before us.
About 15 minutes before closing, we managed to get inside the embassy as well and we frantically started filling out those long-awaited application forms. We applied for a 5 day transit visa, entering on the 9th of October. According to our application, we will stay in some of the best hotels the country has to offer (Grand Turkmen Hotel and Ashgabat Palace or something of that sort) and use mainly taxis for transportation. We will take the southern transit route (Bukhara-Turkmenabat-Mary-Ashgabat). Just after we handed over our forms, 2 copies of our passport and 2 passport pictures, the office closed - even as there were still people filling out forms. Moreover, there were people who didn't manage to get in at all.
Next week, we are going back for another day of queueing and waiting - and hopefully also actually getting that visa.
September 24, 2008
The Kazakh-Uzbek border
From Shymkent, we departed quite early in the morning towards Tashkent. We were lucky to meet up with a Brtish couple who were also heading there, so we could team up for a marshrutka (400T p.p. or ca. 2,5 EUR), meaning we could leave almost right away. The British man spoke some Russian, which would prove very useful later on.
For some unknown reason, the border post we intended to cross was closed. Our driver agreed to take us further to another station, but it turned out that was only for local traffic (Uzbeks and Kazakhs only). We were then proposed to take another taxi (500T p.p.) to yet another border station some 60 km further away, of course for a fee.
We weren't really sure what to make of the whole story, of closed borders and this mysterious border corssing further away, also because this wasn't indicated on any of our maps. But we decided to take the taxi there nonetheless, on the condition that we'd only pay if that border was actually open for foreigners.
And indeed, less than half an hour later, we found ourselves at this border crossing an we could cross.
On the Kazakh side, customs was a joke: the officer jut asked "You have gun?", "You have drugs?", to which we of course replied negatively. We then got our stamps on our visa right away at the immigration control, and made our way to the Uzbek side (about 10 minute's walk through no man's land).
The Uzbek side had a relaxed feel to it: the immgration officials were joking with each other, kindly wrestling and really taking it easy. It took them some time to realise Belgium was a country ("Belgi-Anglia?" "Bulgaria?" - "No, Belgium is an independent country, in Europe!"), but then everything went just fine. The Uzbek customs were a bit more of a challenge as the forms (to be filled out in twofold) were exclusively inRussian. Luckily, the British guy understood most of it so we succeeded to clear that obstacle as well.
Getting onward transport from the border to the Tashkent metro meant a lot of haggling and negotiating the price, but the 25000 Sum (ca. 24 USD) we eventually paid between the four of us was not that unfair.
So in all, we didn't have any real problems, just inconveniences. Other travellers were more unlucky, however. Some stories:
For some unknown reason, the border post we intended to cross was closed. Our driver agreed to take us further to another station, but it turned out that was only for local traffic (Uzbeks and Kazakhs only). We were then proposed to take another taxi (500T p.p.) to yet another border station some 60 km further away, of course for a fee.
We weren't really sure what to make of the whole story, of closed borders and this mysterious border corssing further away, also because this wasn't indicated on any of our maps. But we decided to take the taxi there nonetheless, on the condition that we'd only pay if that border was actually open for foreigners.
And indeed, less than half an hour later, we found ourselves at this border crossing an we could cross.
On the Kazakh side, customs was a joke: the officer jut asked "You have gun?", "You have drugs?", to which we of course replied negatively. We then got our stamps on our visa right away at the immigration control, and made our way to the Uzbek side (about 10 minute's walk through no man's land).
The Uzbek side had a relaxed feel to it: the immgration officials were joking with each other, kindly wrestling and really taking it easy. It took them some time to realise Belgium was a country ("Belgi-Anglia?" "Bulgaria?" - "No, Belgium is an independent country, in Europe!"), but then everything went just fine. The Uzbek customs were a bit more of a challenge as the forms (to be filled out in twofold) were exclusively inRussian. Luckily, the British guy understood most of it so we succeeded to clear that obstacle as well.
Getting onward transport from the border to the Tashkent metro meant a lot of haggling and negotiating the price, but the 25000 Sum (ca. 24 USD) we eventually paid between the four of us was not that unfair.
So in all, we didn't have any real problems, just inconveniences. Other travellers were more unlucky, however. Some stories:
- The British couple hadn't registered in Kazachstan (tourists must register in an immigration office within 5 days of entering the country overland) so they ended up paying a "fine" of 29 USD each (the fine started off at 100 USD).
- A Swiss couple we met had the same problem, sorting it out for 50 USD.
- An American man was asked for the headphones of his MP3-player at the Kazakh customs by the first official, and for the player itself by another. His passport was also held hostage by an immigration officer, who only gave it back for a 10 USD bribe.
- A Swiss motercyclist was asked for money because he was "illegally" walking on no man's land.
In general, it's quite possible to cross borders hassle-free, if you act cool enough. Some advice:
- Have your paperwork right. Make sure your visas are correct, check if the entry stamp is there, keep the registration forms and anything remotely looking official - anything wrong with your documents practically is an open invitation to get fined.
- Pretend you don't understand any Russian or local language. Temporarily lose your English-speaking abilities if necessary.
- Don't (openly) change money on the illegal black market. Often, there are money changers hanging around, within sight of officials. This is an offence, and may very well lead to a bribe (the loot probably being shared between the moneychanger and the official).
- Don't explain anything that you haven't been asked.
- Have some time to spare. Usually, if you refuse to pay up or oblige to their (unjust) orders, they will let you go if you just wait long enough.
- If asked to show your money, first refuse but if they insist - count it first and keep a close eye on it.
- If "fined", ask for a receipt and/or ask to see their superior. They usually don't like that.
We only have one Central-Asian border to cross, but so far we steered clear of any problems. Let's hope our good luck continues!
Tashkent metro: artistic impression
Taking pictures in Tashkent's metro is prohibited because it is constructed as a nuclear shelter, but the metro is truly charming: each station has a different design and these are often amazing.
Shown below is Floris's impression of the Cosmonaut station, where tribute is paid to the Soviet space program and its heroes.
Shown below is Floris's impression of the Cosmonaut station, where tribute is paid to the Soviet space program and its heroes.
The metro is one of the few places in Uzbekistan where foreigners are often requested to show their passport, although we haven't been bothered with that (yet).
September 23, 2008
Kazakhstan: fun facts
We learned by now that most of the fun facts are similar between the Central Asian states (most of them probably ex-Soviet fun facts for that matter), but here are some we came across in Kazakhstan:
1. In bakeries (patisseries), you find pastries, sweets, cakes and... sausages.
2. The Kazakhs queue in a peculiar way: one talks to a person who is already queueing, upon which he/she is allowed to queue behind the person he/she started talking to. Leaving your place in line doesn't mean you lose your place: it's very common that someone claims to have been here "much before you"...
3. Ordering coffee without explicitly mentioning you don't want sugar, leaves you with a mug of sugar with some coffee in it. The Central Asians like their coffee extremely sweet!
4. Miss Universe 2008 will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan - and it's quite easy to understand why: there are a lot of gorgeous women in the streets of Almaty. (Of course, travelling together with Miss Finland makes Floris a mere observer of this fact...)
5. In marshrutkas, people hurriedly give small notes to the driver when being pulled over by the police, to pay for the "traffic fines" (/bribes). But fair is fair: these bribes are deducted from the taxi fare.
6. Everyone in the whole of Central Asia seems to carry plastic bags with the marking "A&C Aygen Collection - styled in Italy".
7. Despite decades of Soviet rule, it's quite common to see people wear T-shirts with "CCCP" on them or hear Soviet Anthem in ringtones.
1. In bakeries (patisseries), you find pastries, sweets, cakes and... sausages.
2. The Kazakhs queue in a peculiar way: one talks to a person who is already queueing, upon which he/she is allowed to queue behind the person he/she started talking to. Leaving your place in line doesn't mean you lose your place: it's very common that someone claims to have been here "much before you"...
3. Ordering coffee without explicitly mentioning you don't want sugar, leaves you with a mug of sugar with some coffee in it. The Central Asians like their coffee extremely sweet!
4. Miss Universe 2008 will be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan - and it's quite easy to understand why: there are a lot of gorgeous women in the streets of Almaty. (Of course, travelling together with Miss Finland makes Floris a mere observer of this fact...)
5. In marshrutkas, people hurriedly give small notes to the driver when being pulled over by the police, to pay for the "traffic fines" (/bribes). But fair is fair: these bribes are deducted from the taxi fare.
6. Everyone in the whole of Central Asia seems to carry plastic bags with the marking "A&C Aygen Collection - styled in Italy".
7. Despite decades of Soviet rule, it's quite common to see people wear T-shirts with "CCCP" on them or hear Soviet Anthem in ringtones.
The Kazachstan Experience
Some time passed already since the last update on our travel experiences. A quick resume of our undertakings in Kazachstan.
In Shymkent, where according to our guidebook, there was supposed to be a "wonderful, amazing, splendid" bazaar, we found this very bazaar closed and deserted. The town is charming enough, but with few "sight-like" places of interest. We comforted ourselves with a very nice Turkish-style dinner to make up for that. Later, we found the bazaar anyway: it had moved out of the city and wasn't all that interesting after all.
From Shymkent we made a daytrip to nearby Sayram, one of the oldest settlements in Kazachstan, which boasts some ancient architecture. Getting there proved to be quite a challenge: even though Shymkent hosts hundreds of minibusses, none of these goes to Sayram. We mistakingly ended up taking a minibus to Sayram Street and were dropped litterally in the middle of nowhere. As a heavenly gift, we got on an intercity bus passing there. Sayram has some mosques, a minaret and a mausoleum, but we'll probably better remember the quite tasty birch sap softdrink and a Hoopoe we spotted.
Later, we made an overnight trip to Turkistan, where Kazachstan's most impressive man-made monument stands. The huge mausoleum of Yasaui (a Sufi teacher), surrounded with a charming rose garden. Not touristy at all and a wonderful place to just sit and relax. From there, we went to the sandy ruins of Sauran, a Silk Road settlement in the middle of the desert of which practially only the walls are still standing. Impressive enough, but as more often in this kind of place, looking for remains of pottery, tilework and mosaic and chasing weird desert creatures was much more fun than trying to find out where the old city gates might have been.
Back in Turkistan, we drove to Shymkent and further on to Uzbekistan.
In Shymkent, where according to our guidebook, there was supposed to be a "wonderful, amazing, splendid" bazaar, we found this very bazaar closed and deserted. The town is charming enough, but with few "sight-like" places of interest. We comforted ourselves with a very nice Turkish-style dinner to make up for that. Later, we found the bazaar anyway: it had moved out of the city and wasn't all that interesting after all.
From Shymkent we made a daytrip to nearby Sayram, one of the oldest settlements in Kazachstan, which boasts some ancient architecture. Getting there proved to be quite a challenge: even though Shymkent hosts hundreds of minibusses, none of these goes to Sayram. We mistakingly ended up taking a minibus to Sayram Street and were dropped litterally in the middle of nowhere. As a heavenly gift, we got on an intercity bus passing there. Sayram has some mosques, a minaret and a mausoleum, but we'll probably better remember the quite tasty birch sap softdrink and a Hoopoe we spotted.
Later, we made an overnight trip to Turkistan, where Kazachstan's most impressive man-made monument stands. The huge mausoleum of Yasaui (a Sufi teacher), surrounded with a charming rose garden. Not touristy at all and a wonderful place to just sit and relax. From there, we went to the sandy ruins of Sauran, a Silk Road settlement in the middle of the desert of which practially only the walls are still standing. Impressive enough, but as more often in this kind of place, looking for remains of pottery, tilework and mosaic and chasing weird desert creatures was much more fun than trying to find out where the old city gates might have been.
Back in Turkistan, we drove to Shymkent and further on to Uzbekistan.
New pictures
Some new pictures have been added to the Central Asia slideshow for your viewing. We apologise to the people with slower connections for the sometimes huge image-files: rediging images on these crappy internet-cafe pc's just is too cumbersome.
Updating the Trip Tracker is currently not possible: apparently, Uzbek censorship blocks Google Maps...
Updating the Trip Tracker is currently not possible: apparently, Uzbek censorship blocks Google Maps...
Kazachstan: artistic impression
Floris's artistic period isn't quite over yet: marvel at his impression of Kazachstan!
It has it all: sheep and camels, an islamic mausoleum, a small whirlwind, big cities, an othodox cathedral, semi-desert plains, mountains, a park with some statue and both conservatively dressed and more "Russian-style" women.
September 22, 2008
Kyrgyzstan: artistic impression
Kyrgyzstan may already be thousands of kilometers behind us, but it's never too late to let you share Floris's artistic impression of this beautiful country. It's probably called "naivistic art", but let's just admit that he can't actually do much better...
Note the bilingual (Finnish-Dutch) sheep!
Note the bilingual (Finnish-Dutch) sheep!
Itinerary Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
We entered Uzbekistan near Tashkent, continue towards Samarkand, Nukus, Urgench and Kiva. Maybe we'll make a round trip to Moynaq and the Aral Sea (depending on how easy it is and what it would cost). From there, we'll travel back to Tashkent to (hopefully) collect our Turkmen visa. Then, we head to Bukhara and cross into Turkmenistan near Turkmenabat. With our 5-day transit visa for Turkmenistan, we stop in Mary (Merv) and Ashgabat.
(It's not exactly like shown on the map, but hey.)
All this (Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) will take us about one month.
(It's not exactly like shown on the map, but hey.)
All this (Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) will take us about one month.
September 20, 2008
Update
Yes, we're still around. Since Thursday in Uzbekistan, currenty in Samarkand - still having a good time.
Finding an internetcafe has been quite difficult lately, and connections are dead slow: there are some more pictures and drawings coming up, as soon as we find a somewhat faster connection...
Finding an internetcafe has been quite difficult lately, and connections are dead slow: there are some more pictures and drawings coming up, as soon as we find a somewhat faster connection...
September 13, 2008
Pictures and trip tracker
The trip tracker is updated to our current location and there are some new pictures from Kyrgyzstan and Kazachstan in the new slideshow.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
September 11, 2008
Kazakhstan: no sign of Borat
For those of you who have been unlucky enough to see the movie "Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", be advised that this has absolutely nothing to do with the Kazakhstan of 2008: it is a modern and quite prosperous country. Almaty, the main city in the south, is a European-style city with broad boulevards and Western shopping malls. There are more mercedeses and BMW's than Lada Nivas; the only Lada we've seen so far being a police car...
Crossing the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan was as easy as it gets around here: we rushed out Kyrgyzstan through a brand new EU-financed Kyrgyz border post, and after some pushing and "Kazakh-style" queueing, we found ourselves in the land of the endless steppes.
Finding accomodation in Almaty proved somewhat of a headache: budget options are scarce, the available ones being terribly overpriced ex-soviet apartment blocks with bare rooms without bathrooms, beds with dirty sheets and security as loose as an untamed horse. Paying over 20 EUR for a hole like that is a complete rip-off, so we decided to upscale our accomodation a bit: we found a comfortable homestay for about 40 EUR per night (still very expensive), but with all facilities: clean sheets on a good bed, tidy bathroom with hot water, fully-equipped kitchen, TV and DVD and washing machine. After a month in cheap dormitories, we thought we deserved a bit of comfort.
But it's a nice city, with friendly and helpful people (opening your guidebook prompts the locals to offer assistance), quite a few nice sights (Russian-Orthodox cathedrals, parks, museums,...), so we're having a good time here.
Crossing the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan was as easy as it gets around here: we rushed out Kyrgyzstan through a brand new EU-financed Kyrgyz border post, and after some pushing and "Kazakh-style" queueing, we found ourselves in the land of the endless steppes.
Finding accomodation in Almaty proved somewhat of a headache: budget options are scarce, the available ones being terribly overpriced ex-soviet apartment blocks with bare rooms without bathrooms, beds with dirty sheets and security as loose as an untamed horse. Paying over 20 EUR for a hole like that is a complete rip-off, so we decided to upscale our accomodation a bit: we found a comfortable homestay for about 40 EUR per night (still very expensive), but with all facilities: clean sheets on a good bed, tidy bathroom with hot water, fully-equipped kitchen, TV and DVD and washing machine. After a month in cheap dormitories, we thought we deserved a bit of comfort.
But it's a nice city, with friendly and helpful people (opening your guidebook prompts the locals to offer assistance), quite a few nice sights (Russian-Orthodox cathedrals, parks, museums,...), so we're having a good time here.
Some fun facts on Kyrgyzstan
Having left the Kyrgyz Republic, this is a good time for a few general impressions and facts on the country.
1. In Osh, Jalal-Abad and Bishkek, the roads and pavements are littered with uncovered holes and sewer-entrances. Not a nice place for blind people, and frustrating for car drivers.
2. Kyrgyzstan must be one of the few countries in the world to have a a currency denomination of 3 som.
3. The flag of Kyrgyzstan displays a tunduk (seen from below), the crown of a yurt, the traditional nomadic house of the Kyrgyz people.
4. Most of the vans, minibusses and trucks in the country are second-hand models from European countries: it's very common to see a truck, marked with "Schmidt Obst und Gemuese, Hannover, Deutschland" crawling up a mountain pass.
5. Inter-city taxi drivers stop at seemingly random places along the way to buy large amounts of tomatoes, melons and other greenstuff, which they sell to merchants in the city of destination.
6. Alcohol is dirt cheap. A bottle of vodka costs about 180 som (ca. 3.5 EUR), a beer being relatively more expensive at a price of 60 som. The results of this are obvious: the streets and parks are littered with drunkards.
7. Any car on the road is a potential taxi, but negotating prices is a cumbersome experience. A rule of thumb to estimate the price to pay is as follows. Calculate the distance, multiply with ca. 10 l gas per 100 km and multiply with the price of gas per liter (about 35 som); then add about 200 som for the service. Divide this with 4 seats, and you have your price per seat.
1. In Osh, Jalal-Abad and Bishkek, the roads and pavements are littered with uncovered holes and sewer-entrances. Not a nice place for blind people, and frustrating for car drivers.
2. Kyrgyzstan must be one of the few countries in the world to have a a currency denomination of 3 som.
3. The flag of Kyrgyzstan displays a tunduk (seen from below), the crown of a yurt, the traditional nomadic house of the Kyrgyz people.
4. Most of the vans, minibusses and trucks in the country are second-hand models from European countries: it's very common to see a truck, marked with "Schmidt Obst und Gemuese, Hannover, Deutschland" crawling up a mountain pass.
5. Inter-city taxi drivers stop at seemingly random places along the way to buy large amounts of tomatoes, melons and other greenstuff, which they sell to merchants in the city of destination.
6. Alcohol is dirt cheap. A bottle of vodka costs about 180 som (ca. 3.5 EUR), a beer being relatively more expensive at a price of 60 som. The results of this are obvious: the streets and parks are littered with drunkards.
7. Any car on the road is a potential taxi, but negotating prices is a cumbersome experience. A rule of thumb to estimate the price to pay is as follows. Calculate the distance, multiply with ca. 10 l gas per 100 km and multiply with the price of gas per liter (about 35 som); then add about 200 som for the service. Divide this with 4 seats, and you have your price per seat.
September 8, 2008
The Belgian Passport Breakdown
It is not only Kyrgyz trucks and cars that keep falling apart: it also happens to the newly designed Belgian passports...
In the latest design of the passport, there is a plastic security sheet in front of the name page. This plastic page of Floris's passport (issued only in may this year) started to crack at the edge when we were in Kashgar, but we managed to cross the Chinese-Kyrgyz border without any difficulties.
Meanwhile, of course, with every passport check that page is breaking up more and more, and now it is nearly completely ripped off. As we imagine that travelling overland in this part of the world, which is still troubled by "overzealous officials", with a broken passport could get us into some trouble. Trouble, such as: being refused to cross international land borders, being halted and harassed by local police, being accused of staying illegally in the country,... So we contacted the Belgian authorities in the region about this problem.
We were advised by the issuing consulate in Shanghai to get a letter from a Belgian consulate, stating that the passport is still valid as it is, which should steer us clear from any problems.
But that things are easier said than done is once again proven by the following sequence of events:
It is also interesting to note that the consul gave us some "unofficial advice", including pointing us to a shop in an underground passageway where we could buy a completely new passport, offering to laminate that page of the passport and giving tips on how to fix it with a bit of scotch-tape. To put it in his words: "This is a crazy part of the world, so you have to do a few crazy things here". Comment duly noted...
For other travellers: the contact details for the Belgian Honorary Consulate in Bishkek (for some reason not stated on the diplobel-website) are:
209-A Tynystanov Street
720040 Bishkek
tel. +996 312 900 100
mobile: +996 (0) 775 58 18 18
e-mail: n.aldashev@lorenz-law.com
web: www.lorenz-law.com
In the latest design of the passport, there is a plastic security sheet in front of the name page. This plastic page of Floris's passport (issued only in may this year) started to crack at the edge when we were in Kashgar, but we managed to cross the Chinese-Kyrgyz border without any difficulties.
Meanwhile, of course, with every passport check that page is breaking up more and more, and now it is nearly completely ripped off. As we imagine that travelling overland in this part of the world, which is still troubled by "overzealous officials", with a broken passport could get us into some trouble. Trouble, such as: being refused to cross international land borders, being halted and harassed by local police, being accused of staying illegally in the country,... So we contacted the Belgian authorities in the region about this problem.
We were advised by the issuing consulate in Shanghai to get a letter from a Belgian consulate, stating that the passport is still valid as it is, which should steer us clear from any problems.
But that things are easier said than done is once again proven by the following sequence of events:
- From information obtained on official Belgian websites, there didn't seem to be a Belgian consulate in Kyrgyzstan.
- We went to the German embassy in Bishkek, which handles some matters for EU citizens, but they couldn't help us, as they have no authority to fix non-German passports.
- Later, when we were in Kochkor, we received the contact details from the newly opened Belgian honorary consulate in Bishkek. The consul was very friendly and helpful, receiving us even on Sunday.
- The consul would write us a letter confirming the validity of the passport, but he couldn't validate it with an official stamp... as he hadn't received the consular stamps from Brussels yet! He had been waiting for it for a couple of months, but "it would be arriving soon".
- He couldn't type such a letter, as at the moment we were there, there was the usual power cut in this residential block, so he had to hand-write it.
- He wanted to copy his authentication as a consul and attach this to the letter, but as there was no power in his office, we followed him around to a still-powered copy shop around the corner.
Armed with this letter and his credentials, which he advised us not to try to cross international borders with (as there was no official stamp on it), we parted with the consul. He advised us to wait in Bishkek until the stamp arrived from Brussels. - The next day, we called the embassy in Astana (Kazachstan), asking if they could maybe compose such a letter (with a stamp) and fax that to the consul in Bishkek. The embassy in Astana was very helpful and happy to do that.
Just as we sent out an email to Astana with a copy of Floris's passport, we received an email from the consul in Bishkek that the stamp had arrived...
It is also interesting to note that the consul gave us some "unofficial advice", including pointing us to a shop in an underground passageway where we could buy a completely new passport, offering to laminate that page of the passport and giving tips on how to fix it with a bit of scotch-tape. To put it in his words: "This is a crazy part of the world, so you have to do a few crazy things here". Comment duly noted...
For other travellers: the contact details for the Belgian Honorary Consulate in Bishkek (for some reason not stated on the diplobel-website) are:
209-A Tynystanov Street
720040 Bishkek
tel. +996 312 900 100
mobile: +996 (0) 775 58 18 18
e-mail: n.aldashev@lorenz-law.com
web: www.lorenz-law.com
Still around in Kyrgyzstan
Getting on the web is not the easiest of things in Kyrgyzstan: Internet cafes are few and far between and even if you happen to find one, power cuts occur frequently. In fact, in all major cities we travelled to, the power was cut at intervals of up to 6 hours a day, and in some places even the water supply was suspended for a long time.
After Jalal-Abad, we drove to Bishkek, where we stayed for a day. It's not really the most fascinating city, with few 'sights' as such. Sure, there is the obligatory Lenin statues and ex-Soviet squares, but it's not particularly charming. The museum was probably the most interesting experience, being mostly devoted to Lenin and the Soviet propaganda with sculptures and paintings depicting the Russian revolution and the advancement of the great Communist cause and Soviet strive for world peace. Hundreds of pages of Lenin's notes were also displayed. We were of course unable to really understand them, but it seems Lenin had a habit of making frantic pencil drawings in the edges of his notebooks during boring meetings.
The city has quite a different feel than the cities down south in the country: there are considerably more Russians, far less Muslims and in it has somewhat of an unsafe feel to it (not that we encountered any problems): there are youths hanging around in the streets and the city is badly lit at night.
First of September was also the first day of Ramadan. Hanna, with her experience from more devout Muslim countries, has been almost shocked to see that Ramadan goes largely unnoticed at least here in the Northern Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz men still start drinking vodka from 10 a.m., everybody smokes and restaurants are open and busy from morning till evening. But the price of sheep is on the rise: the taxi driver who brought us back from the mountains bought one to be slaughtered at Eid Al Fitr, end of the month, bringing it back to town under the trunk of the taxi - it fitted perfectly in the place of the spare tyre and only protested at the worst bumps with a soft "ba-a-aa". The price was 2000 soms (approximately 40 EUR). We also enquired about the price of other animals. A donkey is cheaper than a sheep. "Of course. Donkey no eat!"
From Bishkek, we headed to Kochkor, from where we went up to lake Song-Kol, to have a bit of a walk in nature, high up in the mountains (3500 m), with pastures full of horses, sheep, cows and donkeys. We slept in a yurt, the traditional nomadic home of the Kyrgyz people.
The scenery was great - mountains on the one side, lake on the other - but the weather was not really optimal: we started our with a clear sky, but as the day advanced, the sky darkened, with rain and a cool breeze. The night in the yurt was quite an experience: it was very cold, even when covered with thick blankets. The following day, as we were walking back along the lake, the sky got dark grey and just before we got in the taxi, it started to rain melting snow. As we were not at all equipped to stay in the mountains with this kind of cold weather, we decided to head back to Bishkek, thus abandoning a part of our planned itinerary.
So now we are back in Bishkek again, resting for a few days in a nice and relaxed travellers guesthouse (Nomad's Home, behind the Eastern Buss station, Drevesnaya street, fourth house on the left. Best deal in town.), where the main topic of discussion seems to be the horrible authorities refusing to issue visas. Chinese are by far the most cursed - as we have already mentioned, it is virtually impossible to get a tourist visa to China at the moment. A shitty situation for many overland travellers. Beijing Olympics seem to work like a means to transfer tourism income from the already poorer Western China to the wealthy Peking area; it's end of the high season and the hotels and restaurants in most of the country have been empty since July, meaning that many a family in the Western China will have to tighten their belts until next summer - when hopefully no international event will give the Chinese authorities a reason to use this kind of draconian measures.
One World, One Dream - Getting a Chinese visa.
After Jalal-Abad, we drove to Bishkek, where we stayed for a day. It's not really the most fascinating city, with few 'sights' as such. Sure, there is the obligatory Lenin statues and ex-Soviet squares, but it's not particularly charming. The museum was probably the most interesting experience, being mostly devoted to Lenin and the Soviet propaganda with sculptures and paintings depicting the Russian revolution and the advancement of the great Communist cause and Soviet strive for world peace. Hundreds of pages of Lenin's notes were also displayed. We were of course unable to really understand them, but it seems Lenin had a habit of making frantic pencil drawings in the edges of his notebooks during boring meetings.
The city has quite a different feel than the cities down south in the country: there are considerably more Russians, far less Muslims and in it has somewhat of an unsafe feel to it (not that we encountered any problems): there are youths hanging around in the streets and the city is badly lit at night.
First of September was also the first day of Ramadan. Hanna, with her experience from more devout Muslim countries, has been almost shocked to see that Ramadan goes largely unnoticed at least here in the Northern Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz men still start drinking vodka from 10 a.m., everybody smokes and restaurants are open and busy from morning till evening. But the price of sheep is on the rise: the taxi driver who brought us back from the mountains bought one to be slaughtered at Eid Al Fitr, end of the month, bringing it back to town under the trunk of the taxi - it fitted perfectly in the place of the spare tyre and only protested at the worst bumps with a soft "ba-a-aa". The price was 2000 soms (approximately 40 EUR). We also enquired about the price of other animals. A donkey is cheaper than a sheep. "Of course. Donkey no eat!"
From Bishkek, we headed to Kochkor, from where we went up to lake Song-Kol, to have a bit of a walk in nature, high up in the mountains (3500 m), with pastures full of horses, sheep, cows and donkeys. We slept in a yurt, the traditional nomadic home of the Kyrgyz people.
The scenery was great - mountains on the one side, lake on the other - but the weather was not really optimal: we started our with a clear sky, but as the day advanced, the sky darkened, with rain and a cool breeze. The night in the yurt was quite an experience: it was very cold, even when covered with thick blankets. The following day, as we were walking back along the lake, the sky got dark grey and just before we got in the taxi, it started to rain melting snow. As we were not at all equipped to stay in the mountains with this kind of cold weather, we decided to head back to Bishkek, thus abandoning a part of our planned itinerary.
So now we are back in Bishkek again, resting for a few days in a nice and relaxed travellers guesthouse (Nomad's Home, behind the Eastern Buss station, Drevesnaya street, fourth house on the left. Best deal in town.), where the main topic of discussion seems to be the horrible authorities refusing to issue visas. Chinese are by far the most cursed - as we have already mentioned, it is virtually impossible to get a tourist visa to China at the moment. A shitty situation for many overland travellers. Beijing Olympics seem to work like a means to transfer tourism income from the already poorer Western China to the wealthy Peking area; it's end of the high season and the hotels and restaurants in most of the country have been empty since July, meaning that many a family in the Western China will have to tighten their belts until next summer - when hopefully no international event will give the Chinese authorities a reason to use this kind of draconian measures.
One World, One Dream - Getting a Chinese visa.
September 6, 2008
Retrospective: 10 fun facts about China
Some "weird facts" about China, as seen from a Westerner's point of view.
1. You can get hot drinking water nearly anywhere, but getting cold water is much more difficult.
2. Hotels seem to believe that every customer is a potential thief: a deposit of (often) double the room rate is requested and on leaving, the room is thoroughly checked before returning the deposit.
3. In advertisements, sexy Lolitas don't lick a lolly pop, but chew a chicken foot.
4. Older people do all kinds of funny exercises while walking on the street: they make swimming movements with the hands or clap them alternating in front of and behind their back. People also dance in the street, both to traditional and modern music.
5. The "One China" policy means that there is only one time zone for the whole country (Beijing Time), meaning it's still light at 22:00 and still dark at 8:00 in Xinjiang, the westernmost province.
6. All Chinese television programmes are subtitled, as there is one written Chinese language, with many spoken dialects.
7. People run around in their nightgowns (sometimes including slippers) on the street, so you can easily spot a man wearing a teddy bear imprinted pyjamas in a cafe. The Chinese even seem to export this habit: we saw Chinese people in Osh doing exactly this.
8. Small children don't wear diapers, but trousers with an opening in the middle. Children freely do their toilet everywhere on the street.
9. On markets, living animals are sold by the kilo: fishes, frogs, tortoises and prawns are scooped up from their containers and put in plastic bags.
10. Every now and then, you can spot a whole squadron of waiters and waitresses standing in position, receiving orders at the start of their duty. This sometimes includes a run around the block in formation, the waitresses of course wearing high heels...
1. You can get hot drinking water nearly anywhere, but getting cold water is much more difficult.
2. Hotels seem to believe that every customer is a potential thief: a deposit of (often) double the room rate is requested and on leaving, the room is thoroughly checked before returning the deposit.
3. In advertisements, sexy Lolitas don't lick a lolly pop, but chew a chicken foot.
4. Older people do all kinds of funny exercises while walking on the street: they make swimming movements with the hands or clap them alternating in front of and behind their back. People also dance in the street, both to traditional and modern music.
5. The "One China" policy means that there is only one time zone for the whole country (Beijing Time), meaning it's still light at 22:00 and still dark at 8:00 in Xinjiang, the westernmost province.
6. All Chinese television programmes are subtitled, as there is one written Chinese language, with many spoken dialects.
7. People run around in their nightgowns (sometimes including slippers) on the street, so you can easily spot a man wearing a teddy bear imprinted pyjamas in a cafe. The Chinese even seem to export this habit: we saw Chinese people in Osh doing exactly this.
8. Small children don't wear diapers, but trousers with an opening in the middle. Children freely do their toilet everywhere on the street.
9. On markets, living animals are sold by the kilo: fishes, frogs, tortoises and prawns are scooped up from their containers and put in plastic bags.
10. Every now and then, you can spot a whole squadron of waiters and waitresses standing in position, receiving orders at the start of their duty. This sometimes includes a run around the block in formation, the waitresses of course wearing high heels...
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