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.
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