The Cube: Kazakhstan

Central Asia: Itinerary for 3 weeks in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakstan

February 14, 2016

Pre-travel
- Some notes on applying for Uzbekistan visa
- Getting free accommodation during transit from China Southern Airlines
- Booking Uzbekistan Airways online
- Breakdown of travel days and links to accommodation.
- Uzbekistan's favourite sons and some random tips on travelling around Uzbekistan

China: Urumqi
Day 1 - Layover in Urumqi

Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek
Day 2 - Getting to Bishkek and things to do in Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan: Kochkor/Song Kul
Day 3
- Getting to Kochkor and organising things with CBT
- Lunch in Kochkor before travelling to Song Kul

Kyrgyzstan: Song Kul
Day 4 - Yurt stay and things to do at Song Kul

Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek
Day 5 and 6 - Back to Bishkek for Kyrgyzstan's Independence Day, Ala Archa National Park and Osh Bazaar

Day 7 - Mini fright at Manas Airport and errand day in Tashkent.

Uzbekistan: Tashkent
Day 7 and 8 - Things to see/do in Tashkent
Day 9 - Travelling to Khiva

Uzbekistan: Khiva
Day 10 - Day trip to Elliq Qala
Day 11 and 12 - Things to see/do in Khiva

Uzbekistan: Khiva/Bukhara
Day 13 - Wonder if the somsa I didn't get to eat is yummy

Uzbekistan: Bukhara
Day 14 and 15: Things to see/do in Bukhara, complete with a hammam experience

Uzbekistan: Nurata/Kyzyl Kum Desert
Day 16 - Pit stop at Nurata before a yurt overnighting in Kyzyl Kum Desert

Uzbekistan: Nuratau Mountains
Day 17
- A visit to Lake Aydar and maybe a Kazakh village of Dungalak.
- Then we had a homestay at Asraf Village

Uzbekistan: Nuratau Mountains/Samarkand
Day 18 - A quick visit to Uhum Bazaar before we were off to Samarkand

Uzbekistan: Samarkand
Day 19 and 20 - Things to see/do in Samarkand.

Kazakhstan: Tashkent/Almaty
Day 21 - Travelling day

Kazakhstan: Almaty
Day 22 and 23: Things to see/do in Almaty and a super sized "small plate chicken" - xiaopanji (小盘鸡).

China: Urumqi
Day 24 - Overnight transit in Urumqi, dashed through Guangzhou before landed home in Melbourne.

Side note: Ok, this is the last of my scheduled posts. I've been staggering on the published date and have to be on a break now... to study again. Got to pass this exam... back soon! ^^

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Central Asia

Ph(f)oto Friday: Dapanji

February 12, 2016

Actually I think they named it xiaopanji (small version of dapanji). The vege dish on the right is normal portion, the one of the left us jaw dropped when we were served. We can't finish them and asked for a doggie bag. The best way to transport something with sauce (even though we didn't try not to pack the sauce) is holding it all the way; however we still have the whole day to walk about in Almaty.

I packed them in my backpack and carried the food up Kok Tobe and all around city. Needless to say, my backpack smelt like dapanji for the days to come. The good thing was the backpack was on the verge out by then, so I have discarded the backpack upon return to Melbourne.

The other thing missing after my Central Asia trip was my hoodie. Long story short, my postponed flight from Urumqi to Guangzhou was delayed and they didn't want to check my luggage till they were confirmed I would be on the flight. So with the rush here and there, I absent-mindedly left my hoodie in Urumqi airport to which I could pictured an obaasan (old lady) wearing them in the Urumqi streets. Lucky thing I only paid $8 for it, else I would be T_T all the way.

Side note: Yaaawnn...

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Central Asia

Central Asia: Kazakhstan - Things to See/Do in Almaty

February 09, 2016

Sis described Almaty as "feel like KL but cooler weather". I must say I share a similar feel. I'm sorry Almaty but comparative to our stops in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the people feels less friendly and helpful. I suppose it must've come with development. Almaty is definitely more developed than the balance of places we been in Central Asia.

1. Panfilov Park

The star attraction for me in this park is no other than Zenkov Cathedral. This cathedral is Kazakhstan's nearest distant relative to St. Basil's Cathedral and of Almaty's few surviving tsarist-era buildings. It was designed by AP Zenkov in 1904 and said to be built entirely of wood. No photos of the interior as we respect the 'no photography' sign on display. The interior is as stunning as the exterior.

The park, however, is named for the Panfilov Heroes, 28 soldiers of an Almaty infantry unit who died fighting off Nazi tanks in a village outside Moscow in 1941. They are commemorated at a war memorial a short stroll from the cathedral. The memorial depicts soldiers from all 15 Soviet republics bursting out of a USSR map.

Another memorial in the form of eternal flame honouring the fallen of 1917-1920 (Civil War) and 1941-1945 (WWII) is also found in this park. At the time of our visit, there was a rehearsal of a marching event. We watched for a little while before make our way to our next stop.

2. Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments

This museum is the form of a wooden building, also the work of Zenkov. As the name presented, the exhibits are on folk musical instruments.

3. Kok-Tobe

We toyed with the idea of getting to one of Almaty's surrounding mountains but given the limited time we had in Almaty, it didn't seem feasible so the alternative destination was Kok-Tobe. Kok Tobe or Green Hill is a 1100 metres hill. There were supposed to have options of cable car and by public bus but the cable car service is not running. so, it's worth to double check if it has re-open when you are visiting. That translated to, we took a bus. We were forewarned by our travel partners who shared the taxi with us on the long ride from Khiva to Bukhara about the non-running-cable cars. We found this post on getting to Kok Tobe via a bus as well.

A 372m high TV tower

Upon reaching the hill, there is a very mini zoo and sad looking animals. There are also some amusement park to cater for tourists/visitors. We came for the view and I thought at the same time would check out the Beetles. Oh, and there are souvenirs stalls too.

4. Green Market

This place sells a good variety of food but the winning idea would be this breakfast cart, such a great idea.

He called us and wanted us to take a photo of him

By the time we reached here where heaps of stalls were selling kimchi, we were approached by a guard and told that we are not to take any photos. So we kept our camera away.

5. Respublika Alany

It is a plaza or square showcasing the Independence Monument. It is actually a stone column with a replica Golden Man standing on a winged snow leopard.

In 1969, in Issyk (about 70 km from Almaty) a skeleton was recovered from a burial mound. This skeleton was believed to be of an 18 year old Scythian warrior dating back to the 2nd or 3rd century BCE. This warrior was discovered wearing a gold-platted uniform, along with a gold dagger and sword. This soon became a symbol of Kazakhstan's past and heritage leading to the nickmane of "Golden Man"

At the bottom of this column, there's a sculpture in the form of a book.

Around it's base are statues of a Kazakh family and behind a semi-cirular wall depicting scenes from Kazakhstan's history.

A few steps along from road away from Republic Square, there's another monument. This Dawn of Freedom Monument, built in 1986 honours those killed and injured in a local uprising.

6. Zhibek Zholy

It is actually a pedestrian only street dotted with art stands, buskers and cafes. There are some shopping centers along it as well.

There's a "seat" for you to lie down and appreciate this recycling art

This piece of art is named "The Bride" and is made of plastic bags.

7. Metro stations

Almaty Metro is only opened in December 2011. Unlikely it's neighbour, Uzbekistan, photography is ok. The metro is spacious, clean and has various form of artwork on the wall as well as on display.

Side note: Ha! Back in Sydney ;)

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Central Asia

Central Asia: Of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan

October 03, 2015

Source: Wikipedia

Central Asia spread from Caspian Sea in the west (Caspian reminded me of Prince Caspian from Narnia..) to China in the east. It generally consist of five republics of the Soviet Union - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Sometimes Afghanistan is also included.

Of the usual 5 countries, our limited time, cost of airfare (yes, this is important) and visa - we decided on three and forgo Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Many asked, why Central Asia. Why not? The beautiful Kyrgyzstan and the Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan. Umm.. Kazakhstan is a bit of a cheat, we were only in Almaty and to be exact, two days in Almaty before taking our flight out.

I have been toying with the idea for awhile and at the end of last year before Christmas, I was browsing some books in a book shop. Lonely Planet travel books were on sale and the one which caught my eye - Central Asia. I was a little hesitant to buy it as there were no firm plans and I didn't want the book to be outdated. In addition, I was running low on both funds and annual leave. A friend told me it would still be ok, and I would probably jet off in the next five years. I didn't really need too much persuasion to bring the book to the counter.

For all who are worry about safety in travelling to Central Asia (excluding Afghanistan), the Australian smart traveller advised a DFAT1 & DFAT2 overall. There are some concerns over the borders between some countries due to landmines or security issue. For everyone (who are concerned about us), we avoided land crossing by flying and also to save time. However there are many who do land crossing.

This time I actually flew out of Melbourne on a Wednesday night to give us enough time in Kyrgyzstan. I had 2 transits - Guangzhou and Urumqi and my flights were with China Southern.

N = night, A = afternoon, M = morning, E = evening

26/08, Day 00 - On flight
27/08, Day 01 - Transit in Guangzhou and Urumqi* (Yuyuan Hotel)
28/08, Day 02 - Bishkek* (Hostel Nomad)
29/08, Day 03 - Song Kul* (Yurt stay booked with CBT Kochkor)
30/08, Day 04 - Song Kul*
31/08, Day 05 - Bishkek* (Hostel Nomad)
01/09, Day 06 - Bishkek*
02/09, Day 07 - Bishkek. Morning flight to Tashkent* (Jahongir B&B Tashkent)
03/09, Day 08 - Tashkent*
04/09, Day 09 - Tashkent. Afternoon flight to Urgench, taxi to Khiva*. (Mirza Boshi)
05/09, Day 10 - Khiva* - day trip to Elliq Qala
06/09, Day 11 - Khiva*
07/09, Day 12 - Khiva*
08/09, Day 13 - Khiva. Morning shared taxi to Bukhara* (Sarrafon B&B)
09/09, Day 14 - Bukhara*
10/09, Day 15 - Bukhara*
11/09, Day 16 - Bukhara. Travelled to Nurata, followed by Kyzyl Kum Yurt Camp*.
12/09, Day 17 - Left Kyzyl Kum, reached Asraf Village at Nuratau Mountains* by noon. (Yahshigul Home stay)
13/09, Day 18 - Left Nuratau Mountains in the morning, reached Samarkand* by noon. (Jahongir B&B Samarkand)
14/09, Day 19 - Samarkand*
15/09, Day 20 - Left Samarkand in the evening for Tashkent* (Jahongir B&B Tashkent)
16/09, Day 21 - Afternoon flight to Almaty* from Tashkent (201 Lessor Apartment)
17/09, Day 22 - Almaty*
18/09, Day 23 - Night flight from Almaty. On flight*
19/09, Day 24 - Overnight transit in Urumqi* and connecting flight in Guangzhou at night (Golden Beach Hotel)
20/09, Day 25 - Reached Melbourne in the morning.
Note: * referring to where we overnight

Side note: My ex-boss told me that I'm only allowed to go to Kyrgyzstan when I know how to spell it correctly. LOL.. I do now ;)

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The Cube

Central Asia: Itinerary for 3 weeks in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakstan

Ph(f)oto Friday: Dapanji

Central Asia: Kazakhstan - Things to See/Do in Almaty

Central Asia: Of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan

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