2015 Christmas Lunch

My first sit down western Christmas lunch!

I am defying my slightly obsessive compulsive nature of not breaking up my holiday posts to put in a interlude  post - my first western Christmas lunch. T invited me to join him and A for lunch on Christmas day, complete with a Christmas cracker. All food cooked by T and they are yummm!

Yes - I told T that I am being an Asian and want to take a photo of all the food :P

My first Christmas cracker

There was a lame joke on a piece of paper, a paper crown and a little gift inside the cracker. We had the crown throughout the lunch. Grin.

Ham with potatoes

T's favourite cooking method, potatoes cooked with duck fat. Lol.

Corn bread

Vege quota - beans

Baked sweet potato

Pumpkin pie

 Ok - another photo of the pumpkin pie, served with fig yoghurt.

Side note: Back to work again before end of the year....

Central Asia: Uzbekistan - Things to See/Do in Tashkent Part 1

We had 2 full days in Tashkent but due to some unforeseen errands, it took a large chunk of the day one but here are what we did. As the errand was done in the modern part of Tashkent, I'll start with that.

Modern Tashkent

1. Amir Timur Maydoni
It is technically a big park with intention to 'beautify' the city. There is a statue of Timur on horseback in the middle of the square cuts.

2. Mustaqillik maydoni (Independence Square)
I read that it is a favourite place of recreation for residents in Tashkent. I suppose there must be some truth in it. We were there on a very scorching hot day and there were groups of students visiting this place. Oh - and we found that there really isn't any school uniform so to speak but most wear a white shirt/blouse and paired with black or dark blue skirt. If we brought along a white shirt and black or blue skirt we would've play along. We reckon without a camera, cap/hat and a smaller bag, with our Asian looking face we probably dont look too much like a tourist and would bypass the metro checks :P

Previous construction has been destroyed in 1865 and during the Soviet period, the area was renamed Lenin Square, complete with a monument to Lenin. The square was renamed Mustaqilik Maydoni in 1992 following independence in 1991. Lenin monument was dismantled and an Independence Monument, in the form of a globe was placed there.

This is Ezgulik Arch - it is the entrance to the square if one enters via Sharaf Rashidov Avenue. It appears that the arch is considered as the arch of the good and noble aspiration. It is one of the most original monuments in the square. Fountains are found both side of this walkway.

We wanted to go and see the Crying Mother Monument which was at the north of Mustaqillik maydoni as well but for some reason even after walking for a bit we couldn't find this monument. = =""

The monument is located on the territory of Independence Square. Fronted by an eternal flame, it was constructed in 1999 to honour of the 400,000 Uzbek soldiers who died during the World War II. The niches along its two corridors house their names are written. I thought it is a very apt monument for this memorial. Just so you can see what I meant, below is a photo I found online from www.traveler.uz

Photo credit: Traveler.uz

3. Art Gallery of Uzbekistan
This modern building is located in the center of Tashkent near the Independence Square. It started open its door to public in 2004. We didn't go in to see the exhibitions but saw this on the way to the Independence Square. One of a fellow traveller we met suggested that this is a good place to spend some time if you are running out of place to visit in Tashkent with reasonable entrance fee, air con to escape the heat and of course some art exhibits :)

4. Alisher Navoi Opera & Ballet Theatre
This Opera and Ballet Theatre was named after Alisher Navoi and is the largest theatre in the territory of Central and Southeast Asia.

This building was build following a state competition for the creation of the project. The construction started in 1939 but was interrupted in 1942 due to the World War 2. The construction was resumed in 1945. The theatre was officially opened in November 1947.

Side note: Am addicted to jelly this summer!

Central Asia: 10 Random Tips on travelling in Uzbekistan

From Tashkent International Airport departure hall

1.   The quietest airport award goes to airports in Uzbekistan (ok, disclaimer - at least the ones I've been to). After our ordeal in Manas Airport, we were a little paranoid decided to err on the cautious side and get to the airport earlier but our fear was unfounded. The airport is fully guarded with guards/military and one would need to show their flight itinerary and passport before allowed to step into the airport.

2.   Domestic airport and international airport in Tashkent are separated and they are not within walking distance.

3.   One would need to complete 2 copies of Custom Declaration Form by hand. They are not carbon copy so technically you need to copy the second copy off the first one. One copy will be kept by the custom officer, and you retain the other copy. You will need to declare the currency and valuables you hold. 

Not millionaire yet...

4.   Black market money charger in Uzbekistan is big and much higher than official rate. It is illegal but pretty much everybody does it. It is not the wisest choice to change money with the taxi driver in the airport. Just change enough to pay for the taxi to get to your hotel/B&B but not more.

5.  Almost everybody in Uzbekistan is a black market money charger. Imagine walking around and people will ask you, "Postcard, souvenir, money?" But we found the best place to do this is with the B&B proprietor which gives you plenty of time to count the money. Yes, count them all despite the huge stack.

6.   There are police officers stationed on the entrance to metro stations, and before going through the gate to trains. The officers inside the station (before going through the gate) particularly conduct checks on tourists, specifically passport and hotel registration slips.

7.   Hotel registration slips will be given out by the hotels/B&B that you stayed with upon initial registration. It is basically a stamp on a piece of paper. The hotel would do the necessary registration and complete details of your name, passport number, arrival and departure date and registration number. This paper could be a post-it note so you could stick it in your passport. We were checked in Tashkent at metro stations [see number (4)] but not at other places.

8.   The officer in the airport took my registration slips before my flight to Almaty but sis got all hers back but nobody checked it thereafter so we were all good, with or without the slips.

9.   Metro costs UZS1000 per person at flat rate and "ticket" is in the shape of a token.

10. Photography is not permitted in metro stations in Tashkent. The architecture and designs differs from each station and they are beautiful but do not take any photos. Oh, and there are also officers at the platforms. 

Side note: Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Central Asia: Uzbekistan's favourite sons

In this Malaysian household, Amir Timur is "neighbour" with Doraemon. Yes - the blue postcard on the right of Amir Timur is Doraemon. 

If you are not good in remembering names or running out of time to read up anything, or even if you dislike history, there are two men I would like to introduce you to if you are going to visit Uzbekistan. Please meet Uzbekistan's favourite sons - Amir Timur and Alisher Navoi.

Amir Timur
Timur was born in 1336 near the city of Kesh (now called Shahrisabz). The word Timur originate from the Turkic word - "iron". Timur had conquered more than anyone else except Alexander in his lifetime. His armies crossed Eurasia from Delhi to Moscow. From 1370 to his death in 1405, he had built a powerful empire and became the last of great nomadic leaders.

Timur was buried at Gur-i-Mir in Samarkand. Timur's grandson Uleg Beg was a famous astronomer and scholar. Babur who founded the Mughal Dynasty in 1526 was his great-great-grandson.

Alisher Navoi
Alisher Navoi was a great poet, statesman and the founder of Uzbek literature. He was born in Herat on 9th Feb 1441 and passed away on 3rd Jan 1501. He was also an architect and designed many schools, hospitals, inns, bridges, roads and channels. His real name is Nizomiddin Mir Alisher. Navoi was his pen name. One of the metro station in Tashkent is named after Alisher Navoi.


Side note: Long weekend soon!

Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan - Leaving Bishkek

The calm after the chaos

Because Paul asked, here's a very long winded version of what happened at Manas Airport...

This picture was nothing indicating of the chaotic, stressful checked in we endured before getting to this waiting area.

It started out as we waiting for the taxi to come and pick us up from the hostel. Our flight from Bishkek to Tashkent was at 7.00 am. Taking into consideration of checking in time and travelling time to the airport, we requested for the taxi to come at 4:30 am. The taxi came late, not overly late but late enough to make us a little uneasy but we were still ok.

Then, he did what most drivers in Bishkek did (except the driver we went to Ala Archa with) - asking us for payment for him to get some petrol for his taxi. Really, this was at 4ish in the morning. His car needed some petrol. We paid up and he stopped by the petrol station to fuel up. Then he decided that it was a good idea to get some air into the tyres. By this time we are getting really worried and asked him how long it would take. The few more minutes he took felt ages.

After it was all done, he probably get the hint that we were worried of running late. He picked up the speed, I glanced at the speedometer, it went at least 140 km/hr (~gulp). Then on off he would slow all the way down and I caught the speed limitation sign board at the side. This cycle went on for a while till we reached the airport. By this time we had less than 2 hours and we have not yet checked in.

When we sighted the airport building, there was a traffic jam all the way to the departure entrance because there was a car park on the same route. Even if we were willing to carry our heavy backpack and attempt a dash to the entrance, there was not really an option because it was gated all the way. If there was a panic button to make things move faster, we would've hit that many a times already.

Good news was there was a still looong queue at the check in counter and it was still open for check in. Super bad news was there wasn't a proper queue, everybody was squeezing and pushing to the front of the queue. I totally did not expect that in an airport though since then I have heard that it was a norm for certain airports. Ahem. Then I saw one of the airport staff took out his mobile phone and took photo of the crowd, i.e. us... = =""

We were in the crowd for a good one hour before we got to the front. To be exact, sis next in "queue" at one of the check in counter and there was a rather big sized man in between us. He was actually queuing for a different counter to our right though he stood much closer to the counter on the left which we were going for. He was actually taking up a lot of space, with his hand on a trolley with luggage bags which he placed a little further away from himself on purpose, likely to "safe guard" his and his travel mates' space. So the trolley was on his right side. As we were queuing to a different counter, there wasn't any conflict even if he let me passed and to be behind sis. Also, we booked our flight tickets together, so there was only one ticket itinerary and we would need to check in together. Actually, even if he didn't let me pass, I would just need to pass my 13 kg backpack and passport to sis, also show my face to the check in staff.

Anyway, I tapped on his shoulder and asked if he could let me passed, at the same time pointed to the left where sis stood. He said something in a foreign language to me (sounds like Russian) and stood still. It was not "No" because I at least understand нет but definitely along the lines of no. So I continued to stand on my spot behind him. At one point he left a little too much space between himself and the trolley of luggage bags so I inched in between. Just trying to be cheeky :P

Ha! This was when all three of his travel mates and him started saying something to me loudly, probably making a point that I was trying to cut queue. I got a little annoyed because we were not even going for the same counter and I hardly had any space to stand since he was hogging more and more space. Mind you, I had a 13 kg backpack on my back this whole time due to lack of space (and one wonders why I am so short.. ok, lame joke). At this time, I told them I wasn't even going to the same line as them and he (referring to the big man) was hogging both lines, including the one he wasn't queuing for. I was speaking in English and they in Russian probably. LOL but apparently now they understood me and even looked a little apologetic, also the big man moved to let me pass.

Sis also had issues where the check in staff would let anyone who speaks Kyrgyz language or Russian to cut queue even though sis was right in front of her!

For some reason this reminded me of Calvin & Hobbes comic which said, "If you can’t win by reason …go for volume." = ="

Of course, with me able to document this and complete our 3 weeks holidays, we were successful in getting ourselves checked in albeit it was very stressful. So if you ever going to fly out of Manas International Airport, please allocate a huge time buffer!


Side note: 

Source: http://thecuriousbrain.com/?p=20313

How to book Uzbekistan Airways online

Board outside Ichon-Qala, Khiva

I read that it is cheaper to buy any flight tickets in Uzbekistan itself but we didn't really have much time to do slow travel, so we opted to get the tickets before departure. If you plan to take a domestic flight, it would be hard to avoid Uzbekistan Airways. 

Despite not very popular everywhere else in the world, the flight is clean and looks new, except that the seat number is located behind the seat, not at where it usually is - under the luggage compartment. They even come with luggage allowance and some food. 

If one google Uzbekistan Airways, the website you find would be this. This website shows time of departure and arrival but no option to book it. In fact, this tour operator's website gives a summary of schedule depending on flight route. It's handy to know what day the flights are operating. Whereas this website mentioned of assisting on flights booking but it is not instant confirmation. 

We found two websites that allowed online flight booking directly. 

1. Uzbekistan Airways UK

Yes - their UK website allows online booking but of course, charges pounds. 

2. Priceline.com

This is an American website so it charges in USD. 

Here's the catch, you either pay in pounds or USD. We found the conversion is slightly cheaper if we pay in USD, hence we booked via Priceline.com. I have used this website before this when I booked a domestic flight for my travel in states. 

Being paranoid, after being issued flight itinerary and ticket number, I checked it against the Uzbekistan Airways website, under "check ticket" and found the details of our flights. So I was assured that it wasn't a hoax. We booked a one way ticket from Bishkek to Tashkent and another one way ticket from Tashkent to Urgench. Both flights were without any issues or dramas, checking in at Manas International Airport though, was a different story but nothing to do with Uzbekistan Airways. 

Side note: Summer is definitely here...

Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan - Osh Bazaar

I find the non (bread) fascinating... aren't they pretty?

Osh Bazaar is one of the largest bazaars in Bishkek. It is on the west side of the town. I've read that people cautioning on avoiding "undercover policemen" in Osh Bazaar and to be careful of belongings. Fortunately for us, we were not approached by any and people basically just left us alone, though there were many staring eyes. Mmm.. the people we met who chatted with us were rather surprised to learn that we are Malaysians, maybe not too many Malaysians travel to Kyrgyzstan, so the staring is probably unavoidable.

It was scorching hot so we didn't linger too long, bought some fruits and took another marshrutka back to the hostel. Public transports in Central Asia are driven without switching on the air conditioner, shared taxi included. So I was the sticky and smelly foreigner.

See the toilet rolls on the most left? That's the infamous toilet paper you find in public toilet.. there are good ones but BYO on the safe side ;)

Side note: Any plans for Christmas? 

Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan - Ala Archa National Park

Ala Archa National Park is an alpine national park in the Tian Shan mountains about 40 km south of Bishkek. This nature reserve spans about 20,000 hectares. Mountains, rivers and pine forests pretty much sum it up.

We initially approached the hostel for the cost of getting to Ala Archa, from memory they were charging about KGS4,000 to ferry us there and back, including waiting time. We read that sometimes taxi organised by hostel could be a little more expensive comparatively so we decided to try out luck to find one on the street.

We walked out of the hostel and found a taxi driver cleaning his taxi and asked for a price for back and forth trip to Ala Archa and travelling time. After bringing out the map and confirming where we are going (no Russian or Kyrgyz language skill, remember?) We managed to negotiate it to KGS3,000. I am not entirely sure how much is the going price to be honest but we felt comfortable and he definitely did not come across as will ditch us  up in the mountains.. lol..

Mr Taxi Driver's name is Miran. Miran was the only taxi driver that did not ask for any payment half way through the drive. One thing we find interesting was that all the taxi we been on had to stop by the petrol station on the way. This would be the time where they ask for the payment so that they could pay for the petrol. Every single time. Miran included. However the difference was Miran did not ask us to pay him at this point. In fact he came back with Snickers bars and Coke bottles, one of each of us. Pretty cool taxi driver huh? :)

Entrance fee to Ala-Archa isn't cheap, we paid KGS440 including car to get up to the hilly bits. Miran dropped us off and we start our little walk.

There are two basic trails that run through Ala Archa. There are other many more if you are doing proper trek but these are basic walks.

Trail 1: Ala Archa River Trail
Distance: 1.3 km
Difficulty: Suitable for beginners, walkers, families and children.

Trail 2: Waterfall & Racek Hut
Distance: 3.75 km to waterfall; 5.75 to Racek Hut.
Difficulty: Low to medium. General hikers able to pass some ascents. Continuing to Racek Hut is more difficult and should be approached by experienced hikers and climbers. Suitable for horses, not for mountain bikes.

A three ladies group pointed out the route to river for us, probably we very much look like we couldn't cope with anything more challenging. :P

Along the way going in, we met the above said 3 ladies group on their way out and another group of family visiting from Germany, one of them was born in Bishkek. That's all, so technically we pretty much have this part of national park to ourselves.

Miran waited for us for 3 hours (I think) so we had some spare time and decided to have a look at trail no 2: Waterfall & Racek Hut, 3.75 km to waterfall and 5.75 km to Racek Hut as well. Of course, we were nowhere near the waterfall. The ascents were quite significant comparatively to trail 1.

Perfect for a lunch break

On our way back to Bishkek, Miran stopped and told us about a mountain goat. This mountain goat, not a real one, of course.

Side note: Best thing today? Woke up in the morning and then realised it is a Sunday, so I can continue sleeping!  ^^

Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan - Independence Day

We got back to Kochkor from Song Kul on 31st August, Kyrgyzstan's Independence Day, low in funds and the money chargers were closed! Well, Kochkor is a small town but anyway, thank goodness for working ATM machine. ^^

Getting back to Bishkek is pretty much the same way - find a shared taxi (read: van) back to Bishkek from Kochkor. Yup, we were back to hot city of Bishkek from the cold weather. By the end of second day in Song Kul, the batteries in our cameras were flat and there was no charging point. So all the photos taken on this day were taken with a similarly low in juice seasoned iPhone 4.

By the time we got back to the hostel, it was late afternoon and hot (or course). So the balance of the day were spent doing some souvenir shopping and checked out the carnivals for Independence Day celebration.

Dinner was at the same national food restaurant near hostel. We had guero ganfan and jarenniy manty under the recommendation from the hostel receptionist.

Side note: Niece is learning a song on North America and I am looking forward to learn it from her soon! ^^

Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan - R&R at Song Kul

Kyrgyzstan is the first country we travelled to in Central Asia and rightly so as we want to fit in this yurt stay in Song Kul before the shepherds pack up to leave before it gets too cold. So we have fitted this rest & relax time at the beginning of our trip.

It hailed the first night we were at Song Kul. It was getting dark and sis and I thought we would do a quick run to the toilet before get comfortable in the bed. It is extra (x100) hard to get off the bed when it is cold. As we get out of the "door" (which is a layer of wool felt), ice started to pelt down on us. We didn't know how long it would last so we ran all the way to the toilet anyway. It is always located a little further away from any yurt for obvious reason. We woke up the next morning to see snow on the ground, just outside of the yurts.

Anyway, what do one do at Song Kul? When we reached the day before (day 1), it was already evening since we departed from Kochkor after lunch time and it was a 3 hours car ride. A little stroll around and it was dinner time and thereafter rained and hailed.

Most people only stay one night but we did two with plans to do a little trek. We decided to explore a little bit more around the lake before having an earlier lunch and start our way towards the mountains. If you do a little reading on Central Asia, one of the mountains that you would come across is Tian Shan mountains. We have initially thought since we are not going anywhere near the mountains, we have given up hopes on seeing the majestic mountains. However it turns out that the mountains we see around the lake are actually Tian Shan mountains.

People who ignore signs are everywhere...

As we approaching another row of yurts away from ours, we saw a couple of children chased after some chickens. Sis had a brilliant idea that she wanted to film the chickens run and decided to get me to chase after them too. = ="

One thing led to another and I was chasing after those chickens together with the kids. Haha.

Free range chooks

We lingered around and watched how shepherds' daily life and then caught sight of 2 shepherds leading a herd of horses (is it herd?) and we stood around to see them for a bit. They were saddling the horses for riding and let us helped.

It turned out that the family with kids (the ones chasing chickens earlier) booked these horse for riding but they were having a late breakfast. So it translates to we could do some horse riding if we wanted to and we thought, why not? We have never ridden a horse before so one of the shepherds came along with us, of course we needed to pay for this time. Due to some miscommunication which was obvious (he can't speak English and we can't speak either Russian or Kyrgyz language), we only found out about this after the ride. Prior to the ride, a lady from Romania (I think) assisted with the translation.

And so, I had my first horse ride (not the ones where someone hold the rein and guide the horse) and it wasn't as intimidating as I thought. However I am still hopeless in getting on and off a horse.

Taking a photos of us

After lunch, we make a start towards the mountains. After an hour or so into walking, we noticed grey clouds were gathering quickly especially at the mountains. Whilst we really wanted to continue further, we were warned of the rapid weather change and it probably wasn't the wisest decision to press on so we turned back.

When we started out...

After a while...

By the time we reached the yurt, it started to rain but it wasn't heavy... not too sure how it was up at the mountains though.

My verdict? This is absolutely beautiful place but to make the most of the time there definitely include a little trek. ^^

The setting sun changes the landscape into golden colour...

Side note: ♬ "Continents, continents, do you know your continents? Asia, Africa, North and South America, Antarctica, Australia, and Europe too."