Sun sets particularly late in this part of the world and year. Seeing daylight at 10PM threw our rhythm off, but the extra hours allowed us to see and do more in the face of spending an inordinate amount of time driving from one point to another. Plan A was to wake up at 5AM … Continue reading Canadian Rockies – Banff National Park
It’s been a while since my last entry. After more than 2 months in Asia, we’re back in North America, and to be honest this is where my heart is. The beauty of North America’s natural landscape is far from unique, but it is the diversity of the western region that is unrivaled - from … Continue reading Canadian Rockies – Yoho National Park
Recent events in the Middle East between Israel and Iran threw a wrench in our travel schedule. To avoid flying over Iran airspace the incoming Doha to Almaty flight was an hour late, as was our outbound to Doha flight. The 2-hour delay (plus de-icing) ate into whatever cushion was built into the schedule and … Continue reading Doha
Today’s our last day in Samarkand before taking the train back to Tashkent in the afternoon. We saved the Gur-e-Mir, or “Tomb of the King” for the day of departure since it’s just a 5-minute walk from the hotel. By the time we got there at 10am, the place was hopping, so we opted to … Continue reading Gur-E-Mir and Russian Town
Instagram hasn’t quite destroyed the travel experience to Samarkand, yet. There are plenty of people in the popular sites in town, but influencers would have made this city unbearable like many of the European cities that we actively avoid these days. Tour buses still disgorge plenty of people at each site, and when a place … Continue reading Shah-I Zinda and Registan Light Show
All the major sights in Samarkand can technically be covered in one day with a tour group, two days if you want to spend more time at each site. We have 4 days, so we’re visiting one site a day plus exploring other parts of the city. Bibi Khanym Mosque is perhaps the largest mosque … Continue reading Bibi Khanym and Old Jewish Town
When visiting historical sites, it’s often easy to marvel at the beautiful architecture in front of us and forget that all these buildings have been painstakingly restored over the years. Thankfully for photographic evidence, we’re able to see what the structures looked like in the recent past. As for how it looked like 8-10 centuries … Continue reading Registan
Samarkand is an hour and 45 minutes away from Bukhara by Afrosiyob HSR. Since we had time to spare before our train was scheduled to depart in the afternoon, we went back to hang out at the Ulugbek madrasa. The Arabic script on either side of the entrance translates to “The aspiration to knowledge is … Continue reading Evening in Samarkand
The impetus of the Silk Road started when China needed steeds to fight off the northern Mongols. In return, China traded silk with the steppe nomads. Over time, the flow of goods extend into Iran, India, and Russia with Bukhara and Samarkand serving as halfway points. Fruits such as grapes, apples, and pomegranate made it … Continue reading Small Bukhara Packs A Punch
Finally time to embark on the highlight of this trip. Left our hotel at 6am to catch the 4-hour train ride to Bukhara. The Afrosiyob high speed rail, noticeably slower than the Taiwan HSR, but a much better option than the local Sharq train that gets you to Bukhara in over 6.5 hours. Interior Free … Continue reading Tashkent to Bukhara
Located in Old Town Tashkent, the top sight in city is the Hazrati Imam (“Holy Imam”) Complex named after the 10th century scholar Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi. It consists of the 16th century madrasah, the mausoleum of Abu Bakr, the library, as well as the more recently built mosque. This is a good place to … Continue reading Hazrati Imam Complex
Uzbekistan, the land of Amir Timur who claimed to be the descendant of Genghis Khan, is where all the international tourists are. The city of Tashkent is even more cosmopolitan than Almaty. If Almaty is Brooklyn, then Tashkent is Manhattan with all its modern gleaming high rises. The 1966 5.2-magnitude earthquake destroyed all historical structures … Continue reading Tashkent
When Russia annexed Central Asia in the 1880s Islam was initially tolerated, but with time there was increased crackdowns on religious practices. Mosques slowly started popping up throughout the region after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The second largest mosque in Central Asia is located in Dushanbe, which took 10 years to build at … Continue reading Dushanbe Imam Abu Hanifa Cathedral Mosque
Like all Central Asian capitals, Dushanbe is less than a century old, so there are no historical sites to speak of. Most new buildings were built in the last couple of decades after their civil war ended in 1997. In a poor country, getting the funds to build large extravagant structures can be difficult. But, … Continue reading Reinventing the City
Tajikistan, about the size of New York State, is 93% mountains. Their mountains top out at 24,590 ft, making our Mount Whitney look like a toddler. One thing that Tajikistan has a lot of that its neighboring countries don’t is water. All that glacial melt is the source of its hydroelectric power. Glaciers on towering … Continue reading On the Road to Iskanderkul Lake
Central Asia is not a uniform monolith. Prior to Soviet times, the region was settled by different groups of people with different cultures. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan being closer to East Asia, has more Turkic and Mongolian roots, whereas the people in Tajikistan, being closer to Afghanistan and Iran, boasts Persian heritage. Traveling west, the familiar … Continue reading Tajikistan
Walking around Bishkek, you’ll see a lot of Russian influence simply because the city was built during Soviet times. Buildings are blocky and imposing. Parliament of Kyrgyz Republic National State Museum and Statue of Manas at the Ala Too square. Manas, a national hero who united all 40 Kyrgyz clans. Giant flagpole in the square … Continue reading The Soviet Influence
Kyrgyzstan is 94% mountains, so a trip to the country would be incomplete without going for a hike. It is also nice to get out of the city and away from the fumes for some fresh air. Ala- Archa National Park is a short one-hour drive from Bishkek, so we booked a tour through Viator … Continue reading Ala-Archa National Park
Getting sick while traveling is never fun. Having a dental emergency requiring a root canal can be extra tricky. Joe had been experiencing some minor tooth sensitivity prior to our trip. Our dentist didn’t think there was an immediate need for treatment at the time. Unfortunately, Joe’s symptoms worsened during our first week in Central … Continue reading A Dental Crisis
Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is just a 30-minute plane ride from Almaty. Like Almaty, it sits at the base of the Tian Shan Mountain ranges. View of the mountains from the hotel room. I used a suite upgrade certificate for our 7-night mattress run at the centrally located Hyatt Regency Bishkek. The bathroom itself … Continue reading Colors of Bishkek
Located at the doorstep of the Northern Tian Shan Mountains, Almaty used to be the country seat up until 1997, when the Soviet-friendly president Nursultan Nazarbayev moved the capital north to Astana to be in closer proximity to Russia. Formerly call Alma-Ata, meaning “full of apples”, the Almaty region is where the granddaddy of the … Continue reading Almaty City Centre
To get a better understanding of the history of Kazakhstan, we headed to the Central State Museum the next morning. The Central State Museum holds a large collection of artifacts dating from ancient times all the way up to modern day. With a paucity of written descriptions of displays, having a guide is imperative. Unfortunately, … Continue reading Kazakhstan
With schools in session, we’re back on the road. To further avoid crowds, I picked an area where few travel to - Central Asia. Of all the Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan is probably the most well known for its beautiful Islamic architecture. As for the other ’Stans, the entire area remains a mystery, so I … Continue reading En Route to Parts Unknown
We are finally back in California. For me, this trip to Canada felt incomplete, but what can you do when Mother Nature has her own ideas. Wildfires aren’t just limited to Canada, as we have our own forest fires to deal with south of the border. However, unlike the ones up north that were triggered … Continue reading McWay Falls
Behind Washington State, Oregon boasts the most waterfalls in the US making it a waterfall chaser’s paradise. The Silver Falls trail near Silverton brings you to 10 waterfalls if you walk the entire 6.5-mile Canyon/Rim loop. Unfortunately quantity does not equal quality, as the majority of the waterfalls are quite underwhelming, and only 3 - … Continue reading Silver Falls State Park
FIRE'd @ 47 