My Fab Fifties Life

Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024

January 24, 2025

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Location: Around the World

I absolutely love writing this blog post each year. Throughout the year I think about what experiences and places might make this list. And when it’s time to write – it’s a fun walk down memory lane as I reminisce about the previous year of travel. Maybe I can inspire you to travel to some of these places. I know for a fact several of my followers are planning visits to Australia … which was our favorite country from 2023! I hope it’s fun for you to read and enjoy the awards we bestow on our favorites and the best of the best (and a few duds too) from our year of travel; the Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024.

We are now into our ninth year of travel as part of The Grand Adventure. What a remarkable ride it has been. Not sure exactly what the next few years will bring…but it’s already open for discussion.

2024

What an incredible year. We have had a wonderful year of travel; both long stays and short, independent travel and guided. Though we prefer longer stays (and we had some good ones) this year included more short stays than in the past. This resulted in the greatest number of countries ever – TWENTY FOUR! The list includes; Thailand, Singapore, Italy, San Marino, Spain, Andorra, Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Austria, Slovakia, Madagascar, USA, Armenia, France, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates.

Destinations – 24 Countries & 2 US States

Favorite Country – Madagascar

I never imagined Madagascar would be my favorite country of this travel year. But we were astonished and enchanted by the beauty, the wildlife and the people. Madagascar had been on our bucket list for a very long time, and it was worth the wait.

Favorite City – a tie between Athens Greece and Vienna Austria

With so many destinations it really is hard this year to choose one favorite, and these two cities charmed us. We returned to Athens after having a poor experience the first time and I am so glad we did. It is remarkable. And Vienna with its astonishing beauty is definitely one I hope to visit again.

Favorite Town – Khiva Uzbekistan and Alberobello Italy

For overall history, beauty and unique experiences these two lovely towns, though very different from each other, were our two favorites of the year. Khiva Uzbekistan and Alberobello Italy

Favorite Island – Crete Greece and Honorable Mention to Sicily Italy

My husband and I discussed this category in depth and finally settled on Crete with an Honorable Mention to lovely Sicily. We had long stays on both, during off season in both, which gave us a great opportunity to experience the heart of these remarkably unique places. We would love to return.

Most Expensive Country – Austria

We only visited Vienna on our six days in Austria, but Vienna is expensive. Despite staying a bit outside of the historic core, our hotel was expensive. And despite loving all the food we enjoyed, it too was very expensive. But this city is worth a visit, no matter what.

Least Expensive Country – Thailand

For budget travelers, Thailand is the place

We spent a month on the island of Koh Chang, doing very little. We didn’t love our Airbnb, but it was comfortable enough and cheap. However it was so far away from anything including a supermarket or even a restaurant, we had little reason to spend any money during our month long stay.

Accommodations

More hotels than in past years but also several Airbnb’s, and some wonderful yurts!

Favorite Airbnb – Crete Greece

We loved this big beautiful stone house with swimming pool we rented with friends in Chania on the island of Crete. A restored historic home was perfect for a group. Another smaller unit next door we might consider in the future.

Favorite Hotel – Singapore

Comfortable, clean and affordable Singapore Oasia Hotel

We stayed in ALOT of hotels this year (35), it’s hard to even remember them all. But we chose the Oasia Hotel in Singapore as our favorite. In fact we just booked that same hotel again for next March. The best thing about this hotel was it was affordable, in a city that can break the bank, and the staff was great, room was comfortable and the location was excellent. I’m sure this will be our go-to for layovers in Singapore from here on.

Best Airbnb for Service – Yerevan Armenia

Some Airbnb’s you never hear from your hosts, while others are helpful and kind. We had several exceptional hosts this year, but we give this award to our host David in Yerevan Armenia. When we were in a car accident (see more about that below) he made sure we got to a hospital, served as our interpreter and would not accept any compensation for giving up his Sunday to assist us. It’s rare we have emergencies like this, but we are forever grateful to kind people like David.

David never left our side at the Emergency Room

Most Expensive Airbnb – Chania Crete

A caveat is needed here – This Airbnb was three bedrooms with a pool and we shared the cost with two other couples. It was beautiful too and we loved our stay at $174 per night.

We loved this place in Crete I would like to go back.

Least Expensive Airbnb – Baku Azerbijan

Although it smelled of cigarette smoke, our older apartment in Baku also came with an amazing view – for only $35 a night.

Best View – Koh Chang Thailand

Although we had some issues with this property and the host, we gotta say the view was unparalleled.

Most Unique Accommodations – Kyrgyzstan

Biggest Yurt ever is where we had our meals

Our tour through the Five Stans had us staying in hotels, home stays and yurts, and our favorite was the Almaluu Yurt Village in IssyKuhl Lake, Kyrgyzstan. Comfy and warm, the unique and historic style of nomadic housing is beautiful and functional and now I want one for my own!

Food & Drink

Favorite Cuisine – Sicily and Georgia

Sicily is all about the freshest ingredients

Kachapuri is Georgia’s national dish. So good!

Vastly different, the cuisine of these two unique places were amazing. Sicilian food (don’t call it Italian) is fresh and full of flavor and the Sicilians are so incredibly proud of their food. In Georgia we were astonished to stumble on the unique and flavorful cuisine influenced over a thousand years by travelers along the Silk Road.

Best Food Tour – Bologna Italy & T’bilisi Georgia

Again it’s a tie. We do a lot of food tours. The best ones include unique hidden places, tidbits of history and insider knowledge, served up with a knowledgeable and humorous guide. I highly recommend both of these tours if you visit Bologna and Tours and the City or T’bilisi with Culinary Backstreets.

Best Cooking Class – Crete Greece and Honorable Mention Koh Chang Thailand

The Crete class was amazing, a family affair in a beautiful new cooking space. With our friends we were welcomed by the family at Veerna’s Kitchen and enjoyed a marvelous experience. We also had a tasty and fun day with Bunny at her Napalai Thai Cooking School in Koh Chang Thailand.

Outdoor oven at Veerna’s Cooking School, Crete

Delicious foods at Napalai Cooking School Koh Chang Thailand

Best Meal – Mother Wolf Las Vegas Nevada USA

Best meal of the year, surprisingly in Las Vegas

We spent a few days in Las Vegas in June, specifically to attend a concert of my husband’s favorite artist Elvis Costello. We were traveling with another couple, and before the concert we enjoyed one of the best meals I have ever had at beautiful restaurant called Mother Wolf. If you visit Las Vegas you must eat there.

Most Unique Food – Tajikistan

I bet you never heard of Qurutob. I sure hadn’t. But it is the national dish of Tajikistan and it is an acquired taste; dried sour yogurt is rehydrated and mixed with a delicious selection of grilled vegetables, bread and meat. We loved it!

Best Beer – Samarkand Uzbekistan

One of our free evenings in Samarkand we went looking for a micro brew pub. My husband has an internal radar for micro brew pubs. And we found Sam Craft. It was worth the search on a rainy night.

Best Wine – T’bilisi Georgia

I tried a lot of wine in T’bilisi. Here enjoying several on my food tour.

I learned while in Georgia that this country is considered the earliest place where wine was made, based on 8000 year old findings of wine making. The Georgian people take this very seriously, and all the wine we had was excellent. Back in the USA we looked for and found some places to purchase delicious Georgian wine…it is now part of our wine cellar.

Culture

Most Authentic Cultural Experience – Kyrgyzstan

Yurt Making – not many artisans left. This family welcomed us into their home to learn how it’s done.

We only had four days in Kyrgyzstan, but it was some of the most memorable days of my travels. And two authentic cultural experiences happened on the same day; spending time with a Master Eagle Hunter and a Yurt Building Family. Both these occupations are UNESCO Cultural protected ancient activities. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity with these people.

Most Amazing Man Made Structure – Matera Italy

Matera Italy was mind blowing – I had never heard of this place that dates back to the Paleolithic period

How to choose the winner when we visited Rome, Barcelona, Athens and amazing Uzbekistan? But we decided on one of the most unique places we have ever seen, an unexpected and new to us city of cave dwellings from thousands of years ago…the remarkable city of Matera. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Paleolithic (10th millennium BC), it is renowned for its rock-cut urban core, whose twin cliff side zones are known collectively as the Sassi. If you go to Italy – it’s a must.

Most Incredible Natural Sight – Baobab Alley Madagascar

I had been dreaming about seeing this place with my own eyes for years….and I was not disappointed. Nature is so amazing. Grateful that Madagascar has protected the Baobab trees.

Best Gardens – Schonbrunn Palace Vienna Austria

Well the incredible mansion/ Palace (Castle?) of the Hapsburg Dynasty just outside of Vienna was astonishing in itself, but the gardens…Wow. Hands down my favorite of all the gardens we saw this year.

Best Market – Khujand Market Tajikistan and Chorsu Market Tashkent Uzbekistan

This is only one part (the meat part) of Chorsu Market in Tashkent Uzbekistan

I loved this market in Khujand Tajikistan

If you read my blog posts much you know that a good, authentic market is possibly my favorite thing to do in any place we visit. And both of these, Chorsu in Uzbekistan and Khujand Tajikistan were all about the locals finding what they need from meat to produce to cheese and even clothing and shoes. It was perfect.

Best Museum – Azerbaijan Carpet Museum Baku Azerbaijan, Honorable Mention Belvedere Vienna Austria

The building is designed to look like a rolled up carpet.

We visited dozens of museums over the past year. So it was very hard to pick even two in this category. We considered everything from the amazing Acropolis Museum in Athens to the Gangster Museum in Las Vegas. But our choice for the top two are the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum and the Belvedere Art Museum in Vienna. Though very different both house incredible works of art and are housed in magnificent architecturally unique building.

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt at the Belvedere

Best Walking Tour – Chania Crete & Night tour Baku Azerbaijan

We arrived in both Chania and Baku with not a lot of knowledge about the history (both recent and ancient) of either place. A good walking tour is always helpful in these situations. In Chania our group of six hired a guide who was born and raised in the town, was funny and informative and spoke excellent English. In Baku we did a night tour with five other “new” friends – the city absolutely sparkled at night and we learned some amazing history we would have completely missed without this excellent tour and guide.

Best Overall Historical Site – Athens Greece

We are so glad we returned to Athens for a longer visit after having a awful one day tour off a cruise ship decades ago. This time we explored this amazing city and all it has from top to bottom. It really is a remarkable place.

Best Performance – Spanish Riding School Vienna Austria and Honorable Mention Elvis Costello Las Vegas Nevada

I did not realize what we were getting into when we went to the Spanish Riding School performance in Vienna but it was unlike any horse performance anywhere in the world. Astonishing. And a wonderful concert in Las Vegas with Elvis Costello deserves an honorable mention.

I have never seen anything like the Spanish Riding School performance in Vienna

Elvis Costello still rocking after all these years

Best One Day Tour – Georgia

Georgia was incredible – this is Gergeti Trinity Church

In T’bilisi we hired a guide to take us to the Gudauri region, several hours outside the city and near the Russian border. This is a popular ski area, and also popular for tourists to hike and enjoy waterfalls and to visit the famous Gergeti Trinity Church. We lucked out with gorgeous weather on our visit…only a week later they got their first snow.

Best Multi-Day Tour – The Five Stans Intrepid Travel

After postponing this trip a few times due to the PanDamit, it finally happened for us in 2024. A 28 day tour. We were hesitant if 28 days and five countries would be too much. But thankfully Intrepid Travel made this an exceptional experience with very few bumps along the way. This was our second time using Intrepid and I think they have my loyalty.

Best Tour Guide – Svetlana with Intrepid Travel

One of the reasons Intrepid has our loyalty is they know what makes a good guide. Patient, smart, empathetic, funny and able to function on no sleep! Our guide in the Stans was Svetlana and she was absolutely remarkable.

Nature

Best Sunrise – Koh Chang Thailand

Every morning with my coffee. It was the best thing about this Airbnb.

Best Sunset – Madagascar

A dream come true in Madagascar being here at sunset.

Best Beach/Lake – Lake Ohrid North Macedonia

On the lake enjoying a beautiful sunny day

Hiking above Lake Ohrid in North Macedonia

What a lovely surprise both on and off the water, Lake Ohrid in North Macedoni

Best Hike – Zingaro Natural Reserve Sicily and Mount Rainier Washington State

Zingaro Nature Reserve was a short drive from our Airbnb in Scopello Sicily

My favorite place in the world, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State USA

We hike ALOT – around the world and at home in Washington State. Our favorites this year were very diverse, stunning and inspiring.

Overall Natural Beauty – Madagascar

Madagascar blew my mind. What a place.

Best Wildlife – Madagascar

There just aren’t enough words to adequately describe the wildlife of Madagascar. Photos help.

Chameleons and other reptiles where so beautiful but often camoflaged

Best Bird Watching – Madagascar

We have become very interested in birds over the last few years…but even with this interest we never gave much thought to where birds sleep. Or how they sleep. In Madagascar we had the remarkable experience of doing a night walking tour and seeing birds sleeping. And lots of other amazing birds too.

Athletic Pursuits

Best Golf – USA

Golfing in the summer in Washington State is a favorite past-time and we golfed once or twice a week throughout the summer.

Best Place to Run – Sicily

Secluded and beautiful running route in Sicily

Though we had a lot of rain during February in Sicily we got out and ran the dirt roads on the small peninsula where our cute Airbnb was. Rarely saw a car or another human.

Best Pool or Spa – Caldea Spa Andorra

Well that was a fun day at Caldea Spa in Andorra

We spent two short days in the tiny country of Andorra that straddles France and Spain. Our favorite thing we did was enjoy a full day at the famous Caldea Spa.

Weather

Hottest Day – Madagascar

It was great to get out on the water on this extreme hot and dry day

Most Humid – Thailand

Coldest Day – Border Crossing between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Icy cold wind greeted us as we crossed the border on foot between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Wettest Day – Bologna Italy

It was raining buckets but luckily Bologna’s famous porticoes kept us mostly dry

Windiest – Athens Greece and San Marino

We nearly blew off the mountain top of tiny San Marino

There were people up here in shorts and tshirt…terribly unprepared and turning blue.

Travel

Longest Travel Day – Koh Chang Thailand to Bologna Italy

Thirty four hours door to door – this day included a van, a ferry, three flights and a taxi. A total distance of 5971 miles. Thank goodness we have airport lounge privileges. Our longest single flight was Dubai to Seattle at 7410 miles; but a mere 18 hours door to door.

Shortest Flight – Trat to Bangkok

A quick flight covering 161 miles go us close to our destination of Koh Chang, but we also had to take a ferry.

Best Airport – Changi Singapore

Its worth it to visit Singapore just to see this airport.

One of the best and most beautiful airports in the world – Changi Singapore

Worst Airport – Morondava Madagascar

This place wasn’t the smallest airport we have ever been in, but it nearly was. Departure board was a white board written in colored marker

Miscellaneous

Expensive But Worth It – Five Stans Tour with Intrepid Travel

Of course a 28 day tour covering five countries isn’t going to be cheap. We had cars, planes, trains, vans, subways, all of our lodging, much of our food and the most amazing guide included in Intrepid Travels Five Stans Tour. For two people the cost was $13,530 dollars – just under $500 per day. I don’t regret it.

Each Country was amazing. This is Kyrgyzstan

The Ouch Award – Car Crash in Yerevan Armenia

It doesn’t look that serious. And it would not have been if we had been wearing seat belts.

A difficult lesson was learned when we got into a taxi that did not have seat belts. It wasn’t the first time in our travels where we have encountered this. We should have refused…but we didn’t and five minutes later the crazy driver crashed. At first we thought we were okay, just shaken. But the next day Arne had some serious and frightening symptoms. A trip to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a concussion. He did not have to stay in the hospital but he did have to lay low for the following two weeks, causing us to change our itinerary to give him time to recover before we began the Stans tour. We are very grateful it wasn’t worse. Seat belts. Always.

Best Photo of the Year

With 24 countries its hard to choose which photo is the best….not to mention I am obsessive about photo taking. But for 2024 we choose these – a collection of Baobab Alley Madagascar. Seeing this was a lifelong dream of mine. And it was just as amazing as I had imagined.

Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024

There you have it. The best of the best of My Fab Fifties Life travel of 2024. Amazing, memorable and unique experiences with new cultures and fantastic experiences around the world. What a grand adventure it is. We sure hope you will consider visiting some of these places and enjoying some of these unique experiences too – the eighth annual world travel awards 2024. Please let us know if you do visit any of our suggestions.

High above Bovilla Reservoir in Albania. That road to get here was interesting.

What next?

As I post this annual awards I am on the island of Maui – the first stop of our 2025 adventure. Over the next year we will visit anywhere from 8-12 more countries. Those include the Cook Islands, Australia, Singapore, Bhutan, France, Luxembourg, USA and Canada – with others still in the works.

Friendly and docile chameleons are my new favorite

It takes me weeks to write this post so I hope you have enjoyed the Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024. My goal is to inspire you. The world is so amazing…not everyone is going to want to go to places like Kyrgyzstan. I understand that. But I hope you have learned something and perhaps are motivated to step beyond your comfort zone. We hope you will continue to follow us around the globe, comment, pin and share this post so others can follow as well. Thank you and stay fabulous. This travel blog wouldn’t be possible without all of you.

Beautiful memorial in Novi Sad Serbia remembering the 4000 civilians murdered by the Hungarian forces during WWII

More From the Past

If you would like to see our Travel Awards from the past, you can click on any of these links; 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.

HAPPY NEW YEAR OF TRAVEL!!! We appreciate it when you comment, share and pin our blog posts – especially this one!! The Eighth Annual World Travel Awards 2024. Stay tuned! Lots of adventures ahead! Thank you.

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Here We Go Again – The Grand Adventure

Circumnavigate the Globe

January 10, 2025

Laureen

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Location: Westward

Time to go. After a wonderful (but wet) two and a half months back in the USA with family and friends it’s now time for us to continue year nine of the Grand Adventure. We have enjoyed our time back “home” but we are looking forward to warmer climates, returning to some favorite places as well as some brand new adventures. So for all of you who have been asking, let me tell you – Here We go – The Grand Adventure.

Circumnavigate the Globe

I don’t think this has ever happened before, but this itinerary has us traveling westbound the entire time. Starting in Seattle January 16 and circling the earth returning to Seattle May 4th. Our westward journey has us visiting seven countries (three brand new to us) over the next four months. Our itinerary is below…I hope you will follow along. Here we Go – The Grand Adventure.

Maui

Returning to Maui, one of our favorite places in the world, we will spend three weeks relaxing and soaking up the sun in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii USA. We have visited Maui many times, so this time we will focus on golf and hiking. We don’t plan to do much of anything as far as touristy sites. We just love the beauty of Maui, despite how expensive it can be.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

A new to us destination, we are looking forward to a week at a resort on the island of Rarotonga. We loved our visit a few years ago to French Polynesia and we thought this time we would try another South Pacific location. It’s very easy to get from Hawaii to the Cook Island, and also easy to continue on from there to our next destination of Australia.

Melbourne, Australia

We fell in love with Melbourne last year

This will be our third visit to Australia, one of our favorite countries in the world. It is a huge and diverse place and our previous experiences have been very positive. This time, we will spend an entire month in the city of Melbourne with a couple road a trips planned from there. It will be summer in Australia – and likely hot – but we are ready to enjoy a longer stay in this beautiful city, the largest city in Australia.

Singapore

Singapore is a international hub, and we have passed through this beautiful city/state twice before. This time we only have two quick nights, but it’s enough to see a couple of sites and eat some of the amazing food before our flight to…

Bhutan

Long on my dreaming of places, I am absolutely thrilled to finally be visiting the unique and beautiful country of Bhutan. It’s taken us a while to get to this destination…partly due to it’s remote location and also due to how expensive it can be. But we are ready to tick this long awaited destination off of our wish-list with a private nine day tour.

Bordeaux, France

We love France but the region of Bordeaux has eluded us on all our previous visits. This time we have rented an Airbnb for an entire month and look forward to getting to know this region well…and of course drink some wine along the way. When we leave Bordeaux we plan to take a train to Paris, with several days along the way in Lyon, Dijon and then finally…

Luxembourg

When I look at a map of Western Europe and where I have been there is a little tiny hole…that hole is Luxembourg. Time to tick that one off too. Luxembourg City looks so beautiful, my kind of fairy tale European destination and we have the time so lets see it. Compact and easy to maneuver, it will be a great way to end our trip. But first a stop in the City of Lights.

Paris

Of course we can’t leave France without a couple of days in the beautiful city of Paris. Spring in Paris…what’s not to love? We look forward to visiting the newly reopened Notre Dame, visiting our friends, and of course…eating!! Then we catch a flight from CDG back to Seattle, completing circumnavigating the globe. Westward!

Thanks for reading my post Here We Go – The Grand Adventure. And thanks for all your continued interest in our travel adventures. I am looking forward to this itinerary which offers a lot of relaxation and adventure too. Longer stays than last year’s travel and I like that. Perfect. But, it’s likely I will not have a travel post every Friday…but I will post as often as I can. Meanwhile DO NOT MISS our annual Travel Awards blog post for 2024. You can read it on Friday January 24th. It’s an annual favorite and a must read.

Here we go – The Grand Adventure continues. Buckle up!

We love it when you comment, pin and share our blog posts. Thank you so much! See last week’s post Top Travel Blog Posts of 2024 here.

All photos in today’s post from Canva

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The Stans

Well not surprisingly you really loved all my posts about the Stans. But I was surprised that these entries ranked near the top for the entire year. Turkmenistan Ashgabat & Beyond, Unbelievable Uzbekistan, Tiny Tajikistan, Incredible Kazakhstan and Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan all peaked your interest – ranking very high for 2024. Click on the links if you want to read these again or for the very first time.

Europe

My readers also enjoyed the three posts I wrote about the Caucasus region; Yerevan Armenia, Tbilisi Georgia and your most favorite of these Baku Azerbaijan . This is a fascinating area in eastern Europe and I hope my experiences opened your eyes to a wonderful collection of destinations.

Additionally three more posts from the Travel Europe category ranked very high this past year; One Day in Bratislava Slovakia, Athens for First Timers and Two Days in Bologna Italy – my most read blog post for 2024. All three cities were surprising to us and places I would surely return to.

Click on any of the links to read them again or for the very first time.

Australia

We love Australia and are heading back for our third visit soon, and one of our favorite places was the sweet town of Hobart on the Tasmania island. You all enjoyed reading about that too, Hobart Tasmania The Most Surprising Town in Australia. I would go back to Hobart for an another visit, and would stay even longer.

Pacific Northwest

Our summer in the Pacific Northwest usually provides me wonderful material for blog posts, and this year you really loved Tracking Trolls in the Pacific Northwest – this post was so popular! If you haven’t seen the trolls yet…check out the link.

The Bird King, by Thomas Dambo, Vashon Island Washington State

There you have it, the Top Travel Blog Posts of 2024. My blog has taken on a life of its own over the years, thanks to all the loyal readers. I’m glad our travel life (and book reviews too) give you entertainment, inspiration and educate you about this big beautiful world. I hope you will continue to follow us. Coming up next week our itinerary for our next adventures and don’t miss our Annual Travel Awards blog that will drop January 24th.

See last week’s post about Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan and come back next week for our upcoming travel itinerary 2025.

Happy New Year my friends.

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Asia & Oceania Travel

Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan

December 27, 2024

Laureen

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Location: Kyrgyzstan

Welcome to the eighth and final installment of a series of eight weekly posts covering the eight countries I visited this fall. My journey was epic and I chose not to write posts while traveling, in an effort to be engaged and present on this amazing odyssey. This is my honest opinion of my personal experience. I hope you will enjoy reading my posts covering all that happened over the two months of travel – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Today I share about Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan.

Adjectives

I can’t come up with enough adjectives to describe the beauty of Kyrgyzstan; resplendent, alluring, breathtaking, glorious, exquisite. Go ahead. Pick one. They all work to describe this tiny country and the scenery and culture.

The Good

Kyrgyzstan’s history, like all the countries we have visited on this tour, has spanned many cultures and empires due to its place on the Silk Road. However, its nearly impenetrable mountains often protected Kyrgyzstan from invasion and kept it isolated. Kyrgyzstan declared independence from the USSR and a democratic government was established. Kyrgyzstan attained sovereignty as a nation state. The Kyrgyzstan gradually developed an executive president and was governed as a semi-presidential republic before reverting to a presidential system in 2021.

Everyone we met was kind and seemed pleased to meet visitors to their country. We were very lucky to enjoy cold but clear days giving us outstanding views of the Central Tian Shin mountains – Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan.

The average monthly salary in Kyrgyzstan is about $250 USD. Gas is about $2.00 USD per gallon. Much of the country is rural and rugged and the capital city of Bishkek is home to more than 1 million of the countries 7 million people.

The Bad

Despite Kyrgyzstan being rich in metals, minerals and petroleum the people are still generally poor. Kyrgyzstan’s major exports include gold, cotton, wool, garments, meat, mercury, uranium, electricity, machinery, and shoes. There is corruption and ethnic racism issues. Lack of healthcare and terrorism threats are major problems for Kyrgyzstan’s population.

Where Are We?

After four weeks traveling together with Intrepid Travel and our group, arriving in our final country of Kyrgyzstan gave us mixed emotions. It was now late October and fall was definitely turning to winter; snow was visible on the mountains throughout our visit.

As mentioned in last week’s post (see it here), the border crossing between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was a freezing cold scramble. But I tried to remind myself – as I stood in the bitter wind waiting to be processed by the custom agent – I would never be here again. Walking across a remote border, pummeled by wind, pulling my suitcase through gravel…not something everyone gets to do. Memorable for sure.

Kyrgyzstan is a small uniquely shaped country surrounded by mountains. To the north is Kazakhstan. To the east and south, China. Also to the south Tajikistan, and to the west Uzbekistan. We spent our visit along the northern border between Karakol and Bishkek. The topography keeps Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan rural.

Karakol

After crossing the border we arrived in the small former Soviet Military Post town of Karakol. Today Karakol is known for its proximity to ski areas, and receives visitors from many countries in the ski season. We even found a sticker from the Pacific Northwest in a small coffee shop.

On arrival in Karakol we had lunch and then had some time to wander around the small town. We enjoyed some beautiful and strange architecture, picked up some treats at the grocery store, and bought some lovely souvenirs at a small shop featuring local hand-made goods. Felting is a popular local handicraft and a perfect gift to take home.

We checked into our family run hotel which was really lovely, and after a long day Arne and I chose to skip dinner and have an early night. Next morning a delicious breakfast was served before we loaded up the van again and were off.

Before leaving the Karakol area we made a brief stop to visit the historic Dungan Mosque built in 1910. It has a unique Chinese style and was built without any nails – using a special cut and groove technique.

We then made another quick stop to visit the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church made from wood and still in operation today.

On our way out of town we stopped at a small park overlooking Issy Kul Lake that honors Nickolay Przhevalskiy who died in Karakol. Przhevalskiy was an explorer who traveled widely in Central Asia and Mongolia and documented and mapped the region.

Jeti Orghus Canyon

Now we settled in for a long drive into the gorgeous mountainous region surrounding the Issyk Kul Lake area. First we stopped to admire the picturesque geological feature roadside called the Seven Bulls. As amazing as that was, we soon learned there was much more in store.

Driving a short while further we arrived at a hiking location in the Jeti Orghus Canyon. It was a beautiful sunny and cool day, and we hiked up into the hills passing summer cabins and yurts. The views were amazing. Some went even further to a waterfall. Such a great hike and we worked up an appetite.

Oopsy!

We headed back to the van to have a picnic lunch but we discovered our van had gotten into a soft spot and was really stuck. Our wonderful driver was trying so hard to solve the issue before we returned. It took about an hour but with the strong backs of some of our fellow travelers (as well as some of the engineer types putting their heads together) we were freed from the mud and eventually on our way. Luckily the weather was good and we all enjoyed another unexpected adventure.

Onward

As much as I enjoyed this beautiful location and hike, our next stop was mind blowing. Skazka, in English Fairy Tale Canyon, was so unexpected. Literally appearing like a red mirage out in the middle of the mountains, this geological formation was very reminiscent of Arches or Bryce Canyon National Park in the USA. We had some time to walk around in the maze of trails here, both with our guide Svetlana and on our own. I loved it so much and once again we were lucky with the cold dry weather. Such a treat.

Almaluu Yurt Camp

After this wonderful day we continued along the somewhat desolate road that runs along Issyk Kul Lake. This lake is one of the largest in the world at 178km long and 60 km wide. It definitely feels more like an ocean. We arrived at the wonderful Almaluu Yurt Camp just a short walk from the lake. Although in October the camp had only our group and one other, it has dozens of yurts for groups and individuals. The yurts were huge, with coal burning stoves, shared toilet and shower facilities, and a spectacular giant yurt for meals. We would spend two cozy nights here and we really enjoyed it, including the gorgeous views.

Adventure and Education

We woke up to chilly temperatures and after a delicious hot breakfast we headed out for an unexpectedly amazing day. When reading the days itinerary before hand, I would never have expected this day to turn out to be one of my favorites from the entire trip.

Eagles

Our driver took us off road out to a large open space, where we met a local man and his Golden Eagle. We learned the importance of eagle hunting in Kyrgyzstan, and still today there is a small group of 50 expert Master Eagle Trainers and hunters. Most have learned the art from their fathers. In addition to hunting and showing the tourists, an annual gathering called the Nomad Games takes place with competition for traditional cultural skills including eagle hunting, yurt building and more.

Such an interesting lesson in local culture – Master Eagle Hunters

We learned that the ancient art of eagle hunting is a UNESCO recognized cultural heritage activity and goes back thousands of years. Eagles that are used are always female. They begin their training about three months old. They are not pets. When they are twenty years old they are released back into the wild and assimilate well and will reproduce until they die – usually around 45 years old. This eagle we had the opportunity to get to know is three years old. She was beautiful and smart.

I had some trouble – this bird was heavier than I expected!

Make Your Own Yurt

Well I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, but what a fun we had learning how to make a yurt. Honestly it wasn’t all that hard…like putting up a tent with a few more details to take care of. We visited the home of a family of yurt-making professionals. Our hosts make yurts for people all over the world, and man now I want one. Each yurt is made in several parts that can easily be taken up and down and moved from location to location…just as the nomads used to do. The yurts are sturdy and warm. We learned the process from cutting the wood to weaving the decorative elements and then how it all goes together in a matter of about 30 minutes.

Look at the carpet and walls – functional and beautiful

Yurts were a important part of nomad life in Kyrgyzstan and surrounding regions. They are still used today for lodging and guest houses but rarely as a full home in Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan. It was a full and fabulous day. Back to our own Yurt Camp for a special relaxing dinner, including some local alcoholic specialties Svetlana acquired for us. We slept very well.

Final Day

It was our final full day in Krygyzstan and our final day on this amazing four week tour. When we signed up for this tour I was worried four weeks would be too much. It wasn’t. We were continually stimulated, inspired and entertained. It had been a marvelous experience.

We had a very early morning departure for the long drive to the capital city of Bishkek. After checking into our older but comfortable hotel we headed out for a walking tour of the city. Bishkek is a fairly modern city in the Chu River Valley. It is the capital of Krygyzstan. Our walking tour took us to several monuments and important buildings as well as parks. The best part was the changing of the guard which takes place every hour.

Farewell

Kyrgyzstan was authentic, beautiful and so worth it

Our final night on the tour, we all gathered together for a farewell dinner. I have not shared images of the entire group in any of my blog posts, because I forgot to ask permission from my fellow travelers. And I know one person in particular wasn’t keen on photos. I take that seriously. But I will say we felt very blessed to have such an amiable group, and especially to have such an outstanding guide. Intrepid Travel has my loyalty and I am sure we will travel with them again in the future.

The Five Stans; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were better than I imagined. As I’ve said in the past, it’s always our goal to travel with low expectations and then be pleasantly enchanted. I’ve been asked which of the five were my favorites? It’s a very difficult question; Uzbekistan had amazing architecture. Kazakhstan had amazing food and mountains. And Kyrgyzstan had spectacular scenery. My gratitude cup runneth over. Yes I am one lucky girl.

I hope you have enjoyed this 8 part series. I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you for your continued support, all your comments and questions. You are a great audience to My Fab Fifties Life adventures.

Thank you for reading Wild & Wonderful Kyrgyzstan. Please see last week’s post about Incredible Kazakhstan here. Stay tuned for more! Our next departure day is January 16th! I wish you all the happiest of New Years. I hope 2025 brings you good health and many travel adventures.

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Incredible Kazakhstan – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful

December 20, 2024

Laureen

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Location: Kazakhstan

Welcome to the seventh of a series of eight weekly posts covering the eight countries I visited this fall. My journey was epic and I chose not to write posts while traveling, in an effort to be engaged and present on this amazing odyssey. This is my honest opinion of my personal experience. I hope you will enjoy reading my posts covering all that happened over the two months of travel – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Today I share about Incredible Kazakhstan The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful.

It’s Huge

Kazakhstan is a land locked country in Central Asia. Most people don’t know much about it, or realize it is the ninth largest country in the world! It is the largest landlocked country and has a population of 20 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometer. Kazakhstan was the fourth of the five Stan countries we visited on our tour with Intrepid Travel. We spent our time in the Southeast part of the country. We would have needed a few more weeks to see the rest of this diverse and beautiful nation. A remarkable place Incredible Kazakhstan The Good The Bad and the Beautiful.

Kazakhstan borders Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

A Little History

The word Kazakh derives from Russian, meaning “to wander” and refers to the nomadic people of the region.

Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era. In antiquity, it was dominated by multiple nomadic tribes. In the 13th century, Genghis Khan plundered and subjugated the people. Kazakh Khanate was established over an area roughly corresponding with modern Kazakhstan in the 15th century. By the 18th century, the Kazakh Khanate tribes were absorbed and conquered by the Russian Empire; by the mid-19th century, all of Kazakhstan was nominally under Russian rule. In 1936, its modern borders were established with the formation of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last constituent republic of the Soviet Union to declare independence in 1991 during its dissolution. (Wikipedia)

The Bad

Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan when the USSR fell in 1991. But in 1998 Aqmola in the north became the capital of Kazakhstan for its more central location and was renamed Astana, which means “capital city” in Kazakh. In 2019, the name was changed to Nur-Sultan in honor of the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazabyev however is described as a dictator for his long, brutal autocratic rule. The Kazakh people protested the naming of the capital city honoring a man not admired and In September 2022, the name was changed back to Astana. This grassroots protest was highly unusual and marked a change in policies for the country. During this violent period protesters also demanded the return of cap on gas prices. Dissatisfaction with the government and poverty fueled the demonstrations.

During our visit, we did not travel to Astana or beyond the Almaty region. I’d like to perhaps in the future.

Kazakhstan is rich with oil, natural gas and many minerals including uranium but the average monthly salary for the people of this country is about $500 USD. Gas prices currently are about $2 a gallon – some of the lowest in the world. We only ate in a couple restaurants but a meal for two was about $15 USD.

The Good

We loved our time in the Almaty region. Some of the friendliest people on our tour we met here. We arrived in Almaty via a flight from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Our arrival was late at night, and entering the country was easy and well organized. We had a nice modern hotel in Almaty and headed straight to bed after the late flight.

Almaty

Our lovely guide Svetlana let us sleep in a little, but after a quick breakfast we were off for a full day. First stop was the Issyk Cultural Historical Museum about 60km east of Almaty. Here we learned about the Golden Man – Kazakhstan’s National Symbol. This warrior was uncovered in a Saka Tomb and dates to the 5th Century. This indeed in itself is a great story…BUT this is not a man. DNA shows 100% the remains are a female, likely a Princess. However, the government has chosen to continue to present the symbol as a male. The museum presents the story as male, but since we had such a marvelous guide, she shared the truth with us. So many male egos… it annoyed me.

The Golden Man (who is actually a woman)

Burial Mounds at the Cultural Historic Museum

Sunshine

It was a beautifully sunny fall day and so I put my annoyance away as we headed next to the Issyk Lake. This lake was a resort area for Almaty area people but in 1963 a landslide washed away the dam, resorts and summer camp and killed many people. Today the lake sits silent and blue and is a very easy hike from the parking lot below.

This amazing first day in Kazakhstan wasn’t over yet. In fact, we would end this day with one of my most favorite things of the entire trip. We arrived at the home of Slava, and the beautiful outdoor setting where we would be wined and dined into the evening. Slava Almaty is a family home and winery, creating gastronomic events for visitors. We enjoyed the wine, several courses including making our own pizza, lots of laughs and a perfect ending with fresh coffee and homemade grappa. An unforgettable day.

Quail, Pumpkin and Mushroom cooked in the outdoor oven

City Tour

Day two dawned a bit cold, and we could see the snow low on the Tien Shin Mountains around Almaty from our hotel room. We pulled out the outerwear and headed out for a full day walking around Almaty. Almaty has a good subway system and we used the metro to get around the city. We visited Republic Square and the Independence Monument while learning from Svetlana about Almaty and Kazakhstan recent past. We really enjoyed our tour of the Central State Museum of Kazakstan particular the wonderful textile and traditional costume displays.

Historic clothing at Central State Museum

Despite the chilly temperatures we road the gondola up Kok Tobe Hill for views overlooking the city. It would have been better on a clear day, but we still enjoyed it and used the free time to pick up some fun gifts to take back home to friends and family.

History Remembered

Ending our day we walked through the very Soviet style Glory Memorial. This immense and beautiful monument remembers those who bravely sacrificed their lives on November 16, 1941. These soldiers destroyed 18 German tanks and halted the enemy’s advance. The twenty-eight soldiers were posthumously honored as Heroes of the Soviet Union.

We finished our walking tour at the beautiful Zenkov Cathedral (also known as Ascension Cathedral), a wooden Russian Orthodox church built in 1907. The church claims to be the second tallest wooden church in the world at 56 meters and was built without nails. Luckily it survived both the 1911 earthquake the Soviet era when it was used as a museum. It has had multiple restorations over the past fifty years and today is back in the hands of the Russian Orthodox Church and welcomes worshipers and visitors alike.

The Beautiful

Day Three in beautiful incredible Kazakhstan we left the city to explore the astonishing beauty of this region. Had we more time, my husband and I would have loved to spend weeks hiking the mountains of Kazakhstan. But we did feel lucky to be headed out into nature for the next couple of days. It was a long drive, but well worth it to our first stop Charyn Canyon.

Very reminiscent of Arizona or Utah, this breathtaking canyon lies about 120 miles from Almaty on the Kazakhstan-Chinese border. Worth the long drive on small winding roads, Charyn Canyon gave us some hiking opportunities and we reveled in the natural beauty. The destination at the bottom of the canyon was the Charyn River, cutting its way through the soft sandstone of the valley. It was both a hiker’s and a photographer’s dream. We felt lucky to have a dry day for this wonderful excursion. We loved our time here and were falling in love with Kazakhstan. By the time we were back in our van ready to go the sun was setting and we had another hour more drive to our night’s lodging.

Hiking and Homestay

Over the next two nights we stayed in a home stay, with apartment style accommodations and excellent food. Our host made sure we tried several local Kazakh foods including Baursak, a fried dough and Besbarmak a meat and noodle dish which is the national dish of Kazakhstan.

Besbarmak a meat and noodle dish is the national dish of Kazakhstan

The next day we were up early to do more hiking, this time at beautiful Lake Kaindy. This lake has an interesting history. It is a mountain lake in Kazakhstan’s portion of the Tian Shin Mountains. The lake was formed after an earthquake in 1911, which caused a major landslide, effectively creating a natural dam. Successively, rainwater filled the valley and created the lake.

Getting up to Lake Kaindy from our valley accommodations was interesting. The “road” up to the park requires a special all-wheel drive vehicle. A cottage industry has developed for visitors. Old style Soviet “breadloaf” busses can be hired for the bumpy and a bit crazy drive up the rocky road. Once we arrived though, the color of the lake made it worthwhile. The trails were really muddy, but it still was a good work out and a wonderful hike.

Hiking with horses on the same trail made the trail very muddy and messy

More Turquoise Lakes

After lunch back at the home stay we headed out again to another lake for a less strenuous hike. Lake Kolsay is much more easily accessed and is a very popular weekend destination for people from Almaty. It was pretty cold but we bundled up and did a loop on the wooden boardwalk around the lake. Some of our group took out paddle boats. We enjoyed the birds here too as well as seeing the interesting looking local squirrel. Time to head back to our home stay for a delicious dinner and early to bed. Our final night in Kazakhstan.

Local squirrel. We loved his ears and color.

Incredible Kazakhstan

In the morning we headed out early for the long drive to cross the border into Kyrgyzstan – our final Stan of the tour. We drove on a high plateau with stunning mountain and river views before arriving at a desolate border crossing. On foot we made our way through one of the smallest border controls I have ever seen – entirely outdoors. The wind was howling and the temperatures were hovering around freezing as we trudged from Kazakhstan exit controls about 50 yards to Kyrgyzstan entry. Even the luggage scanner was just under a small cover. Surprisingly, despite the cold, the border officers on both sides were friendly and welcoming. After our van went through all the controls, we piled back in to get warm but laughing about another memorable experience. Incredible Kazakhstan. So glad we came!

The drive to the border was so beautiful

Thank you for reading my post Incredible Kazakhstan – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Please come back next week for my final Stan post as I share about Kyrgyzstan. Be sure to read last week’s post about Tiny Tajikistan.

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Tiny Tajikistan – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful

December 13, 2024

Laureen

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Location: Tajikistan

Welcome to the sixth of a series of eight weekly posts covering the eight countries I visited this fall. My journey was epic and I chose not to write posts while traveling, in an effort to be engaged and present on this amazing odyssey. This is my honest opinion from my personal experience. I hope you will enjoy reading my posts covering all that happened over the two months of travel – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Today I share about Tiny Tajikistan – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful

Where is Tajikistan

Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital and most populous city with about 1.5 million people. Tajikistan is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. It is separated from Pakistan by Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor. It has a population of approximately 10.6 million people. (Wikipedia)

Like all the countries of this region, Tiny Tajikistan has an ancient history of being conquered and invaded, ruled by empires and dynasties and has seen the rise and fall of all religions. As all the countries I have written about in the past few weeks, Tajikistan also declared its independence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. A civil war was fought after independence, lasting from May 1992 to June 1997. Since the end of the war, newly established political stability and foreign aid have allowed the country’s economy to grow.

The Bad

We only had four days in beautiful Tajikistan, but it was enough to learn the country has been led since 1994 by Emomali Rahmon, who heads an authoritarian regime and whose human rights record has been criticized. Some strange things we encountered as a result of this was no photos could be taken of the Presidential Palace, and of course no criticism either. Before entering the capital city of Dushanbe we had to have the van washed – no dirty cars allowed in the capital city. That said, the people we met seem very proud of the country and the current state, although we were advised not to criticize the government.

The average monthly salary in Tajikistan is only $147 USD. Gas is about $2.60 a gallon. Most of our meals were covered during our short stay in Tajikistan, but the meals and other things we purchased were very inexpensive. Lunch for two with drinks, less than $10 USD.

The Good

Tiny Tajikistan is proud of it’s many historic heroes including Alexander the Great. He established a city in 329 BC in modern-day Tajikistan and fought a battle in the region, leaving behind a legacy that includes a city and a lake name Iskanderkul. We will visit this lake.

In the 13th century, the Mongol Empire swept through Central Asia, invaded the Khwarezmian Empire and sacked its cities, looting and massacring people. Turco-Mongol conqueror Tamerlane founded the Timurid Empire, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty in and around what later became Tajikistan and Central Asia.

Border Crossing

We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day as we crossed from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan on foot. We said goodbye to our Uzbek driver at the border and exited Uzbekistan, then entered Tajikistan on foot with no issues. On the other side of the border we met our new driver.

Our first stop after crossing the border was the small city of Khujand, population of abut 190,000. The older Soviet style hotel had a nice view…which we enjoyed both day and night with a full moon waxing.

Khujand

Our first stop was lunch, where we learned some Tajikistan foods like, shurbo – a traditional soup with potatoes, carrots and beef as well as kabuli pulao – similar to plov but with chickpeas and raisins. Later in our visit we would learn more about the national cuisine.

After lunch we headed to the Khujand History Museum in the heart of Khujand and with our guide really learned some amazing things about the history and culture of Tajikistan. It was small but really well done museum. After a rest at our hotel, we headed out for a fun evening together.

Khujand History Museum had a fabulous mural with multiple panels explain the life of
Alexander the Great

We enjoyed both the old and a new Jami mosque in the center of the city, but my most favorite thing was visiting the amazing Khujand Market…very lively at night. This giant market operates seven days a week with both indoor and outdoor areas selling the most amazing fruits, vegetables, meats, household goods, crafts, and clothing. We were here at sunset and enjoyed a beautiful view. After a long day we picked up some fruit, cheese and bread and headed back to the hotel for a room picnic before bed.

Iskanderkul Lake

After breakfast the next day we said farewell to Khujand and headed into the mountains and over Shahriston Pass. On this day we would cross the highest elevation of our trip, around 11,000 feet (3400 meters). I always worry about altitude sickness, but it did not bother me this time.

The amazing Fann Mountains of Tajikistan were breathtaking…a real surprise. Snow-topped and dressed in fall gold, it was so much better than I imagined. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the shore of Iskanderkul. The sky could not have been more blue. After lunch some of us hiked to a beautiful waterfall before continuing on our way to our night’s lodging.

Not far from Iskanderkul we arrived at the end of the road, and the itty-bitty village of Sary Tag. A mountain livestock village is also home to a Chinese managed gold mine. Today Sary Tag takes advantage of the new-found tourism industry. Our guesthouse was a lovely eight room spot, next to the home of our host and his family. Except the plumbing was, well, not exactly functional. I skipped a shower. But watching the sunset as I laid in bed and watched the color change over the mountain…then looking out the door as the moon rose on the other side was sublime. It was pretty chilly, but our host served us a delicious and hearty dinner before we called it a night.

Dushanbe

The name of Tajikistan’s capital city is Dushanbe…it means Monday. This name reflected both Dushanbe’s status as a town, with Kasabai meaning town, and the influence of trade, as the name Dushanbe, which means Monday in Persian, was due to the large bazaar in the village that operated on Mondays. This lovely city is such a contrast to the rest of Tajikistan, sparkling buildings, traffic, gardens, monuments and parks. A brand new Parliament Building and the residence of the President spoke to the importance of the city.

Qurutob is the National Dish of Tajikistan

Before heading to our hotel, we had a delicious lunch. Our guide Svetlana wanted to introduce us to Qurutob, the national dish of Tajikistan. Although some in our group did not care for it, Arne and I thought it was both delicious and unusual. It’s a kind of bread salad, made with dried salty sour milk, that is rehydrated and mixed with flat bread and fried onions, vegetables and spices. Sounds bizarre and it was certainly unique. But very tasty and very cheap.

After lunch we went to Hisor Fortress just outside of the city. This site is one of the best preserved sites in all of Tajikistan, built 2500 years ago. We learned this was one of the most important settlements in the region and was the capital for 100 years. Demolished and restored numerous times, the fort today is one of Tajikistan’s biggest tourist attractions. Serving as a caravan stop along the Silk Road, the Hisor Fortress today is in good condition, thanks to the foresight and restoration in the 1980’s.

Main Entrance, part original and part restored

Evening Fun

For our entertainment, Svetlana took those who were interested to an amazing restaurant that included nightly traditional dance. Very popular with the locals (and VERY LOUD), the local people pulled us out of our chairs to dance the night away between performances by the beautiful costumed dancers. Food was good too. I’m so glad I got to see this and really see how the locals party.

City Tour

Dushanbe Day Two dawned bright and warm, by far the warmest day we would see throughout this four week tour. It felt great to shed the sweaters and walk around the sunny city with a guide. Our guide explained much of the history of the city and the monuments and we visited the Museum of National Antiquities. We also enjoyed a delicious lunch at a famous historic restaurant. This indoor/outdoor restaurant, a favorite with locals, had been slated for demolition but the public rose up and saved it. Making it all the more special. In addition I met the nicest older gentleman who was so interested in me as an American, and about the United States. I wish I could have spent hours with him.

Local girls shooting a promotional video

Finishing this final day of a whirlwind tour of Tiny Tajikistan, we wandered the streets and took some time to look for souvenirs, before heading back to the hotel to prepare for the flight to Almaty Kazakhstan.

Giant Buddha at The Museum of Antiquities

Tiny Tajikistan

Tiny Tajikistan packs a big punch, with interesting history, lovely people, fabulous mountains and scenery and great food. We enjoyed our short but lovely visit. I think it is the kind of place where having a guide was very helpful…not so easy to get around on your own. Possible, but not so easy. Thanks for the hospitality Tajikistan. Next stop Kazakhstan.

Sary Tag Village such a contrast to Dushanbe

Please come back next week to read about our visit to Kazakhstan. And see last week’s post Unbelievable Uzbekistan. We love it when you share and comment on our travel posts. Thank you!

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Unbelievable Uzbekistan

The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful

December 6, 2024

Laureen

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Location: Uzbekistan, Central Asia

Welcome to the fifth of a series of eight weekly posts covering the eight countries I visited this fall. My journey was epic and I chose not to write posts while traveling, in an effort to be engaged and present on this amazing odyssey. This is my honest opinion of my personal experience. I hope you will enjoy reading my posts covering all that happened over the two months of travel – The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful. Today I share about Unbelievable Uzbekistan.

Where Am I

Uzbekistan is a landlocked Central Asia country that borders Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrghzstan and Afghanistan. It has a population of 37 million. We entered and departed by car during our visit.

To Tour or Not to Tour

Of the five Stan countries we visited with Intrepid Travel, Uzbekistan I think would be the easiest to visit without a tour. And many people do. Our guide was amazing though, and we found some hidden gems thanks to her. But if you are interested in visiting a Stan or two, starting with Uzbekistan is the way to go. Transportation is great, many people speak English, hiring guides for day trips or city tours is very easy in Unbelievable Uzbekistan.

The Good

Intrepid Travel

Despite the above statement, I am so glad we decided to do this four week trip with Intrepid Travel. It was more expensive than our usual form of travel but so worth it. In Turkmenistan (see last week’s post here) we were required to have a Turkmen guide. She was lovely and sweet but maybe a little new at her job. But once we crossed the border (on foot and a bit unsure of what was happening) we found a whole new world with our next guide Svetlana. Svetlana would spend the next three weeks with us, and our experience could no way have been as wonderful without her guidance. Arne and I were the first to step across the border and she knew who we were and greeted us with a smile, a beautiful comfy coach bus and PAVED ROADS! Hallelujah for that!

Actors portraying historical figures Khiva

During this tour we will spend the most time in the country of Uzbekistan – an entire week. We will visit three ancient cities and one modern city in Uzbekistan. We will be educated, inspired and awed.

Throughout this period we will travel in a coach, a couple of vans and by high speed train. Each high quality, safe and comfortable.

The Bad

I am hard pressed to find anything bad at all about Uzbekistan. But since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, like all other countries in this region, Uzbekistan has had few Presidents. While non-governmental organizations have defined Uzbekistan as “an authoritarian state with limited civil rights”, significant reforms under Uzbekistan’s second president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, have been made following the death of the first president, Islam Karimov. Owing to these reforms, relations with the neighboring countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan have drastically improved . In fact only recently have the borders between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan opened, creating much easier travel itinerary options for visitors.

As guests, we felt safe and welcome and everyone we met seemed happy and healthy. Average monthly salary in Uzbekistan is similar to other surrounding countries, about $400 USD. Meals were delicious and affordable, about $25 USD for two people. Gas prices were just under $4 USD per gallon.

The Beautiful

Everywhere we went in Unbelievable Uzbekistan was beautiful. The historic blue tiled buildings, the markets filled with handmade ceramics and carpets. The hotels we stayed, the people we met and the food. Wow. Let me take you city by city.

Fun Facts

Uzbekistan grows more than 160 kinds of melon and watermelon is on nearly every menu. Uzbekistan is a major producer and exporter of both watermelon and cotton.

Khiva

After crossing the border from Turkmenistan we arrived in the ancient walled city of Khiva. Our coach was too big to enter the historic walled city so we unloaded and walked at dusk through the ancient streets. It was so beautiful at dusk and we arrived at the lovely family owned hotel with a little bit of a Fawlty Towers feel. Most of the group headed out for dinner but we were exhausted both mentally and physically from our crazy Turkmenistan day, so we just took the night off and went to bed.

The next morning after a delicious breakfast we enjoyed a full day exploring Khiva with our guide.

A Lot of History

Khiva is said to be more than 2500 years old, with archaeological evidence showing it existed in the 6th century BCE. The entire old city is an open-air museum, and as our first stop it was hard to imagine the tour could get any better than this. Khiva was the first site to be named a UNESCO Heritage site in Uzbekistan. Khiva was on the caravan route and thrived in ancient times.

The next day we went wild in Khiva, visiting so many gorgeous and historic mosques, mausoleums, palace and madrassa. Khiva has 94 mosques and 63 madrassas and is considered an important center of Islam. We enjoyed traditional dance and learning some of the local crafts. After a full morning and lunch, we had free time. Arne and I returned to a few of our favorite spots and bought some souvenirs. We also decided to dine just the two of us in a traditional restaurant overlooking the colorful historic center. Despite comfortable daytime temps, as soon as the sun goes down it is cool in October. So we bundled in provided blankets and toasted our first stop in Unbelievable Uzbekistan.

You can walk on part of the ancient walls of Khiva

Arne trying on one of the local, popular sheep wool hats

Inside the ancient Juma Masjd Mosque with it’s wooden carved pillars

Dinner by moonlight overlooking the ancient city of Khiva

Bukhara

It was a long van ride from Khiva to Bukhara but the roads were good and I was listening to Audible on my headphones. We stopped for lunch briefly, arriving in the historic city of Bukhara late afternoon. We found ourselves in another lovely hotel with an inner courtyard just steps from the historic center.

A Little History

Bukhara functioned as one of the main centers of Persian civilization from its early days in the 6th century BCE. The city’s architectural and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art and are a UNESCO Heritage Site.

Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. During the Golden age of Islam, under the rule of Samanids, Bukhara became the intellectual center of the Islamic world.

Arrival

After settling into our hotel we headed right out with a local guide to see many of the sites of this amazing town. Everything from the Ssitorai Mohi Khosa, once a summer palace of Bukharan emirs to the Chor-Bakr Necropolis. Everything here is stunning and well restored or preserved.

Bukhara is home to a wonderful craft market where vendors sell the stunning Uzbekistan ceramics, hand made knives, rugs and scarves, and beautiful hand decorated copper and brass. I needed a bigger suitcase.

At the end of this day the entire group enjoyed a delicious local meal together as we really began to appreciate the delicious, fresh and flavorful foods of Uzbekistan including soups, stews, pickles, meat and dessert.

So Much More

Day two arrived with rain, but that did not stop us from traveling just a mile outside of the city to experience the Ark Fortress . We walked back through a park enjoying lovely scenery and to the Ismail Samani Mausoleum. We had time on our own in the afternoon and Arne and I had a wonderful lunch in a traditional restaurant to learn more about the local food.

Plov

Speaking of local food, on this night we walked through the back alleys of hidden Bukhara to the home of a wonderful lady who taught us how to make the national dish of Uzbekistan – Plov. What a treat as she showed us the ancient way of cooking this rice and meat pilaf over a fire heated cauldron, all the layers of Plov. And then of course we ate it all! Absolutely delicious. Here is the Tasty Tuesday YouTube Video I did about learning to make Plov.

Final Day

On our last day in Bukhara, we had half the day to ourselves before the group headed out to catch the high-speed train to our next city. Weather was still wet, but Arne and I went back to the beautiful market to pick up some more souvenirs, enjoyed a great lunch in another traditional restaurant, and despite the rain headed to the market where the locals shop. We love seeing markets with local produce, meat, fish and in this case local specialties like pickles and halvah – a popular confection made from flour and sesame. Then it was off to the train station and on to Samarakand.

Samarkand

Whoa. So Beautiful. We arrived Samarkand after dark, and the Gur-Amir Mausoleum next to our hotel took our breath away. We would visit this stunning piece of architecture the next day and learn all about the conqueror Timur also known as Tamerlane. Timur (Emir Timur) or Tamerbeg (9 April 1336 – 17 February 1405) was a Turco-Mongol conqueror in the 14th century who is regarded as one of history’s greatest military leaders and strategists. He founded the Timurid Empire in 1370.

Rainy Day

After a wonderful breakfast at our hotel we headed out with our hooded raincoats for a day of exploring beautiful Samarkand. It’s really hard to decide but this might have been the most beautiful city of the three so far – despite a very wet day.

We started this full Samarkand day at Registan, the central square of Samarkand. Researchers estimate that Samarkand was founded in the 8th–7th centuries BC. However, archaeological excavations have uncovered evidence of human activity dating back to the Upper Paleolithic era, 40,000 years ago.

From the Registan we proceeded to the huge Bibi Khanum mosque and the ancient bazaar, picking up a few more souvenirs. One of my favorite sites of the day was Shak-i-Zinda a sacred necropolis of blue tiled mausoleums. The tile, carved ancient pillars and all part of the Timurid dynasty. Breathtaking.

After another amazing lunch Arne and I decided to use our afternoon free time to walk to the ancient Samarkand Ulegbek’s Observatory, built in the 1420s by the Timurid astronomer Ulugh Beg. This school of astronomy was constructed under the Timurid Empire, and was the last of its kind from the Islamic Medieval period. Delicious dinner ended this great day.

Sunny Day

Our final day was sunny and we made the most of our time before heading to the high-speed train again. Svetlana took us to a hidden restaurant we could never have found on our own to experience Samsa, a tiny sandwich (like a slider) baked in giant outdoor ovens and filled with meats. Oh My Gosh. Absolutely delicious. Next we headed to Bumajnaya Paper factory that makes hand-made paper the ancient way. The small operation includes a wonderful interpretive center explaining the history and demonstrating the ancient art of paper making.

Learning that ancient way of paper making

Time to say farewell to beautiful Samarkand and jump back on the train to our final Unbelievable Uzbekistan destination of Tashkent.

Tashkent

It was a beautiful sunny day when we woke up in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. We started off with a local guide to tour the city, which is more modern than those we visited before. It was fun to use the Tashkent Metro, a beautiful metro system with each station decorated with a different theme.

Next we headed to the giant Chorsa Bazaar, an astonishing place where you can buy just about anything! Most fascinating was the meat pavilion….an entire enormous building just selling meat! I was also intrigued watching the bakers make the local bread in open clay ovens. This bakery makes about a million and half loaves of bread a year…feeding Tashkent! So far I was loving this city of 3 million people.

At this point some people went back to the hotel but most of us piled into one tiny cab and headed to an amazing restaurant that makes plov in humongous cauldrons all day long. They like things big in Tashkent. The plov was good (not as good as what we had at the cooking class) but most fascinating was watching the process of this restaurant that serves thousands of people each day.

Arne and I decided to head out on our own for the rest of the afternoon. We visited the small but nice Tashkent Hand Craft Museum then went out to dinner at a lovely restaurant and enjoyed a modern twist on Uzbekistan food. Our final night in this wonderful country.

Another delicious meal. There is no bad food in Uzbekistan

Unbelievable Uzbekistan

We really enjoyed this country, the people, the history, the beauty and the food. It’s a great destination, easy to get around and definitely worth a visit. Get it on your radar. But now it was time for us to move on to Tajikistan. I’ll tell you about that next Friday. Meanwhile, thank you for reading my post Unbelievable Uzbekistan. See last week’s post Turkmenistan, Ashgabat and Beyond here. I hope you will come back next week for more of this wonderful journey.

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