Casey - Istanbul, Turkey to Prague, Czech Republic

Well, time has certainly flown by since I parted ways with Tim in Turkey. Over 4 weeks has gone and there is plenty to write about. Tim has always written the blog in the past, and I can now appreciate how much work there is too it! Given the rate at which we are doing things, I can see that it will be difficult to decide which stories to put in and which to leave out. However, I will endeavor to keep it fairly short and succinct whist describing my journey. For ease of writing, I will break it up into chapters. So far there are two that I have called; In a Frog’s Shadow and Patience is a virtue.

CHAPTER 1 - IN A FROG’S SHADOW

Whilst Tim was bound for the western side of Europe by plane, it was my intention to continue travelling westward by land. The first country I was therefore to pass through was Bulgaria, a country that I knew next to nothing about. Having no real plan prior to leaving Tim in Turkey, and figuring that I could use an extended period in one spot to collect my thoughts; at the last minute I teed up a Work-Away farming experience in rural Bulgaria. Work-Away is a concept that I had recently heard about were you offer to work at a place for food and board. Not a bad idea for me, given I was money conscious, in need of stability and had no idea where I was going!

So with something of a plan in my mind, I departed Turkey for Burgas, on the coast of Bulgaria to kill a couple of days before heading to the farm. Burgas was a nice enough coastal town, but not worth spending too much time mulling over. It was a shocking introduction to Eastern Europe however, with 2.5L bottles of beer for $2, drugs readily flowing at my hostel and dogs eating out of bins. I couldn’t help but ask myself if I was safe travelling alone. Regardless, I moved on after a couple of days, and after riding through some gypsy slums contrasted against beautiful countryside, I arrived in the small town of Ovchi Kladenets and made my way to Frog Shadow Farm.

I find it hard to describe my time at Frog Shadow farm. The only real adjective that comes to mind is “unforgettable”. Run by Steff and Baz, a young British couple, the farm is a work in progress and a labour of love. There is no end to the number of jobs that require doing, from tending to crops, building the extension, looking after the animals or just making the place homely. Needless to say the guys kept me busy, but I loved every minute of it. Jobs that I had a hand in were; weeding crops, securing a pig pen, plastering, fixing cladding, killing a chicken, painting a thunderbox and that’s just to name a few!

Each morning would start early at 7:30 (which was a crude shock from the midday rises I was used to) with a strong pot of coffee and fresh goats cheese or homemade jam on toast. From there, whatever work for the day would be allocated and done during the day, with breaks for morning tea, lunch etc. of course! Each evening we would relax with a beer, wine or rakia. Rakia, is a hellish drink made of anything with sugar (at our farm, plums and apricots) and is anywhere between 40 and 70% alcohol. By the end of my time in Bulgaria, I was actually developing a taste for it!

Looking back, I relished the opportunity to have some form of schedule, and to have some sort of purpose to each day. My time at the farm was the perfect break from living out of a pack and being on the road.  More than the schedule however it was most definitely the people with whom I was staying that made the experience. Steff and Baz were absolutely lovely and their passion for what they were doing in the heart of Bulgaria was contagious. Steff made the most amazing food and Baz, whilst being quite modest about it, was one of the most travelled and interesting characters that I have met so far. Mention must also be made of Malte, my partner in the “Great Genocide of Colorado Beetles, 2013”. Another work-awayer, Malte was a constant source of laughs and it wouldn’t have been the same without him.  Many thanks to all three of you for the time we shared together.

In total, I spent only 12 days at Frog Shadow Farm, but I could’ve spent plenty more and I was very sad to leave. However, time was pressing and I had finally worked out the next part of my journey – hitchhiking to Prague.

CHAPTER 2 - PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE 

I made this decision very lightly and maybe that was the only way to do it. Thinking about the wakkos, nutjobs and psychopaths that could have picked me up would definitely have made me catch the bus like a normal person. But any thought of Ivan Milat, or a certain Quentin Tarrantino movie was quickly repressed and I pushed on. And so, after 1,876km, I successfully did it, I managed to hitchhike solo from Frog Shadow Farm, in the middle of Bulgaria to Prague, the bustling metropolis in the Czech Republic! It was an adventure in its own right and taught me a great deal, especially the value of patience…

Now, I am not new to hitching, having done a little bit of it with Tim in Mongolia. But this was certainly the first time that I was doing it solo, and relying on it as my sole method of transportation. The idea was daunting, especially when I set of from the farm along an old country road with my 30kg pack. So, without going into each hitch individually, and being personally somewhat interested in statistics, I will display of my journey in terms of numbers. I think that they show a pretty decent picture of my time;

            Number of hitches: 29

            Average waiting time: 38 mins

            Times less than 10 min: 11

            Times more than 1 hr: 7

            Max waiting time: 3 hours

            Times propositioned: 0

            Countries traversed: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, and Czech Republic

As you can imagine, each hitch was an experience in itself, and the stats show the amount of time by the side of the road. But what might be hard for the observer to realize is how much you can get out of hitching. I’ve learnt that through hitching, you get a fantastic chance to engage with locals, you are (if they speak even a tiny amount of English – which an alarming number did) often a guest in their country and they feel compelled to teach you all about it. I have, as a result, learnt a tiny bit of numerous languages, been given local foods and drinks, offered advice and invited to numerous gatherings. Also, I must note, that I was told by no less than 10 people, that whilst they are not racist, to watch out for gypsies! And so, throughout the journey, I learnt a great deal more than I would have should I have been sitting on a bus.

Hitching was of course, only my method of transport. The sights and places that I saw during this chapter were breathtaking. From the beauty that was the region of Transylvania, filled with castles and Dracula souvenirs, to the architectural elegance and history of any capital city, each place has filled me with awe. Also, as photography is something of a hobby, it was a delight for me to wander around with earphones in and camera in hand and just go berserk! A handful of the hundreds of photos I have taken are on the page “Casey’s Europe”.

Given the rate of my travel, I was only able to stay a maximum of 3 nights in a place, which was regrettably only sufficient to give me a glimpse. But one place that I dug a little deeper and will always remember fondly is Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The reason for my affection is mainly attributable to the people that I stayed with, as Bucharest was my first couchsurfing experience. Here I had the pleasure of staying with two 26-year-old locals - Alex and Vlad. Both guys were a lot of fun and together they made my stay a delight. After giving me a guided tour of the city, explaining the interesting history of still recent socialist rule, we went out and delved into the city nightlife. Being taken to local places and being introduced to the other locals was a great way to feel like a guest instead of a tourist. I will be couchsurfing a lot more in the future as a result, and many thanks to them both for their generous hospitality!

Reading back over what I have written, I can see that I have only scratched the surface. There have been many interactions and stories that I have left out. So, instead of writing them all here and making what has already become a long blog, even longer, I will offer to tell them in return for beers at a future date. To spark your interest, I can give you the titles;

1.     My frightening hitch with The Hulk

2.     The time I serenaded drunk, Polish truck drivers with my amazing harmonica skills

3.     My journey to Jebuc, the tiny Hungarian village in Romanian Transylvania

4.     How I learned how “Do you speak English?” is not an effective pick up line

5.     The night I slept in a park like a bum

6.     How to choose a hitchhiking spot – Casey’s Five Point Plan

Well, I hope that you have enjoyed my narrative of my life over the last month. I hope that the next month will continue to provide me with many experiences, lessons and anecdotes. To finish, I would like to use a quote. Whilst I don't agree with it, I can tell you that after a couple of hours waiting by the side of the road, your mind will start to think it!

"The good thing about hitchhiking is that the assholes drive right on by" - Unknown

Almaty, Kazakhstan to Istanbul, Turkey

Our final days in Asia have finally arrived after an incredibly short, experience-rich, five months! We flew through Kazakhstan, jet through Georgia and rocketed through the wonders of Turkey. The Earthbound Astronauts are preparing to briefly part but not before completing their time in Asia with style. The adventure continues!

To listen to the podcast click here!

Almaty, Kazakhstan - June 1^st – June 6^th

We arrived in Kazakhstan from Kyrgyzstan really unsure of what to expect. Unfortunately the movie ‘Borat’ had tainted our ideas about this formidably mysterious country. When we arrived in Almaty, the biggest city in Kazakhstan, we were incredibly surprised. Almaty was originally the capital of Kazakhstan, and for some unknown reason, the government decided that a city in the middle of nowhere, Astana, would be the capital. Coming from the concrete jungles that were Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, we were amazed to see that Almaty was one of the most revitalizing cities we’ve visited yet. A city that was beautifully positioned beneath snow-capped mountains, a sight that was becoming increasingly familiar throughout our travels in Central Asia.

We used our time in Almaty to recharge our depleting motivation. Originally we had big plans to venture away from the city into the surrounding wilderness, however these were ‘dampened’ by a torrential downpour, flooding both the city streets and our ambition. Seeing this as a sign, we decided to spend our remaining days exploring the city. This involved visiting the museum to discover that Tuesday was the only day it was closed, determining Kazak kebabs were a godsend and realising vodka was the most prominent and possibly cheapest beverage available. Finally feeling rejuvenated; we were ready to progress onto the newly founded capital.

Astana, Kazakhstan - June 7^th – June 10^th

Arriving in Astana by train, we were completely disorientated by our lack of city knowledge and the resulting sterility produced by a patchwork of contrasting architectural styles. After catching a public bus and arriving in the vicinity of the only hostel we knew about, we spent the better part of an hour deciphering the hostel address, a highly elusive residential apartment. Exploring the city with a maniacally peculiar Ukrainian character, we gawked at the conflicting architectural anomalies that are precariously placed around the capital. A very peculiar aspect of the city was the lack of street based restaurants replaced by a large number of malls and their subsequent food courts. We were lucky enough to make a Kazak friend in our hostel, a relationship that was purely based on our mutual use of Google translate, a very interesting and surprisingly lucrative medium for building a friendship. A few days in Astana were more then enough for us to comfortably farewell Kazakhstan. We boarded a plane to the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, which afforded us the melancholy experience of staying a night in an airport during a layover in Almaty.

Tbilisi, Georgia - June 11^th & 12^th June

Casey and I fearfully observed Tbilisi reveal itself through the plane window, another potential concrete abyss. Wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into, we nervously caught the bus into the city centre towards our hostel. Probably due to our partial prejudice, we mistook the grand ‘Freedom Square’ for a random roundabout that had a very similar symmetry to the actually phenomenal attraction. After searching for our hostel for two hours we eventually realised we were on the wrong side of the river, obviously our navigational abilities hadn’t improved. When we found our hostel, it was positioned in a surprisingly beautiful cobblestoned area of the city. It turned out that Tbilisi was a very westernised city with a very good mixture of both modern and historical buildings, our first true introduction to Europe. The city didn’t have too much to see from a tourist’s perspective, the two main sights revolved around an old fortress, which acted as a city viewing point, and Freedom Square, which we used as a place to observe everyday people. Whilst in Tbilisi, we also met Paul who is travelling the world… on a bicycle, which completely puts our journey to shame. It was at this point we started to notice tourist numbers were on the increase, especially annoying ones…

Sighnaghi, Georgia - June 13^th – June 15^th

Hearing that Georgia was known for its wineries, we felt obliged to travel to the wine region to see for ourselves. We arrived in Sighnaghi, a town that was contained within the walls of a well-preserved fortress. Our guesthouse had a spectacular view of surrounding vineyards, acting as a placebo to improve the taste of the local wine, which was stored in a recycled plastic coke bottle. We organised a winery tour the following day, which turned out to be more of a monastery tour, lacking the copious amounts of wine we were hoping for.

Batumi, Georgia - June 16^th – June 18^th

Preparing to cross from Georgia into Turkey, we headed to the town of Batumi, next to the Black Sea. Batumi acts as the port of Georgia from Eastern Europe acting as a funnel of tourists from Europe into Asia. As we attempted to orchestrate our arrival into Turkey we explored Batumi, which did not seem to have that much to offer on a sightseeing basis. Georgia was definitely a small preview of Europe.

Cappadocia, Turkey - June 19^th – June 21^st

We arrived into the Cappadocia area in central turkey ready to start our fast paced Turkish adventure. Cappadocia is a very famous tourist destination due to ancient houses that were hollowed out of volcanic stone, setting a fantastic ambience. After trying to stay at the Flintstone Cave hotel, which inevitably was the name of numerous establishments in the area, we settled in a hotel that had a fantastic rooftop view of our surrounding landscape. After seeing the price of tourist tours, we decided to see the main sites ourselves. Whilst walking around a deserted area of caves, we decided to rest in a blissfully shady cave that was actually a centuries old church, which just helps describes the immense majesty of the area. We slowly started to see an increase of Australians, which was highlighted by the number of Australian themed hotels and restaurants.

Selçuk, Turkey - June 22^nd – June 24^th

We headed to Turkey’s west to see the largest Greek ruins in the Mediterranean, Ephesus. Ephesus was fantastic! We walked along a marble pathway that was once the thoroughfare of an incredibly vibrant and ever-changing city. Ephesus was a true architectural spectacle, complete with an enormous amphitheatre and surprisingly well preserved sculptures. The weather we enjoyed whilst in Turkey on a whole was perfect, even though we did get a taste of what the sweltering heat of the Mediterranean was like. As we continued speeding through Turkey we readied ourselves for the Australian pilgrimage to Gallipoli. 

Eceabat, Turkey - June 25^th & 26^th June

We arrived in Eceabat, the town where we’d access Gallipoli. Unbeknown to us both, whilst on the bus, we actually crossed from the Asian continent to Europe an exciting milestone to reach after our four and a half month adventure. As soon as we’d arrived at our Australian themed hostel, we booked our Gallipoli tour for that day. The tour took us to all the important sites starting with ANZAC cove. It was difficult to imagine that this beautifully tranquil piece of coastline was the setting for such violent bloodshed only a century ago. It was great to see the amount of respect that was obviously poured into maintaining the memorials and the sites. The Gallipoli area is also an important site to the Turks. This is understandable because, to them, this campaign was a success, even though they lost approximately ten times the number of soldiers as the ANZACS.

Istanbul, Turkey - June 27^th – June 30^th

We’d finally arrived at our final destination together, the Turkish capital, Istanbul. This vibrant metropolis was incomparable to any other, so historically rich yet refreshingly modern. It was easy to see how this city had acted as a centralized point of trade throughout suceeding civilisations. We visited Taksim Square hoping to observe some of the tensions, yet the heightened police presence seemed to have dispelled the majority of the drama. Even though we wanted to visit the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace, the exorbitant entrance fees convinced us to enjoy them both externally. A sight that couldn’t be missed was the Blue Mosque. The mosque was colossal yet equally as exquisite. The majesty of the Blue Mosque was rivaled by the Basilica Cistern, the site of water storage for the ancient city. It was amazing to see the multitude of pillars that had been taken from various sources through out the ages.

The fabled Grand Bazaar was a sore disappointment for us both as we expected a much more raw experience and were ultimately confronted with a glorified shopping mall. However, the Spice Market, next to the Bosphorus, exceeded expectations. The Spice Market is just what it sounds like, exotic spices, dried friends, tea and every type of Turkish delight imaginable. I was not a fan of Turkish delight before this experience, but my opinion has completely changed! Istanbul was a fantastic place, but you can feel a bit lost in such an active city.

Casey and I said our goodbyes in Istanbul, both heading into Bulgaria, but I’ll leave that for the next blog. As we part, to continue our journeys separately, our appreciation of the places we’ve been, the places we’ve yet to visit and the inevitable impact that this opportunity has had on us both, as one of ongoing self-discovery, continues to grow.

Keep posted.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to Almaty, Kazakhstan

Yet again, a blog and podcast is more then overdue! We have navigated our way through the deserts of Mongolia, circumvented the world’s second largest saline lake in Kyrgyzstan and arrived in the home country of Borat, Kazakhstan. The Earthbound Astronauts have truly landed in Central Asia, pleasantly overwhelmed by antics!
 

To listen to the podcast click Here!

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - May 12^th – May 14^th

We both had heard differing opinions of Mongolia, yet all negatively portrayed the capital, Ulaanbaatar, ironically coined “The city of nomads”. We, however, were determined to arrive in Ulaanbaatar with an open mind unhindered by prejudices formed by others or by our interesting experience in the border town. As we arrived, it became evident as to how hard that would be; presented with a city that was a jungle of concrete and dirt, completely void of any positive emotion. It was our first encounter of a former soviet state and, unfortunately, the soviet influence had definitely left its mark. Not only was there an aesthetic unfamiliarity but as the predominate second language was Russian, communication became just as foreign.

We decided to stay in Ulaanbaatar just long enough to apply for Kazakh visas. As it was the weekend, we had a few days to explore. Surprisingly, on Sunday, Ulaanbaatar was completely lifeless. For those that listen to the podcast, you would know that we had our first run in with an opportunistic thief trying to ’liberate’ my wallet from my pocket, not helping improve our already fragile opinion of Ulaanbaatar. Heading straight to the Kazak embassy the following morning, we somehow had our incomplete applications accepted even though the embassy employee was shocked as to why we even wanted to visit Kazakhstan especially without an invitation. Elated to have the opportunity to escape the capital, we began to devise a plan to leave. To our pleasant surprise, we serendipitously teamed up with the aforementioned Dutch couple, Frans and Sien, and a Finnish/Swiss stallion, Nik, deciding to head to Dalanzadgad, the capital of a southern province and the gateway to the largest of the 32 Gobis or deserts. A day before leaving, Casey, Nik and myself ventured out to a nearby town to visit a small monastery. This is where Casey and I had our first taste of hitchhiking as we jumped into the back of a truck to get to the monastery. We were then offered a lift returning us to the capital, which was our first true glimpse of Mongolian hospitality. Sadly, after being in Tibet so recently, we had been partially desensitized to monasteries, and this one certainly lacked intrigue.

Leaving Ulaanbaatar was a true saga as if we were stuck in a malicious gravitational field. After first going to a bus station that did not have buses to Dalanzadgad, we were mislead by ‘taxi’ drivers that kept our friend’s packs hostage until we paid multiples of what was initially agreed for a ride to the correct station. After finding the robust soviet van heading to our destination and being told we had five hours to wait, even after we offered to pay for the remaining seats to leave then, we waited next to the “Black Market” for almost four hours before being told our negotiated price was now acceptable, even though the van was now full of people. Miraculously, we finally departed for Dalanzadgad arriving the following morning, but not before enduring two flat tires and a five-hour breakdown.

Dalanzadgad & tour - May 15^th – May 19^th

Dalanzadgad was a small town situated amidst incredibly arid terrain. Finding a hotel for the night and having a tour organised twenty minutes after arrival marked the beginning of our amazing adventure in the Gobi. Amusingly, as we just arrived in our hotel room our van driver’s friend followed us into the room used our toilet, took a piece of our salami, smiled at us and then left to the bewilderment of us all. This town did however contain a few hazards that Casey and I both seemed to encounter. I stepped on and partially entered a poorly secured manhole and Casey, whilst venturing back from attempting photography of the stars, plummeted into an unmarked pit, protecting his camera, but losing the key to our hotel room…

We were collected the following morning by our driver in a Russian van identical to the multitude of others we’d seen. We drove through some incredibly diverse terrain, roads and signage a non-existent luxury, relying on the instincts and experience of the driver to navigate through this extremely foreign environment. Arriving at our first ger (tent or “yurt” in Russian) camp situated next to an immense sand dune, we all decided to climb the sand wall to inspect the other side and visualise the landscape we had just traversed. We struggled up the deceptively sheer dune where at the top we marveled at the sand dunes on one side and the incomprehensible greenery on the other. Racing down the dune proved to be the easiest part of the trek, and the most enjoyable, especially as I witnessed Casey trip and hit his face in the sand. The day was then completed by an anticlimactic camel ride that involved our uncontrollable camels relishing the opportunity to eat, prompting the guide to make us grab the reigns of the camel behind, forming a caravan of camel riding shame. Returning to the ger camp surrounded by goats we spent our first night in a Mongolian ger.

After another day driving in the Mongolian wilderness and viewing a canyon where a copious number of dinosaur bones had been found, we arrived at our second ger camp, which was home to a large Mongolian family. Staying in what we believe to be the ‘living room’ ger, we were introduced to various games using sheep knuckles. Feeding us like they thought we’d never been fed before, we stomached traditional Mongolian pasta and rice filled with fat and sand and drank traditional camel milk tea, of which I am not the biggest fan. Enthused by the kindness of the family, Casey and Nik were ushered over to help catch baby goats and place them into a small pen, a highlight for them both. The following day we visited a national park that contained an ice river where we had the opportunity to walk along the ice and marvel at the amazing ice formations. This marked the end of our short tour in the Gobi as we returned to Dalanzadgad in preparation to return to Ulaanbaatar the following day.

Ulaanbaatar - May 20^th & May 21^st

Catching a public bus rather then an unpredictable Russian van turned out to be a very successful experience. We did not need to stop for mechanical reasons and the trip, which had taken us sixteen hours a few days before, only took eight hours to return us to the capital. It was by this point that the capital was a welcome sight as we all looked forward to a meal that had either a little more flavour or less density then food we’d been eating over the previous days. We celebrated collecting our passports from the Kazak embassy, complete with a visa, a triumph for us both. This afforded us another three days before we had to be in the capital to catch our flight to Bishkek, another great opportunity to see another part of Mongolia.

Torelj - May 22^nd – May 24^th

Casey found the Torelj national park, approximately seventy kilometres from Ulaanbaatar, which contained numerous tourist ger camps and, the major attraction, a golf course. Feeling enthusiastically confident about the direction we needed to travel we started walking with the intention of adopting the common Mongolian practice of hitching a ride. We walked over ten kilometres before we decided it was time to raise the arm indicating the desire for a life. Less then thirty seconds passed before our first car stopped to offer us a ride. The first car travelled about a kilometre before stopping at a group of houses. Our spirits partially dampened, Casey sort out a luxury car parked on the side of the road who quickly offered us a lift to our destination. Dropping us off at the entrance to the national park, we thanked the driver for his hospitality and continued following a dirt road adjacent to a beautiful river. After walking for about twenty minutes we caught our third and final ride. This driver attempted to communicate with us and even made a call to his English speaking wife asking her to translate that we would pick her up on the way and that she would recommend a good location. After picking up our driver’s lovely wife, they dropped us at Turtle Rock (a rock shaped like a turtle) leaving us with both advice and her business card incase we needed anything translated.

Walking past Turtle Rock, heading down a dirt road towards a monastery, we saw a small group of gers. We approached the camp and were welcomed by an incredibly jolly man who welcomed us with open arms. We spent the afternoon relaxing looking forward to the impending golf game the following day. Waking early and walking the five kilometres to the Chinggis Khan Country Club to play golf, we were severely disappointed when we discovered a game of golf would cost us $80AUD each, a price we refused to pay. In defeat, we decided to climb an incredibly steep hill before travelling overland to return to our ger camp. This saw us accidently encounter a marsh, which I, unfortunately, was a victim. We left the following day, catching a ride with a British woman we’d met at the camp, but not before the man embraced us both, completing our amazing experience in the national park and solidifying our opinion of the nomadic Mongolian people.

As we returned to the concrete capital, it was hard not to reminisce about our time in Mongolia and the pleasant unfamiliarity of a country and people whom are trying to create their own identity after so recently being part of such a uniform regime. The following day we headed to the airport preparing to enter our first ‘Stan’, farewelling a society, which had sincerely proven that superficial appearances can be deceiving.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - May 25^th & May 26^th

We hesitantly arrived in Bishkek with an unfortunate stereotype of the ‘Stans’ affixed in our minds. After leaving the airport and catching a van through an incredibly green city to a large apartment complex, which turned out to contain our poorly marked hotel, we were slightly shocked to realise that the private room we had paid $20AUD each for was in fact a vacated family bedroom/lounge room. This was also topped off by the fact there was no door on the room and the family was sleeping in the kitchen. As we walked down the streets of Bishkek, premiering our money belts, it was obvious that people could see we were tourists and stared at us with the cold, interrogating stare we’d first met in Ulaanbaatar. Spending an extra day in Bishkek before we were going to depart for the countryside, we decided to see a movie, Star Trek 2. After enjoying the incredibly cheap price to see the movie and the fact that we could bring a beer into the cinema, we were slightly taken aback when the movie was in Russian… A first for everything. One positive thing that can be said about Kyrgyzstan though is that the pastries and breads are amazing! We were told by our incredibly hospitable ‘hotel’ manager that Bishkek was incredibly safe, which filled us with a mild sense of confidence to venture out and see the city square at night. This was a great experience as we saw fountains in the square luminesced by surrounding lights and people roller-skating. Yet again, our predetermined prejudice and hesitation seemed unfounded.

Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan - May 27^th – May 31^th

Leaving the uneventful capital, we headed to the tourist town, Choplan-Ata, on the northern side of Lake Issyk-Kul, the world’s second largest saline lake. Amusingly, a taxi driver asked Casey where he was from. After Casey answered, the taxi driver exclaimed “What are you doing here?! You crazy!”, a statement that amused us to no endh. As we arrived at this completely desolate town, we luckily found a pink hotel down a side street at a reasonable price. Wanting to explore this beach we had heard so much praise for in Bishkek, we headed to the edge of the lake. Walking along a dirt road past a plethora of abandoned shipping containers that had once contained shops foreshadowed what we were about to encounter. As we found the beach, it was obvious that this potentially once vibrant and prominent site was now a product of neglect, completely tarnished by a human presence.

Staying only a night in Choplan-Ata, we progressed onto Karakol, a town to the far east of the saline lake. Finding a hostel that was highly recommended by Lonely Planet, we decided to spend three nights in this sullen town. After spending a day recuperating we decided to visit the Karokol Valley. We walked about ten kilometres out of town before we reached the ticketing booth of the national park. Being prewarned to ensure we received a receipt, we had a very amusing conversation with a park ranger who attempted to barter a price to enter the national park without a ticket, no doubt a potential source of his side income. The valley was extremely beautiful as we walked past rolling hills covered in greenery and a bubbling brook all incorporated by a backdrop of snow capped peaks. It was hard to avoid thinking that the beauty of the landscape was tainted by humanity. In an ironic response to our criticism, we were offered a lift back into town by a very hospitable family. The following day we caught the bus back to Bishkek, where in just a few days we had lost the hesitation and gained the confidence to walk down the street with conviction without pondering our safety or the safety of our belongings. A true story of growth.

We have just arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan, but I’ll leave that for the next blog. That brings us to now. Entering these two very different yet comparable countries has taught us both some vital lessons. As we continue to travel the world we see differing cultures and the hardships they have and continue to overcome on a daily basis. We are starting to gain an appreciation of why certain cultures seem superficially cold, abrasive and intimidating unreceptive. Whether it is due to past necessity or the effects of rapid change, it is obvious that these cultures we have experienced are true products of both their history and environments. With this in mind, I cannot avoid personally reflecting upon our own culture, pondering the differing perceptions people form of us through their varied experiences of our country and it’s people.

Keep posted.

Vientiane, Laos to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Wow! It’s been a long time since the last post, but we have been going strong and there is a lot to catch up on! Casey and I have enjoyed our time in both China and Tibet and have ventured forth into the unknown of Mongolia! I have a lot of information to cover, so I’m taking a slightly different tack and writing about location rather then day-by-day. Welcome back and enjoy!

To listen to our more then overdue podcast click here!

Vientiane & Luang Prabang, Laos - Mar 28^th to Apr 3^rd

After enduring Vientiane in all is ‘grandeur’ (or incredible lack there of!), we decided to continue on to Luang Prabang, the popular pinnacle of Lao tourism. Luang Prabang was a truly beautiful town, isolated from the majority of westernizations. The town was very laidback, making it easy to lose track of days. With the sites of the town consisting of a mighty 32 wats, the Pak Ou Buddha caves on the Mekong and the magnificently formed Kuang Si waterfall, it was easy to see why Luang Prabang was a highlight for anyone venturing into Laos. We joined a tour to see both the Buddha caves, which were naturally occurring caves consisting of Buddhas of all shapes and denominations, and the waterfall. The waterfall and associated pools were a truly majestic sight. Deposits of calcium had created a tiered waterway while simultaneously making the water an intricately deep turquoise. Casey enthusiastically photographed the landscape before we both relished the opportunity to swim in the beautifully temperate water. 

Feeling that we were finally ready to farewell South East Asia, we organised a bus to Kunming in the Yunnan province, China, but not before I had the displeasure of joining Casey in the age bracket of the mid-twenties.

Kunming, China - Apr 4^th to Apr 9^th

After successfully entering China with near to no issues we reached our first point of call, Kunming. Kunming was our first real reintroduction to the western world in two months! Tempted by Maccas, KFC and a Chinese fast food chain, Dickos, we needed to employ self-control to avoid blowing our budget and maintaining our semi-authentic cultural experience. This was also where we fruitlessly tried to satisfy our hunger for fried dumplings, which in hindsight aren’t as common in china as Australian Chinese restaurants depict. An hour and a half from Kunming is a popular local tourist attraction that Casey was desperate to see, The Stone Forest. As the name suggests, the attraction was in fact an impressive forest of stone. Unfortunately, the forest was partially ruined by the sheer number of tourists and the attempt to convert the natural beauty of the site into an artificial amusement park, a more then common occurrence around China. The amount the Chinese government was involved in controlling the population was slowly becoming evident as we discovered we were blocked from accessing Facebook and our blog, and the number of police had multiplied since our time in parts of South East Asia where we didn’t even know what a policeman looked like. We then continued on to Guilin, only a torturous 24-hour seated train ride away.

Guilin, China - Apr 10^th & Apr 11^th

Guilin was a quaint town that we were using as a gateway to the awe-inspiring town, Yangshuo. We still enjoyed Guilin; where you can find a plethora of differing and exotic Chinese foods including self-selected skewers fried in a chilli sauce that really stimulates the taste buds!

Yangshou, China - Apr 12^th to Apr 16^th

Yangshou is the town that inspired the floating mountains in the blockbuster movie Avatar. It was incredible to see landmasses rising from the flat surrounding terrain in such close proximity to buildings as if the locals were oblivious to this formidable backdrop. The main tourist street, West St, was saturated by Chinese tourists (that included all nightclubs), which was refreshing, having recently escaped the tourist demographic of South East Asia. After seeing bike rental businesses all around town, Casey and I decided that would be the best way to see the incredible landscape. We, of course, needed to do this in style so we hired a tandem bicycle. We inevitably were a spectacle, as people did not see two large bearded westerners riding a tandem bike regularly. Yangshou was a truly magical location and it was easy to see why this was such an iconic site.

Shanghai, China - Apr 17^th to Apr 21^st

After another grueling 24-hour seated train ride we arrived in westernized Shanghai. Now, Shanghai is an amazing city and is definitely one of my favourite cities we’ve visited thus far. Casey having visited China twice before was able to act as my tour guide around some of the ‘cultural’ sites such as the main shopping street, East-Nanjing rd, and a local electronics market where sales people were ruthless for a sale. Not only were we targets for people trying to lure us to teahouses, but Casey is convinced he was offered ‘services’ by a guy in the male toilets. It was also in Shanghai we decided to obtain visas for Mongolia, which ended up being incredibly easy and falsely foreshadowed what we would expect from our next country, but more about that later. The highlight of Shanghai for us, and inevitably the people that have to look at us, was the shaving of our beards. I bravely opted for full facial hair removal where as Casey decided to only trim his facial monstrosity. As we farewelled our homeless look and welcomed back a small amount of class, we prepared for the jewel of our Chinese adventure, a tour in Tibet.

Lhasa, Tibet - Apr 22^nd to May 2^nd

Our visit to Tibet had been an impromptu decision whilst we were in Luang Prabang, and even though we had to join an intensively organised tour to see this mysteriously isolated area, the organisation of permits and payments still added complication to our very fragile plan. Whilst in Shanghai everything had finally come together (except monetary issues with the company that continued into our first few days in Lhasa, involving calls from our travel agent ‘Debbie’ whilst we were inside sacred Buddhist monasteries...). We had organised to catch two 48 hour trains to both arrive in and depart from Lhasa after our eight day tour of Lhasa and the Mount Everest Base Camp (EBC).

We boarded the train in Shanghai and both got comfortable in our hard sleepers on the highest level in our cabin of six beds. This was an interesting train ride for numerous reasons, not only did the train reach an elevation of 5000m while we ogled the beauty of the Tibetan Plateau, but we also had to adjust to having about 50cm between our beds and the ceiling of the cabin. Elated to have arrived in Lhasa, we were welcomed by the sight of extremely heightened security. We were collected by a guide holding a sheet of paper garnishing our names and taken to our three star hotel, which was possibly the nicest we had stayed in thus far. Lhasa was exquisite! As we drove through the streets for the first time, we were met by a strange mixture of present day domineering China fused with the repressed, yet courageously prevalent, Tibetan culture, all on a formidable backdrop of snow capped peaks. Every Tibetan person we met was so merry and friendly, solidifying our opinion of the Tibetan people as the kindest and warmest we have encountered thus far.

The following morning (whilst I was battling with a slight level of altitude sickness) our freshly formed tour group visited the oldest Buddhist temple in Lhasa, the Jokhang temple, and the surrounding Barkhor st, a remnant of old Lhasa. This was followed by a visit to the Potala Palace, the rightful residence of the exiled 14^th Dalai Llama. The Potala Palace was magnificent, a structure that commanded respect by its sheer position above the town and the deep religious significance the palace held to each and every Tibetan. The intricacies of the palace were a marvel in themselves as we caught a glimpse of the spiritual ideologies that form the cornerstone of Tibetan culture. Throughout the following days we saw a multitude of monasteries such as the Drepung monastery, the Sera Monastery and the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. All the monasteries we visited were unique in so many ways, differentiated primarily by the founding denomination of Tibetan Buddhism or the particular focus of worship. Unfortunately, due to the number of monasteries we visited, it became increasingly difficult to distinguish them from each other, however, this did not subtract from their individual majesty.  We did have the privilege of seeing monks debating in a courtyard, which they use as a method of revising their teachings. This was a very impressive sight as we were able to see monks in their natural environment.

Travelling from Lhasa to EBC was incredibly impressive as we skirted the beautifully vibrant Yamtso Tso Lake and scaled vastly steep mountain ranges whilst enduring frequent police checkpoints and permit checks. After staying a night in the very authentic Tibetan Rongpuk Monastery, which is the first EBC, we were taken to the second and third Tibetan EBC. Mount Everest was a spectacular sight! Casey and I were truly mesmerized by the beauty of the peak and the highest point on Earth, a sight that makes you ponder the magnificence of nature. We had reached the pinnacle of our tour, so we then began the decent back to Lhasa and inevitably our return to reality outside of Tibet. We boarded another 48-hour train, this time to Beijing, continuing to gestate the experiences we had gained and the memories we will forever cherish. I cannot mention our time in Tibet without mentioning our German friends Thomas and Hanna. It was more then a pleasure to meet them both and a definite highlight of the tour and our travels thus far.

Beijing, China - May 3^rd to May 8^th

Arriving into Beijing demonstrated that our time in China was drawing to an end before we departed to Mongolia. We were determined to be proactive and visit the Kazakhstani embassy to obtain visas for our distant arrival; we, unfortunately, were met by about fifty well-prepared Chinese nationals, which ruined even the slightest chance of obtaining even the forms required. Determined to make sure this day of enthusiasm was not in vain, we continued to the train station to buy tickets to the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. We were again met with disappointment as we were told that they could not sell international train tickets at the train station and we would have to visit the “International Hotel”. After visiting said hotel and refusing to pay the $200AUD for a ticket, we determined that we could reach the border town by train and, at the insistence of our hostel manager, would still be able to leave the country before our visa expired, which is profoundly frowned upon by Chinese customs officials.

We booked a tour to see the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. As amazing as the Great Wall really is, the highlight of the day was getting to toboggan down after walking the steep incline of the wall. The construction of the Great Wall is truly impressive and it’s hard to believe that it stretched as far as 6000km. As Casey had already seen the Forbidden City, I ventured to the well-known sight solo before meeting Casey at the Chinese national museum. The Forbidden City was amazing and is definitely a testament to the Chinese dynasties of the past. However, I must admit that the number of security personnel and cameras around the Forbidden City and Tiananman Square was a true spectacle in itself and took away from the whole experience. Casey and I were able to use our time in Beijing to not only decide on our plans for the next few months, but also book some flights to ensure our continued world journey.

We were both ready to say our goodbyes to China and boarded the train to the tiny border town, Erlian, the only point where tourists can cross from China to Mongolia.

Zamin Uud, Mongolia - May 9^th to May 11^th

Waking up in Erlian still in possession of all our belongings was a good start to the day that, unbeknown to us both, was only going to get longer. We fortunately met a nice Dutch couple that we decided to accompany across the border. Now, the border between China and Mongolia can only be crossed by car, and only certain cars are allowed to cross. So after an hours walk to the first border checkpoint we had to pay for a jeep. After paying a guy and getting into his vehicle we waited by the side of the road waiting for him to drive before another vehicle pulled up that we were ushered into. This new vehicle crossed the first checkpoint, but the driver was then abused by a solider and made to turn back. We, again, waited at the first checkpoint until we saw our first driver exiting from the second checkpoint guard station. We then successfully managed to cross the second checkpoint and were dropped at Chinese immigration and the vehicle entered the line so we would be met on the opposing side to continue our journey. We crossed immigration, relieved to know our visas were still current (with only four hours remaining), and continued to wait for our driver. After waiting 45 minutes we came to the upsetting conclusion that we had been left at the first immigration stop and would need to find another ride to continue. This was quite an issue as most cars had people hanging out the sides at any rate and luggage on the roofs and bonnets. Luckily, a jeep was just about to leave the third checkpoint and saw an opportunity to make some money and welcomed us in, there were now nine people crammed into the jeep. With Casey sitting on my lap and both our packs unsecured on the bonnet, we arrived at Mongolian immigration before repeating the process and arriving in our first Mongolian town, Zamin Uud.

When arriving in the barren wasteland that was Zamin Uud, we headed straight to the train station to secure train tickets to Ulaanbaatar that night. We discovered that there is no order in the train station, after waiting two and a half hours in one line, Casey had moved, yet it was possibly a metre in the wrong direction whilst being sandwiched between two Mongolian women. I, joined by my Dutch friend, was lucky enough to reach the front of the line where after waiting for two hours was told that the tickets were sold out and that we were unable to buy tickets for the following day until morning. Leaving the train station incredibly frustrated we eventually found an incredibly overpriced hotel that had a shower but no water. We then ventured to a restaurant and managed to consume a very oily meal that was supposed to resemble a steak.

The following morning we again went to the train station to try and secure tickets for that night. There were four police officers present that had managed to form three almost orderly lines in front of the three ticketing booths and were stopping people from joining at any point. Casey and I, each with one of our Dutch friends, joined two separate lines. The police presence was great until they decided to leave when I was still ten people away from the window. This caused an abrupt amount of both pushing and general chaos. Luckily, the police returned and we were able to buy four tickets to the capital. Whilst on the topic of chaos, I have almost been hit by cars twice since our arrival in Mongolia. My theory is that no one needs to drive properly because the police are busy maintaining order in the train station… We easily jumped on the train and arrived in Ulaanbaatar the following day, but I’ll leave that for the next blog. Our opinion of Mongolia so far is not great, but we are hoping that the border town is not a true reflection on the remaining country. We have found this to generally be the case in other countries and still have high hopes for the remainder of Mongolia.

That brings us to now. There was a lot of time to cover and I’ve skimmed over some truly amazing experiences and locations, but it’s a pretty good overview of what we’ve been up to. Our time in China and Tibet was amazing, the people and the landscapes are truly incredible, and I feel lucky to have been able to see so much of it in such a small amount of time.

To keep you all in the loop, Casey and I have booked a few flights for the next few months for: Astana, Kazakhstan to Tbilisi, Georgia; Casablanca, Morocco to Amman, Jordan and Cairo, Egypt to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Also, Casey has enrolled to do a two week course in intercultural experience in Germany and I have enrolled in a two month long intensive French course in Lyon, France. So we definitely have some pretty exciting things to look forward to in the coming months. As always our love goes to our friends and families and we hope everyone is well and enjoying their own adventures. We are now back on the radar and have unrestricted access to Facebook and the blog, so we’ll make sure we don’t leave it too long.

Keep posted.