Articles from this Category
26 June 2024
I spent the morning indoors reinstating the bookings I had cancelled two days ago for my alternate scenario in case I cannot be hosted in Normandy later in the trip. I had been expecting to pay megabucks for (re)-booking so late but surprisingly, I saved EUR8 in total across 7 nights in three cities. Not […]
24 June 2024
Today I fly from Shymkent to Astana at a very pleasant time of 1130, meaning that could have a leisurely breakfast before ordering a car. I got to the airport at 1000 to find the counters already free of queues. The staff asked me to get a paper boarding pass even though I noticed people […]
23 June 2024
I woke after 0500 with the early sunrise, despite having drawn the curtains. I hadn’t been given a time for the pick-up for today’s hike. After breakfast, I waited and waited. Finally, after 0900, I messaged the driver Katya who told me it would around 0930. It was a 45 min drive to the Sayram […]
21 June 2024
Getting to Turkistan I woke at 0515 having retired early and also due to the early sunrise. The hotel breakfast at 0700 was surprisingly good! They served a mix of Russian and Central Asian fare including blinis (pancakes), tomato, cucumber and cakes. Not so appealing were the cold chicken pieces and cold cuts. Today, my […]
20 June 2024
Above: View soon after take-off from Almaty. Leaving Almaty The breakfast lady at the hostel was 20 mins late but fortunately it didn’t affect my plan to check-out at 0900 to head to the airport for my 1130 flight to Shymkent on SCAT Airlines. I was surprised the ride only took 20 mins. I was […]
19 June 2024
First things first I didn’t sleep deeply last night but had dozed from 2330 till 0700 this morning, which is fine for me. After a greasy included breakfast of three fried eggs and sides, I left the hostel in search of ATMs (or bankomats as they’re called in this part of the world). The first […]
27 October 2017
Breakfast at the hotel’s buffet was pretty good but not as good as the Kazzhol. There were many Indian guests. I needed to convert my remaining Kyrgyz som into Kazakh tenge as a priority so I could work out the money situation before flying out tomorrow. I found a money changer nearby whose rate wasn’t […]
26 October 2017
Today I make my journey from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan back to Almaty, Kazakhstan. The guide suggests it is a 4h journey but it turned out to be a little hellish. With the late sunrise, I woke at 0700 and had breakfast around 0800 before heading to the station at 0900. With a short stop to check […]
20 October 2017
Above: View flying from Dushanbe to Almaty. The view was absolutely was gorgeous. It didn’t look any different from flying over the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand but the difference here is the scale: it’s the expanse and reach. The expanse is such that these mountains were in sight the entire […]
3 October 2017
I woke before the alarm which I had set for 0530 and was out by 0600. The A21 bus to the airport came along swiftly and I got to Hong Kong International Airport around 0700 disembarking at Terminal 1. I had tried doing a mobile check-in but realised that I could select and reselect my […]