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Welcome to my travel log! You will find here a lot more than in the travel reports, stripped from political correctness. Enjoy! 
Sep 22, 2008 02:00 PM Geneva (CH) - almost there
It has been many, many years since I was in Geneva last. I cannot even remember what I actually saw in the city. This time, tomorrow, I will try to catch up. I might not have much of spare time, I am going to be at work, but I will make an effort. I booked myself on a last flight in, so maybe after work, I will go for a wee walk about, although I know that I will be really near the airport. We will see what happens. Hopefully it will work just fine. My plan is to see the mighty jet in the lake and at least two of the famous squares in the old town. I am not packing a tripod, but I just know I will only be taking night photos, I am afraid.
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Aug 21, 2008 02:00 PM The Great Silk Road Holiday - Kyrgyzstan Costs
Visiting Kyrgyzstan for three days and nights set me back by £222, which included £50 for emergency visa and an extravagant private taxi rides between the capital and Karakol, and one exptra night accommodation I paid for in Bishkek as a contingency so I could leave all my luggage there as I ventured to the Issyk-Kul Lake and Karakol.
Otherwise, the costs would have been much lower. The total splits in the following way:
Accommodation £64 (£17 an extra night not needed)
Transportation £89 (incl. private taxi hire for 800 km)
Food £15
Drinks £4
Other £50
The private taxi was extravagant, but it was an excellent value. To go over 800 km for £77 is not bad at all. Petrol in Kyrgyzstan is about $1 per litre.
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Aug 20, 2008 02:00 PM The Great Silk Road Holiday - Kazakhstan Costs
Kazakhstan was expensive. The total cost was £395, with the largest component being the tour I organised to see the Big Almaty Lake (~£140). Then, it was transportation as went extravagant three times and hired private taxi to go fast over large distances - the 220 km between Almaty and Bishkek, and 170 km x 2 between Shymkent and Turkistan.
The total cost splits like this:
Accommodation £78 (three nights in Almaty, one in Shymkent)
Transportation £103
Food £53
Drinks £18 (about £4 per pint of beer in Almaty!)
Other costs £143 (incl. Big Almaty Lake tour)
The cost would have been much higher, had I opted for hotels at the same standard as in Uzbekistan. It was not worth paying £30 a night more for a ensuite shower in a 'lux triple', which was unclean, and with public baths and saunas round the corner. Showers in houses, is not a concept commonly developed in Kazakhstan. Many houses do not have plumbing, and general population attend the public baths.
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Aug 19, 2008 02:00 PM The Great Silk Road Holiday - Uzbekistan Costs
The cost of travelling in Uzbekistan for one week, cost me about £500. Roughly 60% of it was attributed to flights, trains and accommodation, and the visa fee for Roxana Tour.
The cost splits into:
Accommodation £134
Transportation £209
Food £60
Drinks £53
Entry Fees £18
Other costs £26
Uzbekistan is a relatively inexpensive destination. Hotels are good value and transportation is also fine. One litre of petrol cost just about £0.50 (or ~$1). I ate at two very expensive restaurants in Tashkent and spent some money by inviting a few locals for drinks in Khiva, so the cost is larger that it would normally be for a single traveller.
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Aug 18, 2008 02:00 PM The Great Silk Road Holiday - Siberia Costs
In Siberia, I spent money on seeing Novosibirsk, Biysk and vicinity - catching the cloudless sky to see the total eclipse.
In Novosibirsk, the expenses were:
Accommodation £63 (one night)
Transportation £27
Food £47
Drink £13
In Biysk and vicinity, the costs were:
Accommodation £45 (two nights)
Transportation £67
Food £23
Drinks £16
The costs included taxis and dining with my friends, whom I met on their two year bicycle round the world honey moon.
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Aug 17, 2008 02:00 PM The Great Silk Road Holiday - Total Cost Summary
I normally do not do that, but I decided to publish the costs of the holiday, excluding the very first flights - outbound and inbound.
The trip to Siberia (Novosibirsk, Altai Kray and Altay Republic), Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan came to total £1,420, including all domestic flights, taxis, buses, coaches, food, drink, entry fees, and auxiliary expenses such as internet cafe connection and one tour into the Great Almaty Lake, for which I think I overpaid.
The largest expense was transportation, which totalled £500. The second largest cost, at £385, was accommodation. Then, due to the £130 single cost of the Great Almaty Lake tour, it was the other costs, which set me back by £218. I spent £200 on food and £100 on drinks, including drinks for locals I invited to join me. Entry fees were small - £17.
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Aug 16, 2008 02:00 PM Bishkek - the last night in the Kyrgyz capital
I had to get up early, so I did not stay up too late. I wandered a little in the parks and squares and sat down at the Kazakhstan Cafe, had a couple of beers and ... ordered not a local dish! It was Chinese-style chicken. Well, China was so near that I could say that I ordered almost a local dish, or dish from the vicinity :)
It was very tasty. It was served on a hot plate, still sizzling. It had plenty of vegetables in it, and the sauce was incredible. It would be perfect if the chicken was boneless.
As soon as the venue started playing 1980s disco music of certain German artists, I decided to retire.
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Aug 15, 2008 02:00 PM Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul Lake - on bad weather
From Karakol, I expected much but I did not get. Then, weather turned bad. It got stormy and clouds covered all the views of the magnificent mountains. My only hope for the last day of my holiday rested with Kyrgyz second prime tourist destination - the Issyk-Kul Lake. Actually, for the summer it was the first. Mainly to the Russians and the Kazakhs. This time round, I travelled on the road along the southern shore of the lake. It is better for two reasons: a/ it runs closer to the lake, b/ it allows for entering a few valleys up into the mountains.
Weather did not improve much and there were no good views either of the lake or the mountains surrounding it. Even up the valleys, clouds hang so low that it was impossible to see anything and the soil was so slippery that hiking was very hazardous. I was indeed disappointed. I drove and drove for five hours and I could not see the spectacular scenery. I eventually stopped for a spectacular lunch. In a yurt! It was a trout from the Issyk-Kul lake. Grilled to perfection. Plus I washed it down with lovely tea and ... sour fermented horse milk. It was not the best one I tasted as it was already a little too sour. This was confirmed by the local taxi driver who drove me around.
At least I had some time to explore Bishkek in the afternoon. It was lovely, green, leafy, modern, calm, organised...
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Aug 14, 2008 02:00 PM Karakol (former Przewalsk) - hmm... not a lively place
It took about 4h20' to reach Karakol on a private taxi from Bishkek with stops for photographs on the way, disturbance by villagers who blocked the highway since the local authorities could not secure the delivery of hot water and electricity to the village, and a controlled rock disposal from a cliff next to the nighway, some 50 kms away from that village.
I arrived in Karakol later than I originally planned as I slept in to recever from the last two days of unwanted excitement. It was about 4:30 pm. I was shocked! From reading in the literature that Karakol received most of the tourists who come to Kyrgyzstan at all, I expected a nicely developed town, full of faclities, sights, clubs, restaurants, cafes, etc. No way! Karakol is a crumbling little place with nothing to do or see, apart from an interesting wooden church. The town is dominated by gray blocks of flats, government buildings and somewhat interesting small houses. But there is nothing pretty about the place. If there were no mountains around, there would be absolutely no reason to come here at all! Fortunately, the mountains are here and there are many of them. Many in the immediate vicinity of the town rise well above 3,000 meters above sea level, and not far away there are 7,000+ meters peaks, which make Karakol the base and gateway for the trekking and climbing. And still I have not spotted any agencies organising any of those... This is a mystery. Well, I will try to get a little closer to the mountains tomorrow, otherwise I am out of here!
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Aug 13, 2008 02:00 PM Kyrgyzstan - finally arrived
I had to make a plea at the Kyrgyz Consulate in Almaty get a visa issued on the same day. One of the clarks was really strict and she refused to listen to my arguments about the changes to the regulations recently and my will to see something in the country before my flight back home. She did inspect my flight ticket but was claiming that she could only issue me a visa valid from the 16th August - a day before my departure! But I made a technical move. I completed my application and attempting to attach my photo, I asked the other clark how much I should pay for the visa and where the bank was to make this payment (no cash was officially allowed to be handed to anyone in the consulate). She took my application, attached the photo and noticed that I put the day of entry to Kyrgyzstan - 14 August. She immediatelly understood that I was in a hurry and said - "if you want visa right away, you pay me now $100 and come back at 4pm". With some stike of luck, I had exactly 5 x $20 in my passport. I handed it immediately and disappeared. I came back at 3:55pm and got my visa. I ejected myself from the building, got a taxi to the bus terminal and hired a shared taxi all the way to Bishkek.
Bishkek appeared very nice to me. It indeed had some interesting buuildings around, old churches and a pleasant square in the centre. Someting that Almaty, for example, did not have. I had no local money. The taxi put me at the Kazakhstan Hotel, right by the bus terminal. My tripple room (double + single) was 1200 som ($34), which was slightly less what I planned to pay. I went to the bus terminal to change my pounds, but none of the bureaux de change wanted to change sterling. I had to go to town. I looked for an ATM, but could not find one working. But luckily I found a change office, which accepted my GBP. I could relax and plan my way to Karakol, as I wanted to leave in the morning.
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