Trapped in Turkmenistan

July 24th, 2008 | By Lee | 5 Comments »

I really appreciate all the emails from everyone and I am fine, I promise. It’s nice to know so many people are reading my site and following my trip. I know I haven’t responded to emails, facebooks or posted in a few days but that is because the government of Turkmenistan censors and blocks all Internet access in their country. It is virtually impossible for a foreigner to use the Internet and impossible to check email or use any site that has a log-in that’s in English. Lets just say it was annoying and frustrating. I am now safely in Iran and will be here for a few nights and then home Saturday. The most unfortunate thing about the Turkmen censorship nonsense is that it spoiled a great time and a beautiful country.
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Central Asia’s Holiest City

July 21st, 2008 | By Lee | 2 Comments »

Central Asia’s Holiest City, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, has buildings spanning a thousand years of history. It has a thoroughly lived in old center that probably hasn’t changed much in a few centuries. It is the best place in Central Asia for a glimpse of pre-Russian Turkestan and it’s just a really nice and interesting place to hang out, eat good food and walk around.
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Penjikent and the Marguzor Lakes

July 20th, 2008 | By Lee | 1 Comment »

Tajikistan is a Persian and Farsi speaking outpost in a predominantly Turkic region and it is in many ways the odd one out in Central Asia. The modern country is a fragile patchwork of clans, languages and identities, forged together by little more than Soviet nation building and the shared hope for peace. However, that peace was shattered in the 90’s when a brutal civil war claimed over 50,000 lives, turning the remote mountainous republic into the bloodiest corner of the former Soviet empire. Though the wounds are still raw, the people are moving forward and a mood of guarded optimism has returned.
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The Golden Road to Samarkand

July 19th, 2008 | By Lee | 1 Comment »

We travel not for trafficking alone,
By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned.
For lust of knowing what should not be known,
We take the Golden Road to Samarkand.

These final lines of James Elroy Flecker’s poem, “The Golden Journey to Samarkand” evoke the romance of Uzbekistan’s most glorious city. No name is so evocative of the Silk Road as Samarkand. For most people it has the mythical resonance of Atlantis, fixed in the Western popular imagination by playwrights and poets of bygone eras, few of whom saw the city in the flesh. When Alexander the Great took the city in 329 BC, he said “Everything I heard about Samarkand is true, except that it’s more beautiful than I ever imagined.”
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Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

July 19th, 2008 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

Talk about a mouthful and a hell of a lot of points in scrabble, Kyrgyzstan is just that and Bishkek is its green and pleasant capital city. Bishkek isn’t the most exciting place, that’s for sure, but it is a nice place to spend a night or two. The main attractions in Kyrgyzstan are in the mountains and the alpine scenery and Bishkek is the place to set your journey. With my time constraints I was only able to do a day hike but it was gorgeous and well worth it.
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In the Land of Borat

July 18th, 2008 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

As I follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and my Silk Road adventure begins, easily the most famous thing that ever happend to Kazakhstan, less the deadliest mid air collision in aviation history, is the movie Borat. You can’t help but think about Borat when you are walking around Almaty and doing the voice in your head-which I did constantly. However, Almaty is easily the center of the Kazakh universe, it’s economic lungs, and until 1998-it’s capital. Recently renamed from Alma-Ata, Almaty is a modern, European looking city that is rich from oil and the spoils are everywhere. Just riding into town from the airport you pass Porsche dealerships, Mercedes, BMW, etc., which have become a part of mainstream Russian culture with their economic boom of the past few years. Independent and thriving now, Kazakhstan is staking its place in the world and leading Central Asia into the 21st Century.
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The Great Wall of China

July 17th, 2008 | By Lee | 6 Comments »

I have seen pretty much all of the modern wonders of the world and now all of the new seven wonders that were voted last year. I believe that the Great Wall of China is as good as any of them. Today, I had the priviledge of walking and climbing the wall for several hours early in the morning with very few people around. It was in a word; wonderful.
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Beijing 2008

July 16th, 2008 | By Lee | 5 Comments »

It’s hard to decide where to start on Beijing, whether it be the negatives or the positives but I believe that the positives far outweigh the negatives. Beijing is a shockingly modern city that is immaculately kept and as clean as any city I’ve been to. It is also an immense place that seemingly goes on forever and like all the other Chinese cities I have seen-it’s sprawling with no real end. But the sure thing about Beijing is where the heart of the city lies and that’s the Forbidden City.
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Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors

July 15th, 2008 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

When I was first putting this massive trip together I was debating whether I would go completely out of my way to get to Xian, China, which is the gateway to the Army of Terra Cotta Warriors. I heard mixed reviews and even Lonely Planet gives a mixed review. However, I did my usual research and then basically decided that I would be more annoyed if I missed it and should definitely book a flight there and check it out. And today I got to see them and they were pretty cool. I will not put them in the upper pantheon of great world sites I’ve seen but I am glad I came here.
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Shanghai Surprise

July 14th, 2008 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

I’ve spent the past eight hours walking around Shanghai, China in 200 degree heat and I must’ve drank 15 waters and didn’t have to pee once-that’s how hot it is here. However, the insane heat and humidity cannot take away from how cool Shanghai is. After arriving at their ultra modern and new airport the drive into town was great and once you get on foot around the Bund which is the main waterfront area-the city has so much to offer. The skyline looking across to the new Pudong area is as good or at least comparable to Hong Kong, while the rest of the city reminds me of a mix of Tokyo and the aforementioned Hong Kong. The city is fast paced like most Asian cities but it doesn’t bother you the way it would it many other Asian cities. I think the main reason is because it’s so clean and immaculately kept which is in sharp contrast to many Asian cities. However, I also have several other observations from my day in Shanghai.
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