by Calvin Sun | Jun 29, 2019 | Afghanistan, Border Crossing, June 2019: Afghanistan, Summer 2019: Unknown UAE, Afghanistan, Rwanda, & Uganda, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
Given the Taliban bombing of the mosque at where we were supposed to have lunch at yesterday, we decided to not go to Balkh and instead visit the Uzbek/Afghan border at Hairatan for our last day in the region. We stopped at an intersection to say hi to a local...
by Calvin Sun | Jan 5, 2016 | Border Crossing, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Winter 2015: The Silk Road
After 2 days in Samarkand, the group arrived in Tashkent in the afternoon and we did a leisurely walk through Independence Park, observing some national monuments and a public fair. By the memorial to veterans, there are gold plated books listing...
by Calvin Sun | Jan 3, 2016 | How Did You Do That?, How's the weather?, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Uzbekistan, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, Winter 2015: The Silk Road
We travel not for trafficking alone: By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned: For lust of knowing what should not be known We make the Golden Journey to Samarkand. – James Elroy Flecker, 1913 The mysticism surrounding The Silk...
by Calvin Sun | Jan 1, 2016 | Fit for Foodies, The Nightlife, Uzbekistan, Walking Tours, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come, Winter 2015: The Silk Road
The next morning, the group boarded our 9 hour bus ride from 8am-5pm (with an hour lunch break in between at a rest stop) from Khiva to Bukhara. The drive isn’t as pretty as I would expect, as it’s endless barren fields of the Kyzylkum Desert. ...
by Calvin Sun | Dec 31, 2015 | Fit for Foodies, Uzbekistan, Walking Tours, What Dreams May Come, Winter 2015: The Silk Road
The next morning the group got up at a horrific 4am in the morning for a 5am bus ride to the airport. We embarked on a 7am flight to Urgench, capital of the Khorazem region. Urgench has been regarded as a missable stopover city a stone’s throw...
