Chitwan, Nepal Elephant munching on a sweet treat in Chitwan The lowdown Mountains, lakes, cities, what else does the remarkable country of Nepal have to offer you might ask? How about a jungle and opportunities to spot wildlife! When we were doing our initial research on Nepal, we learned about Chitwan and decided that we […]
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Kathmandu, Nepal Kathmandu city view Our impressions of Kathmandu Chaotic and dense: Kathmandu was an intense and hectic transition from what we were used to in Central Asia. Instead of the comfortably crowded, tree-lined boulevards and parks, we were now navigating a barrage of motorbikes, hawkers, and tourists in the narrow streets of Kathmandu. Walking
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Pokhara, Nepal Phewa Lake Our impressions of Pokhara Naturally beautiful: Of the three cities we visited in Nepal, Pokhara was the most beautiful. The Lakeside area of the city, which mainly consists of small bars, restaurants, and shops, sits right up against Phewa Lake with a backdrop of the Annapurna mountain range (Pokhara is the
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Everest Base Camp, Nepal Everest Base Camp The lowdown Our legendary guide, Kul The first known photograph of Kul and the gang Typical tea house dining area Chapatti and curry Tibetan bread Dal bhat Sherpa stew Momos For as long as we’ve been thinking and talking about taking time off to travel, we’ve discussed the
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Almaty, Kazakhstan Skyline view from Hotel Kazakhstan Our impressions of Almaty Unexpectedly cosmopolitan: While Almaty certainly has some similarities to other Central Asian cities (e.g., Soviet architecture, interesting memorials, central bazar), it felt much more like a modern city than Tashkent or Dushanbe. There were tons of high caliber restaurants, endless evening activities (hockey, ballet,
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Kaindy Lake, Kolsai Lakes, and Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world (and, fun fact, the largest landlocked country), so there was no way we could even scratch the surface in our 10 days there (we were slated to spend even less time in Kazakhstan in favor
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Dushanbe, Tajikistan Our impressions of Dushanbe Dystopic: The word that we most associate with Dushanbe is dystopic (Pages is telling us that this isn’t a word which we refuse to believe. Damn Pages and your red squiggly lines). The city’s architecture, countless ongoing and unfinished building projects (far too many to support a city of
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Pamir Highway, Tajikistan View along the Pamir Highway from Darvos to the Bartang Valley Fearsome threesome Baktiar and The Terminator Baktiar checking out the Terminator The Pamir Highway (officially known as “M41”) is a ~750 mile road that winds through the rugged terrain of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It has served several important roles throughout history
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Samarkand, Uzbekistan Entrance to Bibikhanum Mosque Our impressions of Samarkand Very dynamic city: Samarkand was the liveliest city that we visited in Uzbekistan. There were a ton of students, young professionals, and families going about their daily lives in the midst of the historical city (parts of it are older than Rome), as well as
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Bukhara, Uzbekistan Ulugbek’s Madrasa Our impressions of Bukhara Modern life meets ancient city: Bukhara is full of historical sites that span multiple centuries – from the 9th century Saminid Masoleum to the 16th century trading domes – but it’s also a city that felt alive in a way that Khiva didn’t. Uzbeks live and work
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