While backpacking in Afghanistan, I was delighted to be offered the chance of a homestay with a local family in the city of Masar e Sharif. In the years I’ve been travelling, I’ve had homestays in places like Israel, Iran, Uruguay, Nagorno Karabakh, Hungary, Tunisia and Transnistria. However Afghanistan was a whole new experience. The Read more about Backpacking in Afghanistan🇦🇫: My Homestay Experience in Masar e Sharif[…]
After the madness of the wacaday adventure in the barely known republic of Karakalpakstan, it was time to get back to some textbook Uzbekistan sightseeing and the city of Khiva was on the agenda. I wanted to stay in the Ichan Kala (“Old walled town”) which is the typical tourist option but by far the Read more about Backpacking in Uzbekistan🇺🇿: My Stay at the Lovely Hotel Xiva Atabek in Khiva[…]
My final stop on my Uzbekistan overland trip was in the capital city. It was here that I finally felt at ease with the Uzbeks when I arrived in their glamorous, northern swanky hub of Tashkent. The capital seemed to like me and I liked it too. It was nice to finally find a really cool city Read more about Backpacking in Uzbekistan🇺🇿: Staying at Gulnara Guesthouse in Tashkent (the Capital)[…]
This is probably the first hotel review I ever do where I won’t mention the actual name of the hotel. There are security reasons for this of course and I was there on tour with a cool company and they sorted out my accommodation. I didn’t go online and book any hotels or hostels. In Read more about Backpacking in Afghanistan🇦🇫: My Hotel Stay in Masar e Sharif[…]
My Uzbekistan adventure continued and I tried to make the most of the limited visa time I had in the country. Two quick nights in Bukhara were in store, one of them I had to be up early the next day to head on the wacaday journey to Karakalpakstan. This time I went for a Read more about Backpacking in Uzbekistan🇺🇿: Staying at Madina and Ali’s Guesthouse in Bukhara[…]
Believe me, this was another crazy journey on this ball. I mean, for a start how many of you have heard of Karakalpakstan? Sorry where? Karakalpakstan!! I travel full-time and until last week, I also hadn’t heard of it!! It’s an autonomous region within Uzbekistan. But they have their own language, people, culture, borders, road Read more about Backpacking in Karakalpakstan🔵🟡🟢🔴: My Night at the Jipek Joli Hotel in Nukus[…]
So after getting my Letter of Invitation, my Uzbekistan Visa and negotiating my way out of Tajikistan and through the ridiculously strict and thorough Uzbek border control points (give us a break lads), I made my way to Samarkand City. Worse for wear, feeling love for only Bishkek, Khorog and Tashkent, somehow my opinion changed a Read more about Backpacking in Uzbekistan🇺🇿: Staying at Jahongir Bed and Breakfast in Samarkand City[…]
On arrival in Tajikistan for the first time, I based myself in a guesthouse that knows a bit about hospitality. A quick bit of online research showed that Marian’s Guesthouse in Dushanbe was the first and original guesthouse option in the Tajikistan capital. This was my place to stay and a cool base while touring Read more about Staying at Marian’s Guesthouse in Dushanbe, Tajikistan[…]
“They can come true, yeah. They can come true.” – Gabrielle Dreams can come true, apparently. Central Asia continued to inspire as I left behind the bright lights and modern parks of the Tajik capital city of Dushanbe on route to the Pamirs region, Gorno Badakhshan. This was off the wall stuff. Off the cliff I Read more about My Magical Winter Stay at Pamir Lodge in Khorog, Capital of the Pamirs, Gorno Badakhshan, Tajikistan🇹🇯[…]
At the end of 2015 I was sitting in the Almaty Backpackers in Kazakhstan trying to plan my trip across the border into Kyrgyzstan. I had no idea where to stay in Bishkek, no idea where to even go next, but then I saw a flier in that hostel for the Apple Hostel in Bishkek. Read more about Backpacking in Kyrgyzstan: My Stay at Apple Hostel – The Best Hostel in Bishkek[…]