Let's do a recap.
While in Kyrgyzstan, Jeremy and I were hanging out at the hot springs in the mountains, in the early days of winter when fewer and fewer people were venturing up to such heights. It was here that I met Todd, a guy from South Africa who just happens to be the son of a missionary there and good friend of my friend Andrea Cannon from Northwest. They pretty much grew up together. Small world.
And then I went to Turkey and had just returned to the hostel from lunch when I ran into Ian, a guy I met in Pakistan about a 3 weeks earlier. We were staying at the same hostel in Lahore and now, once again, the same hostel in Istanbul. In Lahore, there's only one hostel and really only one place for backpackers, but in Istanbul, there are too many to count. It just happens that Jeremy had been contemplating a jaunt into Iran after we part ways in December but alas, Genghis Khan couldn't have scoured Istanbul's numerous bookshops better than we did, and still, no Lonely Planet Guide for Iran was found. But Ian had just come from Iran, and unlike so many nostalgic travelers, was willing to part with his guide without payment. Amazing. And it happens to be the latest edition--published in July 2008 I think. Small world.
Now I'm in Tbilisi, Georgia staying at Jennifer Cook's house--a girl I went to high school with. Jenni came to Georgia with YWAM and is now on their start-up staff here. Talk about a catch-up! We had so much to share with each other about people from school and LOTS of memories to pour over like when the Lee Theatre had a Rug Rats party when the movie came out and painted the characters on the side, but less than two days went by before KJ O'Neil was out there with a paintball gun "redecorating." Of all the places to meet up with high school buddies--war-torn Georgia! Small world.
Who will I meet next?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
DIY Make-over
Well, since I can't make it to a nail shop for a desperately needed pedicure (and scrubbing), or to the salon for a desperately needed haircut, or to the mall for a desperately needed new wardrobe (since my travel clothes are either not holding up or not suitable for the climate), I guess I'll just make over my blog then. Everything is new again.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
JOY to the world!
Reasons to be joyful:
1. I survived the bus ride to Hopa, Turkey from Erzurum. Holy cow. Miraculously, I didn't get sick until the very end. Our driver hurled our bus up and down perilously steep cliffs next to infinitely deep ravines (yes, at times the bottom was too far away to see) all the while speeding up as he rounded corners and passed cars in oncoming traffic. On one lane roads. With rock cliffs on the other side. I survived 6 hours of this.
2. We made it in to Georgia last night without many problems (though there was some minor confusion as to why people with anything other than a Turkish visa would cross the border in Georgia). My visa was free but Jeremy--poor guy--had to pay $60 for his. Ouch! And the sucky thing is that he'll have to buy a second one on the way back from Armenia. But mine was fee. So I'm happy.
3. My pension money from Korea finally came in which means that I won't have to leave J at the end of October and instead I can continue traveling for another month or two. Yay!!
4. Georgia is BEAUTIFUL and the people are NICE! Who would have thought? After all the miscreants and vultures we met in Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, India, and Pakistan, I was beginning to wonder if all the nice people in Asia had been corralled and held against their will somewhere.
5. My student loan has been deferred. Big sigh of relief.
6. I have the sweetest boyfriend. Here's a cute story for you all: we were staying at a hostel in Istanbul and I was feeling a little sick but decided to join him while he read in the common room. But the place was full of smoke and it was making me choke up so I got up and left, crawled into my little twin bunk bed, turned on the lamp, and started reading there. About 10 minutes later Jeremy comes peeking in through the door and curls up into my bed next to me. He said, "I was wondering where you went. I thought you went to the bathroom but you didn't come back and I missed you. I wanted you next to me." Awe! Melting... I'm melting... Cute things like this happen everyday and I'm so glad that I get to share this wonderful adventure with him. It's really bringing us so much closer and showing me everyday a million new reasons why I love him so much.
3. My pension money from Korea finally came in which means that I won't have to leave J at the end of October and instead I can continue traveling for another month or two. Yay!!
4. Georgia is BEAUTIFUL and the people are NICE! Who would have thought? After all the miscreants and vultures we met in Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, India, and Pakistan, I was beginning to wonder if all the nice people in Asia had been corralled and held against their will somewhere.
5. My student loan has been deferred. Big sigh of relief.
6. I have the sweetest boyfriend. Here's a cute story for you all: we were staying at a hostel in Istanbul and I was feeling a little sick but decided to join him while he read in the common room. But the place was full of smoke and it was making me choke up so I got up and left, crawled into my little twin bunk bed, turned on the lamp, and started reading there. About 10 minutes later Jeremy comes peeking in through the door and curls up into my bed next to me. He said, "I was wondering where you went. I thought you went to the bathroom but you didn't come back and I missed you. I wanted you next to me." Awe! Melting... I'm melting... Cute things like this happen everyday and I'm so glad that I get to share this wonderful adventure with him. It's really bringing us so much closer and showing me everyday a million new reasons why I love him so much.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Mis-adventures...
...in kissing.
The other day Jeremy thought it would really funny to kiss and bite a gummy in half during the act. Well, it was pretty entertaining until my lip got in the way and I was left with a mouth full of blood. Ooops. Don't try this one at home, kids. After a few days it returned to normal color and the cut healed up but ouch! Jeremy's still a little sensitive when I tease him about it. :)
...in train travel.
Last night we took a train from Goreme to...? (can't remember where we are...) and curiously found ourselves surrounded by policemen (maybe 6 in total?) sometime around 5 AM with GIANT assault rifles and machine guns. Turns out they were transporting a prisoner who just happened to be sitting behind my seat. Oh joy! lol. At one point, the leader of the armed guard walked up the carriage and started yelling at one of his men for holding his loaded gun between his legs.
...in befriending the locals.
One day, while walking to lunch in Bishkek, Jeremy and I came across a rather foul looking old lady knitting on a chair just outside the entrance to a bank. Jeremy, being a little smart, waved and grinned like the Cheshire cat. The lady, in return, snarled, glared and shook her head in silent disapproval. That was more than enough to send us into heaves of laughter--almost to the ground!--and as I looked back, the old woman was mouthing foul things at us in Russian. Oh, those post Soviets... Gotta love them.
...in LOIs.
That means "letters of invitation." We're trying pretty hard to get letters of invitation so that we can visit Uzbekistan but have been met with road block after road block. Apparently the latest mishap is a mistake in the transfer of funds?? They want more money?? Argh. Annoying. Really.
...in using the Lonely Planet guide.
Let me just put it on record that the 2007 edition of Lonely Planet Turkey is crap. Let me explain. First, the authors do little more than advise you to take taxis and join tour groups when it comes to getting around. Second, none of the prices listed are accurate. Third, on more than one occasion, we've found the maps to be inaccurate--as in incorrectly named streets, incorrectly named sites, misleading distance keys, and mis-labled bus stations. Fourth, the book is pretty thin on descriptions of the sites and the authors actually suggest visiting certain towns "for their unique boutique hotels." Um, yeah, right. Last night we got off in Kayseri at the bus station and according to Lonely Planet, only had to walk a measly 400 meters to the train station. Not so. Instead, we got off at the NEW bus station (which the book makes no reference of) and the old bus station doesn't exist anymore. Turns out we were 4 km's from the train station and completely unsure if we were even walking in the right direction because our compass didn't match the street we were on (turns out the map had the street incorrectly named and we were going in the right direction after all). But it all worked out. We found some very nice people at a super market--a young woman about my age and her mother--who called their father and asked him to drive us to the train station. They were sooo sweet. The mother kept asking us (maybe 20 times or so) if we would come to her house so she could make us dinner but unfortunately we had to catch our train and had to decline. Boo. But the good news is that we made it and made some nice friends along the way. Love the Turks. :) Oh, and complaint number five: the book fails to list true budget options. Everything it lists for the city we're in is over $20 but we found a place today for $10 that wasn't listed in the book and just happens to be closer to the transport stations. Argh. Stupid book.
The other day Jeremy thought it would really funny to kiss and bite a gummy in half during the act. Well, it was pretty entertaining until my lip got in the way and I was left with a mouth full of blood. Ooops. Don't try this one at home, kids. After a few days it returned to normal color and the cut healed up but ouch! Jeremy's still a little sensitive when I tease him about it. :)
...in train travel.
Last night we took a train from Goreme to...? (can't remember where we are...) and curiously found ourselves surrounded by policemen (maybe 6 in total?) sometime around 5 AM with GIANT assault rifles and machine guns. Turns out they were transporting a prisoner who just happened to be sitting behind my seat. Oh joy! lol. At one point, the leader of the armed guard walked up the carriage and started yelling at one of his men for holding his loaded gun between his legs.
...in befriending the locals.
One day, while walking to lunch in Bishkek, Jeremy and I came across a rather foul looking old lady knitting on a chair just outside the entrance to a bank. Jeremy, being a little smart, waved and grinned like the Cheshire cat. The lady, in return, snarled, glared and shook her head in silent disapproval. That was more than enough to send us into heaves of laughter--almost to the ground!--and as I looked back, the old woman was mouthing foul things at us in Russian. Oh, those post Soviets... Gotta love them.
...in LOIs.
That means "letters of invitation." We're trying pretty hard to get letters of invitation so that we can visit Uzbekistan but have been met with road block after road block. Apparently the latest mishap is a mistake in the transfer of funds?? They want more money?? Argh. Annoying. Really.
...in using the Lonely Planet guide.
Let me just put it on record that the 2007 edition of Lonely Planet Turkey is crap. Let me explain. First, the authors do little more than advise you to take taxis and join tour groups when it comes to getting around. Second, none of the prices listed are accurate. Third, on more than one occasion, we've found the maps to be inaccurate--as in incorrectly named streets, incorrectly named sites, misleading distance keys, and mis-labled bus stations. Fourth, the book is pretty thin on descriptions of the sites and the authors actually suggest visiting certain towns "for their unique boutique hotels." Um, yeah, right. Last night we got off in Kayseri at the bus station and according to Lonely Planet, only had to walk a measly 400 meters to the train station. Not so. Instead, we got off at the NEW bus station (which the book makes no reference of) and the old bus station doesn't exist anymore. Turns out we were 4 km's from the train station and completely unsure if we were even walking in the right direction because our compass didn't match the street we were on (turns out the map had the street incorrectly named and we were going in the right direction after all). But it all worked out. We found some very nice people at a super market--a young woman about my age and her mother--who called their father and asked him to drive us to the train station. They were sooo sweet. The mother kept asking us (maybe 20 times or so) if we would come to her house so she could make us dinner but unfortunately we had to catch our train and had to decline. Boo. But the good news is that we made it and made some nice friends along the way. Love the Turks. :) Oh, and complaint number five: the book fails to list true budget options. Everything it lists for the city we're in is over $20 but we found a place today for $10 that wasn't listed in the book and just happens to be closer to the transport stations. Argh. Stupid book.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Under the Cappadocian Sun
So, we're here at our third stop in Turkey and about to leave sometime today for Georgia! But before we return to the land of impossibly slow internet, let me give you another small taste of Turkey.
When we arrived early in the morning after a hellish night slow-cooking on a night bus with a teething baby, we were pleasantly welcomed to Goreme and the amazing hot air balloons rising above the city.
They lift off every morning around 7 AM and even from the comfort of our hotel restaurant we could hear their massive blow torches filling their balloons from above.
It truly is a magical thing to see about 20 hot air balloons take off in the morning sun.
And while Cappadocia is certainly a hot air ballooning destination, it's most famous for the beautiful cave cities.
Jeremy and I had a very interesting couple of afternoons exploring different valleys FOR FREE and popping in and out of different cave churches and abandoned homes.
The amazing Turkish sun illuminated the entire valley and all the caves so that everything shined like polished gold.
It was by far one of the coolest things I've done and I got to do it with coolest person I know.
These interesting rock formations that look like towers are charmingly referred to in these parts as the Fairy Chimneys. I'm not sure why they're called that but it's cute none the less.
We did however give in to temptation and shelled out $15 to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum which is basically the same thing we saw in the valleys FOR FREE except with easier access and a few better preserved frescoes. Above is a photo of the most amazing frescoes in the last church at the Museum. If this church hadn't been included on the ticket (as some churches you had to pay extra for--museum pirates...), I would have said the $15 was wasted.
Oh yeah, while out in the valleys, we saw real ruined frescoes untouched for hundreds of years, dating back to the 1100's. I felt like I was Indiana Jone's side kick--his much more cautious side kick, might I add. Several times I had to plead with Jeremy to "not walk down that steep rock" or "please don't jump off that." I must have seemed like the ball and chain that annoying nags. lol. But good times all around.
When we arrived early in the morning after a hellish night slow-cooking on a night bus with a teething baby, we were pleasantly welcomed to Goreme and the amazing hot air balloons rising above the city.
They lift off every morning around 7 AM and even from the comfort of our hotel restaurant we could hear their massive blow torches filling their balloons from above.
It truly is a magical thing to see about 20 hot air balloons take off in the morning sun.
And while Cappadocia is certainly a hot air ballooning destination, it's most famous for the beautiful cave cities.
Jeremy and I had a very interesting couple of afternoons exploring different valleys FOR FREE and popping in and out of different cave churches and abandoned homes.
The amazing Turkish sun illuminated the entire valley and all the caves so that everything shined like polished gold.
It was by far one of the coolest things I've done and I got to do it with coolest person I know.
These interesting rock formations that look like towers are charmingly referred to in these parts as the Fairy Chimneys. I'm not sure why they're called that but it's cute none the less.
We did however give in to temptation and shelled out $15 to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum which is basically the same thing we saw in the valleys FOR FREE except with easier access and a few better preserved frescoes. Above is a photo of the most amazing frescoes in the last church at the Museum. If this church hadn't been included on the ticket (as some churches you had to pay extra for--museum pirates...), I would have said the $15 was wasted.
Oh yeah, while out in the valleys, we saw real ruined frescoes untouched for hundreds of years, dating back to the 1100's. I felt like I was Indiana Jone's side kick--his much more cautious side kick, might I add. Several times I had to plead with Jeremy to "not walk down that steep rock" or "please don't jump off that." I must have seemed like the ball and chain that annoying nags. lol. But good times all around.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Turkey Lurkey -- UPDATED
So, we busted out of Kyrgyzstan because the Uzbek visa was taking too long, the weather was getting cold, and there was almost nothing to do in Bishkek. Thus, we booked a flight to Turkey and decided to start from the other end of the continent. But what a mistake!! It's been ridiculously expensive! Of course we're having fun, but we're talking prices above and beyond western Europe! Yesterday we visited some Roman ruins and the entry fee was over $20! Wow!! Anyway, here are some photos. It's taken me HOURS to upload them and people are waiting to use the computer so I'll just have to explain them later. Enjoy for now!!
These are the ruins at Heropolis--a city mentioned in the Bible, final resting place of St. Philip, known for it's healers, and home to the temple of Apollo. Above is the Roman amphitheater.
Jeremy doing some serious ruin climbing.
This was taken on our way to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Unfortunately I was pretty sick when we arrived and wasn't feeling up for too much adventuring. Good thing too. Istanbul is ridiculously expensive. We paid $23 to stay in a dorm room.
The beautiful harbor and ferries in Istanbul.
The inside of Istanbul's Blue Mosque. (I think it's the world's largest indoor mosque.)
More ruins from Heropolis. This is an old church where the remains of St. Philip are supposed to have once been kept... but probably are not anymore.
One reason why Heropolis was known as a healing town is because of the large calcium enriched waters that flowed from the high cliffs, through the city and into natural pools on the cliff side called taverntines. Unfortunately, today's local government has diverted the water away from the taverntines and funnelled it through man made channels to go down the cliffs to the city below. This may not sound so bad, but the taverntines are dying up and slowly deteriorating and some are becoming mold and algae infested because standing rain water gets stuck in the pools. It's also dramatically ruined the natural beauty of the site...
Hello there!
Luckily though, some taverntines have been left with running water and we were able to catch a GORGEOUS sunset over the small pools. Love that sun.
These are the ruins at Heropolis--a city mentioned in the Bible, final resting place of St. Philip, known for it's healers, and home to the temple of Apollo. Above is the Roman amphitheater.
Jeremy doing some serious ruin climbing.
This was taken on our way to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Unfortunately I was pretty sick when we arrived and wasn't feeling up for too much adventuring. Good thing too. Istanbul is ridiculously expensive. We paid $23 to stay in a dorm room.
The beautiful harbor and ferries in Istanbul.
The inside of Istanbul's Blue Mosque. (I think it's the world's largest indoor mosque.)
More ruins from Heropolis. This is an old church where the remains of St. Philip are supposed to have once been kept... but probably are not anymore.
One reason why Heropolis was known as a healing town is because of the large calcium enriched waters that flowed from the high cliffs, through the city and into natural pools on the cliff side called taverntines. Unfortunately, today's local government has diverted the water away from the taverntines and funnelled it through man made channels to go down the cliffs to the city below. This may not sound so bad, but the taverntines are dying up and slowly deteriorating and some are becoming mold and algae infested because standing rain water gets stuck in the pools. It's also dramatically ruined the natural beauty of the site...
Hello there!
Luckily though, some taverntines have been left with running water and we were able to catch a GORGEOUS sunset over the small pools. Love that sun.
And this is just a little more from the ruins. I think this photo is from the Agora or market place which was at one time the largest market in all of Asia!
Sorry for the random mix of photos. They weren't really posted in order but oh well. We had a nice stay in Pummakale (where the ruins were) but were a little happy to get out because the food wasn't too good and NO ONE was there. It was practically a deserted tourist town. Most restaurants were closed for the off season. Getting a ticket out was interesting. Turks are very persistent in their attempts to sell you things. We walked around a bit checking prices to Goreme in Cappadocia finding that most were a staggering $45! One guy tried to trick us into buying his tickets so we walked away and the guy next door, also selling tickets said, "Where you go? Cappadocia? I give you ticket. Fortyyyyyyyy..... three." lol. We laughed so hard because he was trying to beat the price next door but really wasn't willing to go down much. A few shops down we found a ticket for $40--the best we could do. So here we are in Cappadocia, plotting a route out of Turkey. Pictures to follow.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Missed me... AGAIN?!
I'm beginning to think that I am incredibly lucky. Just hours before a 6.8 earthquake struck Kyrgyzstan this morning, Jeremy and I had borded a last minute flight to Turkey. So, for those of you who may have heard about it on CNN, we're safe and currently in Istanbul. But hungry. And I'm a little sick. Bleh.
But back to being lucky... I leave Delhi; there's bombings. I leave Pakistan; there's a MASSIVE bombing. Now, I leave K-stan and there's an earthquake. I told J that's he's lucky to travel with me, I'll get him out in time! :) Read about the quake here.
Anyway, I'm sure that all your prayers help. Thanks a lot. More photos and cool stories to come. Keep commenting!!
But back to being lucky... I leave Delhi; there's bombings. I leave Pakistan; there's a MASSIVE bombing. Now, I leave K-stan and there's an earthquake. I told J that's he's lucky to travel with me, I'll get him out in time! :) Read about the quake here.
Anyway, I'm sure that all your prayers help. Thanks a lot. More photos and cool stories to come. Keep commenting!!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Kyrgyzstan--the drier side.
I LOVE this photo. It is awkward in the most INCREDIBLE ways.
Kinda makes me think of Grand Junction, Colorado.
The most beautiful fields below towering, sage covered mountains, surrounding Issyk Kol Lake. Bliss.
These super goofy old men on our mashrutka (mini bus) to Karakol told Jeremy that I was a good choice based purely on my looks as I can't speak a word of Russian. Ha! Love the gold teeth. :)
Oh, and they wanted Jeremy to wear this hat. And they wanted me to photograph it. Hahaha!! He looks so funny. :) And yes, the men here really do wear these traditional hats on a regular basis...Saturday, October 4, 2008
The hills are alive with the sound of music...
As promised, some beautiful photos from the Switzerland of Central Asia. Can't you just hear Julie Andrews? :)
Every afternoon these mysterious, foggy-ish clouds would roll in and hug the peaks, only to leave them a little whiter just and hour or two later.
Lost?
A man taking his horse home where I presume he intends to get warm with a nice cuppa.
The view from the atrium of our cute little cabin at Altyn Arashan hot springs.
Amazing fall days in the mountains. Bliss.
I think I should sell this photo to Downy. What do you think?
Mountain madness. Heidi land? Those itty-bitty shacks by the river are hot spring sheds.
After a really long and cold night, we woke up to find ourselves pleasantly surprised with a little snow to enhance the hot spring atmosphere at Altyn Arashan.
One of the cool (or should I say hot?) hot spring sheds. The place reeked of sulphur but surprisingly it didn't stick to our skin or our hair. The water was on the warm side of boiling.
The long, steep, rocky, scary, windy, bumpy, impassable road that we somehow passed on our way to Altyn Arashan. I'm pretty sure my off-road loving dad and brother would have been proud and would have bought one of those old Soviet jeeps on the spot.
Our camp site night 3 on the big trek. This guy walking in the foreground is one of the nomadic people who drive their horses and cattle into the mountains for grazing during the warmer months. I missed my opportunity to get a shot of his yurt. They took it down really fast that morning as they left camp for the warmer valleys below. We should have followed suit. They must have heard about the storm moving in that night....
One of the beautiful meadows we passed through during our trek up the Karakol Valley.
I think this was on the way to Issyk Kol but it could have been at the start of our trip up the Karakol Valley... I'm not too sure. :S
Very cold water which I attempted to wash my hair in but instead found myself victim to the most intense brain freeze of this century (minus the slurpie).
My main squeeze, looking cute. As usual.And one more thing: in just a few hours, it will be my birthday. Yay! 24!! Time sure flies when you're having fun. I can hardly remember the last one, celebrated in Korea with about a gajillion cakes! Not sure what we're going to do to celebrate tomorrow but I fully intend to wear my nice polka-dot sun dress (originally bought for India) despite the cold weather. So Happy Birthday to ME!!
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