Hotel Kamila Samarkand

... are telephoned and advised of this. They eventually return at 22.30. There is a long debate and Rustam is baulking because he does not want the police involved again which may happen if the hotel become nosey about my injury!!!. I insist. Abdullo persuades him. At 23.00 we race off to pick up another friend who knows hotels in Samarqand and scour the city for a hotel. Around midnight one is found and I am left there for the night.

... 1897. The rebuilt mosque is still in use by worshippers today, so I had to go back to my longs for the visit. Like many of the sights in Samarkand the entrance fees were pretty hefty, and on top of admission anyone toting a camera had to pay an extra fee. Local's pay about a tenth of what a tourist does, which although in principle is an OK thing, it's not so good when the locals are paying what we thought was about a fair price! The management of the area have obviously ...

... br>
Kyrgyzstan is very mountainous, very cold in many regions and quite inhospitable. How these people will fare with their summer sleeping bags at camps of over 3000 metres is yet to be seen. I foresee some serious bleating to come. Still we have the hardened core of the Istanbul 8 still with us. James, Margaret, Glen and Chris and Fiona and I with Lucy and Steve the crew should be in for an interesting time.

We also have some great guys from the last trip in ...

... Timur to Moscow for investigative work in 1941 and the next day Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. He was returned and Hitler was defeated.

Good story.

On our free day we visited a factory setup by an exiled Afghani. The factory was setup to preserve the carpet and embroidery skills from the 1990s Afghani exiles after Russia invaded. Now employing over 400 people the carpets and handwork are the best we have ever seen. That’s why a lot of ...

... the local Uzbekistan person. From what we were told and could observe, tourism in Uzbekistan is doing well and this was again confirmed by Lola as she pointed out the increasing number of guest houses that were being opened in this part of Samarkand.

Just as we were certain that the tour HAD to be close to finishing, Lola suggested that we visit her “very special” place the Shah-i-Zinda, a group of mausoleums and funeral mosques located on the southern slope of ...

... The Registan really was amazing certainly one of those building like the Taj that makes you go wow (and doesn't cost $15). Getting to see Uzbekistan police in action dealing with a drunk was interesting. I saw them trying to get him up while i went to the Internet, one hour later, they were still at it. Why they didn't just leave him there was beyond me. Though the crowd ...

... square and at affordable price! It wasn't even cold in the room, but I think it's worth being there in spring, too, because it has a huge open yard where one can relax and drink beer in the night. If you have interest in the name of the hotel, which I don't remember now, too, maybe you have to kick me or go to Rustam's site, and we'll somehow get you the information. I've unloaded from the taxi and into the ...

... s not worth it." Instead, he has worked in Europe where he can earn far more money with fewer hassles. "I miss my family then, yes." He showed me a photograph of his truck in Europe, where his European co-workers all can't wait until he returns. "Soon I will go to a spa vacation with them in Latvia. I was in Tashkent to get visa." At a checkpoint, Borat showed me how the militsia accepts ...

... something of an illusion.
Out of town the countryside devolves into small farming communities, the scenery's pretty ordinery, generally flat, and we begin to doze, a combination of travelling and heat making us sleepy.
After a detour to avoid crossing into Kazakhstan, Didi asks us if we would like some melon, there have been people selling melons at many points along the road a melon sounded just the thing. We stopped at a crossroads where ...

... heard that the resource center at the institute is under lock and key and I get to help people have access to the info and maybe also reorganize it and help build it up more. Gee, not up my alley at all. :) I am so excited. Right after site announcements, we all went on individual trips to visit current peace corps volunteers. I went to gulistan. It was so relaxing. I read and watched movies on computers and learned how to make syrup ...