Uzbekistan

Arriving in Tashkent was a relief. The train may have been loads of fun but we were all overdue for a good nights sleep, a proper shower and a meal that didn’t consist of 2 minute noodles and canned meat (it may have looked like dog food but it actually tasted pretty good). That night we had one of the best meals though. It may have been because we wanted it so bad but nonetheless it was amazing. Salads all round with an interesting pasta dish (genuine traditional uzbek pasta) finished off with some awesome fruit.

That night we may have laughed at the money situation but we would soon come to hate it. Essentially the largest uzbek note was worth only 50 cents and changing it was more like a drug deal than an exchange of currency. Carrying around a large wad of money worth little more than 50 dollars was fun at first but finding somewhere inconspicuous to hide it whilst we walked around soon become a chore.

The next day we left on the train for Samarkand. The train ride passed by some beautiful uzbek countryside on the way. After the 5 hour train ride that was only supposed to take 3 we arrived in Samarkand. Samarkand is probably one of my favourite cities that I visited during my entire trip. It was spectacular wherever we went. Enormous mosques, bustling bazaars and the piece-de-resistance, registan square. Our hotel was an extremely short walk from Registan Square, the main tourist attraction of the city. Interesting is probably the best word to describe our hotel. It was extremely haphazard in its design and architecture and we all loved it.

We would visit registan square numerous times during our time in Samarkand. However first we got some awesome traditional food at a family restaurant. Plov is an uzbek specialty and everybody needs to try it before they die. During the afternoon we visited the massive mosque, bazaar, and the incredible cemtary where many of the nations important historical figures are buried. To finish off the day we visited an observatory where an uzbek astronomer made accurate calculations of the distance to many of the stars.

That night would become one of the most memorable of my entire trip so far. First we walked down to registan square just as the sun was setting. It was absolutely breath taking. We bribed the guard 5 dollars each and he took us round the back and up to the roof. The way up there was sketchy at the best of times, running across thin roofs climbing up rickety ladders made of reo. The view from the top was well worth it though. Afterwards we headed out to a nightclub. We sat down for dinner in a nightclub it was very strange but the food was really nice and we could dance in between courses. The dj was fantastic and we all had lots of fun dancing the night away. Afterwards we headed out to another club but headed home fairly shortly afterwars. We had so much fun that night partying whilst quite inebriated with sober muslims.

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The next day we saw a few more mosques but in the afternoon all of us bar Julia got an incredible stomach bug that would not leave me until well into Thailand. Julia enjoyed mike jones’ cooking her plov from ingredients that they bartered for at the local bazaar. I heard that it was amazing. Next time maybe.

Luckily I started to feel a little better the next day since we would be catching the train to Bukhara.

Sorry i wrote this ages ago and never got around to uploading it

So it has been a fair while since I have updated everyone on my activities. Last time anybody really heard from me was st Petersburg. Since then I’ve been constantly doing things and I’ve rarely had access to any internet. However here is basically what happened whilst I was on the vodkatrain through Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

I left st Petersburg late at night and only just managed to catch the train to Moscow. To say that I was uneasy about the trip ahead would be an understatement. Luckily I met Julia, one of the group members on the train that night and immediately started to worry a little less.

We arrived in Moscow and the last thing that either of us wanted to do was go outside and sightsee, so we figured that watching borat would be just like reading a guide book for Kazakhstan. That’s when we met Jamie, the third member of our group and later we met valentin the final (little did he know we already facestorked him after getting his details from reception).

At each stop on the vodkatrain you meet up with a ‘honcho’ which are effectively just guides but theyre always locals and are just there to help show u round and to have a nice chat. Our first guide was marina and she was awesome. Over the next few days she took us to all the cool places in Moscow:

·         the kremlin

·         st basils cathedral

·         Red square

·         The metro system which is decorated with very beautiful soviet architecture and art

·         Some of the extremely fancy department stores (they’re built in old aristocratic palaces. Very fancay)

·         Many of the sculptures that dot the city

·         The state circus (where we would make the first of many bribes on the trip)

·         And Moscow’s answer to Disneyland. It wasn’t much of a reply and thankfully was closed

·         We also sampled some Russian vodka at a dodgy student bar one night.

Anyway we had a lot of fun hanging out in Moscow with marina and teaching her proper English such as the meaning of does a bear shit in the woods. It was sad to see her go as we left on the train headed for Tashkent. That trip would take 3 days but was just as fun.

So the train trip. It was epic in so many ways. The first night we cracked out the vodka and saw how much fun a drunk Julia is. Unfortunately the next nights were more subdued since we had a bit of a run in with a kazak official who wanted to kick us off for drinking beer. He was asking for a 7500 ruble bribe which is around 250 dollars. We weren’t have’n none of it so we stood our ground. Thankfully he spoke no English and valentine spoke Russian so we good tell him to go jump. We were all still pooing our pants though and were perfectly prepared to pay the bribe. Luckily after about 20 minutes we managed to get him to piss off since their wasn’t much he could actually do.

The other highlight was teaching some uzbeks returning home after a year working in Moscow how to play uno. They were a little slow to pick it up but loved it so much. A little vodka helped the process along. From that point on they never left us alone always wanting Jamie to go and play cards wth them.

Anyway the train was a good laugh and the days passed fast and pretty soon we made it to Tashkent where we met the legend that is mike jones.

живой Санкт-Петербург

Btw thats viva saint petersburg in russian.

So I finally got to russia and i start my train trip in a few days from moscow. St. Petersburg is absolutely amazing. Its like europe meets Russida since Peter the Great was a big fan of daish architecture. at least thats what the guide told me on the boat.

I got into the airport and damned if i was going to get the metro at 11 at night. the taxi wasn't too expensive and it only took 30 minutes. that was probably due to him doing 110 down main streets where everyone else was doing 50.

Got to my hostel and immediately started talking to one of the other guys in my room. ended up heading out for pizza and then going on a midnight cruise along the rivers of saint petersburg. it was amazing.

today i visited the peterhof which is the summer palace of peter the great. there were gold fountains and opulent architecture everywhere u looked. finished up the day by visiting a few of the local cathedrals which were equally opulent.

till next time.

West Highland Way Day 3

The footpath along Loch Lomond coming up to the bothy

Ok, so I have been a little slack lately when it comes to most things especially keeping people up to date. Firstly, I'm still in london at the moment as my visa for Kazakhstan has not come yet. A few phone calls and emails later has established that somewhere along the line my invitation letter has been mixed up with four Korean passports. Apparently it is far too difficult for the Kazakhstan embassy to find and correct the issues even with the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kazakhstan and two travel agencies. Anyway enough of the boring stuff and back to the West Highland Way.

DAY 3

The Bothy with the loch in the background

I woke up on day 3 to find that it was raining outside. I laid in bed for a lot longer than I had hoped while I worked up the courage to get up and out into it. I eventually got up at around 8:30 and headed out into the driving rain wearing my $500 goretex jacket that was still not enough to stop my phone from getting wet in the pockets. It was a difficult slog over rocks and around trees along the banks of Loch Lomond during the morning. The rain was coming down and it was still quite cold. To keep myself going, I promised myself not to stop until I reached a bothy, which is basically a Scottish version of a hiking hut. Unfortunately it was around 6 miles and by the time I got there I was completely drenched.. Once there I stopped and dried out my feet and socks and put on my rain pants.

Glen Falloch

After a short break I continued along the path towards the Inverarnan Hotel where I enjoyed lunch with a few of the other walkers. Met two girls from Ireland in the hotel and thought it might be nice to have some company for the next section of the walk to Crianlarich. The views were spectacular as we followed the fast flowing Glen Falloch River to Crianlarich.

The Glen Falloch River

The plan was to stay in the hostel in Crianlarich along with the other walkers that I had met along the way due to the inclement weather. Unfortunately they were booked up and my only choice was to head to the next town along the way. By this time it was starting to get dark so I had to catch the train. It nearly killed me to think that I was skipping five miles of the way but reminded myself that I was there to see beautiful scenery and not just for the sake of saying I beat it.

Misleading sign

The train to Tyndrum was gorgeous. I watched as the sun set over the hills. It also just so happened that I would be sharing a room with the german walker I had stayed with in Inverarnan. It didnt take long to have some dinner with some nice Scottish walkers and head off to bed ready for the next day.

By this point i was feeling pretty good. my feet were holding up nicely and I was halfway through day 5 having covered 52 of the 95 miles by the end of my 3rd day, so I was making good time.

The path that it talks about

Just before Crianlarich

West Highland Way Day 2

Day 2

The view of Loch Lomond from the top of Conic Hill

Unfortunately it rained lightly overnight. I got up late, in the hope that the morning sun would help dry my tent, at least thats the excuse that I told myself. The slog over Conic Hill was quite difficult but gave great views of Loch Lomond before the path descended down towards Balmaha. At this point the rain was managing to hold off. Balmaha gave me the opportunity to buy a little more food and grab a cup of tea from the local pub.

After Balmaha, the path followed the shores of the loch wherever possible, with brief intervals of road walking. The going was easy and the views were spectacular. I watched as storm clouds formed over the opposite bank of the loch. The forest along the edge of Loch Lomond was filled with beautiful broad leaved trees.

The banks of Loch Lomond just up from Balmaha

Most of the time, the going was easy along well maintained wide paths, however the last few miles before Inversnaid started to get narrow and it also started to rain. It was during this stretch that i was lucky enough to see the famous wild goats of Scotland. At first I thought they were bears, and then I reminded myself that there aren't bears in Scotland. As I was calming down I noticed the size of their horns and immediately thought they were going stab me with them. I eventually made it to Iversnaid that afternoon. The original plan was to camp at a campsite just outside of 'town', however the weather was miserable and there was a taxi waiting to pick up some other walkers to take them to a bunkhouse. I met some people along the walk her were staying at the bunkhouse and decided that I would have a miserable night in the tent so it was worth paying some money to stay in the bunkhouse.

Watching a storm roll in

Awaiting me at the bunkhouse were warm showers, hot food and a real, albeit springy bed. I caught up with the walkers that I had met earlier that day and also made friends with a German walker from my room who I would encounter numerous times along the way.

The scary as hell goats

Just before Inversnaid

Even though the weather turned bad, I had a great day walking down on the 'bonny' banks of Loch Lomond. By the time I reached Inversnaid I was over a third of the way, having walked 33 of the 95 miles.

West Highlands Way

The start of the way

So I promised some people that I would do some  blog posts detailing my experiences in Scotland on the West Highlands Way. Where to start? Well since my visa application was taking longer than expected I decided that a week long hike through Scotland would be good fun. It was definitely an adventure I don't know if I would say that it was fun.

I bet your wondering, "Michael, wtf is the West Highlands Way". Basically it is a long distance trail from the beginning of the scottish highlands on the outskirts of Glasgow, 156 kilometres north (I think thats right) to Fort William through some of the best scenery that the UK has to offer. The website said that it should take between 7-9 days, around the same amount of time that my visa would take. Perfect. What follows is what I saw and got up to along the way.

DAY 1

Mmmm, lunch

Day 1 started on the back of an 8.5 hour bus ride to Glasgow the night before. The trail started in Milngavie (pronounced Miln-gie) on the outskirts of Glasgow. Immediately the trail headed off through a wooded section and I quickly noticed the large number of people wearing gators along an extremely wide, well trodden walking track. It would soon make sense. I should probably mention that it was aready raining on day 1 and would continue to rain for most of the time that I was in Scotland. The beginning of the trail was very pretty with wooded sections and rolling green hills. I was initially surprised to meet some people drinking beer along the way and I would soon come to learn, that walking in the UK usually involved drinking. At this point I was confident and powering along the track chewing through miles quite easily.

The view from my tent

It absolutely started to pelt down with rain just as I reached the pub for lunch. due to the inclement weather I thought, "Stuff it, I want some hot food". Listening to the woman telling me the specials with a strong Scottish accent I heard the word anchovies and ordered that particular dish. Turns out that it was chicken schnitzel topped with egg and anchovies. It was unusual but luckily I like all those ingredients and scoffed it all down.

After lunch i continued the walk past lovely Scottish farms and up to Drymen. This is supposed to be the end of day 1 according to the guide, instead I pushed on further since it was only 3 and i wanted to camp out. The nex part of the trail took me through a conifer forest and out into a sheep paddock at the base of Conic Hill. The view was spectacular with the steeply rising hill and Loch Lomond surrounded by the highland mountains.

My tent in the middle of nowhere and by nowhere I mean a
Scottish sheep paddock 

I wandered around the field for about half an hour trying to find somewhere flat and dry. . i managed to find somewhere, pitched my tent and ate some food before heading off to bed early, in high spirits, albeit a little lonely.

And that concludes day 1

Heading off to Scotland

So im still in late, at least for the time being. tomorrow night i will be catching an overnight busto glasgow, where i will beginning a 7-9 day hike through the highlands. it finishes at inverness just near Ben Nevis. it shoul be an exciting adventure.

I had to buy a pack today specially for it since my backpacking one is far too large and heavy. consequently i am going to smell really really bad since clothes were low down on the priority list for packing. Whilst looking for a backpack i got to see some more of London. walked from Piccadilly Circus down Regent St, then down Oxford  St to Hyde Park and finally High St Kensington. The buildings were really nice even if i couldnt afford anything inside them.

Managed to buy myself a sweet pack very cheaply and got a further student discount on it. Score.

Anyway I am sure nobody cares much. If u are interest in the walk here is a link to it http://www.west-highland-way.co.uk/home.asp

cheers guys