Entries about mountains

With a very early start, we boarded the coach before sunrise - and as everyone by this stage had got at least mild diarrhoea, the thought of spending twelve hours on the coach wasn't exactly filling everyone with total excitement. Although quotes like "Treated myself to an immodium this morning" and "You know you're better when you can trust a fart again" did lighten the mood.

Whilst we skirted the Uzbek border passing through more villages with Afghan War Memorials, I continued to nap for a while before waking up to enjoy the views of the scenery.

We then began climbing the mountains, passing numerous flocks of sheep and horses as we reached Lake Toktogul.

Stopping off en route many times for views of the rivers, lakes and hills, we then eventually made it to the highest point of the trip where the ground and hills were covered in snow.

Snowy Tian Shan

Yurts

After a mini snowball fight, we made our way down the northern side of the mountain range, passing yurts and more fantastic views before landing in the valley and making our way to Bishkek just after nightfall.

After a long busy day's travelling we checked in to our hostel and then headed out to a local pub for dinner. Although with it being so late, the number of us making it out was quite small. However the next day was a free day and thus we could finally have a lie in!

Whilst the exit from Turkmenistan and entry into Uzbekistan had been bad enough - with checks for carpets and drugs, it was the exit from Uzbekistan that would be the worst border experience on the trip.

Upon arrival we were given customs forms in which we were told to simplify our currency exports to just USD and EUR. However what they were really after was anything they could fine you for - pornography, photos of the border, drugs etc.

Quickly deleting anything that may cause a problem, I then had to pass over my phone and camera whilst the officials inspected all photos, whilst I put my bags through a scanner. Luckily I did not have a laptop with me - as those who did were subjected to an even longer experience, having "sex" and "porn" searched through their files.

I was then quizzed on what the contents of my baggage was, before having to show them all my drugs. Going back to the desk I still had to wait whilst my photos were inspected. I was then told to have another temperature test before being able to wait in a painfully slow queue to hand in my passport for the immigration check.

Eventually I was able to leave Uzbekistan and walk towards Tajikistan - or so I thought, as right at the final exit point I was required to hand over my phone again for the border guard to check my photos, on which he proceeded to quiz me over this year's holiday snaps, whilst looking for photos of naked women.

Upon arrival into Tajikistan, the process was far simpler, although there was little signage and many empty buildings, I did eventually find the right way, where they quickly stamped my passport, jotted down my name and details and let me through. Of the two hour process, perhaps 5% of it was actually spent on the Tajik side....leaving a rather sour taste in the mouth for what had been an enjoyable trip to Uzbekistan. According to our guide, it was worse treatment than you receive leaving North Korea!

Nevertheless we continued our travel and en route to the Tajik capital, we stopped off at Hisor to view the castle, as well as gain an insight into the make-up of the country, as well as witnessing local wedding celebrations.

We then finally headed to the beautiful Dushanbe, the city surrounded by mountains, and covered in photos of the president.

One of the many presidential posters

Parliament

We began opposite the parliament building, before entering the Rudaki Park, viewing the surrounding monuments and buildings like the Independence monument, Palace of the Nation and Flag Pole.

We then went to our hotel - the 5* Dushanbe Sheraton, treating ourselves to a bit of luxury after the stressful morning.

After a quick swim at the hotel pool, some of us then headed out to the restaurant, where we had our own private room - complete with, you guessed it, kebab meat, bread and soup.

After the busy stressful day, we then headed back to the hotel for a well earned rest in our luxurious rooms before tomorrow's long drive to the Fergana Valley.

Having originally attempted to get on the tour in May, missing out due to my delay in booking, I went on Lupine Travel's second tour which actually fitted much better in my schedule later in the year. This was not a holiday I would be commencing alone.

Having spent the last two months getting my visas sorted for the trip, I was set to go. With no other option than taking a night flight, I spent all morning on Saturday grabbing as much sleep as possible, before taking an evening flight out of Heathrow to Istanbul. After a short hour transfer I then jumped on an overnight flight to the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat.

This was tough. Neither flight was longer than four hours, and getting food an hour in meant there was little time for sleep. Before I knew it I had arrived in Ashgabat, and despite it being 3am at home, it was 7am here, and my tour was to begin in just a couple of hours.

Getting my visa on arrival, I made my way through the week old airport to arrivals where I was picked up and met the first two travellers on my tour, Daniel and Noel before we headed to the hotel to wait for the rest of the tour members.

With the Turkmen visa having all our names and DOBs printed for all to see I was already well aware of the group's demographics - including that I was the youngest member of the tour, so it was quite reassuring knowing already who I'd be spending the next fortnight with. With two minibuses and our tour guide arriving at the hotel, we jumped in and made our way to the first sight, the Hippodrome.

Horse racing is the national sport in Turkmenistan, and whilst the city was almost completely empty, the stadium in Ashgabat was packed! Even at 9am... After observing the overwhelming majority of local women wearing traditional dress, we then made our way towards the market to look at carpets and animals before heading back to the city.

Ashgabat is a truly wacky city, full of bizarre buildings and empty squares. We arrived at the toilet plunger looking Independence Monument, where locals posed for wedding photos with the bride covered by a carpet.

The monument like most in Turkmenistan was built symbolically, using the date of the independence for different dimensions. It was also surrounded by many Turkmen flags as well as a golden statue of Turkmenbashy, the first president.

Heading further down the road we made it to the tripod shaped Neutrality Monument, again golden coloured with a statue of Tukmenbashy. Now moved to the outskirts of the city, the statue used to rotate to face the sun.

Leaving the city past the Alem Cultural Centre, with it's enclosed Ferris Wheel, and the TV Tower, we made our way towards the west and the Kopet Dag mountains, which form the border with Iran and dominate the landscape.

Stopping at Köw Ata, an underground thermal lake, I had originally attempted to swim inside. However after a long day I realised that it was probably not a wise decision and so instead sat with the other group members over lunch.

After being stung by a wasp, we reunited and headed towards the village of Nokhur in the mountains where we would be staying overnight.

Whilst Ashgabat was a modern clean city, the rest of the country was significantly less developed and accordingly so was the village.

After stopping off to look at sacred trees we arrived at the homestay where we ate a dinner provided by the family before settling down for the night sleeping on blankets in one large room. I took an early night and after going to the toilet (which as you can imagine was a pit in the ground a little walk away downhill from the house) I settled down for the night after a very busy first day.

After flying over Dubai, and finally witnessing "The World" islands, before views of the mountains of Iran and Balochistan I eventually made it to the Nepali capital in the evening, where after sorting out my visa and waiting in the longest queue ever through customs and baggage reclaim I was eventually picked up by my hotel.

Having only been at the hotel for around 10 minutes I was already aware of the effect last year's earthquake and the subsequent blockade by India was having on the country. Not only was there no heating anyway, but we had had our first powercut! Luckily I had brought my torch, backup power and a clock, but it still made it a very cold first night.

The following morning I awoke and after taking some pictures outside my window of the distant mountains covered in fog, I went down to grab some breakfast in the hotel's restaurant and grab a few essentials and local currency before my sole day of exploring the mountainous country.

Although I was staying in Kathmandu for the whole time, there was still a few places that for me, captured the essence of the country. After arranging a taxi tour through my hotel, I was picked up and made my way to the first stop - the Swayambhunath or "Monkey Temple". The temple is located on a hill in the west of the city and features the traditional stupa and prayer bunting, as well as lots of monkeys somewhat reminiscent of Gibraltar. Had the weather been better, there would have been beautiful views over the Kathmandu Valley and further afield, but unfortunately, in a theme that would follow me all week, the levels of fog/smog meant that not much could be seen at a long distance.

After stopping by the Buddha Park, I then made my way over to the Boudhanath Stupa. However unlike the Monkey Temple, this one had been significantly damaged in the quake, and therefore the top of the stupa was now missing, in the midst of being replaced. However it was still a nice experience to walk around this famous attraction, with the traditional Nepalese designs and prayer wheels remaining.

The destroyed Boudhanath Stupa

Shree Pashupatinath Temple

Unfortunately with guided tours, you are always easily taken somewhere you don't want to end up, and with this there was no escaping a visit to the Shree Pashupatinath Temple, where lovely views of wrapped corpses being thrown into the polluted river were awaiting my viewing pleasure.

After eventually leaving and heading back into Thamel, the last experience of my day was to walk through Thamel and towards the Kathmandu Durbar Square. This was previously a beautiful square filled with temples. However much had been destroyed in the quake and it was teaming with touts ready to give my white face a guided tour that no amount of "I'm fine thanks" seemed to put off.

Heading back to my hotel in the early afternoon I was already done for the day. However with no power, and not wanting to risk getting ill from hot food that clearly would not have been cooked well, if at all, I ended up sitting freezing eating Pringles and waiting for bed time! As it was mid-winter, even this far south, Kathmandu never got above 10C in the day.

Although the sun was shining, and I did get views of the snowy Himalayas in the distance as well as views of the Monkey Mountain after some fog had cleared, it unfortunately never swung round enough to warm my room up before sunset, and I spent one of my coldest nights waiting for my flight to Delhi the following day!

Waking up the next morning I opened to curtains to find a stunning view of mountains - for I had the best room in the hotel - top floor with views over the city and mountains below. After gathering my things I headed towards the old city, and was struck by the views of mountains from everywhere within the town.

View from the hotel

Sant Esteve Church

My first sight was the roof of the congress centre, which at its elevated position provides views of the mountains. I then headed into the old city, where the Sant Esteve church and Parliament buildings are located. This area had a very quaint charm, with the traditional stone brick buildings and cobbled streets. Even though this was 2015, you could see that much of this area is exactly how it would have been hundreds of years ago.

After witnessing the old part of the town, I then headed down towards the newer part of the city, which is why most people come to the country - tax free shopping! Around 80% of the shops were selling luxury goods - cameras, tablets, watches etc.

Even in the local supermarket, beside a bunch of bananas was bulk packs of cigarettes and flashy cameras. In many ways it was much the same as Liechtenstein - luxury shops in front of stunning mountain views.

I then carried on walking towards the other side of the town, and saw the huge Caldera spa, a huge shard of glass pointing into the sky, before heading back towards the old part of town and eventually my bus back to Barcelona.

The town isn't very big, and so it didn't take long to see it, but it was a fun experience, and if you love mountains, skiing or luxury shopping then it's worth the visit.