Part 1 - The Silk Road: Bukhara, Uzbekistan

    The Silk Road, a name that conjures up ancient caravans of camels and traders traveling mind boggling distances for hundreds of years across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. A time, when not only goods were traded, but also ideas about religion, culture, and education. A time, when tales from the Orient came from men who traveled far and wide to see for themselves the mysteries that the great East had to offer. Fast forward a few hundred years and we have photography, the Internet, and television to take us wherever we want to go. Far less imagination and wonder on our part is required these days to become excited about distant lands, and sadly, often times we are bemused by what we see as it is nothing we haven't 'seen' before.

 After traveling six days in the remote nation of Turkmenistan, I found myself at the heart of this ancient trade route. It all began at a dusty old border crossing in the middle of the Karakum desert. Upon arrival at the border, a hideously disorganized group of people were waiting to get through immigration, who had conveniently just gone for an hour lunch. Great. Stuck in 100+ degree heat, little water, and a crowd of people looking at the only two foreigners within a hundred miles of anywhere. Yes, this was the scene at the moment.

 Put a smile on your face however, and things do change. Somehow I started a half-arsed conversation/game of charades with two ladies who were next to me. One was clearly older than the other, I'd guess mid 30's, while the younger one was perhaps my age or thereabouts. After a couple of minutes, it became abundantly clear that the older sister was suggesting that I marry her younger sister. Amused, I played along for a bit and made a couple compliments as to this women's beauty - she was nice looking after all.

 Immigration finally returns from a long and lazy lunch, and we, my friend Erin and I, made our way through the checkpoint and found ourselves waiting to be put into a van to go to the Uzbek side of the border. This side was much faster and convenient. It's also the only border that I've ever gone through that made me see a doctor to take my temperature, something that apparently is the norm.

 With my new found health now confirmed, Erin and I charted a taxi cab to take us the 100+ kilometers to the ancient city of Bukhara! Yes, Bukhara!!!! You're not saying it loud enough people!!!! This was one of the great epicenters of the Silk Road, a city that was up and running before Christ was born. An oasis of trade and education that was world renowned.

 Famous for it's covered XV and XVI century markets, madrassahs, and the famous Kolon minaret (which was the only part of the city not pillaged my Genghis Khan due to its magnificence), I now found myself at the heart of ancient history, which was easily conjured up since the town was well preserved with dusty roads, covered markets, and tiled madrassahs.

 Yes, tiles! Blue tiled buildings that were and are the main trademark of Timur, the leader of an ancient empire in these parts that made the desert sparkle like crystal and brought up a civilization that would stand for hundreds of years. The main artery of this empire was situated in the city of Samarkand, another jewel that will be told about in a separate post.

 Aw, I had arrived. History at my footsteps and centuries old markets to browse through. I was elated to be in this part of the world, for however brief a time. After settling into a nice B&B, I set out to explore this ancient wonder of the world that is often overlooked by travelers to Asia.

 I began the next day by seeking out the Kolon minaret, an ancient tower that even Genghis Khan did not destroy due to its beauty. It's quite unique in that is has over a dozen different designs carved into it, all intricately done and preserved over the years. Next to it, is a huge open-courtyard mosque with a tree in the center. The mosque is decorated with Timur blue tiles that sparkle in the sun and that cause a nice shine to cover the building. Across from the minaret, lies the cities oldest madrassah with blue-tiles and a very unique entryway that is carved and decorated with a sort of Arab design, including the archways.

 After a nice introduction to the city, I felt my way around the covered markets. And what did I hit up first, you might ask? The carpet shop, of course! Within seconds I was swept into a dome covered room that contained loads of carpets, both new and old. I looked around, saw some nice silk rugs for $850 and bid adieu to the beautiful sister of the lady who dragged me in, but spoke little English. Of course, she took me to her shop next where she unsuccessfully tried to sell me some hand embroidered pillow cases.

 I also came across a very small spice shop where the man carved out gourds to be used as spice containers. Intrigued, I looked at the spices and decided on a spice that I no longer remember, but had it filled into a gourd thinking it would be a unique souvenir. The gourds had a nice leather strap that plugged the top so that you could carry it and not have your spices all over the ground. I took a rather good photo of this nice place and it is currently the cover photo of my Facebook page. Take a peak.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the Ark! This was the first place that I visited. It's an ancient fortress that was the seat of power for the local 'king' or 'sultan' back in the day. It's a huge, rundown complex that is being restored and contains many great examples of Islamic architecture and battle-defenses from back in the day. Definitely worth checking out if you pass by Bukhara!

The rest of Bukhara can be described as bliss. Teashops, old streets, intricately designed mosques, blue-tiled domes and madrassahs, nice people, and a very cheap place to travel. Bukhara is a place that I will always remember, and if I'm lucky, will bestow another, perhaps longer visit in the future.

Off to Samarkand....

 

The 'North Korea' of Central Asia: Turkmenistan

      Nearing the end of this current vacation, I feel like I should start to compile all of my thoughts of the various countries that I've been traveling in. In total, four countries have been visited this time around - Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Bulgaria. While still in Bulgaria, my thoughts are else where pondering all that I've done and wondering what the next adventure will be in the coming months. This first post about my current excursions in Asia focuses on the mysterious country of Turkmenistan.

    They call it the 'North Korea of Central Asia.' It's a totalitarian dictatorship in the middle of a vast desert that has some of the largest natural gas reserves on Earth, which gives it the vast wealth that has enabled it to flourish in the past few years. The capital of Turkmenistan is Ashgabat, a beautiful, modern capital city that has enjoyed a fast level of modernization thanks to the pet projects of former president Turkmenbashi (Father of the Turkmen) and also the current ruler. It's a city full of white marble buildings, wide boulevards and guards on every corner of the capital.

  To get the visa for this haven of extravaganza, I had to wait three months and fill in various forms related to my profession, current work status, etc... On top of this, I had to pay $95 in fees to get the damn thing. Upon arrival in Ashgabat with my friend Erin, from San Francisco, we walked into what resembled an abandoned warehouse, this was their airport. Being that we arrived in the middle of the night, the custom officials took their sweet time before starting to process the small plane that carried us into this tyrannical paradise. After roughly an hour of getting the visa, customs, and finding our driver, I was ready for bed.

 The funny thing about Turkmenistan is that you have to travel there through an official tourist agency. The one we chose was called Owadan Travel, a nice company that fulfilled all of their contract obligations that we paid for. A nice 19 year old Turkmen picked us up from the airport and brought us to the Ak Altyn hotel in Ashgabat, a four star hotel that is slightly outdated in certain amenities, such as the Soviet era hairdryer in the bathroom.

 Ashgabat was a lovely town, and so were the people. The women wear colorful dresses with floral patterns and interesting bonnets that cover their hair, but not in a traditional Muslim way that you would think of. The men wear very western clothing and act socially in public with women, going out, holding hands, laughing, etc... on comparison to other countries in the Islamic world.

 The town is ultra modern with golden statues of their 'leader for life,' Turkmenbashi littered all over the parks and lawns of official government buildings. This man, who was the leader of Turkmenistan before its independence from the former USSR, declared himself president for life and created a cult status for himself that continues to be indoctrinated into the youth of the country.

 White marble buildings, green parks, roads to be glorified compared to America, can all be found in this truly lovely town. Sadly, it's forbidden to take pictures of many buildings in the capital and the guards are very strict about having their pictures taken as well. One time, I was yelled at by a guard for walking on the sidewalk next to some unknown building with a fancy gate... the same thing happened the next day.

 On my two day stay in Ashgabat, I went up into the green hills surrounding the city in a cable car journey that will not soon be forgotten. The scenery was stunning and the ride was scary. Luckily for me, my travel buddy didn't rock the car like he threatened to do. I also saw the various monuments, buildings, and parks that are sparsed throughout town and was really impressed with how modern the 'country' appeared to be.

 The next stop on this eery tour of Turkmenistan was a gas crater that was set on fire by the Russians in the 1970's. This crater is quite large and is totally engulfed in flames. The smell of gas proliferates around the area. This site has become the biggest tourist attraction for the 7000 tourists that pass through this country. Erin and I camped behind a small dune nearby with our guides for that day. We  had some lovely shaslyk - lamb kebabs that were roasted over the fire and enjoyed a night full of gazing at the crater and the stars that you could see through the gleaming lights of the fire.

 The crater was the best part of the trip for me. The last three days of our trip were spent on some of the most horrible roads you could imagine. As soon as you leave the capital, the great infrastructure that you are meant to believe exists, goes away and turns into pot-holed roads for hundreds of kilometers. If you don't like to go off roading, I would not reccomend traveling to Turkmenistan. Erin and I spent hours wishing we stayed in the capital. The last part our stay in the country was to see the UNESCO sites of Konye-Urgench and Merv.

 Overall, Turkmenistan was the oddest country that I've ever been to. First off, there are very few ATMs in the country. I found one. As such, you have to bring in all of the money that think you are going to spend during your stay, oh, and your US dollars MUST. BE. PERFECT. They cannot have any writing, blotch marks, stamps, wrinkles, etc... or else they will be rejected and useless to you. Erin and I found this out the hard way and were scraping for cash in a country where an electronic debit/credit card is almost useless.

 The nightlife in the country is very quiet from what we found. We found on British Pub that was rather expensive and during the course of my stay, I was hit on by a Ukrainian hooker, whose phone number of passed on to me at the end of the conversation we had. No, nothing happened.

 Once you leave the capital city, most of the country is a vast wasteland of desert shrubs and arid sand dunes. There's really nothing to see outside the capital that captured my attention in the three days that I saw from the roadside.

 These are just some of the details that I observed and remember at this point in time. There is a lot more that could be written, but suffice to say that I had fun in this very unusual country.

 For my friend, Ann Marsh, who would like to go here in the next few months. It is my opinion that four days in the country would be more than enough - 2 in the capital, one at the gas crater, and the last one stopping at Konye-Urgench while on your way to cross into Uzbekistan. Mary and Merv are not worth the extra two-three days of your time, and since you are paying for a tour company, this would cut your cost down a couple hundred dollars at least. Ashgabat and Darvaza is more than enough to see in my opinion.

 Greetings from Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria!!!!!

Wandering again...

   Looking at my blog, it has been neglected since November 29th!

 Let's try to bring this thing up to date in not so many words.

 Afghanistan is going well, I've been here for nine months now and my contract renewal is coming up at the end of June. My classes are going well, and attacks in the city have been sporadic but nothing too bad as of late (fingers crossed).

 Winter was very mild. In Kabul we didn't have much snow. The temperatures were quite low sometimes, however.

 My carpet collection has grown by two or three rugs. To my credit, two of those are gifts....

 Tomorrow I'm off on vacation. I will be gone from April 3rd-29th. I'll be heading to Turkmenistan on the first leg of my journey. I'm looking forward to camping in the desert, seeing the Diwaza gas craters, swimming in an underground lake, and seeing the craziness that is Ashgabat!

 After that, I'm off to Uzbekistan. I'll be hitting up the ancient Silk Road towns of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Tashkent, before flying back to Istanbul, Turkey to meetup with my Colombian friend, Gustavo. I went to Istanbul last year and loved it. After 'mi Buenos Aires querido,' it's the best city on Earth!
 Finally, I'll be flying to Barcelona, Spain to stay at my friend's place while exploring the sites of Catalunya.

 That's all I have for now. I'll catch you guys next time.

 -  Jesse

Splendid Laos

   As I sit here in Luang Prabang, Laos, at a location overlooking the Nam Khan river which flows directly into the Mighty Mekong, I'm still waiting for someone to pinch me to wake me up from this delightful dream that I'm in. This dream consists of wide flowing rivers, coconut trees, cheap Beer Lao, and the best croissants I've ever had. Just a couple minutes away by foot are French-Laos villas with shutters and balconies that have been transformed into guesthouses, cafes, restaurants, boutique shops, and art galleries. This is Luang Prabang, a city that has been transformed from a former Kingdom to a modern day tourists utopia.

  Heading north from Chiang Mai, Thailand, I was on a minibus bound for Chiang Khong which borders the Laos town of Huay Xai. On the bus I met some cool people from Canada and the Netherlands. The ride to the hinterlands of Thailand took about 6 hours, the final of which was through thick jungle, karst mountains, and a bumpy dirt road. Upon arrival, there I saw it, the mighty Mekong river, life support for millions of people in this part of the world.

  With my passport in hand, I went through Thai immigration and boarded a long tail boat that would take me across the river, about a two minute ride. The short, but magical ride across one of the world's great rivers was amazing. Big white fluffy clouds were in the sky as the sun was a vibrant red color as it set in the west. With the wind in my face and sound of the motor in behind me, I felt as though my trip had truly began - a new adventure, land to be conquered, people to meet and understand. Laos it seemed, was going to be a whole other cookie from Thailand.

 After going through Laos Immigration, I boarded a bus that would take 12-14 hours to arrive in Luang Prabang, the paradisaical town that I described above. The ride was an intense roller coaster through mountains, jungle, and cliffs in the heat of the night with two funny Laos drivers periodically changing turns at the wheel. All the while, I'm not getting sleep while the guy from Amsterdam is snoring away stretched out across his seat. To put it plainly, it was chaos, and I loved every minute of it.

 Arriving into Luang Prabang, the Canadian, named Mitch, went in search of a place to stay and booked into a guesthouse down an alleyway just around the bar area of town. My room, which has a private bathroom, costs me 8000 Kip per night, that's roughly $10 US. For the first day, I just walked around town and got my bearings as to where everything was. I noticed the beautiful French style villas that were crumbling and others that have been restored and look brand new. There were also many Buddhist monks walking around willing to talk to anyone who had a smile and something to say. While not Buddhist, the kindness and hospitality of this town is incredible.

 Later at night, I found myself having a beer at a bar called Hive. I met Mitch there and made friends with a couple other people from Australia and the U.K. Together we all went to a bar called Utopia, which is where I am now, sitting on a comfy couch overlooking Nam Khan river and sipping on a tamarind juice. Since Laos is a communist government, things here are quite strict. Bars must close at 11:30 PM and the only place open after that time is the local bowling alley, which is where we and four Dutch girls that we met all went to hangout at. After talking down my bowling skills, I somehow managed to score two strikes on my first two sets! After that, my bad bowling luck returned to me and I didn't win. With a Beer Lao in my hand and with good company, the night passed away swimmingly and the first full day in Laos was a great success. I had new friends, cheap beer, and was in a mythical paradise in the center of a communist state. What more could a guy want?

 Day two was even better than day one. Having a sense of adventure, Mitch and I decided to rent 125cc motorbikes and go see some local caves and waterfalls. Each site was about 35 kilometers from town. First, we went to Pak Ou caves, which houses unwanted Buddha statues that people no longer want. The road to get to the caves is potholed, full of people with bikes, and herds of cattle. The ride was brilliant, if not crazy to take. The scenery that I saw is impossible to describe. I crossed bridges which flowed along the Mekong and from a point to see it running into the mountains that make up this part of the country. One of the bridges was a little sketchy as we were forced to ride 2x4's that made up the 'road' over the Nam Khan river just out of town.

 The caves themselves were nothings special. They had a lot of old statues in them and was overcrowded with French tourists with guides. The ride to the waterfalls was really cool. This winding road that goes through lush tropical forests is in the middle of the mountains and consists of many cascading pools that are of a minty-lime color where people can go swimming. Swimming in these pools of amazing water was refreshing. The main waterfall had a steep, rocky trail for one to climb and Mitch and me did that. I got some good pictures from the top of the fall the view was spectacular. Never have I seen such a stunning view in all of my travels. On the way down, there are a set of stairs that run right through one of the main falls coming down from the limestone cliff. Feeling hot and sticky, I went off the staircase and under the fall. The water was very cool this made the climb worth the effort I put in to get my fat butt up that hill.

 That night, I found myself back at Utopia having another Beer Lao with my friends. Feeling tired, I called it an early night (11:30) and called it a day. Waking up this morning, I returned my motorbike and did a self tour of Luang Prabang. I climbed Phousi Hill, and visited the old royal palace of this onetime mystical kingdom. Afterwards, I walked along the shores of the Mekong River and had lunch at a Korean restaurant. It's safe to say that that lunch was the best Korean food I had since living Korea, and by far the cheapest. For the rest of today I'm chilling here back at Utopia and am enjoying the slow life while watching the Nam Khan river flow by while lounging back on a couch. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, the music is good, and there's barely anyone here.

 Greetings from paradise. I'm going to have another juice now...

   Cheers to you all!

 -  Jesse

 

And I'm off....

  So the time has come to leave Kabul... YAY!!!! While I find this experience and journey that I"m on in Afghanistan fascinating, it's definitely a place that you need a break from every few months. I fly out at 2:50 PM tomorrow afternoon and will land in Delhi, India where I'll spend 11 hours before flying to Bangkok, Thailand.

 The plan is to spend the day in BKK and then taking a train at 10PM to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I'll be going to the Yi Peng festival on the 24th when I arrive. I'm sharing a 'taxi' with some people from Couchsurfing and will then just relax over the course of the week. I'll eventually make my way to Laos. That's the plan as of now.

 I will not be checking Facebook for two weeks!!! If you need to contact me, please email me at jessekimchi@gmail.com. If you'd also like to subscribe to my six week email updates, also let me know at the same address.

 I'll be away from 22nd of November through the 6th of January. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Years to all of you fine people!

 Bon Voyage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 -  Jesse

How the other 'half' live.

  Things are looking up for me in Afghanistan. I've been going out more, hanging around new people, and spending a little bit of money on myself. I'm going to start volunteering and work is going pretty well. October has turned out to be a great month for weather and the sun has been shining for days, with the exception of one gloomy day. Overall, not that bad of a time for a war torn country.

  Looking back on the last few postings I've written, one may be tempted by the allusion that all is well here. That this is where the rainbow ends and where the pot of gold is waiting to be taken. The mountains are beautiful, the people amazing, and the food so far isn't dull. I have admittedly tried to portray my experience here in the land of the pomegranate, as one that is different from the war infested country that has come across the television screen for about ten years now. Now it's time to really set things straight and tell you how the other 'half', more like 75% + live. Nothing that I have to say is surprising, but I think it's important to contrast all the good with the reality, that just happens to be bad for many innocent people.

 Kabul was founded along the river that once flowed through the central part of the city. Sadly, it's become the cities sewer, dump, and bathing pool. It is not uncommon to see people walking in the cesspool that it has become or to be seen washing there car with the fecal infested water in the sewer drains that align the road. The smell is something that should be a punishment for certain criminals.

 Cutting across the Kabul river are several busy roads that act as the cities markets for many thousands of people. I go shopping on one such street every week and have my preferred venders that know me well enough. To get to these places, one must first battle the cities horrendous traffic and try to find a place among the street carts that frequent the sewer drains. After this, there are the numerous, and i'm talking numerous street children and mothers in burkas holding babies clinging to life to get through.

 The UN estimates that there are over 60,000 street children here in Kabul. Many of them work the streets begging for money while carrying rusted out tin cans which burn some herb that they say casts the 'evil eye' away people. Such a boy can be seen in the movie, Buzkashi Boys, by director Sam French. I see such children everyday, day after day. They're not in school, they probably don't have a home, and for sure do not get to keep the money that they get. Then, there are the mothers with babies, or two to three children following them saying 'baksheesh' while grabbing your arm, poking you, or getting way too comfortable with your personal space. You can't blame them, I'd probably do the same thing. If by the time you've circumvented the real people of Afghanistan you still have cash by not giving it all away, you probably won't want to buy most of your food that you originally wanted. Now re-read the paragraph you just read, and imagine returning to the vehicle you just came int.

 Kabul at night is a beautiful sight. The mountains are lighted with thousands of houses on the mountainsides. These are the people who are poor, but at least have a home up in the hills. They're living the good life, you see. The now have electricity, which until a couple of years ago, didn't exist for these people. So now they can look down at you from the hills while you look up in wonder asking yourself "who's up there?"

 Remember that road I mentioned above with all the beggers? I forgot to mention the ones with no arms or legs. They're probably the victims of land mines or harsh punishments from the Taliban, or the mujahadeen. One such fellow, who has no legs, lies in the middle of the road holding his arms up asking for money when cars are stopped in traffic. Another person just stands in the on the side of the road with their hands out willingly taking whatever comes their way. There are countless dozens of people like this and it's all part of the reality that has and is shaping the Afghanistan of today.

 I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Afghanistan is a great country, one of beauty and wonder. For every horrible thing that I just mentioned, I could easily name something good that is taking place. These are the birthing pangs of an ancient nation trying to find it's way in a modern world. The question is whether or not that world accept it's rising or tear it down again like it has during the last four decades. 

 Lastly, I've mentioned on Facebook that I will be volunteering at a local orphanage starting next week. I plan on teaching English and hopefully doing something else that is of help. I'm not sure how the whole thing will work out and am admittedly a bit nervous. However, I feel that this experience will be something to contribute in order to prevent these kids from experiencing more of what I just described above. If you'd like to help out in any way, financially, or by sending a package, please contact me at jgreenleaf@auaf.edu.af or visit www.afghanrelieffund.org. I'll be updating how this volunteer segment of my year in Afghanistan goes over the next five weeks.

 -  Jesse 

Common Sightings

   Watching television news is very depressing, especially if you're in America. I could get rich predicting the day-to-day news reports. "New housing crisis, Iran warned against nuclear program, unemployment up in Europe, US economy not growing as fast as predicted, 2 soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan." The happiness goes on....

  Talking about Afghanistan, all people ever see are the negative stories. While a lot of bad things do happen here here is what I've become use to seeing on a daily basis that you won't see on cable news.

 - A crowd of school children waiting for school to open while they buy snacks near my house.

 - A man selling coconuts and breaking them open.

 - A donkey pulling a carriage with an old man with a long beard along Darul Aman road.

 - University students of both sexes mingling in the school courtyard as if no war had ever happened.

 - Mothers dressed in a burka or a scarf walking with their children along the streets.

 - Men and women working in tailor shops, produce shops, grocery stores, hair salons, and outdoor markets.

 - People bargaining over prices of melons and freshly picked pomegranates or 'anaar' as they say in Dari.

 - School boy in their teens playing soccer at night in the road with rocks acting as goal posts.

 - The overwhelming beauty of the smiles that people have despite living in poverty in a country with no certain future beyond 2014.

 - Police officers and army personnel with Klashkinov riffles guarding the city while shaking hands with other people as if forgetting their duty at times.

 - Traffic officers directing traffic in a hopeless and thankless job in a city with jam packed roads.

 - The smile and grace of a street girl or boy begging and seeing their faces light up at any slight offering that you give them, or game that you play such as 'paper, rock, scissors'.

 - The emerald eyes of some of the people here, rumored to be from the Greek invasions of Alexander the Great.

 - The endless offerings of tea or 'chai' being offered to me from any local I meet.

 - The 'naan' (flat bread) store workers who sit next to a tandoori oven and sell some of the most delicious and cheapest (20 cents) naan I've ever had.

 - The hard work of a Kabul butcher hacking away at meat while smiling at me with a big grin on his face because I'm a foreigner.

 - The delicate needle work of local tailors as they make the baggy pants and shirts that Afghans are known for.

 - The sight of a carpet shop owner laying out his rugs, kilims, and mixed hybrids in hopes of striking a big deal while carefully explaining the intricate work and mastery of how each one was made by hand while simultaneously serving you chai.

 The list goes on. The point that I want to make is this country is just like anywhere else, minus the war. People live normal lives and go about their day like anyone back home. As I continue to live here, I will make an increased effort to do the same.

 -  Jesse