Day 5 - Tashkent (then to Bukhara)

We’ve only got one day in Tashkent so we need to make the most of it. It’s also going to be hot and challenging, so we need to be strategic. 

We peruse our list of must sees and plan how we will manage it. 

The hostel feeds us a beautiful breakfast and we decide that the only walking we will do is this morning as it will be too hot later on. I get a kick out of the Bill Clinton book on their shelf. 

We head to the Metro station nearest to us, Minor, as we’ve read incredible things about the stations. I stupidly didn’t download a picture of the metro map and don’t see one when we get inside which is a bit problematic. No reception done there to rectify that issue. We are headed to Amir Temur square and to see the Famous Uzbek hotel. 

The architecture of the hotel is stoic but beautiful in its own way. The square is a square, the statue a statue but the gardens are beautiful. We see a really neat street in the distance with string lights overhead. You can tell it would be beautiful at night. We head in that direction. As we follow along what must be the site of a night market we come across a beautiful park filled with carnival style games and a giant trapeze. The sprinklers are running in the park which to be honest is what draws me over initially and I encourage us all to get a little wet to cool off. 

I’m actually amazed at how green things are here given the temperatures and realize how much water must be needed to make this happen. We discover later in our travels that the amount that Uzbekistan irrigates is actually a point of contention with Tajikistan as apparently the river that flows from Tajikistan is depleted substantially once it reaches Uzbekistan. I’m not sure if that’s true or not. Something to do a little research on later. 

Some of us need to change money and we’ve been told that banks are the only place to do this. So while some of us sit in the grass and enjoy the shade others head to the bank for money. The cash machines have not worked for us so far which isn’t ideal. I’ve successfully pulled money from ATMs in other countries, but not here. It makes things a little challenging but we haven’t gone hungry yet. 

The great thing about here and Almaty are the amazing parks everywhere and the way they are filled with activities (and light in Uzbekistan) in the evenings. It is so hot during the day that most people must stay indoors during the heat of the day and then come out in the evening when it’s cooler. It means that the parks of full of life with games and music. It sure makes Vancouver feel a little dull. 

We head back towards the metro station passing by a beautiful museum and then back down to the cool of the underground we go. I’ve downloaded a metro map so I am better prepared now! 

We take the blue line and connect to the red line, we managed a connection! Go us! And get off at Churso Bazaar. Apparently ranked among some of the best in the world. It is an indoor and outdoor enormous market where you can buy just about anything you want. We stroll through the aisles of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, eggs, baked goods, spices and more and then head indoors to the meat section. This is in a league of its own. You can buy any part of any animal you want. By the time we get to what looks like enormous beef tongue I’ve had my fill and we head back to our meeting spot and grab a coldish drink while we wait. 

The heat here is truly unbearable. We had managed in Kazakhstan pretty well but here we are in the +40s and it takes its toll. We would like to get for lunch but the prospect of a 15mins walk is just too much. So we go searching for taxis. With 11 people it’s always a bit of an ordeal but we manage and head to a local Uzbek restaurant, Rayhon, which had some AC thankfully. 

Ordering is always an ordeal as there is very little english and I’m always terrified we will order something beyond my comfort level. Thankfully after fumbling with the translator app for awhile they produced an english menu for us. 

I should mention that we do get a lot of looks here. Not only are we white and probably not dressed the way they would like, but we are a huge group. We have tried to dress discreetly, but it’s hot and so while my shorts are below my knees or my skirts long, I do where a tank top some days and the girls are wearing a shorts and tank tops. I find that most people are understanding of us and haven’t felt discriminated against. 

After lunch we go to the Hazrati Imam Complex and visit the Mosque and the  Muyi Muborak Madrasah (Moyie Mubarek Library Museum), where we see the oldest known copy of the Quran. It’s pretty special and I feel really lucky to be in its presence. You can feel the history in these places and it’s very awe-inspiring. We lie in the grass in the Complex and rest and plan our next move. We are leaving Tashkent in a few hours and have seen what we want to see so we decide cold drinks are in order. Off to the gentlemen’s pub we go - which thankfully appears to just be the name of a pub. 

We head back to the hostel and I steal a quick shower before our taxis pick us up for the airport. 

We are off to Bukhara next where we will spend two nights. 

The check in process here is very confusing. We don’t realize that we are on a round trip flight plan that heads out to Urgench (past Bukhara), then back to Bukhara, then back to Tashkent. We insist on multiple boarding passes which confuses the agents and it’s not until our stop in Urgench that we realize that we just stay on the plane and people get on and off as necessary at the various stops. 

As I’ve said before, I’ve been very impressed with Uzbekistan Air. The planes are very modern and the piloting has been great. We arrive into Bukhara and it’s totally deserted except for one lady who waits to see if we have anything to declare....which we don’t. 

As we come out we see our drivers which were pre-arranged through the hotel. The night is warm but the air feels nice as we head to the old town with the windows rolled down. We chat a little with our driver and he tells me it was 48° there today. Yikes. 

Bukhara old town is beautiful as we drive in. The old town square is lit up and we can hear music playing. Our hotel is beautiful and comfortable and as we settle in for the night, I can say sense, and it turns out to be true, that I have one of the best sleeps I’ve had so far on this trip!

Day 4 - Almaty to Tashkent: something had to go wrong eventually

We decided that we had seen enough of the city and that we wanted to get into nature. Almaty is surrounded by amazing mountain ranges and we were keen to see if we could get closer to them. 

We arranged for drivers to pick us up at 11am to take us to the mountains, and enjoyed a relaxing morning until then. The girls stayed with grandma and grandpa and Erik at the hotel and had breakfast there, and Dave and I walked over to Big Apple for another great breakfast and coffee. We researched our next stop, Tashkent where we would be meeting Robert, Brian and Emily. They had had weddings to attend and had to fly in later than us. 

We packed up and left our luggage at the hotel. The hotel arranged for us to be picked up again at 3:30pm with our luggage and then take us to the airport to fly to Tashkent. 

We weren’t really sure where we were going, but as we drove upward, we realized that we were getting closer to mountains and the air was getting gloriously cooler! 

We appeared to be at a ski resort and bought tickets to the gondola. We had the option to go up one gondola or all three, and we decided to go right to the top. 

It was a beautiful ride. The first gondola was about 25mins and albeit a little on the warm side, the scenery was breathtaking. As we disembarked, we were at what felt like a mini whistler landing. It had beautiful patios and you could rent horses or quads or take the second gondola up. We understood that this level was the best for food, so we agreed to go all the way up and then come back down to this level to have a bite to eat before downloading. 

The next two rises were shorter, but it was getting cooler. Kazakhstan actually gets similar temperatures to Canada in the winter, so you could see how this would be a great spot for winter sports. 

When we reached the top it was cold and windy. It was such a reprieve from the heat we had been feeling for days. We explored the small area which had a yurt with two huskies outside and took some photos of Almaty below. It was cool to see a sign pointing out the direction and distance of two Canadian ski mountains, Whistler and Jasper. A little nod to our home country! 

The altitude was 3200m and that combined with the cold had me ready to head back down. 

Once we got to the first stage again we found a great patio and ordered drinks and lunch. It was picturesque and we decided that we should head down at about 2:45 to give us time to meet our drivers. 

We had noticed on our way up a man with an enormous eagle that you could have sit on your arm.  Fiona was keen to give this a shot and during lunch she headed over to give this a go. They loved having this adorable Canadian girl hold this giant bird. They cleared everyone out of the way and we got some great photos. She didn’t even flinch when the bird opened its wings around her head. I’m not sure I would have been as calm!  

Near the end of lunch I went to the bathroom and as I was washing my hands the lights in the bathroom flickered and then went out. The whole restaurant had been plunged into darkness. I didn’t think much of it. The restaurant was empty anyways as everyone was sitting outside. The interior of the restaurant was spectacular by the way. Decorated like an old chalet. It was really done nicely. 

When I went back outside to sit down. It became apparent that actually the power for the whole resort had gone out. The gondola had quit running. We could hear them trying to start a generator and then all of a sudden there was smoke everywhere. Erik and Dave ran over as they yelled fire and I was really nervous that something major was going down. Way to keep your cool guys! It turns out there was no fire, but the power was off and they were using the generator to get people that were on the gondola currently, off. They were not letting anyone else ride it.  Now, we didn’t get all this info for awhile as we couldn’t understand all the talk that was happening. It made me realize how hard it would be in an emergency situation if you didn’t understand the language. 

Our waiter told us in broken english that it would be about 10mins and we figured we were still ok for time as long as we left by 3pm at the latest. As time wore on though, and we had difficulty paying our bill as the credit card machines were down and the wifi was down, it became apparent that we might be getting into some trouble. We asked if a taxi could be called, you could drive all the way up, but we were told that it would take a long time as so many people were ahead of us that already had figured out what was going on. We needed to get moving, and we needed to move now. We had been using my google translate app to figure out how to pay the bill and I told our waiter that we had a plane to catch. He said it would take an hour to get down on foot. We could probably still make our flight. So we had him show us the way to the road. 

The road was incredibly steep, the kind of steep where you are actively holding yourself back from falling forward. It was hard on the knees and it was hot on the asphalt road. We soon realized the distance in front of us. There was no way this would be an hour walk. Bruce took off in front of us and the rest of us moved along as best we could. It was hard going and the girls were feeling the heat and exertion of the incline. 

We couldn’t get any cel reception to call the hotel to ask our drivers to pick us up - so we just trekked along. As the realization of the time, distance and heat set in, which didn’t take long! We realized we needed to get a body into the taxis going down the hill. If we could get one of us into one of the cars going down then we could bring a car back up to get the rest of us. 

We started to flag down cars. Dave was behind us with the girls and he got someone to stop. We saw him getting them all inside. They grabbed my mom next and then drove up to Erik and me.  I want sure there would be room for us too, but when I opened the door, our waiter from the restaurant was smiling at us! What a saviour. We can only assume that he had found someone to come and get us given our plight. It was hot and we were crammed like sardines, but we were now cruising done the hill and would make our flight! All we had to do now was find Bruce. As we drove further and further down, we realized that he must have also hitched a ride as he was nowhere in sight and he couldn’t possibly have gotten this far in front of us. As we neared the bottom we finally spotted him!  

We got to our drivers who were blissfully unaware of the trials we had had with the gondola. Ironically as we were loading into their cars, I looked up and wouldn’t you know it, the darn gondola was running again. Jeez!

Off we rode towards the airport. And you think our adventure would be over? But oh no! Our driver got it in his head that he needed to drive like a madman or we would miss our flight. Erik was in the front seat of our car and maybe he was giving off some kind of youthful vibes because he also put on loud dance and rap music, which was incredibly inappropriate to my old ears, but Cadence kept saying “I know this song” so we went with it. 

As he swerved through traffic, straddles the middle of the lines and off-roaded down the dirt shoulder is the highway, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cringe in fear. We arrived in one piece so I’m thankful for that. We unloaded our bags and got inside and it want long before the second car arrived with the rest of the group. Apparently he drove cautiously and only arrived moments later! 

We got checked in and sat in the very hot and very busy terminal waiting for our flight to be called. I am often a little nervous of regional airlines in foreign countries and we joked about how old the planes would be. We were pleasantly surprised. Uzbekistan Air has been great. The planes are well taken care of and the landings have been smooth. 

Upon arrival into Tashkent the customs process was smooth. People seem to get a kick out of us travelling to their country with our kids. The border agents were no exception and smiled and laughed and welcomed us to Uzbekistan.  

The heat of the evening struck us as we exited the terminal. It is definitely way hotter here! With the time change it’s about 7:30pm here. We are now officially on the other side of the world. A full 12 hours from home! 

We had organized drivers from our hostel to pick us up at the airport but either we were early or they were late and nobody was there. The local taxi drivers were haggling with us to drive us and were offering $10usd but our hostel was coming for $5usd and so darn it, we were going to wait for that! 

Little Fiona needed to find a bathroom and once we left the terminal they wouldn’t let us back in, so she and I walked a very long ways to find a closed bathroom, and even further to find an open one that wanted money. Thankfully the lady was feeling generous as I had no money! I’ll have to remember to keep some Soms on me in the future. I should know better as most public washrooms want payment. 

Our drivers finally arrived in quite honestly the smallest cars I’ve ever seen. Apparently Chevrolet has a monopoly here so these little Chevy cars are everywhere. The driver and owner of the hostel told us that if you want to own something other than a Chevy, you need to pay double. It was funny to see most people driving the same two types of cars. Having something else makes you really stand out. 

We got to our hostel and they had no record of our booking. Sweet! We had done most of our bookings with Bookings.com but this one we had done through Hostel World and apparently they don’t send much business through. Thankfully it was low season so there was space. I guess not that many people like to travel in 45° heat! Lol! We got settled in and waited for Brian, Robert and Emily to arrive. 

It had been a long day and I wasn’t sure that any of us would be up for going out when they arrived, but we all mustered up what we had left and ended up in a very traditional Uzbek restaurant with no english menu. Somehow food and beers were ordered and everyone survived. Little Fi fell fast asleep and had to be carried back to the hostel. It still feels like 38° outside which it probably is, but the walk home along the River with the Minor Mosque in the background is beautiful. 

We’ve made it to Uzbekistan and we are excited to explore tomorrow.  

Day 3 - Almaty

Jetlag got the best of me this morning, unfortunately. I woke up at 2:30 AM and could not get back to sleep, I laid in bed tossing and turning for ages before giving up and watching some TV on my phone (I’m re-watching all the seasons of the good wife), and doing some reading. By 6:30 AM I noticed Dave starting to toss and turn and figured we could both get up and get ready to start the day. 

We decided to venture outside of the hotel this morning for breakfast. I turned to Google to see what kind of options we could find nearby. 

We struck gold. We found the most amazing café called Big Apple  It had fantastic coffees and every single breakfast choice that we made was amazing. From cream cheese pancakes, to a variation on Eggs Benny to an avocado toast served with quinoa and rocket lettuce…we were in food heaven.

We felt a little museum’d out from our escapades yesterday. Today we decided to head for the pedestrian shopping area and just explore the city a little more aimlessly on foot. We found fountains to play in and lovely areas to walk through. We then decided that finding a spot to sit and have some lunch and some cold drinks would hit the spot. It’s really hot here at 35-38 degrees, so we are finding that we tire more easily. 

We found a wonderful little place called Fresco Cafe. The cocktails and beer were cold and refreshing and they served a variety of great snack options. It was a lovely way to spend a few hours and stay out of the sun. Travelling doesn’t always have to be about hitting every tourist destination in sight, sometimes sitting on a patio and doing as the locals do is a great way to see a city, in my opinion at least!

We then walked back to our hotel to cool down and rest. Cold showers all around! I did some blogging and the girls relaxed with their devices. Dave got in a good power nap and was feeling invigorated a few hours later. 

Knowing myself I could not take a nap or I would not be able to get back up again. I have the worst ability to take short naps. If I put my head on that pillow I just can’t get back up again. It’s like I’m drowning in my sleep. I’m not sure if this is just me or what, but after years of the same, I’m trying to combat it in a new way - no napping! I kept awake as best as I could despite being up since 2:30am. 

Around supper time we had some appies and drinks in our room and all the girls decided that they weren’t hungry for dinner. We stayed in and tried to stay awake as long as we could. 

The boys headed out for dinner and landed in a Shisha Place. From what I understand, they had a great time eating, drinking and puffing away. I didn’t wake at all when Dave came back in. 

Travelling with kids - we can do it, so can you

I know that people likely think we are nuts to take our kids to places such as this. I don’t blame them - it’s definitely unique for families to travel to off the beaten track locations with their kids. The thing is, for us travel isn’t just a thing we do, it’s in our blood, in our DNA - and for us it’s as natural as breathing.  

To give some history, my mothers parents, my grandparents, were avid travellers. My grandfather travelled a lot for work and during the war, and my grandmother travelled extensively as a mature adult. What’s cool about this particular trip is that it’s the very same places that my grandmother visited years ago. Her journals describe the areas of the Silk Road that we will be visiting ourselves. It’s kind of neat to think that we are walking in her footsteps all these years later. My grandfather bought our family travel agency, Lloyds Travel, in 1969 and it’s been with us ever since. When he died, in 1986, my mother took over the business, and while owning a travel agency does make travel more convenient, it’s not convenience that pushes us to explore the world. 

The first real trip I remember taking was when I was 9 years old. We went to France and we biked along the Loire valley. There were long days, days I wasn’t sure I would make it the distance we were trying to achieve. There were obstacles along the way but we survived and it left an impression on me. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my mom wanted us to travel, and so it meant we biked and/or camped in areas of Europe while I was young and my brothers were very young. We all went, we all pitched in and there was never a question of it being too hard or too complicated with us kids, we just went. 

The year I graduated from high school we went on our first trip to a third world country. We went to India and it was very different from what we had ever done before. But we were ready. We had travelled together, faced challenges together and now we were ready for the next level. My youngest brother Erik was 3 at the time and I’ll admit it was a hard trip. The boys were young and it was difficult for them to understand and remember not to brush their teeth with the water or put their hands in their mouth after touching something. It was hot, the culture was different, the food was different, many of us got sick and the poverty was eye opening. But we saw the most beautiful sites, I walked across the marble of the majestic Taj Mahal at age 17. We rode elephants, learned to haggle, had tea with carpet shop owners, slept on trains, and more. To this day the memories of that trip are still engrained in my mind. 

I can’t say that these trips are always super easy or fun. There are lots of exhausting days where you are dirty and covered in sweat and dreaming of the comforts of your own home. But the opportunity to see and feel, and smell and taste how other people live in the world is powerful. It’s these trips that have awoken in me and my family a sense of adventure and a yearning for more.

After India, our family would take many more trips together. My mom always worried that as we got older that we would never be able to find the time to travel together as a family anymore, and while that has happened over the years as each of us have had work and school commitments, we have managed to come together every few years to see a new part of the world. 

When I got married and started my own family, the travel has continued with them, why would it stop now that I had my own kids. We had travelled with my young brothers to remote parts of the world for years, why would I do anything different with my own children? The thought never crossed my mind that what we were doing was hard or dangerous or crazy. It was how I was raised and how I wanted my own children to be raised. Thankfully I have a very supportive husband that believes in what we do and is up for whatever crazy adventure that we dream up. 

As we abruptly initiated Dave and our kids into this world of travel, we have (I think) instilled in them a love for adventure, for meeting new people, for trying new foods, for learning how other people live, and for learning the history of the places we choose to explore. 

Is it hard? Of course it is. There are unique challenges to travelling with kids, especially when they are young. The packing process when they were young was rigorous and stressful. Jet-lag with kids is challenging and the long flights with them were trying. What I would say though is that at 7, 10 and 12, we now have three amazing travellers. 

The last few days have been challenging. We flew for 11 hours then sat in an airport for 4.5hrs then took another flight for 7. We are in a country that doesn’t speak english with food that is unusual. We are facing daily temperatures of 35-45 degrees and not always with access to somewhere to cool off. I’d say any one of those things would put a kid over the deep end and churn out a pretty awesome temper tantrum. What’s amazing though, is that these girls haven’t  complained once. I know they are tired, I know they are hot, I know that they are unsure about the food that gets placed in front of them, but still they don’t complain. 

If I let the fear of how they would do, or what they would eat, or how they would sleep, creep in and prevent us from pursuing these experiences, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It’s not a secret sauce that I’ve blended up to make them good travellers, it’s just been practice and exposure. Like with anything, the more you do something the easier it gets and the better you get at it. I’d recommend to anyone to take a leap of faith and give it a try. It’s easier than you think - and you get better at it. I also believe that the exposure and learning experiences they have on these trips far outweighs what you can learn in a textbook. 

I can already see the “good traveller” traits coming out in my girls as they get older. Cadence is reaching a whole new level of independence on this trip and Avery and Fiona take bold steps each and every day. 

I’m excited for their futures in travel and where they will embark to on their own when their turn comes. Cadence is already talking about her first solo trip that we will send her to after graduation. I hope she dreams big. 

My brothers and I have built a life filled with travel, and it has all stemmed from the big leaps that my mom and Bruce took with us as kids.