Khojand’s number one restaurant gives your change in sweets
We stayed for one night in the Tajikistan city of Khojand at the Hotel Sugdiyon. Rather than eating in, our guide suggested a place for dinner which was literally just round the corner. As this was our last night in the country and our Somoni stocks were running low, we wanted to know if credit […]…
Exploring the ancient sites around Penjikent
We stayed in Penjikent for one night, but despite it being Tajikistan’s 5th largest city, sights were few. However, it made a good base for exploring the surrounding area. Penjikent The Central Market Bazaar, through a grand entrance, was quiet as our visit coincided with Eid-al-Adha celebrations, but this meant that a small park, with […]…
A charming small guest house in Karakol
Hillside Karakol B&B, located in the Kyrgyzstan city, Karakol, was a small guest house of nine rooms where shoes had to be removed, but felt ‘yurt slippers’ were provided. Our room was very small with hardly any room around the comfortable double bed, which had only one pillow each. There was a wall mounted TV, […]…
Our dinner was the price of the blanket in the room
Whilst on route between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, we stayed for one night in Uzbekistan at the Hotel Asia Fergana, one of a small chain of five hotels in Uzbek Silk Road cities. The rather striking looking receptionist with excellent English suggested a king-size bed and quickly arranged for a porter to take us to our […]…
Escaping the South Korean President
The South Korean President was visiting the Silk Road city of Samarkand during our stay, and as much of the city was going to be locked down, we took the opportunity to visit Shakhrisabz, one of Central Asia’s most ancient cities. During the two-hour scenic drive, we had several stops. The first at a natural […]…
Ruins and Restoration at Turkmenistan’s first UNESCO site
In 1999 the State Historical and Cultural Park of Ancient Merv became Turkmenistan’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site as it is the oldest and best-preserved of the oasis-cities along Central Asia’s Silk Road. After a 6.30am flight from the capital Ashgabat, our sightseeing began early, and on arrival, we couldn’t resist stopping to photograph a […]…
A yurt camp on the edge of Kyrgyzstan’s second largest lake
Our Central Asia tour included three yurt camps, but our stay at Son Kul was the only one with a two-night stay. I was therefore a little apprehensive, as although we had stayed at some quirky places, we’d developed the mantra, ‘it’s fine for one night’. However, it got off to a positive start when […]…
Staying with in a Kyrgyz family home
Kyrgyzstan has a growing Community Based Tourism Association providing the opportunity to stay with local families in their homes. To break our journey between Toktogul Reservoir and Son Kul, we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary in the small village of Kyzyl-Oi, staying with Tinatin Saidinova and her family. There are nine such houses in the […]…
A no-alcohol hotel for our first night in Kyrgyzstan
Our first night in Kyrgyzstan was spent at the Grand Hotel Chavo in Osh, the country’s second-largest city. At check in we were handed two key cards for rooms 211 and 205. After a difficult conversation due to the Receptionist’s lack of English, we made our way up to the 2nd floor clutching the card […]…
A bizzare stay near the Toktogul Reservoir
Our itinerary suggested we were staying overnight at a local guesthouse, so Kok-Bel Hotel, and I use the word ‘hotel’ loosely, was totally unexpected: a long cream, utilitarian-looking two-storey building. It was located on the shores of the Toktogul Reservoir, the largest in Central Asia, which powers the dam downstream and supplies the majority of […]…
The simple rooms did not match the ornate exterior
Our final night in Tajikistan was spent in Khojand, formerly Leninabad, at the Sugdiyon Hotel. We hoped it had evolved from its former incarnation, the Leninabad Hotel, which Lonely Planet described as ‘this patched up Soviet tower operates only two floors and décor has evolved little since 1990’. The signs were good, as on arrival […]…
The Taj Palace wasn’t a palace, but it was our best stay in Tajikistan
Whilst visiting the Tajikistan city Dushanbe, formerly Stalinabad, we stayed for two nights at the Taj Palace Hotel. Our reasonably-sized room, 301 on the third floor, had two queen-size beds with crisp white bedding and pillows, a central bedside table and reading lights. There was a wardrobe with safe, TV, unplugged empty fridge, desk with […]…
