Tuesday 23 June 2009

23 June 2009

Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Just a quickie from the gateway to Issyk Kul (big, pretty lake. Second highest Alpine lake in the world, you know). In a dodgy net cafe, so no pics to post (and I've only taken ones of rocks anyway since we last spoke.)

Homestay tonight--these are really more like B&Bs than someone's house, and today's is pretty spectacular. Lilac satin bedspread, embroidered with a large white ruched heart in the centre and at the corners. Whole room coordinates. Romance in the Stans!

With the wifi in Bishkek we've managed to put some planning into action as concerns the second and third leg of our Epic Journey. Have booked a camper van for two to drive ourselves around Oz from mid-October to mid-November. Comes with a bed and cooker and icebox, and will seem luxury after the Truck for six months. And if I haven't learned to feed two of us on a single burner by then, I will have wasted all of Cheryl's good influence for the last half-a-year. Hoping to see old friends (hi Ben!) and new (hi Corrie & Louise!) while we putter about in what is called a Wicked Camper.

Parents and other people looking into when to buy us Christmas gifts--we are leaving Sydney on 18 November, stopping in Fiji for four nights (because why not?) and arriving a LAX on 22 November. Thanksgiving in Green Valley, then driving across country to be in NJ for Christmas.

I would like Taco Bell meximelts, Arnieri's pizza, new underwear, and a place to stay for longer than 3 nights.
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3 comments:

A Wicked Evangelist said...

Hey guys, see you've booked a Wicked for your roadtrip around Oz - that's fantastic! Let me know if you need any advice about what to see on your travels. Only happy to help. Enjoy the rest of your travels!

24 June 2009 at 08:28
Anonymous said...

Oh no...I think I deleted my comment!! so this may be a redux! Liz and I arrived home from Korea's Jeju Island yesterday.(A 24 hr journey- ugh!)
We arrived in Seoul on the 16th and met up with the Irish clan to attend Maurice and Inju's wedding which was lovely. A small gathering of friends and family (maybe 40) held at a Jesuit University chapel and an elegant reception in the sky room of the university admin center. Her mom, grandmom and niece wore traditional clothes - beautiful! They treated us to hair and makeup so we were "done-up" for the wedding. Two gals came to the hotel and primped, powdered and curled us up. The rehearsal dinner was followed by a traditional Korean musical - great fun.
Seoul was fascinating - 23mil people. The city was incredibly clean and remarkabley quiet..no horn honking cars or sirens blaring thru the city. We saw maybe three homeless (or maybe they were locals worn out from all the steps and just napping in the subway) Old palaces throughout the area = an interesting backdrop to the modern Seoul whih is very high tech from electonic billboards to a remarkable subway system. Despite all the high tech escalators and elevators were at a premium...this old gal has never climbed so many stairs...literally thousands of them (at least it felt that way!). I'm still huffin' and puffin'. Went to the DMZ - sobering! Seoul and it's markets is a shoppers paradise from "chatzkie" to high end. Remarkable. Food was interesting. Kimchi is certainly an acquired taste! Korean BBQ quite good as is their beer - can't forget that. Despite the fact that English is their 2nd language - not much spoken and those that do, do so with difficulty. Charades certainly helped. The people are very gentle and polite, and everyone is thin and fit (must be those stairs!)Nary an overweight person in sight despite lots of Dunkin'Donuts, Starbucks, MacDonalds around. We flew to Jeju Island for four days - Korea's Hawaii. Palm trees, beautiful beaches, tropical flowers - a perfect opposite experience from bustling Seoul. Had an extraordinary 2hr massage.
So we have lots of memories and I've made some new friends...in fact I'm now adopted into the Irish clan. Michael had a bit of a problem with pronouncing Ern - I told him to just call me Erin (close enough) - yet another AKA for me! Really enjoying your travel blog.Not sure I would survive the trip! I've not heard of some of these places. All I can say is WOW!
XOX Ern

26 June 2009 at 20:47
Anonymous said...

Wow, amazing how simple a Christmas wish list becomes when you spend many months shoved in a big truck with a bunch of people and few showers. :) Hope things are going well!

2 July 2009 at 03:48

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