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A Week Tracing the Silk Road in Uzbekistan
After almost a month of hiking and enjoying nature in the countryside, we crossed the border into Uzbekistan for a week of culture and history. Uzbekistan was part of the famous Silk Road and there are still a few well-preserved cities – primarily Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva — in the country with the stunning Islamic…
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8 Days in the Alay Mountains of Kyrgyzstan
Our final activity in Kyrgyzstan was an 8-day trek in the Alay Mountains, located in the southwest of the country. Although we love hiking, we are not backpackers. So we decided to join a group trek for the first time. We booked the “Best of Alay” 8-day tour with Visit Alay. Osh. It was the…
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Relaxing at the Beautiful Lakes of Kyrgyzstan
After Karakol and the Ala-Kul hike, we spent a week traveling westward to enjoy the two most famous lakes in Kyrgyzstan – Issyk Kul and Song Kul – with a stop at Jeti Oguz en route. Jeti Oguz – the Beautiful Red Rock “Seven Bulls” After the Ala Kul hike, we originally planned to go…
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The Amazing, Challenging Ala-Kul Trek
Two Days in Karakol, the Launching Point for Ala-Kul We had two nights in Karakol, a popular city for hikes and outdoor activities, before we set off on the popular Ala-Kul trek. Ala-Kul is a beautiful mountain lake located at 3900m. Our first night, we went to eat Ashlan-Fu, a cold noodle dish originating in…
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Bishkek: Our Introduction to Kyrgyzstan
From Cappadocia, we flew to Istanbul where we had a long layover and then took a red eye flight to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Our Cappadocia flight was delayed by almost 3 hours. Luckily, we had planned a long layover in case of flight delays, so we still had plenty of time to catch…
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Cappadocia: A Real-Life Fantasy Land
Arriving in Göreme, Our Base in Cappadocia We arrived in Cappadocia at 10am after a short 1.5-hr morning flight from Istanbul to Kayseri airport. We took a public shuttle arranged by our hostel to Göreme, the main tourist town in Cappadocia. The public shuttle is much cheaper than a taxi, but it took almost 1.5-hr…
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Four Days in Vibrant, Beautiful Istanbul
Our journey to Istanbul from Mauritius was long. We took a 6.5-hour red-eye flight to Dubai, had a 7-hour layover, then took a 4.5-hour flight to Istanbul – 18 hours in total. We took advantage of our Priority Pass to go to two different lounges where we napped in comfy chairs and ate breakfast during…
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Rest and Relaxation Week in Mauritius
After a month of consistently being on the move in southern Africa, we arrived in Mauritius to rest and recharge for a week (June 20 – 27, 2024). We are both generally fast paced, ambitious travelers that want to do and see as much as we can when on a trip. This was a big…
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Last Stops in Southern Africa: Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park
After three days at Etosha National Park, we drove back to Windhoek for one night before flying out to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe the next morning. We stayed at a simple guest house and had our last meal in Namibia at a cute local spot called The Wine Bar. I had a delicious oxtail stew and…
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Closing Out Namibia: Swakopmund and Etosha National Park
World Famous Apple Pie on the Way to Swakopmund From Sossusvlei, we drove over 5 hours to reach the small coastal city of Swakopmund. There is absolutely nothing for hours on end with the only semblance of civilization being a small stop called Solitaire. To call Solitaire a village is an overstatement. It is just…