ironmanjt

No sooner had I gotten back from Johannesburg than I found out that the new job I took starting the day I returned had a trip planned for me. I expected it would maybe be one new country, but as planning has evolved it's now planned for nearly three weeks and four new countries! Score!

If you'd like to see my other trip reports:

I. London to Iran and Afghanistan in a mix of C, F, and LCCs
II. Above the Arctic Circle with UA/CO/LH and SK in whY, C, and F
III. Around the World in 40 Days for 40 Years
IV. 8 Places People Who Are Right in the Head Do Not Spend New Years
V. 12 Countries, 10 Airlines, 4 Islands, 27,080 miles, 11 Days
VI. 6 Countries in 6 Days - Caribbean Island Hopping and first AA Experience
VII. Guyana, Suriname, and French Guyana with an unexpected sidetrip to Caracas!
VIII. To Haïti - for vacation and a milage run!
IX. Around Senegal and West Africa
X. 4th Annual New Years in Dangerous Places - Libya Edition
XI. Kosovo and FYR Macedonia - Milage Run in United Business + TK/LH
XII. To Johannesburg...for 36 hours!

The downside of this trip is not getting to really play tourist too much, but you can't complain about getting to go to four relatively out of the way countries without it costing any vacation time or out of pocket expense! Things are pretty much lined up now, and the the route looks like:



Plan is to visit four new countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Assuming the visas show up in time, all systems should be go for this trip! Lots of long segments on Lufthansa...perhaps in First if upgrades clear, along with a couple long segments on dreaded Turkish 737s from Sarajevo to Istanbul to Bishkek. Also, two new airlines: Uzbekistan Airlines and Air Astana, one on an A320 and the other on an ERJ-190. This assumes, again, that everything happens as planned...

Not sure how many sights I'll get a chance to see, but I'll definitely make an attempt to review the flights, check out the local restaurants, and use my evenings wisely to at least try and see some sights around town! Plus, I should have a full weekend day in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, so that should be a chance to see a fair bit!

More to come soon!

Part I: Washington to Sarajevo on Lufthansa and Turkish
Part II: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Part III: Sarajevo, BiH to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Turkish Airlines
Part IV: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Part V: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Almaty, Kazakhstan and time in Almaty
Part VI: Almaty, Kazakhstan to Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Uzbekistan Airways
Part VII: Daytrip to Samarkand, Uzbekistan - Part I
Part VIII: Daytrip to Samarkand, Uzbekistan - Part II
Part IX: Playing tourist in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Part X: Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Washington, Dulles on Air Astana and Lufthansa

TWA4Me

Looking forward to your trip report, as the SA report was great!

BA5E

sounds an interesting Trip look forward to reading it when it starts to take shape

CHSDOC

Awesome!

What is your new job? I need a position that allows such travel!

ironmanjt

Well, it's now been re-ticketed no less than 14 times in the last 3 days so it promises to be quite the adventure! ...and if upgrades don't clear, a MIDDLE SEAT in Lufthansa business...which with its slopey seat is already bad enough!

rankourabu

Are you not going to see anything else in the countries apart from Bishkek and Tashkent? Samarakand, Bukhara, the lake and mountains in Kyrgyzstan??

Kyrgyzstan is an awesome place if you like nature - even two weeks wasnt enough!
By far my favourite 'stan.
I assume you'll have a local to show you around - it definitely helps in the 'stans.

Kazakhstan is fun too, but not too much to see. Uzbekistan got the culture, and Turkmenistan... is just weird.

Didnt get to Tajikistan, because I opted for spending 2 weeks in Iran instead.

ironmanjt

Well, it's not looking likely....it's a work trip so not sure. I may have a full weekend in Tashkent and Kyrgyz, in which case I'll make a point to get out of town.

I understand Bukhara is an easy weekend trip from Tashkent? I've also heard a day in the mountains from Bishkek is doable.

rankourabu

Only if you can fly. I think Samarkand is only like a 4 hours drive. We flew to Urgench (for Khiva) on UzAir, and drove back to Tashkent. Roads are a mix of decent to ones built by Brezhnev in not so good condition.

From Bishkek, its not far to get to the lake. Cholpon-Ata is an interesting town on the lake, and a fantastic night out, Russian style.

hauteboy

Samarkand is closer than Bukhara... you can do a day trip there as there is now a fast train running from Tashkent, 2.5 hrs leaving in morning and returning in the evening. Bukhara you could do as a two-day trip but you wouldn't get much time unless you did an overnight train.

http://www.seat61.com/SilkRoute.htm#...%20-%20Bokhara

Here's my trip report to the -stans from last year:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...q-balkans.html

ironmanjt

Thanks so much for this - I have the fast train booked for Samarkand, so I'll at least get to see it! Also got out of Bishkek for a full day into the mountains...it's been an epic trip considering it's a business trip. Few days left and trip report to start soon!

mad_atta

How much time do you have to spare in Bishkek? Do you have to daytrip or can you overnight?

If you can do an overnight, I'd suggest trying to make it to lake Song Kul, rather than to Issyk Kul. Issyk Kul is interesting in a sociological way, to see all the drunken Kazakhs holidaying in the resort towns on its shores, like Cholpon-Ata, but Song Kul is an incredibly beautiful little alpine lake surrounded by yurts and rolling grassland. Apparently it's not difficult to arrange a tour from Bishkek, and the travel time would be reasonable, though it might be a bit chilly still at this time of year. We drove through the region last year, take a look here if you're interested. Kyrgyzstan is stunningly beautiful once you get up into the hills, so it would be a great shame to be stuck in Bishkek the whole time, which from what I hear is pleasant but unremarkable (we bypassed it).

If you have the chance to detour to Samarkand you should definitely do it, the Registan is amazing. The fast train from Tashkent sounds like a great option. Bukhara is a beautiful and much smaller place, but you'd have to fly to get there quickly from Tashkent. (Khiva is lovely too, arguably the nicest of the lot, though even further away - and beware the road from Bukhara to Khiva has some of the most diabolically cratered asphalt ever to be called a 'road'.)

If you have even a spare few hours in Almaty it's easy to get up into the mountains which overlook the city.

It's a really interesting part of the world - enjoy!

ironmanjt

I'd been watching this flight for a few weeks leading up to it, and was incredibly disappointed it would be an old 747-400 on the day I needed to fly. .Not only that, but when I booked the only seats left in business were middle seats. .Mildly disappointing...I know....#firstworldproblems but still. .Since the flight was F6 and I didn't see needing all my United systemwide upgrades, I decided to take the chance and have one printed for use on this flight. .Then, 48 hours before the flight, it was changed...to the new 747-800 and I had an aisle seat in the middle. .Score! .I began to question if I really wanted to upgrade, but of course, the chance to be spoilt won out!

When I got to Dulles, it was still F6, and upon checkin at the first class counter about 3 hours before flight time the upgrade was instantly confirmed. .Score!



First stop was the United First lounge for some snacks. .For once, I didn't get trouble getting in being on Lufthansa and they let me in...only questioning why I'd want to use their lounge instead. .That said, it was time for a couple glasses of champers, and some of the delicious United First lounge shrimp cocktail!



About 75 minutes before the flight I hopped on the train, and headed back to the B terminal to wait out boarding in the Lufthansa senator lounge with a colleague. .Another glass of champers, a bit of phone charging, and soon it was time to board!



Boarding was on time, and soon it was onto the 747-800 for another fantastic Lufthansa First experience!

More on my blog at this link!

ironmanjt

Landed late evening in Sarajevo, and after a short wait for baggage we found the hotel drive which we'd arranged online waiting for us right outside customs. A quick maybe 15 minute or so ride, and we were at the hotel which I'll talk more about later. It was already after 8pm at this point, and it was a national holiday in Bosnia, so we just went for a short walk around the river to see if we could find a cafe for dinner and walk off a bit of the jetlag. Managed to find a small cafe/pizza shop in a mall that was still open for a quick snack, and it was relatively early to bed.

No meetings the next day until mid-afternoon, so was nice to sleep in a bit and recover and walk around the city a bit. All told, I think we ended up walking a good 10km in the morning, which was fantastic for getting rid of a bit of the jetlag. Most of the following pictures were taken on that morning walk, but some are from random walks in between meetings the next several days.

After walking a few km, the first major site was the Latin Bridge, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated, largely sparking World War I.



Another nearby cool bridge:



The central square in the old town - at day and night. .The old town had a distinctly east-meets-west feeling, with the call to prayer constantly heard, several mosques, and a really unique blend of people and cultures:





The rest of the post is on my blog at this link

mad_atta

Thanks for posting ^

Interesting to see shots of Sarajevo, which is not somewhere well covered by trip reports. Nor, of course is Kyrgyzstan - I'm definitely looking forward to that instalment.

So how are you doing on the Travelers Century Club list?

ironmanjt

I'm at 182 of 321 - definitely getting there! I should put up a progress page towards that on my blog....