Visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Since early 2007, I have been wanting to gear my future travels towards visiting more locations which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are so many amazing places around the world to see!

Here is the list that I have already visited so far. Click on the links to see pictures from my Picasa albums.

Total count: 51 sites in 18 countries

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 6: Bicycling in Lyon

The roadtrip was over and we went our separate ways this morning. A few of us took the car back to Lyon, and after a quick drop-off at Saint Exupéry Airport, the car took me to the Hilton Lyon where I would be staying the night.

Checking in was a breeze at the hotel, and soon I was able to drop my luggage in my rather spacious room. Too bad my room didn’t come with a view of either the beautiful riverside or the adjoining Parc de la Tête d’Or, but that’s what happens when you book through one of those hotel booking websites…

It’s lunchtime and I’m hungry again. I venture out of the hotel and decide to rent a bicycle from a station just outside the hotel, one of hundreds citywide. Instead of getting frustrated like I did in Paris 2 years ago, this time I found the process incredibly easy. Soon I was on the bike going down the biking/jogging path right next to the Rhône River, heading into town looking for lunch.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 5: The best of Chateauneuf

Got an early start this morning since we had 3 appointments before lunch.  First stop was at Clos Saouma, the new property from Mounir Saouma and Rotem Brakin of Burgundy's Lucien Le Moine.  Details of the visit are here.

Our next stop is with an MNSC old friend, at Château de Beaucastel.  Details of the visit are here.

Our final stop before lunch is at the legendary Domaine Henri Bonneau to meet the man himself.  Details of the visit are here.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 4: Pope and Avignon

We left Maison Pic early this morning and said goodbye to northern Rhône, heading down south to focus on Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Our first visit was at Domaine Roger Sabon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape this morning.  Details of the visit are here.

Next we headed to Tavel and visited Domaine de la Mordorée.  Details of the visit are here.

Fabrice very kindly treated us to lunch at the restaurant in La Mirande, the hotel in Avignon where we were staying.

Wedding in Reims day 6: playing tourist in Versailles

We had a late start to the day, both due to the late night and our decision to change rooms at the hotel. Fortunately room 62 was available with no smelly bed, so we didn't have to worry about changing hotels on a Sunday.

We walked north on rue Vieille du Temple deeper into the Marais, passing by a popular boulangerie/pâtisserie where we picked up a giant sablé aux fraises and a giant palmier. We would save these for the afternoon. But first, gotta find somewhere casual for lunch...

We settled on Les Philosophes, a café with some outdoor seating facing rue Vieille du Temple. It looked busy so the food couldn't have been that bad. And sure enough, we weren't disappointed.

I started with assiette de rillettes - whose size I underestimated along with the amount of bread that I would consume. This was slightly less fatty than what I'd normally find at Brasserie on the Eighth in Hong Kong, but delicious nonetheless.

For main course I would order - yes, you guessed it - andouillette de la ville de Rodez! I figured that this would be my last chance to have it for a while, so what the heck... The sausage was yummy, and just about the best out of the three on this trip. I do have to say, though, that the look of this thing was a little disturbing...

The surprisingly thing about this place is the wine list. For a café of this size and calibre, the list was disproportionately heavy in Guigal LaLaLa's. What's more the prices for these wines were very reasonable, too, especially for a restaurant. If it had been dinner time, I would have seriously considered opening a bottle...

Fully stuffed, I hopped on the RER C5 to Versailles Rive Gauche. It was getting late as we arrived and started lining up to purchase our entrance tickets. I haven't played tourist in Paris for so long, I forgot how crowded these places can get. The sky was gray so I was totally not in the mood to take pictures of the exterior... When we finally got to the ticket counter, we were told it was too late for us to visit Marie Antoinette's Hameau de la Reine next to the Petit Trianon. It's a pity...maybe I'll just have to come back another time.

We enter the palace and go through the big maze that it is, initially bypassing the halls filled with paintings of the nobility which I found boring. Not that I don't like art, but I didn't come to Versailles to see a bunch of paintings of dukes and duchesses who were full of themselves...

But the palace IS grand - a full reflection of the Sun King's stature and the power of France at the time. Massive paintings on the walls and ceilings. Of course everyone came to see the Hall of Mirrors, the grandest part of the château where Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles to end WWI. A detour leads to the Queen's Suite, where we see the bed of Marie Antoinette which has been beautifully restored.

At this point I was suddenly hit with exhaustion. The lack of sleep over the last few days - plus carrying around my heavy camera bag - just overwhelmed me. It felt like I'd been hit with a giant hammer, and all my energy just drained away. From this point on I would stagger around, barely wandering around the gardens outside, before taking the return journey back to the hotel.

I dropped my camera gear at the hotel, change into a jacket and tie, and head off to the Four Seasons George V for a dinner at Le Cinq. I've been looking forward to this dinner for a long time, as everyone seems to be in love with this place. It had never been high on my list since it is "only" a 2-star, but I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

I knew that we weren't going to go for the tasting menu - which was a bummer - so we had to pick something a la carte. Our server Franck offered to split the starters for us so we could share them - which was a great idea.

I went through the wine list and picked out something that would be tough to get in Asia: 1973 Trimbach Riesling Clos Saint-Hune - France's single best Riesling. I wanted to see what this wine tastes like after aging. It was so elegant and subtle, not overpowering as I expected. Nose of minerals, lemon, petrol, plastic and honey - all typical Riesling elements - came at you with a velvet glove and gradually opened up. What a wonderful wine.

We were presented with a small basket of calamari and crayfish fritters, which interestingly came with bamboo skewers traditionally found in Japanese yakitori joints. I guess that's another sign that chefs are getting their inspiratons from around the world. Then there's the trio of amuse bouche: marinated octopus with red olives, onions and sundried tomatoes; a small, salty puff pastry that begs the question "Why?"; and an interesting gazpacho made from watermelon, avocado, sesame seeds, cumin and some pop rocks buried at the bottom which tickled our tongues.

Interestingly, this was the second restaurant in Paris which served seaweed butter. It's really, really yummy and I can devour a whole box of this easily...

Green asparagus from the Lubéron region blanched with poultry juice, gnocchi/Jabugo ham, sour ewe cream with matcha tea - this was the "hot and cold" plate that I had heard about. The asparagus was indeed yummy as it is in season. The hot spears had slices of jamon and red olives on top, with some lemon zest gnocchi. It's a classic combo of ham and asparagus.

The cold asparagus spear rested on top of some crème fraîche and there's a dab of caviar on top with lemon zest. The shot glass with the asparagus cream was kinda interesting.

Abalone from the Brittany seacoast wth seaweed butter, watercress fondant, hen broth flavored with lemongrass - I was intrigued by the presence of abalone on the menu, and decided to see how they would do it. One sits on top of a buttered mash with carrots; the other is topped with a nice watercress fondant. The texture of the abalone was pretty nice, not unlike what I've had elsewhere here in Asia.

The cold abalone was chopped and marinated like a tartare, which was pretty nice and sweet. The broth was flavored with a stick of lemongrass, which was a nice combination.

For main course we decided to pass on the roast leg of lamb for two recommended by Franck, which was probably a good thing because the whole thing looked huge. They did it with a whole load of herbs and spices, and I could smell the rosemary and pine leaves from 2 tables away...

Instead I took the suckling pig "Basque Race" from the Aldudes Valley: rack roasted with sage, trotters and cheeks slowly-stewed with spring vegetables. The plate looked lovely - three, actually four different ways to do the pig. But I was suddenly hit with fatigue again, this my appetite waned. Despite the delicious piggy, I just wasn't able to shovel it in. The veggies on the side actually had a hidden treasure: stuffed pig cheeks. I think we were definitely surprised by the size of the portions here.

I've been dreaming about enjoying the cheese selection here at Le Cinq, as it could only be even better than what Jeremy has at sister restaurant Caprice in Hong Kong. But there was no way I could fit that in without doing some serious damage.

We decided to skip dessert, but still got a pre-dessert of raspberries and cream. I couldn't pass up the petits fours, though, and got myself a canelé and some nougats.

I'm exhausted, stuffed and drunk, so what else can I do but ride the métro back to the hotel and collapse?

Wedding in Reims day 5: a wish fulfilled

It's the day after the wedding, and everyone feels a little exhausted. We bid our farewells after breakfast and begin to go our separate ways. I've got a little time left in Reims and decide to revisit the Notre Dame and do some final bit of Champagne shopping.

I've always loved the Notre Dame in Reims. It's not as grand as the one in Paris, and because of its location it receives far less tourists. But it is the site for the coronation of every King of France for many centuries, so it does have its own special place in history. Last but not least, it has the set of stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall depicting the life of Jesus. This alone makes it very, very special in my book.

I have a bit more time left and continue my quest for Champagne. I did eventually find a shop next to Notre Dame that carried Jacques Selosse wines, but they would only sell one bottle to each customer, and you had to buy something else of equivalent value. Painful, but I was out of options. I deliberated a bit and settled on a bottle of Jacques Selosse Exquise, a wine supposedly made for chefs like Pierre Gagnaire to accompany their desserts. Given that only 1,000 bottles of this are made each year, I was content to walk away with my single bottle...

The TGV journey back to Paris was mostly uneventful, except for a nearby neighbor who really needed a good bath. Soon I found myself checking into the Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais. This is a charming boutique hotel near the Hôtel de Ville in the Marais, named after the author of the Marriage of Figaro. The hotel itself is tiny, and so were the rooms as it turns out. We barely had enough room to open up our large suitcase. I'm used to small Parisien hotel rooms but this one took the cake...

Right as I was settling into my cozy room, I received a call from my helpful friend telling me that a pair of Birkins were available at the Hermès flagship store on Faubourg St-Honoré, but I only had half an hour before the store closed. We rushed over and managed to sneak through the door just past the official closing time.

Unfortunately, we were told that there were no more Birkins for the day, and once again the saleslady suggested that we return on Monday at an earlier time. We did however manage to pick up a Kelly for another friend, and befriended a new contact for our upcoming return on Monday. Hopefully I would be able to accomplish my mission then...

We weren't really hungry for a while, so we ended up having dinner late. I finally got the chance to go to Le Train Bleu, the classic brasserie in the Gare de Lyon. I've been wanting to come here ever since I saw "Nikita" during my college days. The desire heightened when my friend Cathy gave me "Les Plus Beaux Restaurants de Paris" a couple of years later, and the restaurant featured prominently on the book's cover. The dining room just looked so beautiful and grand, and it did not disappoint in real life!

I started with saucisson pistaché à la Lyonnaise en brioche, sauce Périgueux. I was intrigued by the idea of stuffing the big sausage inside the brioche, and I just couldn't resist another meal with sausage. The black truffle sauce was very, very nice...

Soufflé de sandre, sauce Nantua aux queues d'ecrevisses, tombée d'épinards primeur et pois gourmands - this is a savory soufflé made from zander with crayfish sauce, on a bed of spinach, mushrooms and crayfish tails. This was pretty tasty, but not surprisingly a bit heavy...

We shared a refreshing dessert of rose gelée, yuzu sorbet with red fruits. The different sweet and sour red fruits worked in harmony with the sorbet and the jelly, and I really, really liked this one.

It was almost midnight by the time we were done, making it another long day... Final note: the hotel bed in room 22 was actually 2 single beds put together. For some reason, the center of the bed smelled like old gym socks... I guess this was just a day for us to experience the smelly side of France...

Bordeaux trip day 4: Rive Droite

We are leaving Bordeaux today, but would be spending the last half-day touring the Right Bank appellations of St. Emilion and Pomerol. This would turn out to be quite a contrast with the estates of the Médoc.

We left the hotel a little late, so we knew that we would not be able to make it to Angelus on time. This was a shame because they were the first to put a price on the 2008 primeur at a 40% reduction compared to 2007, and it would have been interesting to hear what they had to say.

We headed directly to our second stop – Ausone. This estate has become the new superstar of Bordeaux – some would call it the “new Petrus.” The beautiful and historic estate sits on a little hill on the edge of the town of St. Emilion. When we arrived, however, we discovered to our great dismay that Mr. Vauthier was otherwise occupied and had tried to reschedule our visit to the afternoon. This was, of course, not possible as we would have all left Bordeaux by then. So we had to settle for taking a few snaps in front of the cellar, and hope that we would have another chance to visit this famed estate.

After a quick cup of café au lait, we drove through the medieval St. Emilion town and headed for L’Evangile. The estate is owned by Barons de Rothschild, the “Lafite branch” of the family.

2008 Blason de l’Evangile – minty nose with soft fruit and very round tannins. Acidity was a bit high.

2008 L’Evangile – richer and more concentrated than the Blason, with mint notes. There were more tannins here but very soft and silky.

We headed next door to La Conseillante, where we were given a tour by the Director, Jean-Michel Laporte.

2008 Conseillante – a very soft wine with a full body. Fruity and minty nose with vanilla notes.

2004 Conseillante – sweet fruit and farmy nose with smoked meats. Lots of soft tannins and drinking very nicely right now.

2006 Conseillante – more sweet and ripe black fruits, with a bit of smoke and bacon fat. A racy and sexy wine, with soft tannins. Lovely.

Next door is Vieux Château Certan, where we were greeted by owner Alexandre Thienpont. It’s still a family-run winery and it’s clear that they really focus on making the best wine.

2008 Vieux Château Certan – beautiful with soft tannins and good acidity balance. Fruity nose with coffee and toasty oak notes. This was actually taken from a Sylvain barrel selected by me.

Next we asked Alexandre to give us another glass, this time taken from a Seguin Moreau barrel, so we could taste how the same wine develops differently according to barrel. This glass was much more open and forward, which justifies Alexandre’s choice of having 80% of barrels from Seguin Moreau.

Our last stop before lunch was the holy grail of Pomerol – Château Pétrus. We did a quick tour of the vineyard and the cellars, and finally ended up at the tasting room where we ran into Olivier Berrouet, the current winemaker whose father was responsible for many legendary vintages of Pétrus. As I explained to the others, I just could not justify spitting out Pétrus…so I drank both glasses.

2008 Pétrus – nose of red fruits and mint, with a little vanilla, forest and coffee. Very soft tannins and slightly sweet on the palate. Quite a long finish, or as the French would call it – caudal.

2006 Pétrus – Wow! What a wine! The nose was totally open, with red fruits, smoke, marmalade and mint. It was a bit sharp and alcoholic, but the tannins were so soft. A little sweet on the palate. Totally yummy, and I’m not saying this just because I know I’m drinking Petrus!

Our lunch at Cheval Blanc was hosted by Pierre Lurton, the General Manager of the estate (and Yquem, Cheval des Andes, or whatever project Bernard Arnault throws at him!) We started in the tasting room, where Pierre’s eldest child Lucy poured the wines for us. As we all know, some of the jobs in Bordeaux can be inherited…

2008 La Tour du Pin – tannins were rougher than the other wines this morning. The wine was more extracted and alcoholic. Decent acidity on finish.

2008 Le Petit Cheval – nose of ripe fruit and a bit of smoke, with a spicy finish. More concentration here and tannins were more evident.

2008 Cheval Blanc – nose was more open than the other two wines, with mint, vanilla and caramel notes. Good acidity on the palate but a very grippy finish.

We enter the château and enjoy some Champagne and canapés. Thin slices of lomo and cured salmon on toast were nice, and the shot of asparagus soup – no doubt flavored with ham broth – was a bit salty but excellent. The 2000 Dom Perignon was amazing, and better than the magnum we had at Pontet-Canet… But one would expect that the condition of the Champagne would be excellent, of course, given that Mr. Arnault is Chairman of LVMH which produces Dom Perignon… The Champagne was very fresh with lots of bubbles. Good balance between ripeness and acidity, with toasty and yeasty notes.

We continued our visit in the intimate dining room, whose setting was elegant without being over-the-top.

Œuf soufflé, aiguillettes de canard, cœur de sucrine – the egg soufflé was absolutely awesome. Once you cut open the light and airy egg whites, the liquid yolk oozes out like molten lava. The aiguillettes - part of the duck breast - were simply salted, and the gem lettuce hearts did a nice job of balancing out the meat.

Pièce de bœuf, pommes de terre ecrasées aux eclats de truffe – this should really be “hunk of beef”…simply too huge and the texture itself was a bit tough, even though the center was red and juicy. The potatoes, however, were divine. I don’t usually eat the potatoes on the side, but the addition of black truffles made this irresistible, and I found myself finishing it instead of the beef.

We were a little short on time, so I chose to skip the cheese and had the brioche caramélisée, framboises fraîches, glace mûroise instead. The raspberries were deliciously fresh with the crème fraîche, and the ice cream was sweet enough to balance the acidity of the berries.

The highlight of the lunch, of course, was the wine. Pierre was kind enough to share these wonderful wines with us:

2000 Le Petit Cheval – a really beautiful wine, with nose of smoke meats, brett, very ripe fruits and coffee. Good acidity and smooth on the palate, it’s a great wine to drink right now.

1989 Cheval Blanc – nose of green pepper, smoke, bacon, sweet red fruits and truffles. Very beautiful and open, so soft and beautiful on the palate with good acidity. Wow!

1995 Yquem – for a vintage like 1995, this was an awesome wine! Loads of honey, marmalade, acetone and sweet honeydew melon in the nose. This wine was so unctuous and sweet, yet with enough acidity to make everything balanced. Wow!

I think this was a perfect way for us to end our whirlwind, first class tour of Bordeaux. We’ve visited 22 châteaux in 7 appellations, dined at 3 First Growth châteaux, and tasted 120 wines over 4 days. I cannot imagine anyone who is remotely interested in wine not being envious of what we’ve experienced on this trip, and I must thank my fellow MNSC members (and one in particular) for making it all possible.

After dropping my friends off at Bordeaux airport - and dashing in to buy some canelés from Baillardran – I headed to Gare St. Jean to board the TGV back to Paris. Mental note: there are two stands at the train station selling Baillardran canelés…

After checking into a small but well-appointed room at the Hotel Montalambert, we went out for a stroll around Boulevard St. Germain and for a bite to eat. It’s April in Paris and - you guessed it - it was drizzling. Huddling under an umbrella with your loved one in Paris has got to be one of those clichés…but it’s kinda cool.

We settled for one of the tourist traps on the Left Bank – Les Deux Magots. I never came here on my previous trips to Paris, so I guess it was time I checked it out. You don’t come here for the food, since the people-watching is the main draw here. It’s been 7 hours since lunch and I finally ordered a white truffle risotto with chicken sot-l'y-laisse. The risotto, while tasty, was probably one of the soggiest I've had in a while. Do the French not know how to make a proper risotto, or is it because the chefs at this tourist trap don't care? Anyway, the chicken oysters were really yummy and made up for everything.

I ordered a glass of kir as I normally would in Paris. I think I must have OD'd on wine, because I just didn't have the desire to even finish the glass...

With my stomach full, I strolled around back to the hotel and called it a night. I was exhausted!

Bordeaux trip day 3: going down south

We've got another full day today, going through the southern Médoc appellations of St-Julien, Margaux and Pessac-Léognan. Due to the early start this morning, most of the ladies chose to skip the itinerary and only joined us for lunch. Unfortunately, the morning was overcast so the pictures would be dreary, too...

Our first stop was Branaire-Ducru, where we were received by the Président Patrick Maroteaux and Manager Jean-Dominique Videau. A quick tour of the facilities and we were off to taste a few vintages of the grand vin:

2008 Branaire-Ducru - forward and fruity with a hint of smoke. Not too tannic as the acidity was a bit higher.

2007 Branaire-Ducru - softer and more complex than the 2008. Nose of tropical fruit, mint and forest with a spicy finish.

2006 Branaire-Ducru - farmy nose with smoked meats, not as fruity. A nice wine that has come together with a good finish.

2005 Branaire-Ducru - toasty oak, mint and smoked meat nose. Pretty round tannin.

2004 Branaire-Ducru - nose of smoked meats is more prominent. Smooth and not too tannic on the palate.

Our second stop was Léoville Barton, where the tasting room was filled with lots of bottles as a result of their separate business selling wine. It would have been a good opportunity for us to get a taste of the what other châteaux had produced, but we had only limited time so we stuck mostly to wines from the estates.

2008 Langoa Barton - sweet and forward nose of tropical fruit and vanilla. Still pretty tannic.

2007 Léoville Barton - powerful nose of vanilla and fruit. Very tannic and alcoholic.

2007 Langoa Barton - a bit smoky with spices. Softer on the palate.

2007 Léoville Barton - nose of smoked meats.

2006 Langoa Barton - nose not open at all with only a bit of smoked meats.

2006 Léoville Barton - nose of smoked meats and tannic on the palate.

2008 Rauzan-Ségla - very open nose with sweet fruits and vanilla.

Next stop was the château that got me started in wine - Ducru-Beaucaillou. This famed estate in St-Julien has provided me with some of my fondest memories when it comes to wine: from the bottle of 1982 on my first visit to La Tour d'Argent in Paris, to my first bottle of 1961 I decanted at home and brought to Brasserie on the Eighth...

I was really excited to finally get a chance to visit. The château has a collection of interesting modern art, including some pieces from Keith Haring in the tasting room. It was interesting to see the contrast of a contemporary tasting room inside such a classical structure.

2008 Ducluzeau - fruity and minty nose. Very soft on the palate.

2008 Lalande-Borie - a bit harder than the Ducluzeau.

2008 La Croix de Beaucaillou - floral nose with toasty oak notes.

2008 Ducru-Beaucaillou - floral and violet notes. Much softer than the other wines.

2005 Ducru-Beaucaillou - smoky nose with red fruits and a bit of pepper. Sweet on the finish. A beautiful wine!

At the end of our visit, Chairman of the business Bruno Borie came to greet us. Bruno was a personable man, and when we expressed our wish to take a picture in front of his château, he proceeded to open up all the window shutters so that we could have the perfect picture. Fortunately for us, his mother was shopping in Bordeaux city and so we didn't wake her up...

Our last stop before lunch would be Palmer. Bernard de Laage de Meux, the Marketing Director, led us through the tasting.

2008 Alter Ego - mint with a bit of fruit. Tannins were round, nice and soft...not too aggressive.

2008 Palmer - minty with exotic spices. Good concentration with round tannins.

2001 Alter Ego - farmy nose with smoked meats, spiciness, leather and cedar wood notes. A bit sweet on the palate with good acidity. A wine that has come together well.

1996 Palmer - lovely, farmy nose with peppery, smoky and leather notes. Very smooth on the palate. Delicious.

We visited the beautiful Château Margaux for lunch, which will be the subject of a separate post.

After our long lunch, we dropped the ladies off so that they could hit the Hermès shop in Bordeaux city, then continued on to Haut-Brion, the last of the Médoc First Growths. Here we would also taste the wines from the neighboring estate of La Mission Haut-Brion, also under the ownership of Domaine Clarence Dillon.

2008 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion - this has been the name of the second wine since the 2007 vintage, replacing Bahans Haut-Brion. Nose of vanilla, orange, red fruits and mint. Good acidity but tannins were slightly grippy.

2008 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion - earthy, smoky nose with sweet fruit and mint. Good acidity balance.

2008 La Mission Haut-Brion - smoky nose with mint and vanilla notes. A bit tannic but nicely balanced.

2008 Haut-Brion - much more concentration here, with lots of fruit, mint, smoke and a hint of coffee. Very tannic on the palate.

2008 Laville Haut-Brion - fatty, buttery with lemon citrus, green apple and toasty oak.

2008 Haut-Brion Blanc - minerals and flint combined with lemon citrus, a bit of butter and toasty oak. Wow! There is a reason why this is the most sought-after dry white in Bordeaux.

Our last stop of the day would be Haut-Bailly. We were incredibly behind schedule, and missed meeting Véronique Sanders, the winemaker and daughter of the former owner.

2008 Haut-Bailly - floral and sweet fruit, with coffee, mint and a bit of smoke. Round and smooth tannins.

2006 Haut-Bailly - smoky and a bit farmy with red fruits. Everything was nicely balanced, but slightly tannic on the finish.

We head back up north into Bordeaux city to pick up the ladies after their shopping spree. I quickly strolled around the Place de la Comédie and down Rue Ste-Catherine, before returning to La Tupiña for dinner.

Memories of Central Asia

I woke up in the middle of the night today, having fallen asleep on my couch out of fatigue. As my eyes began to focus, the first images that I saw on the TV looked really familiar. Suddenly it hits me: it's one of the medressas in Bukhara!

A quick check tells me that the movie is The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam. So it's a movie about the famous Persian poet/mathematician/astronomer. I had come across Omar Khayyam while researching for my Central Asia trip earlier this year, but this was in his capacity as a poet and author of the Rubaiyat. Later while touring the Ulugbek Observatory in Samarkand, there were displays of Omar Khayyam's portraits as well as copies of his work in astronomy and mathematics.

 

The movie was obviously an embellished account of the life of Omar Khayyam as well as the popular story linking Omar Khayyam with Hassan-i-Sabah, the founder of the original band of assasins - the Hashshashin. The plot is moderately entertaining. But whatever the reality behind the story, it's a movie which talks about a few key figures during the Persian/Seljukid era. Morever it is shot mostly in Bukhara and Samarkand, two of the most beautiful cities in Uzbekistan.

Now that it's been 6 months since my trip, it's pretty exciting to see footage of the Registan Square - the Ulugbek Medressa and especially the glittering Tilla-Kari Medressa - as well as Bibi Khanym Mosque, Kalon Mosque and its minaret, the Ark in Bukhara...

So who cares if all of the backdrop was built some 4-5 centuries after the time of Omar Khayyam, and also some 1-2,000 km away from where he would have been? I suppose it would be much more difficult to film this in Esfahan in Iran, compared to the tourist-friendly Uzbekistan... For people who have never been to this part of the world, the movie gives a glimpse of the beautiful Islamic architecture - located in two cities which are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

As for me, all the images evoke wonderful memories from earlier in the year, and remind me that all the hardship endured on the trip were well worth it. I have seen these sites with my own eyes, and hopefully the memories will stay with me for a very long time.

Silk Road III Day 12: Adios, Almaty!

Our last day in Almaty and also in Central Asia. We decide to take it easier and ask Baghad to pick us up from the hotel at 12 noon. We would sleep in a bit, and go out for a bit of last minute shopping. When we asked Baghad about where we could buy some souvenir T-shirts - the same ones we saw on Kok-Tobe that he advised us to buy somewhere else in town - he didn't seem to know.

We go back to Zhibek Zholy and hit TsUM, the big department store in town. In contrast to Ramstor that is around the corner from us, this place seems to be more old-style department store than the newer types of shopping mall. We go straight to the top floor and find many different counters selling anything from cheezy souvenirs to gaudy chandeliers and porcelain dinner ware. After visiting a few different counters and bargaining them down to the same price, we eventually all find the T-shirts that we want. These have the petroglyph designs that we would see later today at Tamgaly, so they seem a bit better than your average touristy T-shirt. Stan also manage to pick up a mace made of leather and horn, which drew some laughter from us. Eric - ever looking for that elusive pot - manage to pick up a small one in silver, and didn't even have to pay over USD 1,000!

We quickly grab a bite of salads and bread at Kafe Keruen, an open-air establishment also mentioned in LP, and do a bit of people watching. There are some very interesting characters that one can run into here in Central Asia.  I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a guy wearing a black fishnet T-shirt...

After checking out just after 12pm (oh, and I finally took a hot shower this morning), we ride west with our luggage toward Karabastau and visit the Tamgaly Petroglyphs. Once again the roads are bumpy, and it is clear that neither the driver nor Baghdad have been there before, and do not know exactly how to get there. Nevermind. After about 3 hours, we finally reach the checkpoint and meet two lonely guys who are stationed there. They live in a nearby village and the area is pretty desolate. One of them accompanied us and showed us around to the major groups of rocks.

Tamgaly is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These rock carvings, some of which date back to the Bronze Age 3-4,000 years ago, are scattered across this area and number around 5,000. Most of them are in the form of animals such as horses, goats and cows, but many are also of people. It's interesting how these carvings reflect in the sunlight. We also have a chance to look at a few burial sights for people in those times. The graves seem small to us, because in those days people were buried in the fetal position instead of being laid out flat.

We leave the area around 5pm after spending a little more than one hour here. Baghdad and the driver are eager to send us to the airport, even though our flight is at 11pm. After about a 3-hour drive we arrive at Almaty Airport, 3 hours before our flight. This is probably the earliest I have ever reached any airport for flight departure. It was so early that the check-in counter wasn't even open.

We drag our luggage to one of the cafes at the airport, and order a few dishes for dinner. I have my last chance to enjoy my favorite besbarmak here, although unsurprisingly, the dish isn't as good as the ones we've had over the last few days. We also ordered some sausages, sauteed vegetables, and a tomato-based soup with meat that is reminiscent of Hungarian goulash.

After checking-in and dumping our luggage, there was still plenty of time to kill. I stroll into Caviar Palace, the shop specializing in exporting caviar. The export of caviar from Kazakhstan seemed to be controlled, and the customs officials actually asked me whether I was bringing any honey or caviar out of the country. I wasn't thinking about it, but now that there is a shop here selling the stuff, I decided to go and take a look.

Kazakhstan is one of 5 countries bordering the Caspian Sea and therefore a significant producer of caviar from sturgeon. The shop was selling beluga and sevruga in jars and tins of various sizes. While I am not up to date on my caviar pricing, I had a hunch that what they were asking for was reasonable. Effectively beluga would cost around USD 200 per 100g, and sevruga would be around USD 150 for the same weight. After thinking a little I whipped out my credit card and spent about USD 1,000 on caviar. I figured that I could do a lot worse back in Asia or elsewhere.

I have a window seat in cattle class, and I'm not seated next to anyone with smelly feet. Hurray! Time to say Adios! to Central Asia, and get some precious sleep on the flight back to Seoul...

Silk Road III Day 9: crossing into Kazakhstan

Checked out of the hotel this morning, and hopped into the van to go to the border crossing at Chernyaevka. This is one of only two land border crossings between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and is about 30 minutes by car from Tashkent.

After being dropped off, we dragged our luggage to the checkpoint. It was 8:30am but there were already lots of locals swarming around. There were two lines leading up to the counters, and we decided to line up at one of them. There were tons of people pushing and shoving around us, and a lot of locals simply chose not to line up and bypass us. The scene was honestly pretty chaotic. In the end, we had to shove our passports through the window opening and in the face of the officials in order to get their attenion. The locals were doing the same and we needed to make sure that they don't cut in front of us.

After getting our passports examined, we dragged our luggage to the building further ahead, only to find that this was actually the real immigration checkpoint! Once again we line up, and try to fight off the local who seem to just squeeze past us without having to be in line. Anyway, as we were blocking the traffic for locals, the immigration officials decided to process us relatively quickly, and finally we surrendered our customs forms and successfully exited Uzbekistan!

As I walked towards the area where some people had gathered, I saw a blonde woman talking to Stan and Eric. This was Anna, our tour guide on the Kazakh side. We quickly filled out the immigration form and lined up at the counters. The process seemed a lot smoother here as there were multiple counters (instead of 1 or 2 on the Uzbek side), and they were using passport scanners and computers! Quite an improvement over the other side...

One hour after we got off the van on the Uzbek side, we were finally through immigration and had entered Kazakhstan! We leave the checkpoint and look for the van. For some reason, the van wasn't parked anywhere near the border gates, and we had to drag our heavy luggage a long way. I was pretty frustrated at Anna and didn't understand why she couldn't have asked the driver to come closer to pick us up. In the middle of all this, I decided to take a picture of the Kazakh side of the border to remember this experience.

We still have a long day ahead of us, so we drive through Shymkent towards Turkistan. The differences between the two countries were immediately apparent to us. The roads on the Kazakh side were nice and smooth; the landscape was the beautiful steppes, which Central Asia (and Kazakhstan in particular) was famous for; there were white clouds contrasting against the blue sky; the horses seemed larger, healthier and their coats shone in the sun. Everything just seemed better on the Kazakh side compared to the Uzbekistan that we had seen over the last week.

We stop for lunch after a couple of hours in the middle of nowhere. Initially the restaurant appear to be out of food and closed, then Anna managed to convince them to serve us. Aside from the usual salad, and having them slice up the melon we had brought from Uzbekistan, the main event here was deep-fried fish. We hadn't had fish or any seafood in a while, since Uzbekistan is a double-landlocked country - meaning there are at least 2 countries between it and the ocean in any direction. Kazakhstan is a bit better but still landlocked. The fish here was of the freshwater kind...Anna couldn't quite explain what exactly it was, and we weren't able to determine from its chopped up remains... It was a welcome treat, although they did add a lot of salt to it (probably to make it go better with the draft beer that they were serving us).

Our first stop of the day was the Otrar Museum. We had a English-speaking guide showing us around, and at the end he asked us to sign the guestbook since we were the first visitors from Taiwan. Well...apparently a Taiwanese woman had just beat us to it 1 week earlier, but since she was in a group of French tourists her nationality was not known to the guide.

We move on a bit further to the ruins of Otrar. Otrar has the historical distinction of having slaughtered the first trade delegation sent by the Mongols, thereby incurring the wrath of Genghis Khan and triggering his decision to invade Central Asia, wiping out pretty much everything in the path of his army of 200,000. Not much is left here, and due to time constraint we did not linger for very long.

It's another 2-hour drive to Turkistan, where we visit today's highlight - the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi - one of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kazakhstan. Though it remains unfinished, the mausoleum is an important example of Timurid architecture, and is significant in that it is the resting place of the famed Sufi teacher. Both the teacher and his daughter are buried within the compound.

We also pass by the rose garden outside. I am sure at one time (perhaps a few weeks earlier) the garden would have looked truly beautiful with all the blooming roses of various colors. Unfortunately, today most of them looked wilted as a result of the extreme heat in these parts. No matter how well you irrigate, flowers just can't take 45C heat for very long...

We take the long drive back to Shimkent, and again we are stopped by the police on the way. On our first day in Kazakhstan, we get the first taste of police corruption... The cops just try to use every excuse to impose a fine on our driver, failing which he apparently said: "Can't you just give me something?!" Oh well. It is Kazakhstan, after all.

Arriving into Shimkent, we get our first look at a reasonably-sized Kazakh city (population just under 1 million). As in the Uzbek cities we visited, the city is very green with lots of trees lining the streets. But we pass by a number of large, bright electronic screens showing all sorts of advertisements. Now this is something we never saw in Uzbekistan, and it takes a certain level of prosperity for people to afford these things.

Hotel Sapar is actually a converted apartment building. There are two apartments per floor, and each is a 2-bedroom suite with a large living room and kitchen. Furniture is a bit dated but the place is clean. After spending a few nights in regular hotel rooms, we are unaccustomed to this sudden increase of space! We end up having dinner in the restaurant downstairs at a pretty late hour, and order up the usual salads including a mix of rice, corn, potato and veggies that was quite yummy. We also get an order each of beef and mutton, and for the first time in recent memory I find the taste of the mutton fat to be a little beyond my threshold. But I am not going to complain at 10pm... I'm just happy that I can stay in and not have to venture outside in search for food.

Silk Road III Day 8: the long drive to Khiva

Got up bright and early this morning, and left Bukhara at 7am for the long, 8-hour drive to Khiva. The roads were again in terrible condition, and it really did take us a long time to reach our destination. We entered the city gates around 3pm.

The main event today was to visit Ichan Kala - the walled city that was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its entirety. After a quick lunch break, we started by visiting the Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum. This is a tomb for Khiva's most famous poet, philospher and (!) wrestler. The interior of the main chamber here is absolutely stunning. The interesting aspect here is that in Khiva, the beautiful ceramic tiles were not fixed to the walls using cement, but attached by driving a nail through the center of each tile.

We pass by the Islom-Hoja Medressa and the Islom-Hoja Minaret, the tallest in Khiva. I am still thinking about climbing it to get a good view of the city...so we don't go in just yet. Next stop would be the Juma Mosque with over 200 wooden columns which serve to support the roof. Some of these columns were the original ones dating back over 1,000 years. Naturally, the newer columns have decorative carvings which are much more elaborate. Outside the mosque stands the Juma Minaret, but I have another minaret to climb later...

The Tosh-Hovli Palace has its main draw in the Harem, where the aivans are ricly decorated both in terms of woodwork as well as the tiling. The aivan of the Khan (as opposed to those of his wives) was distinguished by its additional height and grandeur. We pass by the Alloquli Khan Medressa, with its pretty facade but we do not go in.

Our final sight of the day is the west gate of the city, and we climb up to the Oq Shihbobo bastion of the Kuhna Ark. This is a good vantage point for a view of all Itchan Kala, and I take the chance to snap few pictures, including those of the Kalta Minor Minaret that was never completed. I am sufficiently tired at this point, and give up on the idea of climbing the Islom-Hoja Minaret.

We decide to sit outside in the courtyard of a family with whom we had stored our luggage, and while away the next couple of hours drinking and snacking on bread, almonds and mulberry jam. Around 9pm, our replacement driver showed up (the original driver had to drive another 8 hours back to Bukhara immediately after we got here...). We make our way to Urgench to catch our late flight back to Tashkent.

After arriving at the Dedeman Silk Road Hotel, we quickly wash up and head to bed. We will need all the energy we can muster as tomorrow will be another long day, including our land border crossing to Kazakhstan!

Silk Road III Day 7: Bukhara sights

This morning we were meant to go to the bazaar and visit the animal market. This is something that I had seen in Kashgar, and I wanted to have another chance to see people trading sheep and cattle, and perhaps even camels.

But first, I make a quick stop at the Bolo-Hauz Mosque, the place where the emir used to worship. They used to roll out carpet from the gates of the Ark so that the emir could walk to worship with the common people. The woodwork here is really nice.

On the way to the bazaar we pass by the Ismail Samani Mausoleum. The architecture here is pretty unique, and as it was covered with sand at the time of Genghis Khan's invasion, it was spared from destruction.

We run into a little girl who was dressed up and just looooved to be photographed. She was very cute and tried to strike up simple conversation with me in English, and her English was pretty good for her age!

Batir led us on a bit of a hike through people selling various types of used junk, in the search for the "animal bazaar". Evenually we realized that what he meant was the place where people were selling pets, such as rabbits, ducks, chickens...etc. This was a far cry from what we had expected to see, and we were a bit frustrated by the time we were wasting.  We headed back to the covered part of the Kolkhozny Bazaar, where I picked up some more fruits such as melons, apricots and peaches. All were very juicy and yummy.

On our way back to the van, we passed by the Chasma Ayub mausoleum. A spring exists here which locals come to drink from for his magical properties. Legend has it that Job struck his staff on the ground and out came the spring. That Job really does get around, since I remember visiting somewhere in Oman where his presence was also found...

Last stop of the morning was the Ark, the royal citadel dating from the 5th century where the emirs lived. We can still see the throne that the emir used to sit in to watch the procession in front of the gates. We visited the museums inside to get a bit more color on the history and culture of the region.

We are back at Lyabi-Hauz for lunch, this time sitting inside an air-conditioned room. We order up some plov, which was pretty good although not as good as what we had in Samarkand. We also had some beef meatball and chicken shashlik. Of course, no lunch is complete without Sarbast beer...

After a break to avoid the midday sun, we retrace some of our route yesterday and visit the sights around the hotel. First stop was the Abdul Aziz Khan Medressa, which is undergoing some restoration. Across the road was the Ulugbek Medressa, the oldest of the three so-named and predates the one at the Registan Square in Samarkand.  We wander off to the Maghoki-Attar Mosque, reputed to be the oldest surviving mosque in Central Asia, with a beautiful portal dating from the Middle Ages. It is now a carpet museum.

Eric and Stan did a bit more shopping for souvenirs, and we ended up at the Kalon Mosque. It is a beautiful structure, with an octagonal lectern in the courtyard. After walking around the halls, I decide to pay 4,500 Sum for the privilege of climbing up to the top of the Kalon Minaret. I am really glad I did, because the view was spectacular. We had a full view of the old town through which we wandered yesterday. We can also see our hotel next door, plus the Ark and other monuments nearby. And I took lots of pictures of the Mir-i-Arab Medressa across the square, which is still a working medressa and therefore no tourists are allowed to enter. It has two beautiful blue domes. Later on I learned that in the old days, executions were carried out here by hurling the prisoners from the top of the minaret onto the square below. Pretty gruesome, but I must admit that it seems convenient...

It is now sundown, and I decide to go back to the Ark to photograph the outer walls as well as the main gate with the warm light. I did manage the catch the last bits of the warm light, but it would have been better to show up half an hour earlier...

We had a bit of a tough time finding a place for dinner. We walked around the area of Lyabi-Hauz but found no restaurants which looked appetizing. The Russified Korean restaurant, Kochevnik, was not open. It would have been quite an experience to see how Korean cuisine was adapted to local tastes!

In the end we got a tip to go to Caravan, which is in the new town. The two main dishes we ordered were different types of beef jiz - one looking like a normal plate of beef, but the other was stir-fried with sesame and looked downright Chinese! And the funny thing is, it did taste Chinese as the sauce was definitely made of soy sauce. The food was pretty good here, and we continued to drink more Baltika...

After dinner, I once again took my tripod out and photographed the Kalon Mosque, Kalon Minaret and Mir-i-Arab Medressa. The blue domes of the Medressa are particularly striking, and the almost-full moon in the backdrop against the minaret also made for a good picture. As the lights of the Mosque were turned off at 11:30pm, I packed up my gear and went back to the hotel to crash. It's gonna be a really long day tomorrow.

Silk Road III Day 6: wandering in Bukhara

Woke up early this morning and walked to the Registan Square by myself. The streets were pretty empty, with some people going to work early. The sun wasn't very high yet at this time, so it was pretty comfortable. I chit-chat a bit with the lone guard at the square, who was disappointed that I had already climbed up the minaret since this deprives him of the extra 4,000 Sum...

We are driving to Bukhara today. There is not much to see en route except the remains of one caravansari and sardoba, the supply stops of ancient caravans. Just before arriving in Bukhara, we make a quick stop and snap some pictures of the Vabkent Minaret. This is a very pretty minaret, one of a series built along the route of the caravans and used as lighthouses in ancient times.

Time for lunch again! We stop at Ismoil on the outer edges of town and sat out in the garden. Starting with the usual assortment of salads, we also had quail eggs for a change. When we saw the staff lift out a batch of roast lamb from the oven, we immediately decided to order up some. It was dry and crispy on the outside - very yummy and satiated our appetite for lamb. Afterwards we each had a little roast quail, and more quail eggs. For fruits we decided to go into the garden and pick apricots from the trees. They were not as ripe and sweet as the ones we bought from the market, but were still very delicious.

After checking into Hotel Zargaron right next to the Kalon Mosque, we went on a walking tour in the old town. Our hotel location was quite ideal, since it was smack in the middle of old town and within walking distance to basically everything. We walked through all three of the covered bazaars in the area - Taqi-Zargaron (jewellers), Taqi-Sarrafon (money changers) and Taqi-Telpak Furushon (cap makers). We even went inside a hammom to take a look, but decided that none of us could bear getting a massage inside a steam bath in this weather.

We took our time strolling through the narrow alleys of the old town, visiting the Jewish quarter with its synagogue, and examining the construction methods used by the locals. It's actually very interesting to be able to walk around in residential neighborhoods in an old city. We pass by Char Minar, with its four blue-domed minarets which symbolized the four daughters of the original builder.

We go back to the hotel for a quick shower and a break to drink some beer. We have finally lined up three cans in the Russian Baltika range - Nos. 3, 7 and 9. We do a taste test... No. 9 has the highest alcohol content at 8%, while No. 7 was probably the winner in terms of taste.

We stroll to Lyabi-Hauz and have dinner by the pool. Menu was pretty limited - in fact they didn't have any - so we ordered some beef and chicken. Apparently there are more Tajiks in Bukhara and they are not big on mutton! Unbelievable! The food was so-so but the shurpa was good, and came in individual ceramic pots. We call an early night and prepare for a full day tomorrow.

Silk Road III Day 5: The bumpy road to Shakhrisabz

Today we head to Shakhrisabz for the birthplace of Timur. At the statue of Timur in the center of town, we run into a few couples who were getting married. Apparently the marriage registry is just next door, and all the newlyweds will walk around the monuments and take pictures and video. The bride’s gown, which apparently cost anywhere from USD 200 to 1,000 a day to rent, were pretty hideous and remind me of something from 30 years ago.

Next to the square is the remains of Timur’s Ak-Saray Palace, of which not much is left. We make our way to Kok-Gumbaz Mosque, still a working mosque with gypsy women sitting on its front steps and asking the faithful for money. The courtyard houses a number of very old and beautiful trees, and we see many old local gentlemen coming for their noon prayer.

In quick succession we also visit the mausoleums of Sheik Shamseddin Kulyal and Gumbaz Saidon next door. A hop and a skip away are the Tomb of Jehangir - Timur's eldest and favorite son - as well as Timur’s Crypt which he built for himself so that he could be buried near Jehangir. Ultimately he could not be buried according to his wishes, and ended up in Guri Amir in Samarkand instead.

After a quick lunch of shee, mantay and some more mutton (of course!) we head back to Samarkand on the very poor roads by which we came. It's very clear to me that all the vans of the travel agencies will have poor suspension after having been on these types of roads for a while.

Our final stop of the day would be the Shah-I-Zinda and the Avenue of Mausoleums. Here we walk through a street lined with dazzling mausoleums on both sides. Shadi-Mulk Oko Mausoleum was simply dazzling inside, and it was even highlighted with spotlights inside. This was built by Timur for one of his wives.  After seeing a few more beautiful mausoleums, we come to the inner sanctum and find the Tomb of Kusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed who was credited with bringing Islam into the region.

We also walk around in the cemetary of Afrosiab, and get an introduction to Soviet-style tombstones with the person's image etched onto black granite. We see many couples buried together, and some tombstones have one side left empty while one spouse waits for his/her partner to join them in the after life.

After another break to freshen up, we walk a few steps to the Restaurant Astoria for dinner. This is not a cafe or chaikhana - there was nice silverware and cystal glasses on the table - so we expected the bill to be a bit higher. The food was supposedly a mix of local and Russian, but frankly it was just OK.

Aside from a small selection of salads we chose, there was also a dish with chopped calves' liver, beef and onions. Interestingly this tastes very similar to the Milanese version of calves' liver which I had at Cipriani's in Hong Kong. There was also a chicken dish with a tomato-based sauce - not very interesting. The worst is that they don't even serve Russian beer! We made do with a bottle of vodka instead...

Silk Road III Day 4: The majesty of Samarkand

First site of the day was the Guri Amir Mausoleum, where Timur was buried along with some of his sons including Ulugbek. This was just a short walk from the hotel. The main chamber was richly decorated in exquisite, glittering detail befitting the great ruler and his descendants. and the green jade (Timur’s ) and marble markers lie in their places in the middle. Next to the main markers lies a separate marker with a tall, thin tree trunk hanging a bunch of horse hair over the marble. Apparently this is the way that graves were marked in the open field in ancient times. There was already a marker on the spot when this mausoleum was built by Timur for his offspring, so they simply incorporated it in the design.

We encountered a group of Uzbek women who wanted to take pictures with us, since we were so foreign and therefore a curiosity to them. After a round of photos inside the mausoleum, we found ourselves back in the action in the courtyard outside. The people are truly friendly, but now we are starting to feel like zoo animals that people are always curious about…

Now we come to the highlight of the Uzbekistan portion – Registan Square. The place is grand and made up of three medressas on the east, west and north sides of the square. These buildings have survived numerous earthquakes, and have gone through some restoration. The Ulugbek Medressa, the oldest of the three, has a leaning minaret which one can climb up (for a fee, of course). It is unfortunately a bit scary, because it is presenting leaning to one side as a result of an earthquake years ago, although it has been “reinforced” by Soviet engineers.

Once you enter the medressa, you find that all the rooms have basically been turned into souvenir shops. We will see this time and again when visiting medressas which are no longer in operation – the enterprising locals have rented the space to profit from tourism.

Moving to the Tilla-Kari Medressa, it is immediately apparent why it was named the Gold-Covered Medressa. The mosque glitters in blue and gold, with the flat ceiling having been painted in such a way that it appears to be a curved dome. It's very, very bling, but I like it. The last of the trio, the Sher Dor Medressa, isn't as interesting and is completely plain inside.

We break for lunch, and we are taken to a really nice restaurant for the dish that I've been dying for - plov. I didn't take down the name of the restaurant, but the food was really delicious - possibly the best meal we had in Uzbekistan. We started with a number of small salads, which were brought to us stacked on a large tray. We picked a few of them, such as deep fried cauliflower and fried eggplant. This was accompanied by the best non we had on this trip, which looks like a giant bagel without the hole. We also got more shashlik - minced lamb, chunks of lamb, and even beef wrapped around lamb fat (a great invention, I must say).

But the piece de resistance was the plov. This is a dish mainly served at lunch, and resembles the 抓飯 of the Uygurs that I had in Xinjiang. Our guide Batir ordered four portions, and it came on a huge plate. The rice glistened with all the oil used in the frying process, and it was topped with generous portions of lamb in addition to the chopped carrots, gourd/squash and raisins. I just couldn't resist having several portions of this in spite of a full stomach... It was just awesome!

After lunch we head to Siob Bazaar for some shopping and sightseeing. It was colorful as one would expect, selling a variety of fruits, vegetables, snacks as well as other knick knacks. We bought a load of red and yellow cherries, two types of apricots, plums and a big watermelon. We had these over the next few days, and with the exception of the watermelon (due to this being only the start of the season) everything was ultra-ripe and sweet. There are principally two reasons – the fruits get plenty of sun so the sugar level is high, and the farmers only pick the fruits after they have ripened fully, expecting to sell them quickly.

The heat becomes unbearable, and we head back to the hotel to cool off. Later in the afternoon we head to the unimpressive Ulugbek Observatory, where we see the remains of the curved track of the quadrant built by Ulugbek to look at the stars. We also pay a visit to the Afrosiab Museum, located next to the ancient ruins of Afrosiab – ancient Samarkand. Among the ruins we see two young men herding sheep, and get a glimpse of the famous fat-bottomed sheep for the first time. I do have to say that the bottoms are indeed very big and fat…

We head back to the bazaar and enter Bibi-Khanym Mosque, built by the Chinese wife of Timur. It has fallen into disrepair, but I went inside despite warnings from Batir. Back in the garden outside, I pick up a couple of white mulberries that had fallen onto the grass. These were incredibly sweet. I must admit I had never seen white mulberries, and the sight of these on the green grass seemed pretty.

One last stop for the day – back to the Registan for sunset pictures. I pay the guard 4,000 Sum for the privilege of climbing the leaning minaret of the Ulugbek Madressa, for the best view in Samarkand. The climb to the top was steep and tough, considering that I’m lugging my bag full of camera gear. After stopping a couple of times to catch my breath, I reach the top and wiggle the top half of my torso above the small opening. It’s an interesting perspective and I’m glad I did it, but it’s not a spectacular view that you get.

For dinner we head to Karimbek, the Samarkand branch of Bek. This time we tried different soups. Shurpa came with sliced beef with potato and tomato, very much like my mom’s version of borscht with a clear broth. The other soup had thin noodles in a chicken broth, and this was pretty good. We had our first taste of jiz, which was the Uzbek way of stir-frying chopped meat. We also had visitors from the next table. They were going off to work in Seoul and wanted to celebrate, and insisted that we drink some vodka with them...

After dinner I went back to the Registan and Guri Amir Mausoleum with my tripod for more photos…since these monuments are lit up at night. After a very long day, I finally get back to my room just before midnight.

Silk Road III Day 2: Flying to Tashkent

Got up this morning and went out to check out the two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Seoul. After arriving at Changdeokgong Palace (昌德宮), I realized that I had to join a scheduled tour, and the next available one (in Chinese) was an hour away.

I quickly hop into a taxi and asked the driver to head to Jongmyo Shrine (宗廟), even though it looked adjacent to the Palace. The driver drove around the block and dropped me off at the entrance. As I walked through the small park towards the gate, I realized that the ticketing counters were all shuttered. Jongmyo doesn't open on Tuesdays! Arrrgh!!!!! I had no choice but to drag my sorry ass back to Changdeokgong Palace in time for the tour.

At first glance, Changdeokgong Palace was nothing special to someone who had lots of exposure to Chinese and Japanese palaces and shrines. The architecture was relatively simple, and not particularly ornate. However, the beauty of this palace was in its layout and its beautiful gardens. As the palace is quite old, there were plenty of old trees on the grounds. It reminded me of a stroll through Meiji Shrine (明治神宮) or the temples at Nikko (日光). At the end of the tour, we passed a cypress tree that was around 750 years old. That's not something you find in a capital city very often...

Went back to the hotel and decided to have sangyetang (篸雞湯) for lunch. Couldn't find a nice little hole-in-the-wall around the Westin, so I ended up on top of Lotte Department Store...it's just sangyetang and pretty much the same at most places.

After checking in for my flight at Incheon Airport, my friends and I decided to have a little bit to eat before boarding. Yes, I am still stuffed from the sangyetang, but I felt like having a bowl of kalbitang from Byeok-Je (碧帝). The soup was clear and really nice with spring onions, but the beef...well, what was attached to the bones was nice. But the loose strands were a bit overcooked. However, I still really enjoyed the soup.

Now about the 7-hour flight from Seoul to Tashkent... I had decided to be cheap and fly Economy instead of Business, even though the premium for Business Class was only 100% more than Economy, or roughly USD 1,300 extra. I began to regret my decision the minute I sat down in my cattle-class seat.

On my left was a gentleman (I hardly think he qualifies for this description) of Central Asian descent. Despite wearing some nice cologne, his body odor was clearly detectable. He chose to invade my space with his arms and legs, having decided that his seat was too small for him. On top of it all, he took his shoes off and soon I began to enjoy an odor not unlike some of the strong cheeses I've encountered. It got to be unbearable pretty quickly, and as we were taking off, I decided to put my baseball cap over my face to insulate myself from the air around me. I am seriously considering upgrading myself to Business for the return leg. Fortunately, the nice Korean flight attendant found me a seat nearer the front of the plane, and I finally could breathe again.

All was well for the remainder of the flight. The service was excellent, with Ms. Kim continuously bringing water to rehydrate me. The plane, an A330-300, was relatively new and fitted with AVOD entertainment system in all seats. Time passes quickly when you have movies, TV shows...etc to watch.

After touching down at Tashkent airport, I noticed that the small terminal building didn't have any planes parked at any of the gates. In fact I thought I only saw one other plane parked on the tarmac. Nevermind.

We go through the inefficient and not-so-foreigner-friendly system of passport control (didn't know which lines were for locals or foreigners, no one at the visa counter for about 1 hour...), and collected our bags. Lined up at customs while every bag went through a scanner and the officer checked to ensure our forms were filled correctly. We finally all passed through customs and met up with our local guide Batir 1 1/2 hours after landing (I think some of the passengers were still waiting for their luggage at this time). A short ride later we arrived at our hotel, a very clean-looking Dedeman Silk Road Tashkent.

Easter in Thailand Day 6: Homeward Bound

Another early start to the day, going around to the temples I marked for exploration in the morning instead of yesterday afternoon.

I start at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon south-east of the island, whose main attraction is an outdoor reclining Buddha. As I take my camera out of the bag for pictures, I hit upon a snag. Apparently the air con in my hotel room was very cold, and now my camera and lenses are fogging up in the same way that people's eyeglasses fog up going from a cold to a hot environment. This was very frustrating, as I could do nothing but watch mangoes fall from the tree above while waiting for my equipment to defrost. Eventually it took more than 20 minutes, and I give up after a few quick snaps of the Buddha and the large chedi structures. On my way out I encounter a number of cats running around the temple, and spend a bit of time following them around.

Next stop is Wat Mahathat, another highlight in Ayutthaya. Besides the usual collection of chedis, prangs and Buddhas, the piece de resistance here is the dislocated head of a Buddha statue tangled up in the roots of an old tree. The clever people at the temple roped off this area, set up a make-shift altar, and ask tourists to pray, photograph and make donations.

From here I move to Wat Lokaya Sutha with its large reclining Buddha. Here my strategy failed. The Buddha here faces west! Choosing to visit in the morning has backfired, and I am unable to take any decent pictures.

Frustrated, I stop at Wat Worachetha Ram next door. Here we have a Buddha statue housed in a structure with the walls intact but no roof. Lots of old, French tourists climb up and take silly pictures with the statue. I wait until they leave to take my pictures.

Moving on to Phu Khao Thong northeast of the island, this "Golden Mount" chedi is large and tall, and is built in the Burmese style. It is painted white and now has black marks due to age. This is what I expected Wat Phra Borommathat in Kamphaeng Phet to look like before it was painted gold. The legend behind this temple involves cockfights, and here on the grounds one can find numerous cocks running around. In fact, there are so many of them that kept crowing nonstop, it was very, very annoying. I can't imagine staying here for any length of time without being driven crazy by the cocks.

Wat Na Phra Meru is kind of on the way back to the island, and we stop to take a look. This is supposed to be the original temple which wasn't sacked by the Burmese in the 18th century. However, this is another modern temple so I left quickly.

Before going back to the hotel, I decide to go to Thanon Dusit east of the train station, and check out the few temples along the country road. First we come to Wat Mahaeyong, which has a meditation retreat next door staffed by nuns.

Then we cross the street to Wat Kutidao. This is the more interesting of the two, with a few roofless structures still standing. The main structure still has most of its tall supporting columns intact, and I also find the toppled tips of chedis lying around.

Done with all the sights that I wanted to see, I head back to the hotel for a shower and a change of clothes. After checkout I head to the train station, and bid Ayutthaya farewell as I head back to Bangkok.

I have about 4 hours before my flight back to Hong Kong, so I decide to head to Chote Chitr for a late lunch. Unable to figure out the system (is there even one?) of taxi rank at Hualamphong station, I go out to the street to grab a cab.

Why are most of Bangkok's taxi drivers assholes? Almost every one I met during this trip fit the description, and this one was no exception. First he pretends not to understand me when I ask him to go to Thanon Tanao, and show him my map. Then he tried to head for the wrong turn at a roundabout, and only circled around after I complained loudly. Then this jerk has the gall to talk on his mobile phone while driving, and end up missing the turn off to Thanon Tanao. When I complained about it, he actually yelled back to me with impatience, as if he hadn't done anything wrong.

We finally reach my destination, and I exit the taxi while handing him a 100 Baht note for the 59 Baht fare. He pulls out a single, 100 Baht note from his pocket and proclaimed that he had no spare change. What the hell is a cab driver doing out on the road with absolutely no money and no change? I know he is just trying to get him to give him a 40 Baht tip, but after his poor attitude, I have no intention of giving him any tip. I insist that he go and get change from one of the many street vendors around us.

He pretends to run around but actually never asks anyone, and returns to tell me that no one will give him any change. He throws the ball back to me and tell me to go get change. This is ridiculous, as it would be inifnitely easier for a local Thai to get change than a foreigner. After much mutual yelling and having informed him that I will not be paying the fare if he cannot produce change, he finally runs to a vendor and find some change. The ordeal is over. I've showed this asshole that not all foreign tourists are willing to roll over and get ripped off.

I reach Chote Chitr at 3:30pm in the afternoon. The restaurant is open but there are no customers at this hour. Tim the owner and chef takes my order. She tells me the specialties of the restaurant (even though I have read about these on the net), and I order the prawn mee krob and the eggplant salad, passing up the banana flower salad.

The mee krob is every bit as nice as one can expect, achieving a nice balance between sweet and sour notes for the deep-fried vermicelli. It was always a dish I ignored on Thai menus, but this creation changed my mind about this dish.

The eggplant salad also hit the spot, as the smoky, chargrilled vegetable soaks up the fish sauce and lime juice. The dried shrimps complete the tastes. I devour these two dishes, and there is almost no room left for dessert. I thanked Tim for a delicious meal and promised to return for the banana flower salad. Failing to find the sweet shop nearby that supposedly sells mango and glutinous rice, I hop into a taxi and head for Suvarnabhumi Airport.

I change my return flight to an earlier flight on Emirates, and once again have another dose of the Emirates service. Can this airline get its act together? The crew is really poorly trained, and nothing more than a hodgepodge of inviduals recruited from all over and thrown together. There is absolutely no team work here, and the meal service continues to baffle me. The Chinese-looking flight attendant is rude, and she rolls the cart down the aisle shouting "Rice or noodle?" instead of asking passengers whether they wanted chicken curry (with rice) or fried fish (with noodles). Must be leftover from her days on the domestic Chinese airlines. I roll my eyes, and tell myself again that this would be the last flight I take on Emirates.

Easter in Thailand Day 5: Train ride to Ayutthaya

Today I would be leaving Bangkok and going up to Ayutthaya, the other ancient capital of Thailand. After having a quick breakfast of stir-fried kway tiaw in the hotel, I packed up and left for Hualamphong station.

I paid the 315 Baht fare for the 2nd class, air-con train. I think it was definitely a wise decision not to take the 3rd class commuter train for 15 Baht - it just looks crowded, dirty and hot. The train was actually reasonably comfortable and clean, and the air-con is a must in this climate.

My 1 1/2-hour train ride was reasonably uneventful, except for the 2-yr old boy on her mommy's lap next to me. She obviously spoils him and he gets whatever he wants, throwing food around and kicking me in the next seat. Eventually she ran out of tricks to calm him down, and I think she let him suck on her tit to keep him quiet. Anyway I think that's what happened, since I didn't exactly feel comfortable to take a good look... 

Getting off the train at Ayutthaya station, I found myself a tuk-tuk to take me to the hotel. The ride to the River View Place Hotel on the island is short and I am there in no time. The tuk-tuk driver offered to take me around the sights for charter hire, and showed me a laminated card printed with English and Japanese. He wants 300 Baht an hour! I am insulted and told him to take a hike.

The hotel is a bit dated, probably from the late 80s, and caters to tour groups. I booked one of the River View Suites and they are basically at the end of the corridor, facing the river. The room was huge, with a kitchenette and a balcony. For such a large room, the TV was still the same tiny 20-inch as in all the other rooms. The room is pretty bare but the space is nice.

I have a full view of Wat Phanan Choeng across the river. This is a modern-looking temple which is associated with the Chinese explorer Zheng He (鄭和). As its architectural style is both modern Thai and Chinese, I find it uninteresting and decide to skip it.

After a bit of rest, I leave the hotel for the sights. I bargain with the tuk-tuk outside the hotel, and manage to negotiate to 500 Baht for 3 hours after telling the driver that I'm Chinese and not Japanese. Apparently the driver's father was Chinese so he spoke a few words...

Ayutthaya is much bigger in scale compared to Sukhothai. And unlike in Sukhothai Historical Park, here in Ayutthaya people live among the ruins.

Our first stop is Wat Ratchaburana, a temple dominated by a large, Khmer-style prang. After walking around the grounds, I step up inside the prang for a look. There is a display showing pictures of stolen artifacts taken by robbers some years ago. A long and narrow staircase leads to a crypt below. I was hesitating about going down, but eventually curiosity got the best of me. At the very bottom, there was space for only one person to stick their heads into the opening. The wife of the French couple in front of me took a look, then shook her head at her husband and declared in jest: "c'est magnifique!" Well...the frescoes were tiny, but they were old and original.

Next stop was Wat Thammikarat. I should have realized from Lonely Planet's description that "sees fewer visitors" means that there's nothing to this place. I move on quickly, and next is a trio of temples next to each other.

The driver directs me to Wihan Mongkhon Bophit before closing time. This is a modern-looking temple with an old bronze Buddha, and there are many believers streaming in.

But I am not interested, and move on next door to Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This is one of the main temples in Ayutthaya, with three chedis housing the ashes of kings. I stomp the grounds looking for the right angle for the afternoon light. The trees were blooming, providing a nice foreground and contrast to the ruins. It is here that I realized that in Ayutthaya, not all Buddha statues face east.

Wat Phra Ram is across the street, with its prominent central prang. It's very picturesque from across the moat. I encounter many tourists riding on "elephant taxis" here.

The last stop of the day, where I waited for the sunset, is Wat Chai Wattanaram south-west of the island. This is a magnificent temple, with many towers done in Khmer style. This place has been extensively restored, and poses a stark contrast to many other temples in the area. The most striking element here is the manicured lawn, which was freshly cut just before my visit, and the smell of sweet grass hung in the air. Compare this to the dusty grounds at many temples, and the difference is glaring.

I spend time circling the temple, examining the numerous Buddha statues as I wait for the sunset. I eventually leave just before the actual sundown, when the sun falls below the cloud level.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, I venture out of the hotel for the night. I asked a moto-taxi to take me to a stall selling roti sai mai - a local Muslim dessert. This is interesting - basically taking a thin pancake and wrapping it around stretched palm sugar which look like strands of multi-colored hair. In reality the sugar looks and tastes a bit like 龍鬚糖. I thought it was delicious.

The moto takes me back to Wat Phra Ram, where I set my camera up on my portable tripod for night shots. A few of the temples are lit at night during the early evening, and they look fantastic. I give up after a few shots due to the condition of my tripod head, and ask to be dropped off at a night market.

I end up at the market that stretches along Thanon Bang Ian, starting from Thanon Chee Kun. It's lively with many stalls. I sample some local delicacies, and buy some sweet mangoes to take back to the hotel.