14. December is my birthday and in 2010 it happened to be my 35th one. It was great to celebrate it with our friends at the same time as our farewell. Thanks to you all for making the last few days special!
First - big apologies... I know these pictures should have been posted a month ago... but believe me, it was a busy month. Anyway... after rainy and foggy Sapa we spent couple of days in Hanoi, which we very much enjoyed. Followed by couple of days on a boat in Halong Bay. It was very nice and peaceful experience ...
So, finally I managed to upload all the photos from China. Enjoy! We are now still in Sapa - the weather hasn't change - visibility very low and slight drizzle. So we are just relaxing and eating :-) Tonight we are leaving on an overnight train to Hanoi, where we will spend two days. We already have a list of res ...
Yesterday we have crossed the bother between China and Vietnam. We have spent 2 days travelling from Shangrila. Now we are in Sapa. The plan was to enjoy the beautiful rice terraces and greenery, however, the visibility is about 10m with light drizzle. Well, at least the restaurant selection is decent :-) We ar ...
We have spent 1,5 days hiking TLG. It was nice, but not that amazing. I guess after a month in Nepal it is difficult to be blown away by the snow mountains. After TLG we moved to the famous Shangrila. The town is at 3.300m sea level and it was freezing cold. But no snow. Shangrila has cute little old town and we ha ...
Leaving Lijiang in few minutes for 2 days hike of Tiger Leaping Gorge and then we continue to the famous Shangrila for couple of days. The weather has cleared up and we have blue sky (and it's very cold). Lijiang was fantastic. We love the town - this time not for the food but for the architecture. It is pretty a ...
We spent the last 3 days in Dali (old town), which is a cute historical town surrounded from one side by a huge lake and from the other side by mountains. Unfortunately, we didn't see much of either of those two as the weather has been miserable and rainy. The town is at approx. 2,000 m elevation so the weather is al ...
If you expected beautiful pictures of traditional Chinese architecture, I must disappoint you. Kunming is quite a modern city. In addition, I must also confess that Michael and I have been very lazy lately. So our 3 days in Kunming consisted of sleeping, eating and watching TV. Thus, our highlights for the capital ci ...
The last few days we have spent already in Shenzhen, China - just across the border with Hong Kong. We have been staying with friends, enjoying ourselves (meaning eating & drinking) and loving the 'civilisation'. However, the journey here wasn't an easy one. After we returned from Pokara to Kathmandu and wanted to ...
I finally got to download data from our GPS and just wanted to share the elevation graph from our trek - just that you know what we went through :-) As you can see we have hiked just over 70km, out of which about 35km happened in the last two days (which nearly killed us).
Having conquered the best that Mongolia had to offer in the extreme trekking category, we were both looking forward to tackling some small hills in Nepal called the ‘Himalayas’… The bus trip out North to our starting point for the Gosainkund trek, was a local bus trip packed with twice the physical amount of pa ...
We have returned today to Kathmandu. The trek was great - we have made some new friends, climbed over the 4.600m pass and we were very fortunate with the weather. Details with photos will follow soon! Apologies for all the SPAMs posted previously. I hope the problem has been solved now!
Kathmandu seemed like a sleepy village compared with India’s Delhi, but the immediate intake of fresh air was a real delight. Nepal is all about the tourist, unlike Central Asia. Visa upon arrival at the airport, and a city that has thousands of trekking, adventure, and endless restaurants & shops, everything is ...
Few days ago we have arrived to Kathmandu, Nepal and we absolutely loving it. For the first time during out trip it feels like ‘civilization’. Being in the peak of the busy season, it seems that there are more tourists than local people, giving the place a cosmopolitan feel. We are staying in Thamel, the famous b ...
Some additional photos. Talk later from Nepal... PRO RODICE: Par fotek z ostatnich pametihodnosti ktere jsme navstivili po ceste.. tzv opici chram... z tech opicek jde trosku starch kdyz jich je tak moc. Michael mel v ruce pytlik se zbytkem svaciny a normalne mu ho vytrhli z ruky a vsechno snedli snad I s py ...
Jaipur was a much more interesting city than Agra and on the way we stopped at a very cool temple set in the hills, crowded with monkeys. Jaipur is called the Pink City due to the colour of its buildings, it houses many historic palaces, temples and forts, making it one of India's fauvorite destinations. There is ...
The number one draw card of Indian tourism is surely the Taj Mahal. Andrea's last memory 15 years ago, was of overcrowded walk ways and a blackened sultry looking building. We almost didn't go, not being in the mood for thousands of tourists and everyone trying to sell you something. However, we were glad we did ...
Arriving in Delhi was like stepping into a blender of smells, flavours, people and noises. It seems like everyone is trying to get something from you, sell something, do something, to a point where you could go crazy in only a few days. What we were looking forward though to some tasty food and all those spices, ...
We had exactly 12 days in Tajikistan. And what days! The border crossingfrom Uzbekistan to Tajikistan was like a walk through the rose garden(compared with our previous experience on Kazakh-Uzbekistan border). Butstill a walk - no car drive possible. We got to Dushanbe in the evening andcaught up straight away with Pao ...
On the way from Bukhara to Samarkand we stayed overnight in yurts in desert.It was night and quite evening and we have enjoyed the camel ride at sunset.The next day we have continued via Nurata to Samarkand. Nurata is a smalltown famous for two things - its suzanni (embroidery) and its holy pool fullof trout (of course ...
With a delay, but at last, short comment on Samarkand that we have visited before heading for Tajikistan. If you look at the photos, obviously more blue domes. But, Samarkand was a bit different from Bukhara and Khiva too.... the main difference was that the buildings were beautifully decorated inside - with blue ...
Yet again, we didn't get on the flight from Khorog to Dushanbe - it seems that to get the ticket you must be related at least to the premier of Tajikistan (if they have one) and be related to the Mayor of Khorog. A French guy who had contacts with the captain of the airport and had left his passport with the ticket o ...
Arrived safely to Murgab near chinese border after 4 days drive through Pamirs along afganistan border. Stunning scenery, wonderful people and great hotsprings.
Got ok to Khorog. Hired a car and now on a five day trip through Pamirs to Murgab (chinese border). Loving the mountains.
Arrived ok to Dushanbe, but didn't get on the flight to Khorog so now in a car and 20 hrs drive ahead of us:-(
We didn’t have a chance to write our post on Samarkand yet. But just to let you know that tomorrow morning we will be crossing border to Tajikistan, heading for Dushanbe and, hopefully, next day morning continue our trip straight to Pamirs. Thus, until our return back to Samarkand on 9th October, we will have probabl ...
Central Asia's holiest city is captured by over a hundred significant historic buildings and monuments tracking its 2000 year old past. It has a different feel than the much smaller and fort enclosed Khiva, as Bukhara is much larger, and has that feel of a place that still captures the silk road traders, caravans ...
On the way from Khiva to Bukhara we have stopped to visit three of the old fortresses of an area called Khorezm. The whole area is covered with fortresses dating back as old as 2000 years. The way they have been preserved is amazing, considering no restoration work has been done. PRO RODICE: Po ceste z Khivy do ...
Arriving in Khiva on the South Western border of Uzbekistan, is like stepping back 2000 years into a past filled with camel caravans, silk trading, and on every corner, a magnificent Madrassa, Mousoleum, Minaret or Mosque, housing the most brilliant of colored blue & turquoise tiles. Khiva, the old town, is a wal ...
After 3 days in Tashkent we left for Chimgan, which is a mountain range about 100km away from Tashkent. Unfortunately, the weather got bad (for the first time in about 2 weeks) and the whole Thursday when we intended to hike around it was raining and really cold. So we didn't get to see much from Chimgan. Friday ...
On an overnight train to Urgench where we start our 10 days silk road tour. Spent the last 2 nights in mountains 100km out of Tashkent but rainy weather.
Couple of days ago we have arrived safely to Tashkent. That’s the good and not so interesting part. However, getting here is worth of sharing. It all started with getting the Uzbek visa in Almaty, Kazachstan. A serious nightmare. According to all information sources, the opening hours of the embassy are from 2p ...
Do not confuse Turkistan (town in Kazachstan) with Turkmenistan (country neighboring on Uzbekistan) - it did happen to us couple of times too :-) Turkistan is the most holy place in Kazachstan. Apparently, if you visit three times Turkistan as muslim it equals to visiting Mecca. We had couple of days here, w ...
After 2 days in Shymkent where we enjoyed a concert of kazakh filharmony, arrived this morning to Turkistan to stay for 2 days before going to Uzbekistan.
Any overnight train experience is fraught with danger and anxiety, as the quality of the trip rests solely on who you get to share a sleeping cabin with. We generally opt for the 4 person soft sleeper, meaning 4 sleeping places, bunk style on each side in an area as big as most of your walk in shoe wardrobes. The ...
Here are few photos from around Almaty. Leaving this evening on an overnighttrain to Shymkent, Kazachstan...
At the local market you get massive selection of everything.... for good price and as fresh as it comes... PRO RODICE: Hlavne pro Honzu na jeho zadost... fotky z trhu.... tady by sis fakt uzil. Na trzich jsme utratili spoustu penez. Same naminky....
We spend few days outside of Almaty. We hiked to the Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake at 2350 m and stayed overnight at the old Russian observatory and the following day continued via 3300 m pass back down into the valley. It was beautiful hike but the nearly 2000m descent nearly killed me (Andrea). My knees didn't like ...
We have decided to do some small change to our travel plans. Due to the political situation, Kyrgyzstan is out. As replacement, we have decided to go to Tajikistan. So after Uzbekistan, we will travel to Tajikistan for a week or two. Subject to flight availability, we will fly from Tajikistan to Delhi. If there is no ...
For the following reasons: 1. it has efficient public transportation (our favorite is bus no. 63) 2. it has really high mountains (upto 4.500m) only 15km away from the city AND you can reach them by the public bus! Great skiing in winter, great hiking in summer. 3. it has HSBC bank branch that has solved all of ...
We have now new phone number +420 603956559. It's for SMS only. We look forward to hearing from you! Currenly in Almaty, Kazachstan enjoying ourselves. Our activities are limited to eating, shopping for food, cooking or sleeping :-) Finally feels like holiday.
A short summary of our comments & observations on Mongolia: 1. Mongolians like carbohydrates – fried meet with potatoes with a side dish of rice and pasta (and possibly barley on top) – all at once, was our common meal. 2. Don’t come to Mongolia if you don’t like milk products R ...
We have arrived last night safely to Olgi. The hike was fantastic, but very challenging. Wait till you see the photos! Unfortunatelly, we have lost our mobile phone, so you cannot contact us for now. We should be flying today to Almaty, Kazachstan, so will sort out our new connection there. Full update on our las ...
Altai Mountains Trek The last adventure in Mongolia before flying to our next destination, Kazahkstan, was one of the absolute highlights, not only of Mongolia, but especially for me (Michael), of my limited hiking life. In a summary of hiking vernacular, we trampled our way with full 20kg backpacks (each) over 7 ...
Arrived to Olgi last evening. Arranged for trip to west where we will hike between the snow peaks. Leaving today, return on 26th. In between no phone access.
This place deserves a short note. Michael and I have agreed that this is our most favorite town from all Mongolia. Why? It had very civilized feel. Great market. It even had something that felt like CBD (an area full of banks). Our favorite was the free walking cows on the streets :-) But what completely won us o ...
the photos of the ring :-) (with special regards to Lynn & Dion)
Learnt a very good lesson on our trip further west towards next destination, Khovd, that being in Mongolia, they must have had only a few names to choose from for towns, as for each town, there are several other like named towns in different aimags (regions). So, as we had a painful 3 hour wait for transport on t ...
What a day! We climbed the Sutay uul mountain (4090m) and ended up about 50m below the top because of too much snow. And there, amongst the falling snow flakes, Michael has asked me to marry him. And i said yes. The diamond ring is just beautiful! 10 mins after we left the mountain, heavy rain&snow came.
Hitched to Darvi on the way to Khovd but by mistake ended up in a different Darvi (N46 27.781', E94 06.019') after 7 hrs of drive. Now heading to Sutay uul.
Our daily frustrations with transport continued as we went in search of a ride, south east to a small town called Biger, 110km into desert territory, but not the Sahara image we may have had. Getting a car in Mongolia is almost an industry in itself. Cars, or ‘machines’ as they call them are rare, so if anyone ...
Awakening to a blistery cold day in Tariat, our plan to hitch a ride to Uliastai, being 400km away, started with a long hike with the ridiculously heavy backpacks, to a point outside the village where cars would hopefully take pity on us. Within a few moments, we had been packed like sardines in a matchbox, into a v ...
Travelled 400km from lake to Uliastay (N47 44.538', E96 50.298') on a painful 17 hour van trip. Now leaving for Altai, hitching in rain waiting for a ride.
(N 48 09.426’, E 99 53.032’) In Moron we left our driver and chef and together with our guide Yono, who happened to be going our direction (south) we hopped on a shared jeep to Galt. Another new experience! Russian jeep which is supposed to fit in 5 people (including driver) and fair amount of luggage. However, our ...
(N 51 44.811’,E 99 18.078’) Our 2 week horse trek into the Northern most area of Mongolia was one filled with the full spectrum of adventures, from challenging terrain, to falling off horses, to aching muscles and sickness, but also to wonderment, exhilaration and the making of new friends. Flying into Moron we h ...
Bumpy car trip from moron south to galt N48 46.003', E99 52.580' now trekking south towards techin lake via hot springs, which we should reach in a few days.
Survived adventure to the reindeer people after some tough riding. Fantastic experience and sad to leave our 2 horse men. In car heading back to moron.
Just hit northern most mongolian town, Tsaganuur (N51 21.748', E99 20.809') Everyone in good spirits. On way to the long lost reindeer people. Fish caught - 0.
4th day of our horse riding adventure. Battered and bruced. Riding 8hrs a day, trotting half of it. Today whole day raining and still riding. Now sitting in ger
5 days of horse riding on the grassy steppes, hillsides and along rivers, milking cows, resting in our Ger in the midday heat, eating lashings of food, while under the host of a crazy, westerner cowboy, is the briefest of snapshots from what was a magnificent introduction into true Mongolian life. Anak Ranc ...
The trip out to the Terelj National Park is a good 90 minutes, pending and stray goats or cows on the road. The park is very majestic, spotted with stony mountains, endless rolling grassy plains (steppe), and several Ger camps in perfect formations. Our camp was at the base of hill making a nice amphitheatre effe ...
The last two days were in spirit of the largest and most important sporting festival of Mongolia - the Naadaam festival. This is the time and place where the best wrestlers, archers and horses compete. It was fantastic. Big opening ceremony with different groups and shows, including opening speech of the Mongolian pr ...
I know that many of you didn't believe that we would actually do it! But we did, we shaved our heads today. I attach couple of photos and a video as a proof :-) The new haircut feels great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSqNVOP59WE&feature=youtube_gdata
We have couple of days in Ulanbaatar behind us. And we are not impressed. It reminds me of the Czech towns 25 years ago. However, we saw beautiful temple with massive golden Budha - this was very impressive. We have also visited the central market which is a place where you can get absolutely everything. The local ...
This is our mobile number here in Mongolia. Drop us a message sometime: +97695054654
Well, our first official post since leaving the confines of Vietnam, all be it with a final bribe to the customs officer so that he would accept my (michael's) visa in old passport... Would you believe the first one since being in Vietnam... I feel cleansed.. The week leading up to departure was nothing but chaos, ...
Realizing that Fluffy has caused quite a stir on the international network, I thought it best to reveal in some manner, who or what Fluffy is... The little fluffy lamb you see in the pics is Fluffy, better known as 'the little shyster' for his insatiable appetite for getting in trouble wherever we travel, he has be ...
Selling off unwanted (or in some cases, very much wanted) things, not the least my BBQ. Many a snag and decent side of cow has been seared on this thing, and yes, total tong control was maintained..
This is our big Asia adventure tour before leaving Asia. The plan that is still under reconstruction you can see on the map. But includes horse riding in Mongolia, amazing architecture of Uzbekistan, hiking in Nepal and Yunnan and travelling through Vietnam, which was our home to us for the last 1.5 years.
If you would like to join us on any parts of the trip (dates are specified if you click on the destination), just drop us an email on tochackova@hotmail.com.