Tashkent to Alice Springs - 22 Sep to 4 Oct

22nd September 2008

Summary: even more frustrating day in Tashkent

Spent the night in a dorm at the train station, sharing with M+A. A and I had to take the kid-sized beds. Had to sleep diagonally and kept hitting my head against the wall every time I moved. In the morning M+A headed to Osh while we set off for the Chinese Embassy yet again. Got there 15 min before opening and added our names to the list. A decent sized crowd had already gathered but it didn't look too bad. Jeremy rocked up a few minutes after us. At opening time a few numbered tickets were handed out but progress was painfully slow, and agents with bags full of passports seemed to be slipping in and out. It became clear we were never going to make it in before closing time (3 hours later). The mob got angrier and yelled at the official who came out at closing time. I would have joined in too if I had a bigger vocab. G was unwell again so rested back at the hotel while I went for lunch. Started to work on Plan B in the afternoon - Darwin, Seoul, Maldives...???

Practicalities: Orzu hotel, room 24

Food: laughman noodles, bibambap

23rd September 2008

Summary: getting to know Tashkent quite well

Headed off to the Kyrgyz Embassy to get our visas, which we will only use if we get into China - 68 dead in a Kyrgyzstan airline crash recently so only want to travel overland through there...Despite getting there shortly after opening the guard put us on a list and told us to come back in the afternoon. Prospects of getting to China were vanishing (as we have to pass through Kyrgyzstan to get to China)...We insisted we needed a same day visa so had to submit the forms in in the morning. He eventually let us enter and of course there were no other customers in the office and our applications were taken immediately (plus double the normal fee for faster processing). Headed off to attempt to enjoy Tashkent, although G was still unwell. Wandered around Chorsu Bazaar - full of fruit, veg, meat etc. Developing a few favourites in Tashkent, in particular a cafe with cheap tea, baklava, free wifi and clean toilets. Spent a fair bit of the afternoon here. Went back to the Kyrgyz embassy to retrieve our Kyrgyz visas without any fuss. On Monday we had been told explicitly to turn up at midnight on Wednesday morning as they would start taking names for the list then. So we dressed warmly and rocked up at 11:30pm. To our horror they had already started taking names and we were only 35th and 36th on the list. Given they got through about 20 numbers on Monday hopes were fading fast...

Food: potato cakes, dried apricots, baklava, banana, hamburger, pasta

24th September 2008

Summary: end of the overland journey

Walked to the Chinese Embassy in silence, knowing that our chances were slim. We found out that the guards had started taking names and $30 bribes on Tuesday morning. The queue was moving faster than Monday so we were relatively hopeful, however a lot of "unlisted" people with sacks of passports seemed to be mysteriously getting in, and by noon it was basically just us 4 foreigners left waiting (to be fair I think some locals just gave up earlier than us). At 12:05pm our overland journey was pronounced dead as the guard shut the door. We were furious at the corruption, incompetence and lack of empathy (they could have processed us all in an extra 20 min) although relieved to at least have some certainty. We raced around to all the airline agencies looking for the soonest flight out of Tashkent, we didn't really care what the destination was, as long as it was in the right general direction. To offset the carbon brownie points we had accumulated in the last couple of months we booked 5 flights: Taskhent->Seoul->Singapore (2 day stopover)->Darwin (top of Australia)->Alice Springs (middle of Australia)->Uluru/Ayers Rock (rock near the middle of Australia). We will then resume our overland journey from Uluru to Sydney. The flights were reassuringly expensive (managed to avoid Uzbekistan Airways) - almost as much as our entire costs for the previous month.

Food: BLT, syrian restaurant - hummous, babaganoush, beef with prunes and apricots, chicken with cheese and mushrooms (and a smiley face)

25th September 2008

Summary: admin and evening flight to Seoul

Spent the day scraping together cash for our flights - Asiana Airlines would not take credit card so we needed over $2k in cash, they even asked for SOM (the local currency) but if you recall the largest note is 70c and we didn't have a bag big enough so we paid them in mostly USD. Also did some admin booking hotels etc for the next few nights of the trip. Our last ludicrous Central Asian experience was buying water at the airport (after emmigration to be fair) to find they did not accept their own currency. The plane was very comfortable and empty so we were able to lie down and get a bit of sleep.

Practicalities: 22:20-08:30 flight to Seoul on Asiana Airlines

Food: lentil soup, rice and chickpeas at our favourite cafe (with the free wifi), hamburgers at our favourite westernised cafe.

26th September 2008

Summary: Incheon Airport and flight to Singapore

Incheon Airport (Seoul) was such a massive contrast to Tashkent it was difficult to believe they were only separated by a 6 hr flight. Earth seems much smaller than before we embarked on this trip. Felt like we were back in the "real" world - sparkling and new, full of designer shops, free (and fast) internet terminals and wifi, coffee chains and plastic covered toilet seats (I am not saying these are all good things). Spent time on the internet planning more of our trip and did some shopping. While waiting to board there was an announcement apologising for a 10 minute delay in the boarding time - we love this place! Got a little sleep and arrived late in the evening in Singapore. It was nice to be somewhere familiar again (and clean, friendly, modern, English-speaking etc etc). The only cities so far on our trip we had previously visited were Paris and Rome.

Practicalities: 16:00-21:25 flight to Singapore on Asiana Airlines, Furama Riverfront, room 1737

Food: Gloria Jeans coffee and ramen noodles at the airport, room service of hamburger and spaghetti bolognese in singapore (better to stick to asian food)

27th September 2008

Summary: retail and food therapy in Singapore

We did most of our sightseeing with our tastebuds - refer to the food section for more information. Had a nice time catching up with Kaz and May. Also visited Florence (our contact at the camera store we frequent in Singapore) and splashed out on a digital SLR and some nice lenses.

Food: PS cafe - scrambled eggs, sausages, tomato, and corn and zucchini blinis with bacon, rocket and poached egg. Hainan chicken rice for dinner, sweetened tofu with gingko nuts and abaling (glutinous rice filled with peanut paste) for dessert.

28th September 2008

Summary: continuation of retail and food therapy

More of the same in Holland Village and Takashimaya. Went back to Kaz's place to chill out before the flight to Darwin. Singapore was hosting the world's first night time F1 race today. In the cab on the way to the airport we heard the deafening roar of the race cars and caught a glimpse of the crowds and even some cars whizzing past.

Practicalities: 2335-0600 Jetstar flight from Singapore to Darwin

Food: kaya toast with soft boiled eggs and tea with condensed milk, crab cooked in butter and white pepper, coconut juice.

29th September 2008

Summary: lots of flights to get to Uluru

Today was a big day as we ticked the box "Australian citizen returning to live in Australia" on our customs form. It felt strange to be in Australia but not Sydney - familiar yet I had never been there before. Had the usual long wait in the quarantine queue. Had another two flights to Alice Springs then Uluru, with good views the entire way, confirming that the NT (Northern Territory) is largely flat, red and deserted, with the odd dried salt seabed and straight road. Caught my first glimpse of the big rock as we landed. Quite amazing given the surrounding countryside was so flat. Picked up our hire car at the airport. We were too tired to do too much so went for a walk around the resort and did some laundry. We are staggered by the price of everything (hotels, groceries, restaurants, bars), not just relative to the dirt cheap countries we had been travelling through, but even compared to London. This might just be because one resort has a monopoly on Uluru (doesn't explain the prices at Darwin Airport though). Had a home-"cooked" meal for the first time since leaving Greece.

Practicalities: 1115-1315 Qantas flight from Darwin to Alice Springs, 1400-1500 Qantas flight from Alice Springs to Uluru, stayed at the Lost Camel Hotel, room 216.

Food: plane and lounge food, home-cooked salad with lettuce, carrot, red pepper/capsicum, tomato and 4 bean mix.

30th September 2008

Summary: walk around Uluru and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)

Slept in to recover from the flights, then headed off for a long walk (14km, 3-4 hrs) around the base of Uluru. Up close we could really appreciate how massive it was and explore the waterholes and gorges along the base. Didn't see any people at all away from the carparks. The climb was closed to to high winds (although the indigenous population requests you don't climb it at any time anyway). Had a quick rest at the visitor centre then drove to Kata Tjuta for a short walk (2.3km return) into Walpa Gorge. Stopped back at the rock to watch it change colour as the sun set.

Food: chicken sandwich, another home-cooked salad with salmon and corn.

1st October 2008

Summary: Valley of the Winds walk through Kata Tjuta, drive to Kings Canyon

Woke up early for sunrise at Uluru, then headed out for a longer walk (7.6km, 2.5hrs) around Kata Tjuta which was stunning. Had lunch back at the resort then set off for Kings Canyon (300 km). At Curtin Springs petrol station we enquired about the state of a unsealed road we were considering taking to Alice Springs - the lady replied "it's as rough as old sh!t", so guess we won't take it. After dinner on our porch we went to the pub where a live band was singing "Give me a home among the gum trees", while audience members were wearing fuzzy koala hats and dancing badly. Hard to believe we were in Uzbekistan less than a week ago. Could be a good strategy to throw ourselves in the deep end with respect to Australian life. Sydney will feel much more cosmopolitan after a couple of weeks in the Outback.

Practicalities: stayed at Kings Canyon resort, "budget" room 9 (shared bathroom blocks - reminded us of school excursions and family holidays)

Food: chicken baguette, home-cooked salad (beans)

2nd October 2008

Summary: Kings Canyon rim walk

Woke up early-ish again for a walk along the top of Kings Canyon (8km, 3.5 hrs). Scenery is getting more amazing with each walk. This walk had crazy beehive rock formations, up there with Cappadocia for weird. Also an impressive array of plants in the Garden of Eden. Really hot today. Did some washing in the afternoon and it was mostly dry in literally 5 minutes. Saw a baby-eating dingo during dinner.

Food: chicken wrap and chips, "Sounds of Firelight" dinner run by the resort - intimate settng of 5 tables outdoors around a fire - quite unnecessary as it was still so hot, except because of the name they had to have it. 5-6 courses including every species of native flora and fauna imaginable - crocodile, emu, kangaroo, barramundi, koala bear, macadamias, not to mention beef, lobster, prawns...with wines to match. Had not eaten or drunk so much in a long time, we were bursting.

3rd October 2008

Summary: Kathleen Springs walk, drive to Alice Springs

Did a short walk (2.5km) at Kathleen Springs, then set off for the long drive to Alice Springs. Apart from the stunning scenery the most excitement was the occasional bend in the road and roadkill. After a long search for a hotel we were very excited to explore shops such as K-Mart and Woolworths. Really feel like we're home now. Prices have also come down noticeably compared with Uluru.

Practicalities: approx 400km drive from Kings Canyon to Alice Springs. 130km/h speed limit meant we got there pretty quickly. After being turned away from 4 full hotels we finally checked into Elkira (Best Western), room 109.

Food: burger with the lot at a petrol station on the way. Home-cooked salad (salmon).

4th October 2008

Summary: lazy day in Alice Springs, Desert Park

Had a lazy morning exploring the shops and cafes of Alice Springs and doing a few chores. In the afternoon visited the Alice Springs Desert Park. Initially disappointing as we saw very few animals apart from some dopey kangaroos, but picked up with the bird enclosures and all the deadly and/or furry creatures in the nocturnal enclosure.

Food: salad wrap, home-cooked salad (organic chickpeas)