December 3 -- On Our Way Home

Rousted ourselves out early this morning to catch the flight to Anchorage. Got down to the Westlake Station about 4:50 and boarded the train at 5:00. Arrived at the airport about 5:25 and headed off to Alaska Airlines counter. Got our bag tags and the luggage checked and we were off to security. I am always amazed how different each airport security is. In Seattle the regular boarding line where we were looked like it would have been faster than the TSAPre line. Oh well, guess you can’t have everything. Didn’t have time to get anything to eat so hopefully they will have something on the plane to purchase. Just a little over three hours to Anchorage. Looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

 

December 2 -- Seattle Day 3

 
Having a pretty lazy morning. We ate leftovers for breakfast this morning. Tomorrow we will return to Anchorage so didn’t want to leave too much lying around. I decided to stay in this morning and catch up on some writing and play a little bridge online. Bonnie went out to do some Christmas shopping. Already checked in for the flight tomorrow and are 1 and 2 on the upgrade list but we are not holding our breath for first class. Hopefully we will be lucky but it doesn’t look promising.

We met our long time friend for an pleasant afternoon and evening down in Tacoma. Had lunch at the Claim Jumper restaurant in Tukwila. Meal was pretty average but the company was especially enjoyable. We visited with Diana for most of the afternoon and into the evening. Jessie and her daughter came over to say hello and we enjoyed out time together. Diana took us back to the airport where we took the LINK light rail back to Seattle. All-in-all a very enjoyable day.
 

December 1 -- Seattle Day 2

Space Needle

Woke up first time at 4:30. Laid in bed and finally drifted back into sleep. Woke up again at 6:30 and got up. Bonnie got up after I was done with my shower. Morning routines were accomplished then was made a couple of phone calls. The schedule today is the Pacific Science Center and the Space Needle. Had breakfast today at Dragonfish. Meal was okay. Not nearly as good as yesterday’s breakfast but then it didn’t cost nearly as much. We also got 20% off at this establishment.

Back to the hotel to take care of a few things and make some phone calls and then it was off to the Space Needle. Again we used our City Pass for this attraction. The weather was actually quite good. Mostly sunny and temperature in the 40’s. The view was quite spectacular. We could see Mt. Rainer and the top of Mt. Baker. The Cascades were off in the distance and the whole skyline of Seattle was astonishingly beautiful against the blue sky.  Of course you could look from the inside and be warm or from the outside on the deck and get better pictures. Looking down from the platform you could see the sculpture of two daddy long legs on the top of one of the buildings near the Needle. I had never noticed them before or new they were up there. It’s really a cool idea. There is a playground next to the EMP Museum that really looks fun as well. You have to actually be little to do some of the stuff else you won’t fit.

Mt Rainier and Seattle

 Next we went to the EMP (Experience Music Project) Museum. It’s a nonprofit museum dedicated to contemporary popular culture. There are many exhibit halls. They all deal with some piece of pop culture. I think there were two we did not enter, the Hello Kitty and Nirvana exhibits. I wasn’t interested in Hello Kitty and we just ran out of time for the Nirvana one.

The most interesting to me was the one on science fiction. There were many references to one of my favorite movies, Star Wars Episode IV, so what’s not to like. There were many other sci-fi references as well. The exhibit includes costumes, swords, blasters, light sabers, and many other weapons of our imagination. Short movie clips and interviews are in the exhibit which are very informative. 

Daddy Long Legs

The other exhibits I found very interesting were the horror movie hall, fantasy, the guitar (electric and acoustic), and one on Jimmy Hendrix. I learned a plethora of facts and obtained information that enriched my experience and knowledge of many of the genre on exhibit as well as much about the music of the pop culture. I highly recommend the EMP.

From the we went across the street to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Building and took in the many things this foundation is supporting from education in the United States to wiping out polio in the world. I had no idea this foundation supported so many initiatives.

I began feeling poorly late in the afternoon so we headed back to the hotel for some rest and recuperation. The evening was spent chilling in the room. We had a wonderful day seeing some of the sites of Seattle.
  

November 30 -- First Day of Recovery (Seattle)

Woke up at 5 this morning. Couldn’t get back to sleep. Hopefully that will mean I will sleep tonight. We have a full day planned so that should help us stay awake.

Had breakfast at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse this morning. The breakfast was excellent but a little pricey. Weather is sunny and cool today. Phone says it’s freezing out there just 32.

By afternoon the weather became cloudy and still cool. By evening there was a misty rain falling. The drizzle was mostly annoying. Supposed to warm up tomorrow but still be cloudy. Hope it doesn’t rain. I decided to leave the camera at the hotel this morning and just take in the sites.

We went down to the waterfront this morning. Wanted to go on the harbor cruise and to the aquarium. We bought a City Pass. It’s $69 and let’s you into 6 different attractions for that price. It is a good deal if you plan to go to 3 of the attractions listed. We will probably go to 4 or 5 in the four days we will be here. Probably won’t go to the zoo since it is pretty chilly out and don’t have clothes with us to keep us really warm. I left the camera at the Camlin so no pics unless Bonnie takes some with her phone.

First thing we did though on the way to the waterfront was get my lovely bride a different coat. She was pretty cold walking around on Sunday evening. We stopped at Nordstrom’s Rack and got her a coat and she was a lot warmer today when we were out. By the time we got to the piers it was after 10.

We went to Argosy Tours and picked up a city pass and got signed up for the 1:30 PM harbor tour. There is a 2.5 hour locks tour as well but that tour is not on the pass. I think the next time we come down we will do that tour. It’s much different than the harbor tour and since this will be the second time on the harbor tour probably won’t do this one again for some time. Touring the harbor is nice especially if you have never done it before. This was our second time and the really treat is after going north along the shoreline when you turn around to go back south you are about a mile off shore and can really see the skyline of the city. I thing it would be especially striking on a sunny day with blue sky or on a clear night with a full moon. The Space Needle really makes the Seattle skyline unique. Depending on the narrator for the trip the tour will also give you some of the evolution of Seattle and the port. It’s an interesting trip.

We actually went to the Seattle Aquarium before we sailed on the ship. The aquarium is about 1/3 of a mile down the waterfront from Argosy Tours. To me this is an especially nice venue. I could easily have spent many more hours here. Since it’s the “off” season and a weekday there were not very many people. This is always a plus when you are at a tourist venue. The lack of people gives you opportunity to spend more time at each exhibit without feeling rushed and you have more time to chat with the staff about the exhibits and other marine things that you might  interest you. There are touch tanks with anemones of many colors and sizes, sea stars, sea cucumbers, urchins large and small. You can feed the urchins and other critters. They also have exhibits of the Hawaiian reefs with appropriate fish.

The big stars for me were the two giant Pacific octopi. One is a 90 pound male and the other is a 6 pound female. The giant octopus can weigh more than 150 pounds so the male is a teen ager and the female is a baby as octopi go. When they fed the octopi the female just took the shrimp on a stick and didn’t move around much but the male was pretty active and fun to watch move around. The circular tanks make it difficult to see the animals unless they are in you direct view but they was a lot of activity in the one tank along with many oohs and aahs. We had lunch here as well. The prices are very reasonable and the food looks good. I had clam chowder which was very good. Bonnie had carrot soup which she thought was a little spicy for her tastes. The aquarium is an especially nice place for families to visit.

Later in the afternoon we strolled through Pike Place Market. I talked with a couple of turners there and we bought some fresh roasted cashews. Not sure if Bonnie bought anything else but it’s alway nice to window shop.

After we got back to the Camlin we had a few light snacks and then went to see Mocking Jay II. Highlight of this was that we are members of Regal Cinema’s “club” and we got a free small popcorn since is was cyber Monday. As theater popcorn goes it was fine, a little tough and too salty. Seattle movie theaters are more expensive than Anchorage. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed with the movie. The second half of it especially diverted far from the book. So all-in-all i would give it a so-so. Certainly this was the worst of the four.

Getting back to the Camlin I ordered a pizza and Bonnie had turkey, cheese, and crackers. We watched Home Alone on TV and then turned in for the night. Did pretty good today, made it ’til 11 PM, starting to get acclimated to the time change.
 

November 29 -- The Longest Day

When we arrived in Dubai we did not have to go through passport control. We went to the connections desk. They asked for our baggage tags and passports for the next leg of the trip. So be sure you hang onto you bag claim checks. Even though they don’t really use them in the U.S. anymore they do check them at many destinations outside of the country. Moral is hang on to those bag claim checks. We took a bus to terminal 3. It was about a 15 minute ride. An Aussie that was sitting in front of us said it was faster to exit the terminal, take a taxi to the proper terminal and then go through security again. Who wudda thought.

As we entered terminal three we went to the Emirates desk to get our boarding passes. Had to show the bag tags again and passports. Got our boarding passes and then had to pass through security again. Our flight was scheduled to leave from the ‘A’ gates so we took a train there. There are hundreds of duty free sellers and restaurants in the area of the ‘A’ gates. So don’t worry about something to eat or picking up souvenirs some where else unless you think it might be cheaper.

The time on the layover wasn’t too bad. Both of us were really tired. Bonnie tried to sleep some in the chairs at the terminal but they weren’t designed for sleeping. Time seemed to go pretty slowly. I read some. Played bridge on my phone. Did a little writing and a little walking around. Seemed I was always anticipating the long journey back to Seattle. The gate opened about 1.5 hours before flight time.

We entered the gate area and once again had passports and boarding passes checked. We in and sat down until boarding time. Got onto the plain about 30 minutes before takeoff. Settled in for the long flight once again. Watched movies, dozed off and on. That was the extent of the ride but it was 14 hours. If you are a U.S. or Canadian citizen when you arrive in Seattle you can get in the express line for passport control. You don’t have to fill out the paper work on plane. It is really quick and easy. We were at the back of the plane but some of the first out of the customs area. Got the bags picked up and we were off to the light rail to downtown Seattle.

We dragged our bags up the hill to the Camlin and got checked in. There was a studio available right away or we could wait until the afternoon to get the one bedroom. We took the studio and promptly got some sleep. Slept ’til about 4 PM. Got up and had some dinner. Back to the Camlin and started the laundry. While we were waiting on the laundry we rented Mocking Jay part I and watched it. After the movie and the laundry was finished we went to bed again, about midnight.


This is the longest day because we left Dubai at 3 AM and arrived in Seattle at 6 AM the same day. Looks like three hours on the clock but because of the time zones this day was 39 hours long. It felt like a 39 hour day for sure.
 

November 28 -- Last day in Turkmenistan

Old Nissa

 Probably got the best night’s sleep since we have left home. Must have been the good food and great company for dinner last night. There are some clouds in the sky today but doesn’t look serious. We will meet Laurens for breakfast this morning and say goodbye. We have late checkout confirmed with registration so we will leave the hotel about 2 PM for the airport. After breakfast we will finish packing things up and then maybe go to Old Nisa this morning to get in the last sight seeing of the trip.

When we were on a walk the other day in Ashgabat we came up on a fruit tree that I had never seen before. The fruit is green, hard, and bumpy. Looking on the Internet today I found it is osage orange. The tree, bush, is native to Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. I had never seen it before but according to Wikipedia it has been “naturalized” throughout much of the lower 48 and southern Canada. It seems strange that I had to come all the way to Turkmenistan to have my first sighting of this U.S. plant.

Old Nissa

Old Nisa was very impressive. Laurens went with us. The ruin is still under excavation but you could
walk in and among the walls that have been restored as well as some to the corridors and doorways. It is difficult to describe but it was in its heyday about the 3rd century BC. According to a gentleman in the hotel it was first conquered by Alexander the Great and later became the capital city of some of the Parthian Kings. We took a taxi there and the driver waited for us to finish our “tour”. If it had not been that the taxi was waiting for us we could have spent many hours there but most would be in and out in less than 45 minutes. A yellow cab from the Hotel Nusay round trip plus the wait time was 50 manat, $14.50. It cost almost that much to go from the Anchorage airport to our house and that is only a 10 minute drive. There was a 41 manat ($11.75) entrance fee for the three of us plus a fee for taking pictures. Certainly was very reasonable. We did enjoy our short time there.

Old Nissa

When we got back from the hotel Laurens got a call from Natavan and off we went to the Russian bazaar. Natavan thought I wanted to buy a Turkmen hat but I really wasn’t interested. However, we had a wonderful time watching Laurens try them on and eventually he bought one. Bonnie picked up a couple of souvenirs and we were off to the silver market. Here we purchased a small silver cross the an onyx stone in it. Then is was back to hotel after saying goodbye to Natavan. We had just a few minutes to get ready to go to the airport and then Maral called and we talked with her for a short time. We told her she was welcome in our home any time and we finally said goodbye. We will certainly keep in touch with her through email and the occasional phone call. We did not have much time with he but we did enjoy the time we had with her.

The taxi ride to the airport was a little bit of an adventure with closed streets and limited access to the terminal. We did get there.

Buy your souvenirs in the bazaars or at shopping centers outside the airport. The prices are at least twice as high in the airport. As you go into the boarding area at Ashgabat there is a cafe a the left end of the boarding area. The prices should be quite reasonable by U.S. standards but much more than outside the terminal. They will let you into the boarding area about 2.5 hours before you flight departs. That is when you get your visa stamped for exit.  Be sure they stamp it. If you ever go back there improper processing on your way out could prevent you from getting back in.

When you use a taxi in Turkmenistan be sure you have small bills, 5s and 10s. Agree on a price before you get in the taxi and only pay the agreed price when you get out. They will try to take advantage of the tourists at every turn. They thing because we don’t know the language we are easy marks. In many instances that is true but there are people that will help you if you let them.

Turkmenistan is a difficult country to be a tourist. If you are outside of Ashgabat you must be accompanied by a travel agent. Rejep, our agent was very resourceful and tried to save us money at every turn. Be sure to let your agent know if he is being too frugal. It is cheaper by about 75% for a country resident to fly or ride on a train than a tourist. So don’t go on the cheap if you would rather fly for an hour than ride in a car for 6. Let your agent know if you want to spend more on a good hotel instead of going cheap on a second rate outfit. Your first duty is to yourself and your comfort.

We had to wait around for about three hours to board the aircraft. All went smoothly except for a little seat mix-up. We watched most of a movie from Ashgabat to Dubai and will probably finish it when we get to Seattle. Bonnie will probably sleep much of the way to Seattle. We are hoping someone will not show up again at the Camlin so we can check in early and go to bed. Sunday has just begun but it will be an extra 12 or so hours longer than usual. We leave Dubai at 3:15 AM and arrive in Seattle at about 5:15 AM. I so wish the flight was only 2 hours long instead of 14 +.
  

November 27 -- More in Ashgabat

Sunrise in Ashgabat

There was a beautiful sunrise this morning. We went to breakfast with Laurens about 8:30. Had a nice conversation and made a date to get together for dinner this evening. When we were done with breakfast we made a Skype call to Kitty’s and chatted with her and our daughters for about an hour. They were just finishing their dessert from Thanksgiving dinner and we had just finished our Friday morning breakfast. Time zones make for interesting calling times.

The Carpet Museum is about a 10 minute walk from the Nusay Hotel in downtown Ashgabat. The admission is 21 manat, about $12.50. There are three floors of beautiful carpets. Most have the year they were woven and the knot count. The designs and sizes look to be infinitely variable. Specific designs were done according to areas of the country and there is a map that describes the areas of Turkmenistan and another for most of Central Asia. We were given an explanation of one of the main thematic designs in the carpets and I was amazed at the intricate detail that is woven into these masterpieces. Most children would not be interested in this attraction but if you have any interest at all in Asian carpets this is a must see. There are small carpets for sale her that are actually made in the museum. This is another facility in this country that is under utilized. We saw no only other than staff in the about 2 hours we were here.

When we got back to the room we decided to go and get something for lunch. We walked up to a mall about a half mile up the road. We shared a beef, potato, and tomato dish that we very good. We were served a glass of tea after we had finished our meal. The place we ate was in a food court on the third floor. This first floor of the maul was mostly a grocery store the second level was what look like upscale shops. It was laid out pretty much the same as a small mall in the U.S.

Getting back from the mall we just relaxed in the room and watched the BBC World News and Euro News. Pretty much the same things that were on this morning. The Internet has been unavailable much of the afternoon. There is supposed to be a problem outside the building somewhere but that is all the information I was able to get. Hopefully it will be up later this evening.

Solton Restaurant

We had dinner tonight with Laurens and Natavan at the Restoran Soltan in the Berkarar Mall. This place was very crowded and most of the people were locals. This is a good indication that the food is authentic and delicious. Indeed it was both of those things. I ordered lamb and my wife had chicken. Both meals were great. The portions are large so be careful when you eat here not to order too much. We had ice cream for dessert and was very smooth and excellent quality. Tea after dinner just hit the spot. While locals might thing it was expensive I don’t think 140 manat was very much for four people. The mall looks like it has everything you could ask for in a mall. It is brand new just opening in January of 2015.


Got back to the hotel just before store closing. The mall is about 10-15 minutes from the hotel by taxi. If you go you should definitely take a taxi it would be a long hike. One more part of a day in Turkmenistan and then off on the trip home.

November 26 -- Not going out today

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. I am having my normal Asian difficulties this morning. Seems to never happen when I go to Europe but Asia always gets me. That includes Egypt since it’s partly in Asia as well. I am just happy it didn’t happen when we were at the canyon. That would have been really bad. Hopefully things will come under control with the medicine. If not it will be a very miserable day. The morning and afternoon activities have been cancelled. I hate being sick. Rejep is returning to Balkanabat to escort another group of English speaking tourists. He has been a wonderful host. Bonnie and I wish him long, healthy, and prosperous life.

We do have internet here. It costs $6 per device per stay. So I got it for my laptop this morning and for my phone this evening. My brother Ed has an old Mac and it wouldn’t Skype so we used FaceTime on the phone to talk with them since it’s over the internet. We could get any video because of the bandwidth but the voice worked just fine. Some day all calling will be voice over internet protocol (VOIP).

Sunset in Ashgabat

I am feeling much better this evening and hopefully we will be able to get out to do tomorrow what we were scheduled to do today. Only time will tell. Had chicken soup for dinner. Not much to write home about but thought I would be able to handle that for the evening. We are trying to download a couple of movies from iTunes but they are taking forever. There are two English channels on TV, one is BBC news and the other is Euro News. Both pretty much the same and the same format as CNN. The same stuff is repeated over and over.

Hopefully tomorrow with be a better day.
 

November 25 -- Back to Ashgabat

Breakfast today was French toast, boiled egg, sausage, cheese, and oatmeal. Not my favorites but all very good. Plenty of black tea was available so I was happy. There were actually other people in the dining room at breakfast so there are guest besides us. Don’t care much for the coffee here and may just start drinking tea at home.

We have a couple of hours to kill before we go to the airport. We all will probably take a walk on the beach and finish packing up the last few things. There are three people running lawn mores and cutting the grass. It is interesting to watch people run mowers that have seldom done it before because the natural state here is no grass, it’s a desert. There were three cutting and two supervising. They had their faces covered with masks I assume because of the dust (there was not dust) but no ear protection and the mowers were very loud even 75 feet up in the air.

Another little interesting thing, the airfare from Turkmenbashi to Ashgabat is $85 if you are a foreigner. If you are a Turkmen the fair is $20. Airline is run by the government and it seems reasonable for the there to be a difference but i have never encounter this circumstance.

We went for a short walk on the beach. It was quite cool. The air temperature is about 40 F but there is a stiff wind that makes it feel close to freezing. We snapped a few pics and then came back to the hotel. The manager then arranged for the balconies on the 8th floor to be opened for us on each end of the building. We were able to see all of the hotels in both directions and the construction across the street from the hotels. It looks like they are trying to build some kind of theme park there for tourists. I think they are using the philosophy that if you build it they will come.

The flight to Ashgabat was pretty much like any other flight. It took 55 minutes flying and about 20 minutes taxi time. This trip was much better than 6 or more hours in a car.

We are staying at the Nusay Hotel this time and it is far different than the AK-Altyn. The room is spacious. We have a view of the president’s palace. (no photographs allowed) There are government buildings all along the street. There are fountains everywhere. All of the buildings have white marble facades. Quite a lovely sight. We have a corner room at the hotel. Essentially we have a view down the length of two streets. The room was spotless. The bathroom was especially nice to see after the other three places we have stayed in the country. It is more expensive at about $165 a night but I think worth the price. The staff is very helpful. Also they take Visa so you don’t have to pay cash, there is a 3% service charge for Visa. You can change dollars to manat on the lower level and there is a rug and art dealer on the same level. There is a spa with a sauna and steam room, an indoor pool, and a gym. The use of the spa is 30 manat for hotel residents and 100 manat for others. There are two massage rooms as well. A one hour massage is 100 manat, $35, a bargain. Oh, by the way, breakfast is included in the price of the room. All of the meals we had in the hotel were excellent, 4 breakfasts and 2 dinners. Breakfast is included in the rate other meals are extra.

We ate in the restaurant at the hotel this evening and the meal was very good. The cost was almost triple of the restaurant in Balkanabat.  Food at both the hotel and at outside restaurants were probably just as good as at the Nusay. I still think the better all around stuff is worth the extra money.

We went for a walk after dinner along a busy street that was lit almost like it was daylight. Fountains lined the first 150 meters of the walk. They were very pretty. We walked down to the next major intersection and then turned right. We found a little shopping area with a grocery store so we picked up some water, coke, tea, and tissues. No one in the store spoke English but they helped us find what we wanted anyway. Total cost for the bag was 11.3 manat. That is about 33% more than we would have paid in Balkanabat.

So all is well in Ashgabat on this evening before Thanksgiving.
 

November 24 -- Yangykala Canyon

 
So it turns out that the beds in this country appear to be all the same, very flat and hard. Breakfast was really good this morning. We had an egg sunny side up, two crepes, a couple of small frankfurters (much different than U.S. frankfurters), a few slices of other types of sausage, some watery oatmeal, tea, and bread. Didn’t have any of the bread as there was more than enough of the other to eat. Everything was very good.

At about 9:30 we jumped into Toyota Prado. Very roomy SUV to take a trip to Yangykala Canyon, often called the canyon lands. I will let the pictures do the explanations.

Even though it was nearly a three hour drive from out hotel in Avaza to get there it was very much worth it. Description in words is difficult at best so I will not even attempt it. Suffice to say that it is spectacular, beyond all my expectations. We got "box lunches" from the dining room, they were very good I might add, and had a “picnic” on the top of the mesa. Our guide and driver even built a fire for us. Going at a time to see the sunrise or sunset on the cliffs would be truly amazing. If you look on Trip Advisor it will tell you this is an attraction in the Balkanabat area but it is a 4 hour drive one way from Balkanabat. If you are staying in Avaza it is a 3 hour one way drive by car and the hotels are the same price and better appointed. It obviously is your choice. Of everything we have seen this is the most breathtaking of them all. If you get close it should not be missed. Missing this attraction would be like shrugging off the Grand Canyon in the U.S. It really is that amazing.

Between now and supper we will be repacking again. We will fly back to Ashgabat just after noon tomorrow so must have everything ready. Flying on Turkmenistan Airlines should be interesting. They do fly relatively new Boeing aircraft so should be quite safe.

Dinner this evening was good. I personally did not care for the fish but my wife thought it was wonderful. The rest of the meal was very good.
 

November 23 -- Away we go to Avaza

Had breakfast at the hotel restaurant again, ordered some potato cakes with the rest this morning and they were very tasty. The cakes were a good addition to the combination breakfast. The meal again was very good and reasonably priced.

After breakfast we went up to the room to finish packing up for the day’s trip. It didn’t take long and as I was taking the first bag down to reception Rejep met me bearing gifts. He had two gift bags one for Bonnie and one for me. That was very kind of him to do. We thanked him and then continued with the chore at hand. We had discussed the day’s journey at length yesterday and told Rejep we did not think the car we used on Friday would hold us all comfortably and our luggage. He finally agreed. When we talked with him this morning he said he had gotten a larger car.

The car was larger. It fit all of our luggage because we had consolidated two of our bags into one. All loaded up we were off to Avaza. Along the way we stopped to at the silk road monument once again and took a couple of pictures. We drove for probably 45 minutes and Rejep told us he wanted to take us to Mollagara. We had no idea what this was so we said sure let’s go.

Mollagara Lake

 Mollagara Lake looked pretty much like a mud pit to me. Rejep told us that people come here from all over Turkmenistan and other countries to bath in the salt water to aid things like skin disease, leg cramps, and other things. He told us he had actually come and swam in the lake. There were platforms built around the lake for people to sit in and a number of stairways down to the lake where the bank was high. I personally would not swim in this lake but I’m sure there are many that do and more that would given the chance.

Mollagara Sanatorium

 The Mollagara Sanatorium is a brand new facility near Mollagara Lake. People come here to be treated for all kinds of ills. They stay for a week or more and receive a number of treatments that include water massages, hot salt bathes, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, heat and cold therapy, and mud bathes to name some of them. There are others. What was most interesting is that we received an impromptu tour of many of the therapy rooms and my wife actually received an abbreviated water massage. She did like that part of the tour especially. We asked Rejep if he arranged the tour in advance. He told us that he talked with people when we got there and quite possibly would not have been able to get a tour if he had tried to arrange it before hand. This turned out to be a very interesting stop along the way.

While we were at Mollagara, Rejep got a call from Maral’s mother that she had some gifts for us. She had come by the hotel but we had already left. She asked if we could hang out until she arrived with the gifts. Of course we told her we would wait. We received a large bag of gifts and Laurens a smaller bag. The gifts were very generous and we thanked her profusely. We enjoyed the short visit we had with Maral’s mother and brother. And then we were off to the hotel in Avaza.

As we were driving along we encountered some camels that were on the road. We stopped so we could take some pictures. The are just as smelly as I remember from when we rode them in Egypt a number of years ago. This one looked healthy and was very willing to pose for pictures. Driving further down the road there was a large expanse of white ground off to our left. Turns out it is a salt flat from a lake that is drying up. Seems there are many salt lakes in Turkmenistan and one of it’s many export are salts of different types.

On down the road we started descending a steep hill and got our first glimpse of the Caspian Sea. The view from this point was quite spectacular. We were just south of the city Turkmenbashi. Since we had never before seen the Caspian Sea this was a special treat. From here is was about 10-15 minutes to our hotel in Avaza.

First Glimpse of the Caspian Sea

We are staying at the Hasyl Hotel on the Caspian Sea. The sea and the beach are beautiful. There are sixteen hotels along the shore in this area and it looks like right now they are all empty. All of the meals are included in our room rate and when we went to the dining room at appointed meal times we were the only people in the room. The Hasyl is well appointed and very new. It opened just last year. As I said it is new, yet there are wine stains on the carpet and the occasional chair in the room. The hassock  that goes with the chair is missing a button and another is ready to be among the missing. When we turned on the faucets in the room the water was brown. It did clear up. The shower tiles were stained brown and the moulding between the tub and the tile was loose. At a rate of $100/night it is a real bargain. According to our travel agent the hotels along here are really booming in the summer season but it is difficult to believe looking at them now. The area was built up to make it into another Dubai but because of government restrictions on the Internet and entrance into the country this will not happen. The rates are very attractive but there is little to do except sit on the beach. That is certainly not my kind of vacation. It looks like some type of theme park is being built but can’t tell for sure and the only thing I know will be in it is an aquarium.

Hasyl Hotel

We did eat as soon as we arrived and the food was very flavorful and well presented. This was kind of rest afternoon for us. We did go for a walk on the beach with Rejep. He asked many questions about the shells and the tidal pools that I was happy to answer. We didn’t see anything in the tidal pools that was very interesting except for bivalves and a few barnacles. There are probably 6 hotels in easy walking distance from where we are on the beach and there were only a half a dozen others that we could see doing anything on the beach. As we walked back we went through another hotel. Don’t remember the name but it also seemed empty. Walking back to the Hasyl along the road I was struck by the fact there was no traffic. All of the hotels and the other structures being built belong to the government. I think they have wasted their money and time but you never know.

Super was very good as well and very filling. There is always more than enough food to eat. If you go away hungry it is your own fault. We are getting box lunches for tomorrow to take to the canyons. Looking forward to that trip.

We did open the bag of things that Maral’s mom brought us. There were many sweets. Some of which we will be able to carry around with us but some will have to be eaten before we leave here. There was also a large cotton blanket we think. It was certainly too large to be a towel. We also decided we would fly back to Ashgabat instead of driving. It’s less than an hour to fly and 6-8 hours to drive. I am sure it is not much more expensive in the long run either. We will probably have to pay for our bags but don’t know for sure.

November 22 -- Wedding Day

Slept the best last night that I have since our arrival. Might be because we were up ’til well after 10 PM. I guess we are starting to get adjusted to the time difference. We went down for breakfast at about 9 this morning. We both had something a little different than yesterday but the food was still really good. Went back up to the room to get ready for the early afternoon festivities.

We (Bonnie, I, and Laurens) were picked up by one of Maral’s cousins. He drove us to her house. The ladies were in one tent eating and the men were in another so Laurens and I joined the men and Bonnie joined the ladies. We ate and drank and at the completion of the meal a prayer was said thanking Allah for the meal and that he would bless the bride and groom. All then got ready for Maral’s entrance in here traditional Turkmen garb for the bride. This outfit can weigh as much as 40 kilograms. For those of you metrically challenged that’s more than 85 pounds. Before that could happen though we all ran up to apartment to observe her getting her bridal garb put on, at least the finishing touches. She was ten escorted down the stairs by her husband to be and a couple of hand maidens. A procession of things she was given were the taken down the stairs and gifts for the bride were laid before her. In the large tent outside they ate some cake and shared a little food and a symbol of their joining. We then proceeded to load into cars to process to the groom’s house where they again shared cake a little to eat.

From there we had an automobile parade through the city to the Wedding Center. There they were married by what we would call a justice of the peace or simply a judge, someone authorized by the state to perform marriages. A short celebration took place and then everyone dispersed to their homes to get ready for the evening party.

I should mention that there was a clarinet, concertina, and two different types of drums playing during the whole process. They also went to the groom’s house to play and to the marriage center. All of the locations were very close together and people moved from place to place very quickly. This whole process took about one and a half hours. Much of it I didn’t understand and probably never will.

At the break, Bonnie, I, Laurens, and Rejep went back to the hotel to change into more comfortable clothes and then went to the library to see if we could us the internet. We indeed were able to do that so we quickly caught up on our email and sent a message to Mel and Meg. It took a little time to figure out how to make things work since everything was in Russian and the people there to help us spoke no English. But we did get passed the challenges and soon became friends with the librarian that was assisting us even though we did not speak each others languages. Rejep tried to act as interpreter but had difficulty with some of the technical words and phrases. But it all worked out.

Our new Turkmen library friend then took us to the roof of the building to show us the view. I was truly amazed. You could see the whole city in all directions. The library is probably the second tallest building in town. Using Rejep as our translator we shared information about our families and had an enjoyable chat. We thanked her for her help and the tour and paid for our time on the internet. That price was 4 manat, about $1.20. The fun we had with the librarian and the children that were working around us was really priceless.

We also found out that there was an observatory on the roof but we had to have an observatory specialist in order to go into that room. So we went down to the first floor and were preparing to leave when lo and behold an observatory specialist showed up. So back up to the roof we went. The observation room was astounding. There were 8 Lenovo computers set up with 28” monitors. There were 8, 60” TVs set up that could see what the telescope was observing. The telescope is an 800mm reflector. A beautiful piece of equipment. But the observatory is not used because they do not have a qualified person to run it. So it sits idle. What a waste. But it is impressive. I did get to play with an astronomy program on one of the Lenovo computers for a bid and had a wonderful time.

From the library we went to another bazaar. Here we actually bought a few things. Picked up a couple of drinks and some nuts for a snack. 200 grams of cashews were less than $3. Picked up 100 grams of peanuts that were sugared and coated with sesame seeds for about 30 cents. Nuts here a excellent, fresh, and inexpensive. After the bazaar we hiked back to the hotel to get ready for the evening party.

At 6:20 we met in the lobby and then strolled across the road to the reception. Maral and Kuvat arrived about 7:15. We had already began to eat by then and the food was on the table from the time we arrived. All of the food was wonderful. We ate our fill and had drinks for all. There was also Cognac and vodka. I had some cognac and a toast with Maral’s father. We danced, took pictures, and danced some more. In between we ate and drank. I was able to “dance” with Maral twice. Dancing is different in Turkmenistan than the U.S. The men usually dance with women but here as often as not the men dance with men. It’s not a problem just different. The bride and groom were a lovely couple. I pray they will have a long and wonderful marriage. May they have all the happiness the Lord can offer them.

At just a few minutes to 11 we left and wandered over to the hotel. It was a lovely evening. We pretty much packed for the trip in the morning to Avaza. We will meet Laurens at 8 for breakfast and the be off by 10. We are looking forward to the new experience but not the car ride.

A little side note, we found out today that all businesses much close at 11 PM. It’s kind of a curfew. People don’t have to be off the streets by 11 but businesses are not open. It does make for quiet nights. This curfew includes all restaurants, stores, and drinking establishments.
 

November 21 -- Balkanabat

Breakfast at the hotel this morning was simple and good. As I said before it was not included in the room charge. The cost was about 42 manat or $14 for both of us. Pretty inexpensive I would say as hotel restaurants go. We even got to watch Russian music videos while we ate. That was a special bonus. Maral’s brother picked us up about 9:30 this morning and took us to a local bazaar. You could buy just about anything you had a desire for there. We bought nothing. Maral’s brother bought us a gift to hang over our door at home to keep the evil eye away from our home. Bazaars seem to be the malls and supermarkets of the U.S.

Balkanabat Library

After the bazaar we drove around the city looking at different building landmarks. The place they perform weddings, a theatre, a library, police headquarters. There was one monument that was a sculpture of six people and a camel struggling to get through a sandstorm. Will have to find out what the monument was for because I don’t remember. We then went to a new museum in the city. It was very new and not all of the exhibit halls were yet filled. There was one hall on natural history of the Balkan Province that was very nice and informative. Another on the history of the people of the area, also enlightening. The last we went through was an exhibit on the oil and gas industry in the Balkan Province. This was something I actually knew something about having been in the business and having done a little research when Maral came to live with us. We were in the museum for just a little over an hour and did not see anyone else except the people that worked there. We were told generally only tourists visited the museum and at this time of the year there are not many tourists.

Silk Road Monument

From the museum we went back to the hotel to pick up the gifts for Maral and then off to her home for the afternoon festivities. Maral’s family and friends were at her house having a party and the grooms family and friends were at his house having a party. There were two groups at the party the men and the women. I stayed with the women because that is better and because at least some of them spoke English. We ate many wonderful foods. Maral received the gifts from her family and at about 2 PM the ladies from the groom’s house arrived to give their gifts. There was much singing as the day moved forward. Later all of the gifts were gathered and another showing was done on all the things the bride will take with her to the groom’s home after the wedding. All of this made little sense to me but everyone, including me, seemed to have a wonderful time. Of course between each gift event there was more food.

Came back to the hotel to rest for a bit and then went out for a walk. We walked down to the library we had seen earlier in the day. We went inside and communicated to the librarian that we would like to look at the facility. She showed us around on the first floor. Unlocking doors as she went. The facility was beautiful but it looked very unused. My idea of a library is stacks and stacks of books but we saw no stacks at all. Some books were on display on stands and standing but no stacks. There were many computers on the first floor that I would assume had access to the internet but all of them were without operators. The second floor was just as fantastic. Here there were half a dozen children using the computers. Two that I noticed were playing games. One was playing chess and the other was playing something I didn’t recognize. A couple of young ladies were working on some kind of a project. Except for one room we went into they were all very hot, probably 80 +F. For a facility of such great size I was astonished there were only two people working. But at least they have a library.

We stopped at a couple of monuments along the way but could not determine for sure why they were there. Two of them were the first president of Turkmenistan. I think we are done roaming for the day and will probably go down to dinner soon and then hit the sack. Maybe we can get a good night’s sleep tonight. I certainly hope we will.

When we got back to the hotel Maral called and said that her friend, Laurens,  from the Netherlands wanted to go out for dinner to a place he had been before for dinner. She wanted to know if we could join him and we did. We met in the lobby and were introduced around by Rejep and then departed for the restaurant. Rejep was going to drive us but we decided to walk to the place.

Soon we were at a restaurant called Burawcy. The food was excellent though the service was a bit slow by U.S. standards though it turns out the service was very reasonable by Turkmen standards. At 9 PM they turned the music up and the laser lights on and the “disco” was in full swing. We left shortly after that. Asked for the check just before it started and then couldn’t hear one another to break it down so I paid the whole and when we got outside we squared things up. The food was great. The music was even louder than in the U.S. I think it’s time to put some money in hearing aid manufacturing and sales.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped to pick up water at a convenience store. A 1.5 liter bottle was twenty cents. Yup, that’s correct, just 20 cents for 1.5 liter bottle of water. Went back to the hotel and now it’s time for a good night’s sleep.
 

November 20 -- Off to Balkanabat

 
Breakfast on the 20th was quite excellent. While certainly not a “traditional” breakfast in the U.S. it certainly was tasty. There were turkey sausage, hard boiled eggs, a variety of other sliced sausage, cheese, breads with butter and jam, toast, olives, cucumbers, three types of juice, two types of tea, and yogurt. If you couldn’t find something you liked to fill your morning hunger you are way too picky. Breakfast was included with the price of the room.

We started our drive from Ashgabat to Balkanabat at about 10 in the morning. But we didn’t really leave the capital city until after noon. It seems the day we were going to Balkanabat the Ministry of Transportation closed Ashgabat to travel by car for people living outside of the city. This was done to help prevent road congestion during the heavy construction that was taking place in the capital city. Our driver finally got his permit to return to the capital and thus circumvent the closure. It was needed to go back to Ashgabat after they dropped us off to pick up another tourist and bring him to Balkanabat.

 After traveling for about 45 minutes we came to the attraction called Kow-Ata, the underground lake.This attraction is about 7 km off the main road between Ashgabat and Balkanabat. There is an exhibit of native nomad temporary shelters that were quite interesting. There were also places to get things to eat and drink before or after you went to the lake but not during. No food or drink was allowed in the the cave. This is not a cave like many of you have been in before. There are no stalagmites or stalactites, no ribbons, no straws, no quartz formations. Nothing to ooh or aah about except that it is still very interesting. There are supposed to be 362 steps down to the lake, didn’t count them. The steps are not very well lit so I would advise a flash light or a cell phone light. There are two entrances. One is used by the people entering the cave and the other is a natural one that can be seen from the first landing. As you move down the stairs there is really not much to see except more stairs. Once you get to the water if you have a swim suit there is a place to change so you can go into the water. There was another party that followed us down that did go swimming. The water is warm because it is fed by a hot sprint from inside the mountain. Certainly worth making the little side trip.

We left Kow-Ata about 2:30 PM. The drive to Balkanabat from there seemed like it took forever but it was only about 4.5 hours. We did make a couple of short stops along the way but generally just drove or I should say Bonnie and I rode. It was raining during the trip or the roads were wet until about an hour south of Balkanabat. The sun was warm and very welcome. We even got a couple of pictures of a nice sunset out the window of the car. We arrived at the hotel shortly after 6 and we were both quite tired.

We stayed at the Hotel Nebitci in Balkanabat. Our travel agent was able to get us 50% off on the room fees but then the cost does not include breakfast. We were actually fine with that. This is the only game in town so good, bad, or indifferent it’s what you get. Room was large by European standards and looked comfortable. The room was generally clean. There was a no smoking sign placed in the room as well. Maybe that’s why the room didn’t smell of smoke. The chairs that were by the writing were nice to sit in and doubled as a coat tree. The easy chair was straight backed and comfortable as well if you didn’t have to sit in it for a long time. The bed was like a rock. Now I like a firm be as much as the next person but this one was really hard. As long as you sleep on your back it was not much of a problem. Lying on your side was not comfortable at least for me. Two of the three nights we stayed the telephone in the room gave a high pitched buzz during the night waking us from sound sleep. It was very annoying.

The bathroom looked like the grout in the tile and floor as not installed properly and the maintenance people tried to plugged everything up with caulk. It was not effective. There was water all over the floor and the bath mat was soaked. The shower worked well however. There was only one bath towel and only one hand towel provided. This may have just been an oversight of course.

We had been relayed a message that we were to meet Maral in the hotel restaurant at 7:30 for dinner. We were quite happy that she arrived just after 7. There were hugs all around and she talked with us non-stop the whole time we were with her. It was a wonderful dinner mainly because of sharing with such great company. Maral is doing very well and is still employed despite the downward spiral of oil prices. Her job is very dependent on the price of oil. She seems happy and not entirely ready for the wedding but with help she will get there. We look forward to spending some time with her and her family tomorrow.

The hotel restaurant was nicely quiet even though there were more than a dozen other people. I liked that. The food was very good. The salads were very tasty and  presented well. We had a chicken soup with dinner that was delicious. The entree was a chicken, tomato, mushroom combination that was served with rice. The dish had very good flavor. For dessert we had a fresh fruit platter that included apple, pear, and orange. The platter was presented well. The fruit tasted fresh and was a nice finish to a good meal. 

November 19 -- Off to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Woke up about 5 AM and did all of the morning things. We went over to the City Center Mall to find a place to have breakfast. Most of the stores were not yet open so the mall was very quiet. We decided to eat at Paul.

Paul, is kind of upscale for a mall. Since we were there before most of the stores opened so it was quiet and not very crowded. The menu was limited for breakfast but my wife and I ordered different breakfasts and both were tasty and served promptly. A basket of bread was served with the breakfast which was kind of unexpected. We had no idea this was a “chain” until we saw one at terminal two in the Dubai airport. I would recommend this place for breakfast.

After breakfast we went back to the hotel, check-out, and took a taxi to the airport. We were already checked in so we just had to go through security and on to the gate. the flight to Ashgabat was just under two hours.

 Flying from Dubai to Ashgabat we were on a “discount” airline called Fly Dubai. The seats were comfortable the legroom was pretty average and on this flight you paid for everything from drink to the entertainment system. Fortunately this flight was less than 2 hours and we used my laptop as our entertainment system. We only got to watch part of a movie before the flight was completed. Turns out you can get manat, the Turkmen currency, at any of the hotels. The exchange rate is pretty much the same all over and agrees with what I found on the web at 3.5 manat for each U.S. dollar.

We got our visas at the airport. All we had to do was present our letter of invitation, pay for the visa, and get it stamped. We then went through passport control, back claim, customs, and then we were greeted by Rejep when we went through the doors.

Rejep drove us to the hotel and got us situated. He brought us some manat, local currency, and was off for the night.

The Ak Altyn Hotel is showing age. The door lock is still with a key and it does not lock automatically when you close it. If you leave the room you much take your key to lock the door or have someone that is still inside lock the door. We were given a room with twin beds. Oh well it’s only one night. The room smelled strongly of smoke but then there are no non-smoking rooms. The furniture is worn from much use. The rooms were clean except the bath has black mildew on the tile grout. The rooms was very dark even with the lights on and the drapes open in the morning. Not what I would call cheery. The hotel could certainly use an upgrade. Didn’t seem to have any English channels on cable but then I’m sure they don’t have too many English speaking people (as their first language) staying here. Wifi cost is $1 per day and is only supposed to be used in the lobby though you can see the network in your room. I did us it in my room in the morning until 7 AM when my time ran out. If you can afford it, stay somewhere else.

From the sixth floor you can see much of the city in one direction. The windows were quite dirty on the outside so the view was some what restricted. That is pretty much that way most windows are in hotels in the desert that I have stayed in so this in nothing out of the ordinary.

Had dinner in the Continental Restaurant in the hotel. The salads we had were excellent. The menu has pictures of everything and the salads looked exactly like the picture and were very tasty. We ordered “roasted vegetables” to go with our entree. These looked like they came from a can and were only warm when they arrived. Carrot, potatoes, peas, a few mushrooms, and something else I wasn’t sure what it was were in the mix. The entrees we ordered came in huge portions. Wife said her fish was good and I ordered the mixed grill. There were five different preparations including, white fish, ground meat patty, beef steak, chicken, and a lamb chop. The lamb, fish, and meat patty were tasty. The steak and chicken were over cooked. Didn’t have dessert. The meal was 150 manat or about $43.

We did have wi-fi here but I was not prepared to post any information. We mostly checked out email. Social media is blocked in Turkmenistan so I couldn’t look at Facebook. Not sure I will be able to post anything to the blog while we are here either but am writing things up as I go along so they can be posted when we get back to Dubai or Seattle.

We will have wi-fi in Awaza so will try to post from there or at least send emails. Plan to post some reviews to Trip Advisor as well but will probably wait to do that until we get to Seattle.
 

November 18 -- Overnight in Dubai

Landed in Dubai about 7 PM. Moved quickly through the airport and didn’t have any baggage to pick up so just went right to the taxi and off to the hotel, the City Season Suites.

This is the second time I have stayed at this property and once again it met or exceeded all of my expectations. The room was very clean. The bed was comfortable. The staff was attentive and helpful. Check-in and check-out were very quick. In a one bedroom suite there was one and a half bathes. Meaning that two people could take care of business at the same time which is often convenient. I personally did not like the shower head in this room but that is a personal preference. The steam was not strong enough to suit my tastes and the spray was too close to the wall. The head would be removed which is fine for rinsing off but I don’t think it helps me when I wash my hair. I’m quite sure my wife thought it was just fine. Once again I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

We didn’t bother with an evening meal since we just had breakfast on the airplane before we landed. Turned in and got a good night’s sleep.

November 17 -- Off to Dubai

Got up this morning around 8:00. Bonnie did her exercises. That’s generally her morning routine. While she was doing that I go myself ready to go so she would have the facilities when she was ready. We watched the news until about 10:30 then went on a historical tour of the Camlin.

The hotel has really and interesting history since is opening in 1926. Turns out the original owner “borrowed” the money from the bank he was president of and the tail gets more sordid as the story goes. The tail was interesting and a tour of the older parts of the building was fun. It was originally constructed as an all suite hotel with monthly rates available. At some point all of the kitchens were walled up and it became a regular hotel with a dinner room and bar on the top floor. The kitchens were uncovered again when Worldmark bought the property in 1996. The renovation cost quite a lot more than was initially anticipated. However, the Camlin has turned out to be one of the favorite properties of the owners.

After the tour we checked out an had them store our luggage while we went to eat and made another trip to the drug store. We picked up our luggage at about 1:30 and off to the airport we went. Got checked in at Emirates. They checked our bag right through to Ashgabat so we didn’t have to mess with it in Dubai, that was very nice. Boarded our flight at 4 and were off to Dubai and another adventure.

Flying from Seattle to Dubai was a really long trip, 15 hours. The flight was very nice. The food was very good. The entertainment system on Emirates is really amazing and helps the time go by quickly. Even so 15 hours on the same airplane is a long time. Entry into Dubai is easy and quick. There is no visa required for U.S. residents and you just have to go through passport control for entry.
 

November 16 -- Off to Seattle

The flight from Anchorage to Seattle was uneventful. We had a window and aisle seat in the same row hoping the middle seat would be empty. We scored. There was no one in the middle seat. We tried to sleep on the way down but it was difficult at best. Bonnie tried to “stretch” out in  the window and middle seat but certainly isn’t long enough to do that. I stayed sitting up and dosed occasionally but did not really sleep. We had a good tail wind so got into Seattle half hour early. We collected out bags and trudged off to the light rail to get downtown.

The light rail is the way to get to downtown Seattle from the airport. A taxi ride can cost upward to $50. The rail ride is $3 from Sea-Tac to Westlake Station and is probably faster depending on the time of day. We will use it again at the end of the trip when we return to downtown Seattle.

Once downtown we walked the four blocks to the Camlin. We are owners in a time share that allows you to stay many different places in the world an this is one of the properties. Normal check-in time is 4 PM. We arrive at check-in at 7 AM and asked if it would be possible to check-in early. Behold, someone did not show up the night before and they had a room available for us right away. We went up to the room settled in and promptly slept until 11 AM. A much needed rest.

We prepared ourselves to go out and went to the desk to ask for suggestions on a place to eat. The Dragonfish was suggested and since we had eaten there a couple of times in past years we went there for lunch. The lunch was excellent and only two blocks from the Camlin. After lunch we walked around downtown for a bit, stopped at a drugstore and then went back to our digs.

During the time at the hotel we checked out movies and decided to see Bridge of Spys. On our way to the movie we stopped at Pike Place Chowder in the Pacific Center Mall. We both had New England clam chowder that was excellent. The movie turned out to be excellent as well. After the movie we returned to the Camlin and a good night’s sleep.