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.