Farawayistan

Category: Off-bike travels

COVID-19 update (we found a home on Bali to stay safe)
Self-isolate. That’s the new way of life these days. In our last COVID-19 update we told you how we fled from India. Our next move was finding a safe place in case of an outbreak, which according to some is just a matter of time. We are happy to say that we found a home to stay safe on Bali This is how we are planning to keep safe.

Can you imagine roaming free, cycling wherever you want. Doing everything in your own pace with no-one telling you what to do? Sounds like a dream right? Well, we were living it. This pretty much was our life for the last eight months. And then all of a sudden it was over.

#stayhome when you don’t have a home

And that’s okay. We needed to figure out what #stayhome was going to mean for us not having a home. Going back to the Dutch mayhem didn’t appeal to us. We just had to find a place to live in a country where we’d never before. A little scary, but mostly exciting. We knew that Ubud and Canggu where popular places for digital nomads, so these became our two options.

Friends of ours were staying in Ubud, so we went here first. And it was love at first sight. We absolutely fell in love with Ubud and it’s very apparent Balinese culture. The architecture, the traditional music, the smiles and the friendliness of the Balinese. It warmed our hearts.

No Canggu

We visited Canggu too, but we just never got the same vibe there. If high-end co-working spaces with impeccable design are your thing. Or you love to strut in hip beach clubs and drink cocktails after a day of surfing on perfect waves is in your alley, go to Canggu! We think that we just aren’t that hip any more. Are we getting old?!

It also feels wrong to sit in a communal working space in these times. Before we had the ability to prepare our own food, we had to go out to eat. You wouldn’t believe how many dirty looks Sabina got when she was coughing because she choked on a delicious Balinese green pancake. It was definitely time to start practice social distancing.

Our new home

We wanted a place where we’d be happy to be locked down in and from where we’d be able to work on all the amazing stories and footage from the last eight months. And boy did we find it. We found a home to stay safe on Bali. It’s a gorgeous villa with a loving family. We have a swimming pool, a lush tropical garden and super fast internet. We’re surrounded by rice fields yet close (10 mins cycling) to the supermarket and other necessities. We even get housekeeping every other day.

The crisis behind COVID-19

Do we need this luxury? No. Does it do anyone any good? Yes. The pool maintenance guy who just had a baby a few days ago gets to keep this job. The cleaning ladies can continue receiving a pay cheque and so does the gardener.

We see more people getting in extreme financial trouble than people actually getting sick. This causes a lot of stress which can easily result in mental health disorders. This can have a great effect on the physical health too. So we try to choose wisely where we spend our money. Is it going to those who need it?

Spend your money wisely

Another example is the fruits and veggies we get home delivered. The farmers on Bali were preparing for high season, but with the corona crisis restaurants are not buying. A local initiative helps these farmers and buys the produce for fair prices and makes boxes for people to get delivered to their homes.

I’m sure there are a lot of local initiatives in your area too. Just ask around. We’d love to hear which ones you are inspired by or involved with in the comments!

Stay calm

Also don’t forget to think about mental wellbeing. We found a home to stay safe on Bali where we can practice meditation, exercise (indoors if necessary), try new recipes and allow ourselves to relax without scrolling on social media or reading the news. Instead, check out these awesome video’s we found!

Stay safe, stay sound. If you want to talk, we are here.

Follow all our adventures on Instagram.
3 April 2020
Railing away from Mumbai to South India
After having faced the Himalayas’s we were ready for a holiday. Stuff had been stolen, Sabina’s bike fell of a bus (the wheel broke beyond repair) and we were both feeling really weak. The bikes had to do without us for a while. Time for some beaches and good food.

We stored our bikes in Kathmandu and booked a flight to Mumbai. India isn’t typically known as a place to relax, but we had high hopes for the South, and we were definitely not disappointed. Mumbai is the second city of India but immediately when we arrived it felt a lot more relaxed than Delhi.

Where to eat in Mumbai

The food the city had to offer was to die for. We pretty much spend most of our days eating. Our favourite places were all in or around Colaba, where we were also staying.

Olympia Coffee House, really good kheema.

Sahakari Bhandar, a local eatery with an amazing (spicy!) chili idly dry. Also famous for their pav bhaji.

K.Rustoms & co., best ice cream in town.

A taste of Kerala, the thali is served on a banana leaf!

Theobroma, imagine french toast made of a croissant served with melted butter. Heaven.

Mumbai’s must see’s

Colaba, but generally Mumbai, became one of our favourite destinations in India. Accommodation is notoriously expensive, but the food is cheap and most sights are free to visit. We walked around the city, watched people play cricket at the Maidans and got amazed by the hard work of the dabba-wallahs.

There are about 5000 dabba-wallahs (literally ‘food container person’s) cycling around the city delivering hot lunches to office workers throughout the city. Tiffin boxes (food containers) are picked up each day from restaurants and homes and carried to a centralized sorting station. More than 200,000 meals are delivered, every single day.

Worth a visit

One of our favourite activities, which wasn’t that obvious, was a visit to the mega shopping mall High street Phoenix. A bit out of the centre but totally worth a visit. After Nepal, it was so good to be surrounded by some luxury. We escaped the city heat in the air conditioned stores and shopped ‘till we dropped.

Taking the train to the beach

It’s really cheap to fly in India, but who wants that when you can take the train! It was an experience we were looking forward to a lot. We had booked our tickets online (an extremely complicated process) and were put on the waitlist. The day before departure the tickets got confirmed as RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation). Meaning we were on the train, but possibly had to share a seat. This wasn’t too big of a problem, since it was a day train and there are usually empty seats anyway. We got lucky and got two seats after all.

List of Indian Railway abbreviations you must know (CNF, RAC, PQWL, RLWL, CKWL, GNWL, RLGN)

AC: Air-conditioned

ACC: Air-conditioned coach or class

ACCC: Air-conditioned chair car

CC: Chair car

CKWL: Tatkal waiting list , see TQ (lower priority than GNWL)

CNF: CNF probability of confirmation is displayed in the form of a percentage

ETA: Estimated time of arrival

Exp.: Express

FC: First class (also financial commissioner, also freight corridor)

FT: Foreign tourist (annotation on reservation charts)

GNWL: General quota waiting list (the highest priority of all waiting lists)

Jn.: Junction (in station names)

LB: Lower Berth (annotation on ticket for sleeping accommodation)

MB: Middle berth (annotation on ticket for sleeping accommodation)

NV: Non-vegetarian (meal or restaurant)

PF: Platform (sometimes P/F)

PNR: Passenger name/number record (you need the PNR, a 10-digit number to check the status of your reservation)

PQWL: Pooled quota waiting list (lower priority than GNWL)

Rd.: Road (in station names)

RAC: Reservation against cancellation (half confirmed ticket, you might need to share your seat, but you are on the train)

RLGL: Remote location general wait list (higher priority than RLWL)

RLWL: Running line/remote location waiting list (lower priority than GNWL)

SLB: Side lower berth (annotation on ticket for sleeping accommodation)

TQ: Tatkal quota (a set of last-minute seats/berths that opens at 10:00am the day before departure)

UB: Upper Berth (annotation on ticket for sleeping accommodation)

V or VG: Vegetarian (meal or restaurant)

WL, W/L: Waiting list; Waitlisted (ticket issued without confirmed accommodations)

2T: Two-tier (the number of beds above each other in a berth)

3T: Three-tier (as in “AC-3T” = air conditioned three-tier coach)

Our train took us to Madgoa, the capital of Goa. After six months of travel it was finally time for our first beach destination. We took a taxi to Palolem, a town in Goa that’s supposed to be a bit more laid-back than the crazy party beaches. The beach was lovely, but felt really touristy. Big beach clubs all playing loud music and serving cheap beer and cocktails. Not really our cup of tea (which we favour over alcohol anyway). The next beach Patnem, was a little more laid-back but still not our dream holiday destination.

Gokarna’s Kudle beach

Our friend Alexey (who you might remember from the yellow Lada on the cargo ship on the Caspian) had been in Gokarna a few weeks earlier and his Instagram stories of this beach looked like paradise. His tip to visit here was golden. After a two-hour local train ride and another thirty minutes on the bus, we arrived in the city Gokarna. This was not our final destination though. We were going to Kudle beach. Our home for the upcoming two weeks.

Kudle beach is a little harder to reach (10 minutes by tuktuk followed by a steep stairwell to the beach) and therefore much less crowded. Plenty of people gather here every day and there are plenty of restaurants and accommodations, varying from bamboo huts, to cottages and one resort.

Israeli’s, Dutchies and a Catalonian.

When we were walking onto the beach we asked a couple walking in front of us if they had found nice accommodation. Adi and Roy were staying at Gundappa, and it seemed perfect for us too. A clean cottage with a bathroom and a comfortable bed. Soon enough we’d spend most of our time here hanging out at Gundappa, eating at Sunshine café and playing in the waves. Later we were joined by Carlos, also staying at Gundappa’s.

Every year Carlos would come back here to Kudle, and he had befriended some young jewellery sellers on the beach. These kids have been working here for long hours in the blazing sun since an incredibly young age. Instead of just giving them money, he actually showed interest in them and treated them to a meal we all enjoyed together. He also brought [name] along on our boat ride we all took to a beach a bit further. The look on Prem’s face was priceless, he couldn’t stop taking photo’s. Thank you Carlos, for being such an inspiration.

Walk the line

Kudle was the perfect place for us to completely wind down. Not too many distractions, but enough to keep us entertained. We played frisbee, visited Gokarna town, practised slack line skills and all went on a boat ride together to a nearby beach.

Munroe Island

After this time in paradise we did still want to experience some of what South India had to offer, Kerala was high on our bucket list, and someone had tipped us about Munroe Island. We booked a train again, that would take us there in about eighteen hours. A pretty long run, but trains in India are so entertaining. The sellers that constantly walk by yelling out whatever they are selling and the countryside just sweeping by.

We always try to avoid the typical tourist destinations, so we chose Munroe Island over Allepey. Allepey is well known for the expensive houseboats that cruise along the backwaters of Kerala. The houseboats are not only extremely expensive, they’re also a big impact on the environment. The government of Kerala has now limited the release of new licences for these boats.

Kayaking in Kerala

We opted for an environmental friendly water vehicle, the kayak! Unfortunately our kayaking skills weren’t up to par. We argued away about whose fault it was that we kept going in circles. Nevertheless, we got to see a great deal of the life on and next to the water in this mesmerizing part of India.

Temple festival

From November to March there are temple festivals somewhere in the region virtually every day. And as luck would have it, the Munroe temple festival coincided with our visit. There were ceremonies every day and there was food served for the whole community almost every afternoon. We visited a Naga ceremony at the Naga temple. A young man was brought in trance with a long meditation and some help of the hallucinatory leaves of the beetle nut flower.

When he finally became Naga (a mythical semi-divine being, half human and half cobra) he fell to the ground and started twisting and turning. He rolled around and the men surrounding him kept him from rolling into the spectators (young terrified girls) and into something that might hurt him. They poured coconut water onto his head when Naga seemed to get the overhand. In the end the man fell to the floor. He just laid there, covered in the coloured sand. Then all of a sudden the spectacle was over. Naga had left his body and his friends took him away to clean and cool him off with water. It was one of the most intense ceremonies we’d ever witnessed.

Elephant parade

The highlight of the festival is the elephant ceremony. Every year a big parade of elephants walk through the streets of Munroe, through the river and around the temple. The elephants are beautifully decorated with golden head pieces and the riders hold colourful shields and umbrella’s.

We secured a good spot under the bridge to watch the elephants cross the water, But the police kept sending us and all the other spectators away. Of course everyone would go back as soon as the cops had left, and so did we. When the elephants finally came the police officers wanted to send us away again, but instead they started pictures of the majestic creatures. Together we took our photographs filled with excitement of watching these humongous but gorgeous creatures.

The festivities continue

As the parade continued, the elephants and their riders were accompanied by drum bands. And not one drum band as we would know it. But tons of drum bands, all playing as loud as they could and all playing a different beat. Add the lights, the special decorated spinning pieces carried by dancing men, women carrying oil lights and burning incense and all senses are running overtime.

We were overwhelmed by the magnificence of this event. There was so much happening, and we were loving every second of it. Munroe Island took a special place in our hearts.

Skip Allepey

Before continuing our journey to Kochi we had a two night stopover in Allepey. We took the eight-hour ferry through the backwaters of Kerala. It was a fun slow way of travel, but these bigger canals weren’t anywhere near as beautiful as the small canals of Munroe.

In Allepey we stayed at a really cool hostel, Art.packers Hostel and met some interesting people we hope to meet again someday. But besides that we didn’t really think much of Allepey. The hostel offered a ‘city-walk’ but with the highlight being a destroyed pier (only some poles were still standing) that should tell you enough about how uninteresting this place really was.

Jesus’ secret life

In Kochi we were pleasantly surprised. Kochi is a coastal city with a lot of English, Dutch and Portuguese influences. We drove around all the highlights with a tuktuk tour. The driver spoke good English and could tell us a lot about Christian history in Kochi. Even before the Dutch and the Portuguese had colonized India there were already Christians. There’s a whole theory that Jesus didn’t die at his crucification. Instead, he regained strength and travelled through Central Asia to Kashmir where he lived together with his mother and continued to preach. Apostle Thomas introduced Christianity to Kerala in the 1st century AD. Who knew…

Kathakali in Kochi

After so many European influences we were ready for some typical Keralan entertainment. A kathakali theater show. Kathakali is a traditional dance form, where the performers tell the story with only their dance, hand gestures and eye movements. A kathakali show typically takes eight hours, but we went to the tourist-friendly one hour show. It was the best drag show we have ever seen in our lives.

We want more India

We learned so much more on this visit to India than the last time, when we rode from Delhi to Nepal. We got to experience culture, eat all sort of different Southern Indian cuisines and talk to a lot of locals. One of them said to us ‘India is kind of similar to Europe, every state is like a different country.’ We couldn’t agree more. There is not ‘one’ India. But this side of India was one that we can absolutely recommend. For cycling but also for ‘normal’ travel.

We are looking forward to our next visit to India in the Northeast, also known as the seven sisters.

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17 March 2020
Hiking along the high peaks of Nepal

After six months of dragging around our heavy hiking boots, we were finally able to put them to good use. Our next Himalayan adventure would be on foot. Hiking the Manaslu circuit trek.

The Manaslu circuit trek is far less crowded than the popular treks around Everest and Annapurna. The two week hike circles Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak at 8,163 meters (26,781 ft). Buddhist monasteries, architecture and traditions had left us feeling we were in a completely different country and sometimes even in the neighboring territory, mystical Tibet.

Permits, porters and guides

Our bikes were safely stored at the lovely hotel where we’d recuperated from cycling the Annapurna. We had spend most of our days trying the local cuisine, relaxing in bed, ordering kati rolls and pizza to our room and preparing for the two week-hike.

At one of the many tour offices we negotiated for a guide and a porter to carry our backpacks. It’s not cheap to do a long trek off the beaten trek in Nepal. We needed three expensive permits that already set us back 125 USD each. We agreed upon a price that seemed fair to us which included everything. Transport, three meals a day, porter and guide plus accommodation at the teahouses. Hot showers and wifi were not included, but for a chai with every meal we closed the deal.

The strong porter

Bringing along a porter was sheer luxury but made our hike a lot more enjoyable. We bought a cheap knockoff backpack in Pokhara and borrowed trekking poles from our friends. We only packed what was absolutely necessary to save our porters back. Lalu was a tiny man in his late fifties. Not only did he carry our two backpacks, he also had his own bag. He would still walk miles ahead every single time and waited for us while het sat there, smoking his little hand rolled cigarette.

After a one and a half day very bumpy bus ride, our trek started in Soti Khola. For the first two days we walked on the new jeep track. Sometimes we would catch a glimpse of the old hiking trail, seeing what was in store for us. A typical Nepali flat trail, meaning it constantly went up and down along the cliff. Climbing the whole day without actually gaining any elevation.

Jeep track to rocky trail

As promised to us by our guide Mayla, about two hours after Macha Khola we crossed a bridge and the rocky trail and actual climbing started. From now on we only shared the trail with locals and porters and donkeys carrying up all sorts of goods. Groceries, entire fridges, metal components for the suspension bridges, they somehow even managed to get a pool table up there.

The first part of the trail followed the Buri Gandaki, a long river gorge with many suspension bridges. We trekked from the subtropical jungle at lower elevation to forest and rice paddies in the Himalayan foothills. We climbed countless stone staircases, crossed steel suspension bridges and greeted the friendly locals in their picturesque villages.

Our worst nightmare

The only other trekkers we met were all coming back down from the pass. It had been closed for days now after heavy snowfall a few days earlier. They had given up waiting but we still had hope the sun would melt away some of the snow. Here in the valley it was still very warm and the forecast was promising after all.

But just what we had feared became reality very quickly. At the checkpoint in Philim officers told us the pass was closed and wouldn’t open again before next season. Instead of with trekkers, we shared the teahouses with locals making their way down from their villages to Kathmandu. Almost everyone had closed up for winter earlier than normal.

Walking amongst the Himals

We decided to keep walking and go as far as we could get. We were so bummed we couldn’t complete the entire trail. To make matters worse one of our camera’s also broke down. Our mindfulness practice was truly put to the test here in Nepal. We couldn’t seem to catch a break.

Bullocks of course. We were in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, we had each other and we were healthy and fit (enough). We peered into the beautiful Tibetan highlands and as we got higher and higher we awed at the sight of majestic peaks as the Singra Himal and the Buddha Himal.

Soaking it in

We decided to make our hikes a little shorter, giving us more time to soak up the mountain views. As we got higher we started to notice the difference with the Annapurna circuit. Besides the lack of other tourists, hot water and wifi, people were also different. Woman wore gorgeous Tibetan dresses and men and children also all dressed traditionally.

Fancy a shower?

One thing we didn’t particularly enjoyed was the tradition of not showering. People reeked as they walked past us and especially older people were covered in dirt. Their genuine toothless smiles still warmed our hearts. Presumably we didn’t smell much better since it had been a few days since our last shower. It was getting really cold here higher up in the mountains and we didn’t really fancy a cold shower either.

Mount Fishtail

After Namrung the valley widened and we truly entered the Buddhist culture area. Lho is one of the three bigger villages and at 3020 meter it was also the highest we could get. Beyond here there were no more teahouses open. From Lho we had an amazing view on the two peaks of the Manaslu. In the morning the white snow covered ridges turned to gold as the sun shone its first rays on Mount Fishtail. (Manaslu’s nickname thanks to the two peaks shaped as a fishtail.)

The village of Lho

On top of the hill of Lho lays a relatively new gompa (monastery), built for the many Tibetan refugees who come to live here. Lho is practically plastered to the Tibetan border and with a lot of special permits Tibetans can occasionally cross the border.

With our cramp-ons we climbed the icy steep path to the gompa, to find it almost deserted. There was one monk but all the others had also made their way down towards Kathmandu. Nevertheless, the view from here on Manaslu was even more spectacular so we took our time to enjoy and appreciate at what a special place we’d found ourselves yet again.

To road or not to road

With a positive mindset we started the hike back down again. Descending went a lot faster but definitely wasn’t easier. Our knees ached from all the stairs and we covered much more kilometers per day than before.

We talked and thought a lot about the road that was being build. Workers were using explosives and heavy machinery and soon the small villages would be accessible by car. It will probably drastically change the culture and hiking here won’t be the same. The small villages here had much more of a unique character than those along the Annapurna circuit.

A bad injury

The road will very likely generate more income for the villagers. More tourists will come with more money to spend. Soon enough you’ll be able to buy the same generic souvenirs we found everywhere in Nepal.

On our way down we also stumbled upon a local woman moaning in pain. The poor thing had tripped over a rock and broken her shin. She was lying there helpless and alone. Mayla rushed to the next village to get help. All the men had gone for the day to hunt and work, so she had to be carried by the women of the village. It was at least a one hour hike and they don’t have stretchers up there.

Professional care

Our guide explained that the doctor doesn’t come to the villages for a case like this. If she needed professional care, she had to be carried for another four hours. We were complaining about the pain in our knees from walking the rocky trail. But we were also complaining about the road being built, because it will change their local culture. This woman probably never got the same professional care we would get if we tripped and broke our leg. Our insurance covers a rescue helicopter to haul us to the best hospital in the country. This woman only needed a road.

Loss of identity

Something as simple as a road can drastically change the identity of a place. It can also drastically improve the lives of those who live there.

As UNESCO states: (…) A society’s culture is neither static nor unchanging but rather is in a constant state of flux, influencing and being influenced by other world-views and expressive forms. The current era of globalization (…) is having a homogenizing influence on local culture. While this phenomenon (…) has provided millions of people with new opportunities, it may also bring with it a loss of uniqueness of local culture (…) Balancing the benefits of integrating into a globalized world against protecting the uniqueness of local culture requires a careful approach. Placing culture at the heart of development policies (…) to invest in the potential of local resources, knowledge, skills and materials to foster creativity and sustainable progress. (…)

Sustainable tourism

Somehow the Nepalese government needs to take all those different cultures and traditions into consideration whilst modernizing the country. With tourism being the largest industry in Nepal, sustainable tourism could really make a big difference here. There is still a lot to learn about this subject, for us too. By going off the beaten track we hope to at least stimulate local economy.

Lakeside shopping

Globalization and modernization isn’t all bad. We had quite the laugh when we saw a woman in traditional clothing wearing a Santa’s hat. We saw here from the bus that would take us back to Pokhara. Back to our luxury hotel and our favorite restaurant. Back to the ugly generic shops all selling the same knock-off brands, providing all those people with an income.

Thank you Nepal

Nepal had been a challenging country, physically and mentally. We’ve learned about culture, about tourism, but also about ourselves. And after a total of four weeks adventuring in the Himalaya’s we were beat. We were leaving our bikes and the mountains behind for the beaches of southern India and Sri Lanka. Those mountains were getting too cold now anyways.

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22 February 2020
Kazakhstan greatest country in the world

But really, who would’ve guessed. Our first experience of Kazakhstan after crossing the Caspian wasn’t the greatest. So we were very surprised every time people told us Kazakhstan was the highlight of their trip so far. We decided to take a chance and invite Sabina’s parents to this place. Let’s see what it has to offer.

We were so excited to finally be in a modern city again. Almaty has quality restaurants everywhere, too many coffee shops to try (we tried of course) and a McDonalds with a proper McCafé. Pure luxury if you ask us. One of the benefits of cycling the world, is that you can eat as much as you want without gaining any weight. The downside is that you’re constantly hungry of course, so that kind of balances it out. Well, Almaty is foodie paradise. We could find everything here. One kilogram of pancakes for not even 1 USD for example.

ORS to the rescue

But it wouldn’t be Central Asia if one of us wasn’t having stomach issues. The Pamir belly was still ever apparent and we were both on dorm arrest. We patched ourselves up with oral rehydration solution (ORS) and stuck to food that agreed with our upset bellies. We caved once and got McDonalds and both ended up terribly sick again. We were definitely playing it safe from here on and prayed to not get this sick again.

Luxury

After a few days Sabina’s parents, Wout and Monique, joined us. It was great to reunite after not having seen each other for a couple of months. They arrived pretty early and had had a long flight, so Monique had booked a luxury hotel for all of us.

It got even better, because they had also brought all things we had been adding to our wish list the last months. It was a pretty interesting collection of bike tools, Dutch food (even mayonnaise!) and candy, bikepacking bags and new cycling shoes for Robin. We finished the bag of crisps first.

Southern capital Almaty

There was so much to do in Almaty. We walked around town to see the Soviet architecture, visited the bazar, took the cable car to a view point slash amusement park and enjoyed the exquisite gastronomy scene. After every day of sightseeing Wout and Monique would take a swim in the pool and visit the sauna at our amazing hotel. We only joined them for the first day and we can confirm that it was lovely.

Charyn Canyon

But things were only to get better. We had booked a private three day SUV tour to see the nature this region has to offer. Andrey picked us up in his incredibly cool SUV and we were off to our first outdoors destination: Kazakhstans canyons. With Charyn canyon being the most impressive one.

After crossing the endless, wide-open plains outside of Almaty, the landscape suddenly gets a third dimension. The canyon consists of colorful formations, and towering cliffs. Being scared of heights definitely didn’t help some of us when visiting this majestic nature phenomenon. Robin was the bravest one and faced the deep abyss to take some wonderful shots.

The Kazakh simple life

After Charyn we cruised along the breathtaking views of more canyons and mountains in the distance. We drove to a small Kazakh town offering Wout and Monique their first insight in small town life of Central Asia. Luckily they also enjoyed getting stuck in a traffic jam (sheep and goat jam) and weren’t too bothered by the more simple accommodation located in the foothills of the Tien Shan mountains.

Kolsai Lakes

On our second day we drove to the famous Kolsai Lakes for a brisk hike. Armed with trekking poles for Monique and anti-diarrheal medicine for Sabina, who was still quite sick, we hit the path. We started to hike along the first lake, which was already very impressive. The pine forest reflected beautifully in the calm water and the mountains painted the horizon.

The second Kolsai lake

The total tracking distance to the second lake and back was 16 km. Three quarters in the trail started to become more and more difficult. So after a small lunch and some tea Wout and Monique started to walk back at a bit more relaxing pace then we had been doing. We continued together with Andrey and we were not disappointed by the rest of the hike. The forest became more dense and we passed waterfalls, deep muddy tracks and it even started snowing for a bit!

On the way back from the second lake Sabina started to struggle. She was exhausted and had to dive in the bushes every now and then for some business we won’t define. At an extremely slow pace we did make it back, and at the second lake we could even see her parents walking and waving to us from the other side of the first lake. They had taken a somewhat shorter stroll the other way, which had been equally beautiful.

Kaindy Lake

For our last day we had three items on the program. First of was Kaindy lake, also known as the sunken forest. The lake was formed as the result of a landslide triggered by an earthquake more than one hundred years ago. It blocked the gorge and was filled by mountain river water. Trunks of submerged pine trees rise above the surface of the lake. The cold water helps to preserve the trees, which are overgrown with algae and other water plants.

Scenic breaks

The other two stops were more like scenic breaks to stretch our legs. We went to our last canyon, the Black canyon and to Bartogai Lake. A reservoir in the middle of the desert, a steppe surrounded by rocky mountains. We can’t thank Andrey enough for three amazing days. He was a great guide and we had a lovely time. If you want to know more about his tours, check out his website kolsaitour.com.

From luxury hotel to youth hostel

Back in Almaty we traded the luxury of the Novotel hotel for a youth hostel. It was fun to show Wout and Monique how we have been traveling and meet other travelers. We considered putting them in a dorm for fun, but that was maybe a little too much. The private rooms would do, and it was nice for us to also have a private room for once! We spent our last days together walking around the city and simply enjoying each others’ company.

Kazakhstan had been a great success. Greatest country in the world!

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18 January 2020
Iran part IV – Bam & Bandar, driving south

We drive further down south, towards the warmth of the Persian gulf.

For the third time we pass Kerman, this time on our way to mister Akhbar in Bam. But after only ten minutes on the road we are stopped by the police. The officer didn’t speak English and our Farsi isn’t so good either. We’re guessing we were speeding and hand over Robin’s drivers licence. After some gesturing and writing out a fine for us, the police men lets us continue our journey. Later we find out is is indeed a speeding ticket, and we should’ve gone to the bank to pay the 600.000 Rials. Sounds like a lot of money, but isn’t more than €10. We keep it as a souvenir and hope they won’t give us any problems at the border for not paying a speeding ticket.

Mahan and Rayen

The Lonely Planet is our tour guide today and we have three stops planned. The mausoleum and the beautiful garden in Mahan and the ancient citadel in Rayen. The citadel is ike a huge sand castle, you can climb on and wander. Outside the citadel we spot a shepherd with his flock. Bam wasn’t on our itinerary, but the drive from Kerman to Bandar Abbas is way too long for just one day. And now we get some sightseeing on our way too!

Pulled over again

The second time we are being pulled over today, we found a better tactic. As other drivers simply accelerate and madly wave their arms at the officers, we decide to have a friendly chat instead. The chat isn’t more than saying Holland, Holland and naming Dutch football players, but hey, it works. No ticket this time, just a great portrait instead.

Mister Akhbar’s guesthouse

When we finally reach mister Akhbar’s guesthouse we are welcomed with a pot of hot tea, and no one else to find. After knocking on a lot of doors and ringing door bells, Robin has the fantastic idea to ask the neighbours. It’s mister Akhbar’s son, and he runs a small travel agency with great enthusiasm. Almost such great enthusiasm that we nearly end up changing all of our plans and head to Chabahar instead of Qeshm directly. Chabahar is towards the Pakistani border and it means a lot of extra driving. It’s also deep in the red zone, of the Dutch governments travel advice.

Mister Akhbar convinces us during dinner in his living room that we take it easy and head to Qeshm for a couple days of relaxing. Rushing through cities doesn’t give you time to truly appreciate them. We follow his advice, he has seen them coming and going since 1973, when he first opened his guesthouse. We watch the news about the yellow vests together and we share how we celebrate Christmas where we’re from. He is delighted with our gift, a small snow globe with a christmas three. It get’s a prominent place on a shelve above the television.

Early morning

The next morning we finally succeed in leaving at the planned time, for the first time this trip. We have one more try at fixing the SIM card, but the shop is closed. We’re still offline, and we’re fine with it too be fair.

Today we drive trough the mountains, and even spot a stream with water! The government gets a lot of criticism for poor water management with the dams that are built. This leaves a big part of the country without water in the already dry environment. Ever since our cappuccinos on the way back from the Kaluts, we have tried to find them again. We search the shops in the small trucker towns we pass, but without success. We do find people with faces that tell stories on their own. Poor goats in trucks on their way to the slaughter house, and sunflower seeds that the shop owner weighs with an old fashioned scale with weights.

27 January 2019
Iran part III – Kaluts in cold Kerman

We drive deeper into Iran and cross more deserts and Martian like landscapes.

A typical travelers breakfast in hostels and guesthouses in Iran consist of flat white bread (in many different forms!), cucmber and tomatoe, white cheese and some carrot jam. When you’re lucky, sometimes a boiled egg. Not quite a solid base for a +7 hour drive, but we have some snacks (biscuits, salt & vinegar chips and fruit) for on the way.

Driving on Friday

Traffic is less hectic today since it’s Friday, which can be compared to our Sunday. We drive through the desert, and despite what you might expect, the scenery never gets boring. We drive through hills, see grand mountains and wide plains. At gas stations we see families and pick ups with goat and sheep in the back. The rising full moon and the reflection of the last sunbeams on the mountains is a beautiful sight. Iranian sunsets never dissapoint.

Sunset also means car lighting. But not before it’s really dark. Otherways other drivers will kindly warn you, your lighting is on with blinding driving beams. Plus points if your car has crazy blue and red LED lights.

Yalda night in Dasht-e Khak

Arriving late in the small town Dasht-e Khak we still need to find Hamid’s homestay. Not having a phone we ask for help at a small store. A shopper knows Hamid, but I guess everyone knows each other here, and he leads us the way on his motor cycle with a plastic bag with mushrooms in his hand.

Hamid and his family warmly welcome us in their home. It’s Yalda night, a winter solstice celebration. Hamid cranks up the fireplace, where later the kebabs will be grilled on. First we enjoy sunflower seeds, pomegranate, sweet lemons and Havez poems. An uncle has a special little barbecue where he keeps glowing coals on for his opium pipe. No pictures please.

Finally, the kaluts

Nights are very cold in the Kerman region, so cold they have Robin wrapping himself up like an Eskimo. Crazy to think we are driving to the place we’re the hottest temperature ever was registered by NASA. 71 degrees Celsius to be exact. We are going to see the Kaluts in the Dasht-e-Lut desert. Thankfully it isn’t that hot this time of year. It’s even snowing in the mountains we drive through to get to the desert!

The drive is long (180 km) and we only stop for a short lunch break with some Gorme sahbzi in the city Kerman. The scenery is spectacular as always. When we get closer to the Kaluts the landscape suddenly changes. The sand in the desert isn’t like the fine sand we expect. It’s rock solid. We also don’t really know what to expect from the Kaluts, but when the appear in the distance we are blown away with the grandiosity.

Not only in the figurative speech actually. The wind is fierce, but that creates a mystic view of dancing sand storms between gigantic rock formations.

Christmas at the Caravanserai

Hamid calls us to warn us, that we can’t stay too long. We have a long drive back waiting for us and Hamid is worried about the snow in the mountains. We do have time for one more stop. An ancient abandoned caravanserai. A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day’s journey. A perfect location to snap our Christmas card.

Missing coffee

On the way back, we stop once for some sweets and prefab iced cappuccino’s. Which to our surprise aren’t half bad (might be caused by the lack of coffee you get in Iran). The red rising full moon awes us once more. We thank our driver, and shake his hand.. at least Robin does. Sabina forgot the local customs and he refuses, whoops, how embarrassing.

27 January 2019
Iran part II – To Esfahan in a Peugeot Pars

After sightseeing in Tehran we hit the road. First on our route is Esfahan.

We decided to rent our own car, to drive all the way to the South of Iran. We’ve read that the roads are fine, plus it spares us a lot of time in the short two weeks that we have. No waiting for busses, figuring out how to get to the busstop, buying tickets and we can drive and stop for pictures whenever we want.

We pay about 19 euro’s per day, and 110 euro’s extra, for returning the car in Bandar Abbas. Our badass Peugeot Pars, maybe isn’t the Paykan Robin dreamed of, but it sure is an authentic Iranian (brand new) car.

Driving in Tehran

Traffic in Tehran is pretty hectic, and the roundabouts require utmost concentration. Motors and other cars pop up out of nowhere, and lanes don’t exist. You don’t get the right of way, you simply demand it. It’s almost as a miracle how this functions without people crashing into each other every other second.

On our first stop, one and a half our in, Sabina suddenly realises she left her coat in the hostel in Tehran. Inside the jacket? Wallet, including debet and creditcard. We still have three more hours of driving to do, so returning is no option. With no working sim card, we can’t reach the hostel. We find wifi and send them a message on Instagram and Facebook if they can keep it safe for us. Thankfully, the cards are useless in Iran.

No money!

In the North of Iran we come across some toll roads. The operator doesn’t realise we are tourists at first, but when he looks down at us a big smile appears on his face. Mister, where are you from. No money! Sabina however doesn’t always get the same VIP treatment with her darker appearance. So yes, it’s true, especially in Iran. Blondes do have more fun.

Visiting Iran in December means short days. Sunset is around five, and it gets dark really fast after that. This however treats us at the most wonderful views of the cascading sun and the beautiful colours it casts on the mountains. It also means driving in the dark a lot. We were hoping for star filled skies, but the nearly full moon is too bright. The moon does make it easier to drive in the dark, which we end up doing multiple times on behalf of late departure.

Near-death sanitary stop

On our last sanitary stop, just before we drive into the city Isfahan, the one thing we were needing most (a lovely and always so clean squat toilet) is nowhere to be found. Behind an old building it is then. Sabina walks a bit further, so she doesn’t scare of the local truck drivers with her own private full moon.

Pants on her knees, she hears dogs barking. And it’s coming closer. It’s coming closer fast. She sprints, heart is racing, and she barely makes it to the car before the huge pack of wild dogs devour her. Only to see, whilst safe and well in the car, that the two dogs are actually still about 5 meters away. Still counts as a near death experience in Sabina’s opinion.

Early morning

Construction starts early in Isfahan. We are woken up by the sound of a grinding machine. The brand new Mahbibi hostel we are staying is good, but not very pecial. However, their tour guide Armin definitely makes up for our rough awakening.

Today we tag along with Armin and his intern (a.k.a. his daughter). He shows us the shops, where the souvenirs still are handmade. Copper vasues with handglued rocks, tiles with the typical blue color (we even have a go at it ourselves!) and copper and brass plates with beautiful patterns precisely hammered into them. Imagine hammering away for over 45 years, the ticking sound all day. We would go mad within a week.

Naqsh-e Jahan Square

The highlight of the day is a visit to the big mosque of the shah at Naqsh-e Jahan Square. We bribe the securityguard and he secretly hands us the key to one of the minarets. We don’t want to get caught so we sneak up and we crawl over the ground, where we can be seen from outside of the mosque. The narrow spiral staircase of the 48 meter high minaret is pitchblack, but small air windows give us a sneak peak on the extraordinary view we are about to get.

Saffron icecream

After such adventure we cool down with traditional saffron icecream on the square. Our guide’s favourite, the vendor has even memorised his security code for his debetcard. You know how they tell you to never share your code with anyone and keep it secret at all times? Not in Iran!

We had already been surprised with the question what our code was, but apparently this is completely normal. Why even bother having a code? No idea, Iran is weird sometimes.

Later we enjoy more Persian cuisine. Well, Robin does. As a vegetarian healthfreak, life in Iran isn’t always easy. Meals are mainly about lamb or a different form of meat and white rice. Today we get Beryani, a traditional food in Isfahan and Dizi, Iran’s national dish.

After we stack up on some saffron (2 grams for €10, a bargain for us!), we head to the Armenian quarter to visit the Cathedral and take a selfie with Santa.

Private mini-concert

When evening falls in Isfahan, we strongly reccomend you find one of the historical bridges, crossing the now dry Zayanderud (life giver) river. The bridges serve as a place for public gatherings, where men and boys sing together. Here we also spot our very first Western tourist!

27 January 2019
Iran part I – Amsterdam to Tehran

In December 2018 we traveled to Iran. This is how we got there.

It is almost hard to believe that we actually have just woken up in Amsterdam. Due to bad weather and extreme thick fog, half of the flights to Schiphol were cancelled. And that’s exactly where we are flying from today, to Teheran via Istanbul. Luckily ours wasn’t cancelled, it was even in time! What lucky bastards we are.

Being too cheap to spend way too much money on hotel breakfast, we take the shuttle bus (also free of course) to the airport and buy some food at Albert Heijn instead. Our last breakfast that isn’t bread, tomatoes and cucumber!

Next to us on our first flight, we talk to a young boy sitting next to us. He’s from Sweden and is also going to Iran to visit relatives. Before moving to Sweden they lived in Istanbul and before that Iran. We never ask where he’s from originally, but based on his facial features we guess Afghanistan. Approximately 3 million Afghans have fled to Iran since the start of the war.

Funny Dutch people

When we enter our flight from Istanbul to Tehran we already stand out quite a bit. 3 dutch speaking guys even laugh out loud when they see us. What are we even going to do in Iran, they ask us. Way too expensive, according to them.

Later, when we stand in line at the customs we speak to them again. They are also from Afghanistan and for two of them, it is their first time (back) in Iran. You can see the excitement in their eyes. Probably in ours too. Oh and guess what, when you enter the country with a European passport you don’t get a stamp. Too bad for the collectors, convenient for those who like to travel to Israel, the states and Saudi Arabia. After a long day of travelling we are welcomed in our hostel with a cup of tea, sweet dates and some well deserved rest.

Sightseeing in Tehran

Our first day in Tehran and it’s raining cats and dogs. Doesn’t matter, we can take it. The former US embassy is very close to our hostel, unfortunately we can’t go in (it’s a museum now) since they are shooting. Shooting a movie this time tho. We take some snaps in the pouring rain, and nobody really seems to care about it. Previously, the Iranians didn’t like that it’s a touristic hotspot. Nowadays they’re probably used to it.

Changes

This isn’t the only thing that has changed in Iran, over the last few years. When we take the metro to the grand bazar, Sabina joins Robin in the men’s compartment. She isn’t the only women there, and the stares we get probably aren’t for this, just for the fact that we stand out anyway. Every now and then, we get a ‘hello’ and a ‘where are you from?’ We haven’t spotted a single tourist so far.

The grand bazar is crowded, and immensely big. We wander around, and it is very nice that we don’t get pulled in to shops. At least until we get to the carpets. Apparently we look like we really need one. The vendors aren’t too aggressive, and we can easily shake them off.

Cashing it

The bazar is also the place to exchange your euros or dollars to rials. We already put our euros on our Mah card. A debit card for tourists, so we don’t have to carry around a lot of cash. The exchange rate isn’t as good, but at least we don’t have to hassle with the millions of rials. Funny thing, try entering your security code in Farsi. Most machines don’t have English numbers on them, so we have to guess the place of the numbers. Luckily, this is the same and not right to left, as Farsi writing is.

27 January 2019