Where are Ron and Ellen?
Central Asia: 17 September 2009 - 18 November 2009
Central Asia (from the wonderful map collection at the University of Texas)
Travel plans, September 2009 - November 2009
On Thursday 17 September we fly from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Almaty, Kazakhstan (via Washington DC and Frankfurt), arriving at in Almaty at 15 minutes past midnight (local time) on Saturday 19 September (10 hours time difference, so that will be 2:15 pm Friday 18 September by our internal clocks).We'll spend a few days in Almaty recovering and getting oriented, then will travel by land to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (supposedly about 4 hours). We plan to spend 5-6 days in Kyrgyzstan, exploring Bishkek, the area around Lake Issyk-Kol, then going on to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, either by land via Osh and the Fergana Valley, by train, or by air from Bishkek.
Our friend who works for the State Department, with whom we stayed in Moscow in the summer of 2007 when he was posted to the US Embassy there, is now at the embassy in Tashkent, and we'll be staying with him, using Tashkent as a base to explore Uzbekistan. We plan to visit the ancient Silk Road cities of Urgench, Khiva, and Samarkand.
We return to Almaty for Ellen's flight home on 21 October. After that, Ron will probably spend some time exploring in Kazakhstan (perhaps the cities of Taraz, Shymkent, and Turkistan), and visit Tajikistan, and may go back again to Uzbekistan. Uncertain at this point!
Ron flies home from Almaty on 18 November.
No, we aren't taking our bikes on this trip -- the logistics and travel methods are so complicated we thought they would be more a hindrance than an enjoyment (although Ron says he will miss his).
Time zones?
- Almaty and the eastern half of Kazakstan is 10 hours ahead of Afton, so when it is noon in Afton it is 10 pm in Almaty.
- Kyrgyzstan is also 10 hours ahead of Afton, so when it is noon in Afton it is 10 pm in Kyrgyzstan.
- Uzbekistan is 9 hours ahead of Afton, so when it is noon in Afton it is 9 pm in Uzbekistan.
As always, we'll be sending reports along the way, and when she gets home Ellen will post reports and photos from our time traveling together, and then will post Ron's reports and photos as received.
Back to the Central Asia 2009 index
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While we're traveling, reach us at bikepacker
Last updated: 28 August 2009
