Wandering through the Stans

[Dudditz]

As promised to some of the wonderful AFF members I am finally getting around to writing my first trip report of my trip to Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan from back in October - November 2018. Hopefully this can encourage some to visit and provide some useful information for you if you do.

As discussed in some other threads on this forum, some parts of the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia are not high on many travellers list and I consider them to be some of the most fascinating parts of the world. The silk road region particularly has a richness of history, architecture, people, food and hospitality that few places in the world can match. The Stans (Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are no exception to these and a place that I have always had on my radar to visit. Despite being so close at times previously visiting places like Iran, China and Georgia I had not quite made it.

A good friend of mine and I were enjoying far too much wine one evening and decided that 2018 was the time to begin this adventure and committed to the trip. As any good AFFer knows the path to a destination can often be a work in progress and QF flash sale to SIN presented an opportunity to lock in some dates and begin the journey. After assessing routes, award fares and various sales we settled on using points to book an EK F award SIN-DXB-BAH for a short stop in Manama to check out Bahrain before flying into Ashgabat via DXB with EK and Fly Dubai. We then travelled overland through Turkmenistan to and through Uzbekistan before flying from Tashkent to Almaty and then ending in Astana. The route home was a similar path of Fly Dubai then another EK F award to SIN before QF home to MEL.





So for anyone interested sit back relax and enjoy some good old Stani hospitality!

 

[RooFlyer]

Sod JohnM, Im in 1A for this one. I've been saving up.

I'm going FlyDubai DXB to ASB, so looking forward to description of that!

 

[oobi doobi]

This looks very interesting. Can’t wait.

 

[VPS]

Following along in 1K

 

[kermatu]

I'm in.

(The cargo hold).

 

[JohnM]

OK, 2A it is for me .

 

[Jacques Vert]

Row 17 as usual

 

[jase05]

Any row will do me

 

[Dudditz]

QF35 MEL-SIN
Some quality F lounge time sampling the menu and wine list. Pick of the wines was the Levantine Hill pinot. Fairly uneventful flight on the A380 upper deck mini Y cabin. Service was quite good, watched plenty of movies and snagged a couple of glasses of the Woodlands Cab merlot from up front to pass the time. Of course this flight was merely an entree to what was to come with EK F awaiting in SIN.

EK355 SIN-DXB
A short few hours was passed investigating duty free and visiting the QF and EK lounge. Finally it was time to get to the gate and await my Dom 09 and to begin my first EK A380 experience in F. I must admit I do love EK J and F if anything because of their quality of product and beverage selection. To me EK awards are one of the best perks of QFF and I encourage anyone to make hay while the sun shines. I find service can be very hit and miss however, when it's good it's exceptional and when it's bad it's ordinary without being horrid.

Anyway Dom 09 to begin




Caviar of course!




After enjoying plenty of food and wine it was time for a shower




Despite it being only a short time there is something amazing about showering while on a plane. It's opulent, potentially unnecessary but I must say I did love it!

Finally after a few Hennessy paradis and colheitas it was time to sleep before landing at an ungodly hour in Dubai. Fortunately I did have a significant layover in one of my favourite lounges. The layover to be exact was perhaps a little too long and close to a day. But with the wonderful restaurant and enjoyable wine selections on offer we were happy to make do. To think we hadn't spent an actual cent at this point and lived like kings is sometimes a ridiculous thing. Anyway some wines I found while searching throughout the F lounge.

 

[Dudditz]

One bug bear I do have with the EK F lounge is the lack of training, awareness and absolute randomness of their wine selection throughout their lounges. There is never a wine list and it becomes a treasure hunt and challenge to find the best drops and at times wines which are not oxidised through proper storage. While staff are generally kind there does not appear to be the understanding, training nor proper storage available. Some wines are in fridges with stoppers while others sit in cupboards and strange places. For an airline with such a wealth of wine available they could do much more to improve the lounge experience. Regardless my friend and I are seasoned EK lounge veterans and were able to source some of our favourites to enjoy a nice flight with lunch.



EK 833 BAH - DXB

Our time eventually came to an end and we boarder our short F flight to Bahrain. Our short day in Bahrain came about due to the ability to get another short hop intra Middle East on EK F on our award for the same point total. As we both had never visited Bahrain we thought it was a good excuse for a quick stopover. The flight was again solid, some nice wines before we touched down in Manama and sorted our visas on arrival and checked in to the Le Meridian which I had been fortunate to book on Marriott family rates at a decent price in a relatively expensive city.

I hadn't heard much about Bahrain and honestly I can't say it's a place I would recommend on your lists. To be fair I had only part of a day there and we didn't explore the GP track, any of the forts, beaches or other main attractions. But I feel that somewhere like Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran offer a much richer experience than the Bahrains and Qatar's of the ME. Regardless we walked the hour to the main Souk to enjoy a coffee, wander shops and appreciate some waterfront views. It wasn't a pleasant day tbh and we ended up retreating to the comfort of our hotel and attached mall to finish the afternoon before our flight back to Dubai to begin what was the real trip heading to Turkmenistan.



EK840 BAH-DXB
Yet another hop back to Dubai and our last EK experience for over a couple of weeks. Flight was short and uneventful and we enjoyed our last vinos and prepared for my first FlyDubai experience and Ashgabat awaited!

 

[JohnM]

Great stuff! I clearly have not been enterprising enough in sussing out the reds in the DXB EK F lounge . Aged Opus 1, no less .

I WILL make up for that in late March .

That was the A concourse lounge by the look of some background?

I absolutely agree about making the most of the QF-EK partnership while it lasts. Best thing since sliced bread - especially for someone in PER. I was mightily relieved and pleased when it was renewed .

Also agree about the shower. It is very nice.

 

[henleybeach]

Following with interest as we have Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan coming up in May.
BTW as a Adelaidean I’m not liking the Richmond polo shirt in the lounge

 

[burmans]

Impressive collection of wine for tasting there.

 

[Dudditz]

Great stuff! I clearly have not been enterprising enough in sussing out the reds in the DXB EK F lounge . Aged Opus 1, no less .

I WILL make up for that in late March .

That was the A concourse lounge by the look of some background?

I absolutely agree about making the most of the QF-EK partnership while it lasts. Best thing since sliced bread - especially for someone in PER. I was mightily relieved and pleased when it was renewed .

Also agree about the shower. It is very nice.

It's well worth your time searching if you have a decent layover. Indeed it is concourse A which is by far the biggest lounge. We did have time to check out concourse B and C during our wanderings also with very different wine options on offer. Would you believe that
I found the opus 07 in the concourse A J lounge!

 

[Dudditz]

Following with interest as we have Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan coming up in May.
BTW as a Adelaidean I’m not liking the Richmond polo shirt in the lounge

You're telling me! He is still reliving their flag wherever he goes. I'm a Hawthorn man by for me football gear is strictly game days only.

 

[JohnM]

I found the opus 07 in the concourse A J lounge!

Eeeeek! I hadn't even considered stepping foot in the J lounge .

I think you're right about the Middle Eastern airlines having staff who don't 'get it' with wine which is a pity after all the effort the airlines put into the selection and curation.

 

[LadyC]

Sounds like a fascinating trip - look forward to reading more.

 

[Dudditz]

FZ 731 DXB - ASB
After arriving back in Dubai we had to make the dreaded transfer to T2 by bus. I have never flown FlyDubai before and had heard horror stories. The terminal itself was small and packed full of pax departing to mainly to exotic destinations all over Africa and Asia. It wasn't too dissimilar to Jetstar or Tiger clientele but alas we needed to get in to Ashgabat and this was by far the most economical and direct service considering we had burnt a couple of days living it up in the EK F lounge and checking out Bahrain. We were able to secure window seats and the plan was to board and sleep due to the red eye departure time. I estimated that 90% of the flight were locals many in traditional Turkmen attire particularly the women. This consisted of bright coloured dresses and headpieces which was a sight to behold. This really made it sink in that in 2.5 hours we would be landed in Ashgabat and finally seeing a city I had long heard amazing things about. I'll get to that shortly but a fairly uneventful flight and we landed at 3am local time in the snazzy new airport. The first thing I noticed was a huge amount of gold along the walls with a symbol I would soon become very familiar with the Turkmen coat of arms which was everywhere! Green was also heavily prevalent along with marble making this perhaps one of the most unique and spectacular airports I had ever seen. We eventually made it to immigration and were made to wait in line to pay our visa fees then have our invitation letter and passports inspected. This process took perhaps 30 minutes as there were about 6 westerners waiting ahead of us. Eventually it all worked out and we were smoothly waived through immigration with a smile ad through the baggage hall to our waiting driver who had been prearranged (more on that shortly detailing visa, tour and restrictions for this country) and finally to our hotel. The first thing we noticed on the drive was just how quiet Ashgabat was at night with barely any cars on the road. It was eerie with huge boulevards lined by white marble apartment blocks that appeared almost empty and lifeless. The roads looks brand new which highlighted that Ashgabat was indeed a city that was being constructed at a frenetic rate in the unique Turkmen style that resembled a roman palace combined with a fairy tale dictator land.





General information about Turkmen and how we arranged travel
Turkmenistan had long been on our radar due to it being a resource rich country built by imagination of their infamous dictator the late Saparmurat Niyazov aka Turkmenbashi. Niyazov was the puppet in charge during the collapse of the Soviet Union who allegedly was not keen on separation and had no idea what to do now that they were given their independence. Once it became evident that the Soviets would not be coming back he reimagined himself as the spiritual leader of the people appointed by higher powers and took on the name Turkmenbashi. He began introducing crazy laws based on his views and created a holy book called the Ruhnama which he insisted all Turkmen follow. He has been known as one of the world most brutal dictators silencing all opposition and spending public funds lavishly on himself and reshaping Ashgabat into a sci fi like wild west city including palaces, gold statues and more. This lasted until 2006 when he died of heart failure and was replaced by his deputy who while is perhaps a little more progressive, is also criticised for ruling with an iron fist.

Regardless Turkmenistan has slowly began to open up for tourism over the last decade but like many CIS countries has archaic rules and practices you need to adhere to. Visas consist of two main options for travellers. Transit visas are possible if you meet the criteria by applying at an embassy with some requiring a letter of invitation for a visa that could be offered from 3-7 days depending on how nice the Turkmen officials are. I also read of high rates of rejections for trivial reasons and due to the fact we didn't have time to visit embassy's and risk complications we decided to ignore this option. The most common option and what most travellers to this bizarre country do is pay for an organise a 'tour' through a licensed Turkmen organisation. This option has its negative meaning it's horrendously overpriced and you are required to be 'escorted' by a licensed guide for portions of each trip. As a fiercely independent traveller I avoid any tours like the plague but this was one place that this wasn't an option. After many hours of emails and research I settled on using Dave at Stantours who was clearly the most economical and informative I could find. Turkmenistan tours could range from 3 days to 10 depending on what you wanted to see but keep in mind that each day and your itinerary adds significant cost as internal flights and accomodation are expensive by even western standards. We had very much wanted to see the ruins of Merv and visit the desert city of Mary however, we were pressed with time and budget considering we still had Uzbekistan and part of Kazakhstan to see during our three weeks. We settled on one of the most common and 4 day express trips with two days in Ashgabat (unguided) then a day driving north through the Karakum desert to sleep at the amazing Darvaza gas crater before continuing north to the UNESCO heritage site of Konye Urgench then finally being dropped off at the border of Uzbekistan to continue our trip. For an invitation letter, 2 nights accomodation in a hotel, a yurt overnight and driver for the main components of the trip cost us $540 USD. This included breakfast daily and a BBQ dinner at Darvaza. In addition to this we paid $95USD for the VOA at Ashgabat airport so all in all for a country where the cost of living is relatively low this was considerably expensive. Keep in mind there was no actual tour guide nor information provided to us. This was the most bare bones Turkmen tour we could create.

 

[RooFlyer]

Darvaza gas crater

Ker-ching!

 

[Dudditz]

So Ashgabat where to start? The city lived up to my expectations and exceeded them! It is truly unlike anywhere on Earth meticulously planned with marble buildings, monuments galore and gold shining brightly in the sun. On the whole most locals were oddly unfriendly and mainly ignored us. I can't tell if that's a public directive or just being skeptical of foreigners. This was not mirrored elsewhere in the country and certainly not our experience in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan where I felt locals were warmer. As I said Ashgabat is a special place...



A sneaky shot of the presidential palace avoided guards who didn't like me hanging around
Iranian mosque