by Sezgin | Sep 30, 2015 | SeedsonWheels |
We travel towards Russia again in the end of August. After 100 kilometers north of Ulanbataar, the sky becomes grey and sunshine is too weak to warm. We thought that it was because of air pollution until we reached Khyagt when we passed the border, where we learnt that the reason was the forest fire around Lake Baikal. We are in Buriatia. Buriats, relatives of Mongolian people, constitute the majority of the population and major religions are Shamanism and Buddhism. Our aim is to reach Ulan Ude, 200 km far, but no one takes us while hitchhiking and we camp near a river. We couldn’t see the sun all day, but at night we sleep under shining full moon. When we reach Ulan Ude after spending our previous night camping near the border city Kyagt, again we encounter with the view of a Siberain city, reminding Soviet Union. Ulan Ude is a city with the biggest Lenin head on earth. One floor wooden Russian houses next to huge Soviet architecture, plenty of hammers and sickles on streets, a Victory Monument dedicated to World War II with a huge tank and more Lenin… At noon we just rest while listening to classical music with fountain view in Theatre Square and walk on the streets. Probably there is more to see, but 3 days pass while resting after Mongolia in the house of Thomas, who hosted us via Couchsurfing. Finally we reach Lake Baikal, which we couldn’t see in our previous visit. We get off from the minibus (mashrutka) one stop before Babushkin and camp in a forested area near Manturika...
by Sezgin | Aug 9, 2015 | SeedsonWheels |
Before we started travelling, we researched about South Asian countries a lot; but we didn’t think that someday we will go to Russia. We hastily write how to read Cyril letters on a paper; we can read almost everything even we can’t understand what it is. Irina, with whom we met on the plane, takes place in our story as a young Russian woman graduated from a university in Shanghai, visiting her family in summer holiday. As a fluent English speaker, she gives important tips to us about Lake Baikal during the flight. By chance, we learn that her house is close to the house of the couple who will host us via Couchsurfing. When the plane lands on the airport of the city dominated by Brezhnev blocks, we leave her to wait for a wheelchair as we got used to in South Korea. After everybody gets off, at the end of our long waiting we understand that staff of the airport has a totally different idea! Without using even the stairs of the plane, we get on a truck from the emergency exit and get off on the other side of the road which would take less than a minute by walking. It wasn’t necessary, really, but we can not explain it to the staff. When we get off, waiting for a wheelchair, we find ourselves queuing with crutches in a building looks like a train station of a small city. “What is all about?” We ask for help from a passenger to carry the bags and pass the passport check. According to the paper given to us,...
by Ebru | Jul 28, 2015 | SeedsonWheels |
You might have to take a sprained ankle serious. Especially if you are travellers walking close to forest and far from cities with a huge backpack with a tent, sleeping bag, camping equipment and some food in it, you have to be more careful while walking. “Consult a doctor for serious injuries”. When your ankle is sprained, if you are in a beach only accessible by boat or trekking, you might have to wait till the next day under full moon on a beach where turtles lay their eggs. Then finding a “public hospital” in a country where you are a stranger, getting lost among signs in an unknown language, finding a wheelchair, queuing… We don’t have an x-ray because of its price and the queue. Anyway, probably it is not broken; it will get better soon… We go to Kuala Lumpur the following day to wait for our plane to South Korea. We just rest in the house of our friend Adida. She is in England at that time. Of course, we couldn’t foresee the injury before buying the tickets… We will spend two days in a huge city, Seoul, with an injured foot… Then we will take our plane to Russia… Should we go back to Turkey? Wait, wait, we will deal with it somehow. Adida’s friend takes us to the airport. We are lucky that we have friends in foreign countries and not alone. In Seoul, we stay with our friend Yongmin, far from the complexity of the city. This is a return visit. We hosted him in Istanbul, 2 years ago. We see concrete blocks...
by Ebru | Jul 10, 2015 | SeedsonWheels |
After 100 meters of walking through the gate, a couple of kilometers away from Aranyaprathet –a border town of Thailand-, we enter Cambodia. In several minutes, we get our visa for 30 days after paying 30$ and start waiting for the bus to go to Siem Reap. Currency of Cambodia is US Dollars ($). Riel is also in use, but especially in big settlements and touristic areas, prices are in $. While paying, dollars and riels are used together and make us calculate regularly as 4000 Riels = 1 $. We take a minibus to Siem Reap for 9 $ per person. Siem Reap is the tourism capital of Cambodia, because there areTemples of Angkor. We find a double room for 7 $, a bit out of the center. Cambodia is not as cheap as we expected from the articles we read before. Or our expectation is too low due to our low budget after one year on the road. You can rent a bicycle, motorcycle or a tuk tuk to go to Angkor from Siem Reap. A good stamina and a couple of days are needed to visit the place by bicycle both because of the distance and the heat. We visit Angkor by renting a tuk tuk for 10 $ for a day. Also 20 $/per person is paid as an entrance fee for one day. Angkor is a temple complex in a large area surrounded by a forest. Angkor Wat, Angor Thom and Ta Phrom are some of the most important temples. You can find information about Angkor everywhere; if you hear about it for the...
by Sezgin | Jan 11, 2015 | SeedsonWheels |
Our adventure in the small island country called Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka started in Colombo on 11th of December. We realized, just when we were in the airport, Sri Lanka is far different from its neighbor India. Streets are clean, there is no odor, asphalt is nice, and pedestrians have priority… People are conscious about not to litter, but in picnic places the situation is still bad. Because of that, it is prohibited to enter natural protection areas with plastic bottles and packs. In Sri Lanka, the level of literacy and education is high and almost everybody speaks very good English. There are three languages on all signs: Sinhalese, Tamil and English. Sri Lanka is in the peace (!) period after the guerilla struggle in the northern region of the country, where is inhabited by mostly Tamils, and after a long lasting civil war which was ended by a slaughter that can be considered as a genocide. Permission from the Ministry of Defense is needed to visit the Northern Province as a tourist. Still, there is something hidden from journalists and human rihgts observers. Tension is going on in the political area as we felt. The speech of everybody was tense the day we left, the eve of general elections. Gothama Buddha, Bob Marley and Che Guevara… Three important people who meet in Sri Lanka. Majority of Sri Lanka is Buddhist. Buddhist monks in orange clothing, small and big Buddhist temples, huge Buddha statues and tiny Buddha souvenirs are everywhere around. Foreigners who visit Sri Lanka for meditation form an important part of tourists. The general tolerance...
