Newark to Toronto

An early arrival at the airport rewarded me with an upgraded standby seat on an earlier flight to Toronto. What a cool airport. Totally modern with technology all over the place. Several of the cafes have iPads at each seat to order and surf the net while you wait. What a cool way to avoid human interaction!

Twas the end of Passover and the airport was swarming with lots of Jewish families returning home...a sea of fur felt, wide brim hats and ladies in stylish wigs...and LOTS of kids.

My seven hour layover included a lot of people watching, the movie "Beginners," (rent it. Chris Plummer and Ewan McGregor are great), and a really good dirty martini...or three. Ask for Doug at the Bacardi Rum Bar!

A night in Newark, New Jersey

United's flights to Denver and then on to Newark were great. I got a free upgrade to Economy Plus (more leg room and a free drink) in exchange for trading seats with a large family.

I booked a cheap hotel in Newark and got exactly what I asked for...will not be placing any luggage on an upholstered surface tonight! The strip club next door served a good burger. Tomorrow is a long day as I hop around on Air Canada making my way to Istanbul.

San Francisco and Passport!

A sleepy flight from Anchorage to Phoenix and then on to San Francisco got me to my rental car and speeding down Hwy 101 to Monterey by mid afternoon. A bright gorgeous California day welcomed me to my home town where I visited withy uncle and cousin. Spaghetti and meatballs for Good Friday dinner. LOL.

Back on the road I headed to San Jose and my friend Z's home to pick up my passport! We spent a few hours catching up before getting back to the airport. I returned the car at 1AM and slept in the terminal until morning.

Departing today WITHOUT my passport or visas...

Well, I said it would be an adventure!  My visa was just approved this morning in Washington DC.  I depart tonight so it can't be sent to my home address.  With my layover in San Francisco, I have one last chance to get it in my hands before crossing the pond!  The visa processing center is mailing it by FedEx Overnight guaranteed to Z's house in San Jose.  I'll stop off there on the was back from my visit with family in Monterey.  Yikes!  This is cutting it way too close for any margin of comfort!

On pins and needles...and, oh yes, really excited at the same time

Down to the last day...Turkmenistan!

I wrote emails, made calls, talked to consulates in three countries, officials at two US embassies, and negotiated with both FedEx and DHL.  I fought the good battle.  Yet, the Republic of Turkmenistan still had not issued my Letter of Invitation and my time to obtain a tourist visa before departing next week expired today. So...I was ready to surrender...oh great god of the visa domain, your will would be done and I am but your humble servant. 

I along with two Canadians, a Frenchman, and a Brit...all waiting...and looking at having to start it all over again once we arrived in Istanbul!  In the words of dear Sonny, the hotel manager of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, “everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end.” 

I was already planning to depart Azerbaijan and head over to the Balkans for two weeks, resuming my tour once the rest of the group had left Turkmenistan and entered Uzbekistan.  And then this morning, with only hours to spare, my Letter of Invitation has arrived.  It will be a race to the finish line with only five days for processing and two days for return of my passport.  It looks like this is turning out to be quite an “adventure” after all! 

Nine days and counting…

OK...starting to freak out...just a bit

Barely two weeks to go and no Turkmenistan visa! Yikes! Pulling out of my hat, every poor little bunny that exists. The folks at the tour company in the UK are proving to be less than helpful.  They haven't been very forthcoming on the delay and to get this far, I have had to pursue them.  Today I learned that there was a six week delay in getting the Letters of Invitation because of a religious holiday and political convention in Turkmenistan.  Next Monday, the 18th, is my last possible day to get my visa processed and still insure that my passport will be returned to me in time to depart.  Needless to say, I am now designing a Plan B, C, and D. Stay posted.......

Uzbekistan Visa!

Got it!  Yippee!  Now there is only one more to go and Turkmenistan is proving to be a bit of a challenge.  20+ days from today and i'm on my way.

Uzbekistan!

I received my Letter of Invitation from the Uzbekistan government today.  My visa is in process. Now I only have one challenge left and my documentation will be complete!  Turkmenistan is the challenge.  I was asked this week to submit some additional data.  It's a waiting game.

I've been researching travel guides for a few weeks.  Even though the overland truck comes equipped with a library of books and maps, I really want to have some of my own with me.  The challenge is in keeping my load as light as possible.  With just the necessities for the trip, I'm pushing my weight limit.  Books weigh a lot...so I've decided to copy text from websites I've discovered and drop it into PDF files that I can save and store on my iPhone.  By the time I'm done, I'll have an organized pocket library that covers geography, history and culture without the endless and useless lists of hotels and restaurants.

I'm now also fully packed.  My bags are full of the gear I will need.  I've even got all of my clothing selected and added.  The weight at this point is sitting at 42 pounds.  I've got to get it down to 35.  So over the next five weeks I'll be making some decisions.  Ugh!

Azerbaijan Visa is Complete

Just got word that my visa to Azerbaijan has been approved.  Yippee!  Two down and two to go.  Still waiting on the Letters of Invitation for Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  With those done, the only thing left is to figure out how to get from Beijing to Ulannbaatar, Mongolia.  Flying is the easy option, but I really want to take the train.  Although it's a 22 hour ride, the whole "changing wheels on the car" thing at the China/Mongolia border intrigues me and I would really like to take some time to view the scenery east of the Gobi desert.  Once I'm in Mongolia I'll be west of that region the entire time.  The obstacle that stands in my way at this point is how to buy tickets in advance.  They are limited and sell out quickly, AND they only start selling 30-60 days prior to the departure date.  At that point I'll be in the middle of Kyrgyzstan and may have problems with phone and email.  I'm researching the opportunity of having my Dragoman agent in the US do this for me in exchange for a reasonable fee.  We'll see...

My Transportation for the Next Five Months

This is an overland tour and as such, we will be traveling in a custom designed and reconverted 4X4 cargo truck.  The trucks are designed to be solid and sturdy so we don’t need to stick to the tarmac or follow the crowd. These are rugged vehicles that will get us off the beaten track, so there’s no air-conditioning here, but they’ve been custom-built for this style of travel and are fully equipped for camping with comfortable coach-style seating.

Key features of a Dragoman truck include:

• Roof seats for great views
• Integrated cab, so you are sitting with your crew rather than just be driven around by them
• Coach style seating: all facing forward apart four seats facing backwards around two tables - great for card games or diary writing
• Side awning for sun/rain cover
• Luggage locker
• 350l fresh drinking water tanks plus 60-80l jerry cans
• Long range fuel tanks
• Audio equipment with MP3 player connection
• 12v charging points (some models only)
• Hidden safe to keep money and passports secure
• Integrated fridge
• Large equipment storage areas for food, cooking utensils, expedition equipment etc.
• Book shelf/library
• Map board

China visa complete!

The first of my visas is complete.  I have been granted a one year mult-entry visa to China.  Three more to go.

More Gear!

The rest of my gear has arrived and I'm set. Now I simply (ah em) have to get all of it into my tiny duffle...smile