Backpacking in Central Asia

In 6 hours I’ll be flying to Uzbekistan via Bangkok for the trip I’ve been planning for the last 8 months. This would be a 22 day long trip and will see me and 3 other friends backpack through this fairly unheard of region. We’ll horse ride up spectacular mountains and staying in traditional nomadic yurts in Kyrgyzstan and will visit ancient Silk Road cities in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

I’ve been asked many times over the last couple of months why I chose Central Asia. “Isn’t it dangerous/old/hard to get to/never heard of?”. Yep… that’s why I’m going Windows Live Writer, which I’m using to write this blog entry, doesn’t even have the word “Kyrgyzstan” in its dictionary. Its registering as a spelling mistake.

The idea came from a way-out-there plan to backpack the length of the Silk Road from China to Europe. However, that would have taken more than a couple of months to complete and not compatible with societal expectations of how young Singaporean professionals should be spending the formative years of their career. So, the compromise was to travel just a section for now. Central Asia was finally chosen as it was exotic and difficult to travel, something we all felt we should do while we’re still young and energetic.

For me personally, the lure of Central Asia is that its steeped in rich history, being at the crossroads of European and Far East trade. It has been conquered numerous times by factions from both sides, with each conquest leaving a unique mark on the culture of the region. Even more interesting is the fact that it used to belong to the former USSR and is just now emerging from decades of communist rule. I always find ex-Soviet block countries mystical and fascinating (hence, my trip across Russia and Mongolia 3 years ago). I really hope that I will get some great opportunities to talk with locals. The human stories often trump the scenery and spectacle of ancient architecture. That’s one aspect of travel which, unfortunately, many travelers overlook and miss out on.

My intention is to update this blog as I go along on this trip. However, Internet access will probably be infrequent, and judging by my track record of updating this site, you shouldn’t expect too much from me

Narita International Airport

For the last 6 years, I’ve transited at Narita International Airport in Tokyo every time I fly between the US and Singapore.

One thing I’ve always looked forward to for my time in transit at Narita is the Japanese food. The Japanese restaurant in the United Airlines terminal serves sushi and has probably one of the best sushi I’ve ever had. The price is slightly on the high side, but that’s to be expected for prices in Tokyo. They always serve the best cuts of the fish and the raw fish is always fresh and tasty. Either that, or Japanese fish tastes better than American and Singaporean fish.

 

This is the Chirashi I had on this trip back. I decided to go for the “super fine” grade which comes with abalone, sea urchin and premium cuts of fish (basically the fatty parts).

On this most recent trip back to Singapore, someone told me about the availability showers in the terminal. I’ve never used this facility before, so I decided to give it a try this time. 5USD gives the use of a reasonably sized shower room for 30 mins. Towels, soap and shampoo are provided. The facility is clean (typical Japanese standard) but isn’t luxurious by any means. What I really liked about the shower is the ability to clean up from the clamminess that builds up on a 10 hour plane ride. I don’t know why I never used the showers before in my last 6 years of flying through Narita, but this would definitely be something I’ll do from now on. That fresh feeling is well worth the 5USD.

China Shakes the World

I just finished reading China Shakes the World: A Titan’s Rise and Troubled Future – and the Challenge for America, a book by James Kynge, the Financial Times’s former Beijing bureau chief. 

This book focuses on China’s economic development since the cultural revolution and Kynge taps on his vast experience and network in China to bring us one of the most insightful stories of the rise of this nation.

He illustrates his points using interesting examples on how the growth of China affects both itself internally and also how it affects others on a global scale. One interesting example was how a Chinese steel company bought a German steel mill, dismantled it, shipped it halfway around the world and reassembled it at the banks of the Yangtze river.

Every example is backed by human stories and interviews reflecting the impact of China on the lives of people around the world, from the German steel mill worker who has now lost his job, to the mom and pop store owner in the American mid-west who is losing business to mega wholesalers like Wal-Mart, whose rise was made possible by the low cost of manufacturing in China. Besides profiling those negatively affected, Kynge also tells the rags to riches stories of many of China’s eentrepreneurs, including the story of the CEO of Lenovo, who started off as a salesman for the computer manufacturing division of IBM but ending up buying that very division for his own company.In the first half of the book, Kynge explains the basis behind the phenomenal rise of China over the last few years – how the communist government started opening China up to capitalism, the presence of a near infinite amount of cheap manpower, the ingenuity of the Chinese with how they managed to catch up on decades of lost time in technological advancement and how the Chinese acquired the resources they needed for their unprecedented rate of development. Kynge then turns his focus on the challenges China will face and how those challenges might hinder the future development of China. These challenges include the almost irreversible damage done to the environment, the lack of intellectual property protection and the inherent distrust of “outsiders” by the Chinese people.

I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in China. Even if you are not, you might still want to put this on your reading list. As Napoleon said, “Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.”

Last couple of months…

So, I’ve been very busy the last couple of months. From looking for a new place to move into, actually moving, planning for my trip to Singapore and Central Asia and meeting deadlines at work. It all cumulates this week when I have to complete a whole bunch of work before leaving, while packing not only to go to Singapore, but also preparing for backpacking in Central Asia.

I’ve had lots of things I wanted to put on this blog and I’ll do a brain dump over the next few days.

Live Search

This has got to be the coolest search engine homepage ever (even though Tianwei lost in the broonze medal match). Go Singapore!

This is from www.live.com and is today’s background photo if you viewed it from the US.

I might actually start using Live Search now