Nodge's Travels

The only way is up! As usual, the process of checking in my bag, and getting through security at Heathrow was tedious, and littered with “sod customer service” moments. F*ck the customer is the new mantra! Turkish Airlines now have whizzy print your own baggage tags, but nobody to help the majority of their customers, who’ve never had the pleasure of using them before.Hence, chaos, with two barely distinguishable queues - one for the bag tags, and one to then drop your bag off. The latter was automated too, which added to the fun! On a positive note, this time I was expecting the “now take your rucksack to the oversized bag counter” routine. I hasten to add that it is NOT oversized. For trips of this ilk I leave all my potions, lotions, fragrances and lippy at home. London in springtime  The flight to Istanbul was uneventful. I was sat next to half of a family (Dad Turkish, Mum English, and two boys) from Southampton, who were headed for Northern Cyprus. The plane landed on time, b...

  Following last year's epic trip to Central Asia I've had yearning; a nagging curiosity bugging me about the the "Stan" we didn't get to. Before going on, I need to clarify; as far as I'm concerned the "Stan's" are the five countries that came into being following the end of the USSR. Namely, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. I am fully aware of the existence Pakistan and Afghanistan, but currently I have no great desire to visit either; particularly the latter. If you read any of my blogs last year, you'll know that we visited Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Along the way we did briefly enter into Kazakhstan, albeit not officially, i.e. through a formal border crossing. In the latter part of our trip last year, we travelled within a couple of miles of the border with Turkmenistan. Our Tour Leader, James had been there, and talked enthusiastically about the strangeness of the place, particularly the capi...