Miscellaneous

 I realised yesterday that I have listed the major events each day, but not the little things that really make up the days. If I did that the entries would be even longer than they are now. But it may be worth pointing out some things just once…

Money

Each country has its own currency. Several of them are called the Som but they all have different exchange rates – and Turkmenistan has a black market rate which is much better than the official rate. The notes are not easily available elsewhere, so we’ve tended to change a bit shortly after arriving.

It’s hard to know how much you’ll need. Restaurants have been fairly cheap, often you can get a good meal for the equivalent of $10. The shops are also cheap, though brand names we know can me similar to prices at home.

Some places accept credit cards. It tends to align with the wealth of the country, so credit card facilities are common in Kazakhstan and to a lesser extent Uzbekistan.

If a number of us have gone out in a group then paying gets complicated – can we split the bill, can some people pay by credit card or US dollars? Navigating that with the language differences is interesting.

 

Toilets

This was Lynn’s big preoccupation before we came away, particularly whether there would be seats or the dreaded Asian squat toilet. Thee western toilets have been more available than feared, Sometimes there are different toilet types in adjacent cubicles, which doesn’t help very much as it is impractical to browse all the cubicles before deciding.

Outside hotels and restaurants you commonly have to pay for toilets – usually the equivalent of 20-50 cents. Because they’re privately run and not provided by a council of whatever. The price doesn’t have any relationship to the cleanliness of the facilities. It can be a problem if you’ve just arrived in the country and not changed money yet, or spent your money because you’re leaving the country.

Facilities on the Kazakhstan Border

Illness

Lynn has had periods of travellers’ gastro and more recently also a cold, which seems to be improving now but had gradually worked its way through most of the people in the group. I started to get sick a couple of days ago, but not nearly as badly as Lynn and it’s easing now anyway. Fortunately we brought a small pharmacy, of which we’ve used about half now.

 Group Travel

Travelling with other people obviously has advantages and disadvantages. We've generally all got on well and often when meals have not been organised, most of us have gone out to a restaurant together. Also, everybody tends to be early or on time, which helps. But some people do get on your nerves after a while. Not because they're terrible people but their habits or mannerisms can start to grate. Which is another reason we're ready to come home.



Comments

  1. Dad2 October 2026 at 13:30

    Hi Again,
    I suppose this will be my final comment. I have enjoyed your blog and have studied the map so have a better idea of the Stans. Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I will watch your track with great interest.
    Talk Sunday when you return.
    Dad

    ReplyDelete

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