Join me on my trips

Tashkent has treelined boulevards created during Soviet occupation. They of course named places roads and buildings after Stalin etc . These were renamed after independence.  The Alium garden in the Botanical Gardens. The only wildlife I saw. After getting my glasses fixed.  Its more of a woodland where families come to picnic. Left at 12 only to find as i walked into the hotel everyone waiting for me just as the called my name. Panama all over again. Im no good at tours. Why dont I remember. The guides and others will get irritated. Anyway off in a bus to long lunch then to the main mosque and museum. Too many people and too much noise.  So guess what I wandered off, lost the group, got guided to the exit to find a thunderstorm in progress. Got soaking wet making my way to the bus. Safe.

Flight see below. Full to capacity with plenty of teenages on a school trip and bus loads of Chinese. I flew over in 1982 when this was a small town. The earthquake in 1966 happened in April which is the time when families go to the countryside so while many wonderful old buildings were damaged few people died so said the Soviet propaganda. Of course hundreds died and much of the city and the countryside was destroyed. People came from all over to rebuild it. Many stayed which made the city more multicultural. Since that fly over the town has become a city of 4 million with a building boom. Electric cars everywhere and just now strawberries for sale and blossom on the trees. I had a quick swim in the indoor pool. Then took a massive walk only to find myself in a rather smart part but with no way out so feeling resigned to tracing my steps two guys stopped and offered me a lift part of the way. Grateful indeed. This is what I saw though. T...

Went to bed too early so got up early. It's not so warm here and have had spots of rain. Off to find bookshop as have finished my thriller by Tess Gerritson, never heard of her before. Found it above the ferry pier. It is a floating pier so wobbles a bit which is a little disconcerting. Istanbul Kitapcisi was supposed to have a Kave, cafe but closed like the restaurant at the hotel. A small mixed collection comprising: Mayor of Casterbridge, Dan Brown, Picture of Dorian Gray, Agatha Christie, Marquez and Mario Puzo which I bought. Story of the Mafia. He wrote the Godfather. I like wandering the streets and found myself in a hardware area. It is 8 degrees so very glad I brought thick jumper at last moment. Also using stick as there are not only steps but building work going on everywhere so very trippable. I was looking for bird palaces on this old building but no luck. No one seems to know about them. The steps to the synogo gue I didn't go ...

Enormous breakfast on offer but I just stick to normal yogurt and fruit and water. My stomach doesn't know that I'm away. Back and knees suffering from all that walking so going to take the ferry today to the Asian side and a stick in my bag just in case. Pharmacist said no ibuprofen or paracetamol and gave me something else which worked like magic and 5 hours later no pain after lots of walks, its called Ketavel, he was going on about magnesium and something else but all in Turkish. Looked it up and it is similar to ibuprofen maybe stronger? Started off taking ferry to Uskudor. The Galata Bridge. The inevitable cruise ship. Those buildings are all on European side. Then I sat on a bench on the promenade, met a woman who happened to speak English and we went for a coffee. She told me never to show my money. As the total lira I have is about £3 it wont really matter. Took a metrobus along the coast to the military barr...