Ready, Set, Go!

Central Asia

Corine and Stefan are counting down "the sleeps" to the travel in Central Asia. Leaving August 19, 2010. Why Central Asia you ask? Corine has been packing around a copy of the Adventures of Marco Polo, a 1948 edition. The year of her birth you know. Anyway, she had been romanticizing for ever about the travels of Marco and his father and uncle. Also, Corine had been reading about the much earlier travels of Hsuan-Tsang, the Buddhist pilgrim of the 7th Century. Hsuan-Tsang walked across deserts and climbed incredible mountain passes from China to India and back over 20 years in search of truth. We read about the foreign devils who pillaged the ancient Buddhist sites along the Silk Road and dreamed about seeing the ruins that remain along the Silk Road, the architecture, the high pastures, the reed and wool screens, yurts, beautiful carpets; and meeting the resilient people who have survived and thrived in economic, political, religious, environmental and even geographical chaos. Stefan quickly became a willing collaborator when he realized that we would be able to hike in the Pamirs with passes being at 3700m. Packing with the thoughts of trekking with a backpack at that altitude has meant paring down to a change of underwear and socks, sleeping bag, rain gear and of course, water filter. In the eyes of many, this is not a very relaxing or glamous trip, but Corine is counting on being able to shop for haute couture in Beijing on the way home, in November. We have been inspired by good friends (Sue and John) and family (Roger, Shelley, Chris, and Pete) who have traveled to the 'Stans and/or Xinjiang and hope that the record of our trip will bring back good memories for them.
Just incase that you have forgotten the basics about Central Asia, here is some background info for your reference (adapted from Stats Can. and from the Lonely Planet guide books):
Canada:
Area: The total area of Canada is 9, 984, 670 sq km
Capital: Ottawa
Famous for: POGG (peace, order, good government). Of course one could argue this is a myth
Population: Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area, yet it ranks only 39th in terms of population. According to Statistics Canada, Canada's population in 2006 was estimated to be approx 32 million. Of course, with the long census forms no longer mandatory, we may never know who, where, when, or why people actually live in Canada or what they/we are doing for a good time.
Turkmenistan:
Area: 488,100 sq km
Capital: Ashgabat
Famous for: golden statues of Turkmenbashi (past president), gas reserves, horses, carpets, camels, deserts
Population: approx. 5 million.
Kazakstan:
Area: 2.7 million sq km (9th largest country in the world)
Capital: Astana (recently moved from Almaty)
Famous for: oil reserves, steppe-nomadic people and sophisticated urban population
Population: 15 million.
Uzbekistan:
Area: 447,400 sq km
Capital: Tashkent
Famous for: ancient architecture in Samarkand, Bokhara, Khiva; Aral Sea pollution; and Tamerlane
Population: 25.2 million.
Kyrgyzstan:
Area: 198,500 sq km
Capital: Bishkek
Famous for: towering Tian Shan mountains, eagle hunting, nomadic people and most recently for civil unrest
Population: 5.2 million.
Tajikistan:
Area: 143, 100 sq km
Capital: Dushanbe
Famous for: civil war, Pamir Mountains, towering Hindu Kush mountains, borders Afghanistan (LP indicates that the mined areas are flagged. Let's hope that the wind hasn't blown down the flags)
Population: 7.32 million.
Xinjiang: Biggest of China's provinces:
Area: 1/6 of China's area (China is one of the biggest countries in the world. It has an area of about 9.6 million sq km which comprises about 6.5 per cent of the world, with population of 1.3 billion)
Major city: Urumchi
Famous for: oil. natural resources, camels, carpets, heat of the Taklamakan Desert, countless minority groups
Population: 8 million Uighurs + relocated Han Chinese.