The videos document my pilgrimage from Indonesia to the African continent by land (no airplane!). The route: 1.) Indonesia: Traveling through Sumatran Mountains and Prehistoric Sites 2.) Malaysia: Meeting with the Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula 3.) Thailand: Tracing the Southeast Asian Ancient Empires 4.) Laos: Experiencing the Lao-China Railway 5.) China: Backpacking the Tibetan Plateau to the Edge of the Silk Road 6.) Kazakhstan: First Contact with the Central Asians 7.) Uzbekistan: Pilgrimage in the Land of the Timurids 8.) Tajikistan: Lost in the Fenn Mountains 9.) Afghanistan: Visiting Afghanistan after the Taliban Takeover 10.) Iran: Surrounded by the Ancient Civilization of Persia 11.) UAE: Short Transit in Futuristic Cities 12.) Saudi Arabia: Pilgrimage in the Holy Land of the Muslims 13.) Jordan: Catching a Glimpse of Jerusalem 14.) Egypt: Ending in the Land of Pharaohs
Curated by: Bang Jago (174 videos)
On the 96th day, I visited the ancient fortress of Shymqala in Shymkent, the 3rd largest city in Kazakhstan. Initially I had no intention of leaving the hostel because I was busy re-planning my pilgrimage to the West. Azerbaijan is still closing its land borders and seaport so the initial plan to take the Caspian-ferry from Aktau to Baku is not possible. Meanwhile, since COVID, Turkmenistan no longer issues transit visas (tourist visas are too expensive because you have to go on a private tour). The only other way, apart from going through Russia, is through Afghanistan. Will I be in Herat next month? It all depends on whether the Afghan embassy in Tashkent is still pro-Republican or pro-Emirati. After quite a long day, finally before sunset, after the heat (36⁰C) subsided, I went out with fellow Silk Road warriors from Slovenia and South Korea to see the tourist attractions in Shymkent (which actually had nothing interesting). We walked past Independence Square to reach the ancient fortress of Shymkent. Unfortunately it closes at 8 p.m. so I was not allowed to enter by the guard unless I paid 1000 Tenge per person. In the end, I just peeked at the inside of the fort from the gate and wasn't interested in going in because it looked like all the building structures were still new (i.e. reconstructed). The guard turn off the CCTV in vain. Surrounding the fort from the outside, it is evident that the fort walls are only hard tiles hanging on iron frame. The inside is hollow. In my opinion, it's still better than the "ancient" statue I saw 15 years ago in Nanjing, the surface of which looked original but from behind it turned out to be styrofoam. As a result, Obi and Guang played the "ancient" wall like a drum. From there we continued to enjoy the sunset in the city of Shymkent, at 8:30 pm. Guang planned to go to Turkestan, while Obi planned to go to Almaty the day after tomorrow. I will continue to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, to hunt for a visa. Hopefully my DJI mini 2 won't be destroyed at the border. ___ Sumatra Stage 1 Route (DONE!): Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru ASEAN Mainland Stage 2 Route (DONE!): Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China China Stage 3 Route (DONE!): Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan Stage 4 Central Asia Route: Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan *Follow my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/obeysianipar/) for direct messages **Message me for sponsorship --- Music Credits: And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.