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 103rd day, after several days of being a bit stuck hunting visa and not feeling well, I was healthy again and ready to bask in the morning sun to celebrate the 78th anniversary of Indonesia's independence. The flag raising ceremony was held at exactly 7 am in the courtyard of Wisma Duta, the residence of the Indonesian Ambassador to Uzbekistan. After 15 minutes of ceremony and 15 minutes of photo session, the cutting of the tumpeng was carried out by His Excellency Prof. Dr. H. Sunaryo Kartadinata, M.Pd, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Uzbekistan and the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The tumpeng's top was given to representatives of the Indonesian wrestling team who were training in Uzbekistan in preparation for the Asian Games next month in Hangzhou, China. I felt honored because after cutting the tumpeng, the Ambassador, apart from mentioning the wrestling team specifically, also introduced me as an Indonesian backpacker to the entire audience. The event continued with the distribution of prizes for the "17 Agustusan" competition and socialization about the election, while having breakfast together. Finally I tasted Indonesian cuisine again after three months of leaving Indonesia. After the ceremony, I went towards the Embassy in the city center and stopped and chatted with some of the embassy staff. It's interesting to hear stories about the lives of Indonesians in Uzbekistan that I can't tell here. After that I was invited to eat at the best plov/pilaf (Central Asian style fried rice) restaurant in Uzbekistan, Besh Qozon, which means Five Cauldrons, referring to the large cauldrons for cooking plov. The restaurant is quite fancy even though the menu only has plov and bread. Many foreign tourists from various countries come to eat and take photos here. It was quite full because Thursday afternoon is famous as Plov Day in Uzbekistan, where men eat plov which allegedly gives additional "strength". Perhaps it's because plov also uses horse meat (I ordered vegetarian). I also tried a bread baked in a large oven and drank kompot, a typical Uzbek drink made from fresh cherries. Recommended restaurant. I ended the day by returning to the Afghan embassy to hunt for a visa. ___ 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/.