It always seems to come down to money when people are planning their own RTW trips. I still get a lot questions about my travel expenses and a lot of new readers end up here via a link about budgeting. A Vagablogging writer has included my budget in his recent article titled “How much does…
Altan Arashan, Kyrgyzstan | 20 August, 2006 | $15.27 This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve stayed. I suppose some of the beauty was in the remoteness and emptiness of the valley. I spent two nights here and probably could have stayed longer, sitting halfway up the mountain drawing and reading. Most people…
Karakol, Kyrgyzstan | 19 August, 2006 | $7 An interesting Russian man owned the large house where I slept in Karakol?a small town near the Eastern edge of Lake Issyk-Kul. Out back was a beautiful yard full of flowers and a garage heaped with old cars, motorcycles and miscellaneous metal parts and tools. Some people…
Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan | 17 August, 2006 | $7.63 I arrived by bus in this town on the edge of Lake Issyk-Kul and wasn’t sure where to go. Although the town was full of tourists almost all of them were Russian and there was little catering to the English-speaking tourist. I ended up following a sign…
One of Chicago’s largest events every year is the Air & Water Show. I’ve never been and decided this would be the year that I set off to join more than one million other people sitting along the lakefront. Saturday afternoon a friend and I decided to head up to Montrose Beach to watch, probably…
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan | 14 August, 2006 | $3.85 USD I loved this hostel! At the time I was there is was quite new and not in any guidebooks but still full which is a testament to how nice, laid back guesthouses are needed in Central Asia. I took an minibus overnight from Osh and a…
Osh, Kyrgyzstan | 10 August, 2006 | $20.36 USD After the car accident the previous night I was delivered to Osh by China Aid truck, pickup, minibus and taxi. The cheap guesthouse I wanted to stay in was full. They offered to let me stay on the living room floor but I wanted to pull…
Sary Tash, Kyrgyzstan | 9 August, 2006 | $0 USD Apparently, this China Aid truck is where I slept in Sary Tash. Three years later I still don’t remember, due to the car accident I was in somewhere near the China-Kyrgyz-Tajik borders. Read all about it here.
Urumqi, China | 31 July, 2006 | $11.63 USD When I first arrived in Urumqi I was traveling with the Taiwanese woman I met in Jiayuguan. The first hotel that we tried was full and calling around it seemed that most of the tourist-grade hotels were booked. We took suggestions from a few European travelers…
Although I haven’t been taking advantage of most of the free events going on in Chicago this summer I did make it up to the Fiestas Puertoriquenas in Humbolt Park in the end of June. I had no excuse, as it was a 10 minute bike ride from my apartment and a beautiful day. I…
Turpan, China | 25 July, 2006 | $3.71 USD This was a nice hotel, really, but the woman I was traveling with and I asked what cheaper options they had. The staff in the fancy reception area hesitated and finally revealed that they did have cheaper rooms in a building out back but they were…
Dunhuang-Turpan, China (overnight train) | 23 July, 2006 | $23.98 USD (train ticket) This sleeper train took us from a town about two hours outside of Dunhuang to a town about one hour outside of Turpan. The train line wasn’t laid down in the most convenient route for tourists but its relatively easy to find…
To my email subscribers: I understand that a lot of email updates are being sent with the “Where I slept” series. If you would prefer to no longer receive updates please email “contact” at me-go.net and I will take you off my list. My blog software is a bit old so unsubscribing yourself might no…
Lanzhou, China | 19 July, 2006 | $5.69 USD Lanzhou is one of those places that you don’t really want to go to but you end up passing through because its a rail hub. I ended up stuck here in 2004 and can confirm that, even in 2006, McDonalds did not come this far Northwest.…
Hohhot-Yinchuan, China (overnight sleeper bus) | 18 July, 2006 | $17.92 (bus fare) Getting to Lanzhou from Hohhot proved to be difficult. I believe I was on an indirect train line and, even then, the trains were sold out and only ran every other day. I ended up booking an overnight sleeper bus from Hohhot…
Hohhot, China | 16 July, 2006 | $4.94 I stayed in this hotel three nights, this is the view from the other side of the room. I can usually find something fun to watch on Chinese TV?either a warrior drama or CCTV news in English. It took me three weeks to travel across the Silk…
Hohhot, China | 15 July, 2006 | $4.94 I arrived in Hohhot after 10pm and, when searching for the hotel I chose out of my guidebook, discovered that an entire block had been torn down. There weren’t a lot of obvious options so I followed a woman through some lively alleys and up 6 flights…
Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia?Hohhot, China (overnight train) | 14 July, 2006 | $39.76 (train ticket) The train from Ulaan Batar, Mongolia to Beijing, China was booked weeks in advance but I had no trouble getting a ticket to Hohhot, China. I enjoyed Beijing during Phase I of my trip but it made more sense to head…
Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia | 10 July, 2006 | $5 USD This was my third (and last) time back in Mongolia’s capital and finally time for The Naadam Festival! This is the busiest time of the year in the capital and I had booked this bed months in advance?one of only a handful of times I…
Erdenedalay, Mongolia | 7 July, 2006 | $3.33 USD The last night in The Gobi Desert and a really nice family to stay with. The owner’s children were running around play fighting among the rusted out remains of old cars surrounding the ger. She even found a toilet seat and constructed a “Western-style” toilet in…