Stockings // Chanukah Harry came // Presents

Breakfast // Cheese! // My brother looks hungry

Christmas dinner // Mom tries to eat the plastic lightbulbs on the cake

I’ve been doing a bit of research on Central Asia and have come up with a few more detailed route possibilities. I would like to leave Russia and Kazakhstan out of the picture only because I am less interested in them than other countries, like Uzbekistan, and traveling, visas and lodging would be expensive. I don’t mind paying for a visa if I want to see a country, but I would hate to pay $100 to enter Kazakhstan just to run for the border.

Assuming the cheapest flight to Mongolia is through South Korea, I would like to fly from Mongolia to Turkmenistan. The research I’ve done so far tells me there are no flights between those two countries, but it may be possible to fly to Uzbekistan and definitely to Kazakhstan. I might have to fly on a tiny plane out of Western Mongolia. Then on through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgistan to the Chinese border and Kashgar. From Kashgar I cam make my way to Golmud where the bus leaves for Lhasa.

If I can’t make flights from Mongolia work I could easily travel through China Westward to Urmqui. From there I can cross into Kazakhstan and head onward or I can go South within China to Kashgar and cross into Kyrgistan, although I would be backtracking on the way back into China. From there I could loop through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (or leave Turkmenistan out) and head through Tajikstan to Osh in Kyrgistan. From Osh I should be able to take the mountain pass into China and arrive in Kashgar.

Today it got down to -4° fahrenheit. That’s -20° celsius for all you non-American folk out there. The air is crisp and burns my throat. The wind blows through me and is especially freezing on my legs. I think it’s time for me to switch from my black calf length wool coat to my brown suede, fake fur-lined ankle length coat. If I’m this cold walking from my car through a parking lot, I can’t imagine what people without cars (or homes!) do.

My first post about Yangon is up! Because I post-dated the entry it won’t show up on the first page here. To find it you can search, look by date (February), by country or just follow this link. This post has a few little videos. Enjoy!

Although my president doesn’t believe global warming exists, we have not had a white Christmas in years. This year we got our first dusting of snow around Thanksgiving and have already had a serious snow storm.

My snowy street

My mom has started decorating the house–this is the only time of the year the red carpet on our stairs gets any respect.

Patriotic ornament // When your mom has a slot machine ornament it may be a sign that she enjoys gambling too much! // Our fake Christmas tree

In travel news, I’ve been reading a lot about Mongolia and a little about Central Asia. Air fares to those countries are not cheap. My library has a lot of guide books and I’ve also checked out a few videos on the region. All of the videos were Lonely Planet Globe Trekker productions with Ian Wright. I used to hate him as a host because he acts so silly and does things that come off as a bit disrespectful to the locals around him. But the more I watch him, the more I realize that a good travel host has to be able to convey all aspects of travel–not just the beautiful landscapes and history but also the smelly clothes and broken down buses.