Today total distance traveled 300km
Spectacular moonrise over at the Aral Sea
All of us were looking forward to catch a glimpse of the fast disappearing Aral Sea and this had always been the highlight since the beginning of our trip.
Original tiles on the 12th century Mausoleum Of Mazlum Khan Slu
We were greeted by our Aral Sea guide, Dr Oktyabr Dospanov in our hotel before we left to Moynaq, the gateway to South Aral Sea.
Along our way to Kungrad, we stopped by the ancient city of Mizdakhan, once the second largest city in Khorezm from the 4th century BC until the 14th century AD.
Moynaq, once one of the Aral Sea’s two major sea ports (the other being Alrask), it now stands some 200km from the water.
Ship's grave yard in Moynaq
After lunch, we drove along Aral Sea’s former bank where the paved road ends at the entrance to the further most oil refinery. We drove further into the Ustyurt Plateau passing sights of salt flats dry bushes, signs that the seabed had been dry for so long.
Our guide brought us to the top of the cliffs that once the western border of the Aral Sea.
We continued our drive for another 50km before our first sighting of the Aral Sea, all our team members were speechless as the sight looked profoundly beautiful.
Most of us jumped into the sea without much consideration, even our designated photographer decided to bath in the Aral Sea leaving the photography job to Chuan Lok!
Our dinner was great with Cher famous ‘Bah Kut Teh’ for the team. Thanks Cher!
The night was stunning with harvest- moonrise over the Aral. Everyone was having a good time with conversation and drinks before slipping into our tents.
Our best advice: see it while it is still there buddy!
Steve, I did the preparation and the fried cabbage, Kek Fei was the chef for the bak kut teh that had beef instead of the usual bak. Chuan Lok cooked the rice which was really welcome by everybody. A truly great and satisfying meal at Aral Sea I must say!
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