Closing the Gates of Hell

Darvaza Gas Crater, Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan

And so, the Israel-Iran War ended, after 12 days. It’s a ceasefire, which I hope will stay, for good. I am no supporter of the US, or of President Trump, but I have to say, Trump did a good job this time, putting an end to this stupid war which Israel started (possibly with US prompting). He told Israel to stand down, after Iran agreed to his ceasefire announcement, and both Iran and Israel agreed. Who else could have pulled that off at this time? I can’t think of any other, not Putin, not Xi, not Modi, not Starmer, not the UN, not if the US had another person as president. And the winner of the war – my verdict is, the US (and partially Israel), because they did a ceasefire after they bombed the bejesus out of Iran. All the key nuclear facilities destroyed, military leaders & nuclear scientists killed, air defences completely crippled… without sending his army into a protracted war, and messing up the country with regime change. What more can I say?!

Iran should take this war as a lesson learnt. Alienate your own people at your own risk and survival. How did Israel manage to infiltrate so deeply into Iran that they could sabotage all its air defences, and pinpoint the locations of all its leaders and scientists as targets for assassination? It just shows how loathed the ruling regime is. These are warning signs for any ruling government. Iran would do well to heed these signs and make changes if it wants to survive. But who am I to advise, ahem.

Anyway, I just read an article that the Darvaza Gas Crater in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan is closing down! After 54 years, of burning continuously. (The Soviets set fire to the gases emitting from the crater in 1971 to prevent the possible release of poisonous methane gas, thinking that it’ll burn out in a few days. It just took a few decades more). According to the article I read, Turkmengaz, Turkmenistan’s national gas company, reopened previously mothballed wells near the crater and drilled several new wells to pump out the methane feedstock before it could reach the crater. What a spoilsport! Why close it down?? It’s such a cool (I mean hot) place!

Luckily, we visited in 2023! For those who still wanna see it, I suggest you make it quick! Anyway, here’re photos of our adventure at the Gates of Hell!


The Darvaza Gas Crater, aka the Gates of Hell, or the Door to Hell, or officially, the Shining of Karakum (Garagum ýalkymy), Turkmenistan




Family picture at the ‘Door to Hell’, Turkmenistan, Dec 2023


Owadan Tourism’s Campsite Entrance. From what I could see, the only accommodation available nearby (within walking distance I mean, and dead in the middle of the bitter cold winter), is Owadan… which fortunately, is the agency we booked our trip with. (And yes, booking a trip with an agency is about the only way you could get a visa to visit Turkmenistan!)


We stayed in a yurt! It’s OK for a night, for experience’s sake. But bloody cold in the freezing Central Asian winter! Turkmenistan is the only country of my visits, that I did not shower, nor do a No.2 in, while staying overnight. What? Yurts don’t come with attached toilets, you know? The toilets are shared toilets outside, and at the time of our visit, there’s no bloody water in the toilet coz it’s all frozen solid! They did provide water at the yurt in buckets for washing…


Our dinner! Barbecued mutton and chicken. (I informed them in advance not to have beef, for Anu’s sake)


Warming ourselves up at the crater, after dinner. It’s like a nice bonfire. Now, if only we could roast some marshmallows, ahem! This is about the only thing to do after dinner, go for a walk to the crater. Winter’s not really their tourism season. There were only 2 families that night visiting Darvaza, us and a Chinese family, and they did everything and retired early… The Chinese family's Turkmen guide could speak Mandarin far better than I, fuck! (He studied in China)


Our driver, (forgot his name, it begins with an ‘A’, was it Ahmed? Arshad? …), peering into Hell


Justin in our yurt


He was our designated fire-feeder. (The yurt comes with heaps of chopped fire-wood, prepared by the campsite). You’d have to feed the fire regularly, throughout the night, to keep it from going out, and freezing our butts off. But, as expected, Justin slept like a log, and the job ended up with his parents… (Of course, the ‘hotel’ offered to feed it for us, but we don’t fancy people coming into our yurt when we’re sleeping…) We actually had a choice of bunking at a room in the campsite building quarters, or a yurt, but both choices required manual fire-feeding, and no toilets, so what the heck! A yurt’s way cooler!


Good morning! It’s dawn. You can see the glow from the crater in the background. No wonder they call it the Shining of the Karakum!


One last look before we head back north to Dashoguz. That’s the view of the crater, and the Owadan Tourism Campsite from the top of a nearby hillock, with a path connecting the two. Looks like some giant waste incinerator, doesn’t it?

Bye-bye Hell! Hope they’d change their minds, and keep you burning!

All About Speed

Justin, on his 15th birthday, at the Dubai Autodrome, Motor City (which is walking distance from our house). See, he’d rather spend his birthday watching a race in the autodrome, than doing other birthday things that normal people do, sigh. We didn’t even know there was a race happening, until he told us about it, a Formula 4 race, if I’m not mistaken

Did a recap of Jayden’s 10th year recently, now it’s Justin’s turn. A recap of his 15th year (he turned 15 in December). He’s in Secondary 3 on a scholarship in Singapore. That means a whole lot of pressure on him to do well, …or he’d lose his scholarship, and more. Does that bother him? Not a bit, from what we see! We’re the ones worrying our heads off, while he dreams of racing, and skiing, and mountain-biking, etc… but mainly, racing. Justin, STUDIES COME FIRST! REMEMBER THAT! Oh God, please help.

Here's the recap.


Starting off with Dec 2023, right after we celebrated his 14th birthday, we were off to Central Asia! It’s the first overseas trip we did with Justin, after he started his schooling in Singapore. At the Bibi Khanym Mosque, Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Why do all the minarets have flat tops? Somebody chopped ‘em off? Or they dropped off, or something, bcoz of earthquakes?? Some little domes, or spires on them would be nicer, wouldn’t it? But what do I know?


Next stop, Bukhara, Uzbekistan. That’s the Ark of Bukhara. Friggin frigid cold when we were there, as you can see… (-13C, real feel -21C). Brrrrrr…


Next, Khiva, Uzbekistan. In our guesthouse inside the walled Inner City of Khiva. Hey kids, mind the place, OK? The owner’s a bit of a stickler for orderliness… Boyjon Ota, Itchan Kala, Khiva, Uzbekistan


Crossing borders now, into the closed-off ‘hermit kingdom’ of Central Asia, Turkmenistan. With our tour guide from Owadan Tourism, Ms Aygul who met us at the border. (Everyone, and I mean everyone (from whatever country you’re from), needs an Invitation Letter and a Visa to enter Turkmenistan. Don’t believe me, try going! It’s fun!) At the Bay Town Restaurant, Dashoguz, Turkmenistan. She doled out a lot of friendly and wise advice to young Justin during our lunch there… Which we hope didn’t fall on deaf ears


Back to Uzbekistan. Skiing in Amirsoy Mountain Resort. His first skiing trip. And he loved it. He nailed it on his first try (alright, he couldn’t stop, but he managed to ski all the way down! By the second round, he could already stop!) (Unlike, yours truly, who rolled himself down, literally. I lost count of the number of times I fell, and got back up. And it ain’t easy to get back up, OK? With the stupid, long skis sticking on your feet! Even on a friggin beginner’s slope!) At the end of the day, he was crying on why we didn’t let him go on a more advanced slope! Duh, how would we know that he’d like skiing?!? So, we took only a half-day package!


Time to go, on a train in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, heading to Samarkand, to catch our flight back to the UAE. This was the first trip which we used trains as our main mode of transportation! We tried all the different trains in Uzbekistan, the Afrosiyob (the fast train, the best), the Sharq (slightly slower, older, which is the one in this photo), and the night-trains (for long distance, buy in advance, or you may have to share cabins, or sleep 3rd class, which we did on one of the legs of our journey!)


Back in the UAE. At a sand pyramid in Abu Dhabi’s Fahid Island’s Kite Beach. It was a temporary art installation by US Artist, Jim Denevan, who created hundreds of sand pyramids and cones arranged in a concentric pattern in the barren beach. It was made with natural, available materials and was meant to disappear over time… This was right before, he flew back to Singapore to start Year 8 (Sec 2), Dec 2023


It’s the mid-year break already?? Back to Dubai for a holiday, Jun 2024. A treat at the Dubai Indoor Kartdrome, Motor City, near our house. His second time go-karting (after the time at the RAK Track, in Dec 2023). (He’s been bugging us ever since to let him go again). How you doing, son? Can you please stop thinking about racing for a while, but study hard, and stay focused?


Back to Singapore. Here’s a photo I nicked from his phone. One of his outings with friends in Singapore. I only recognize the friend on the left of Justin in the photo, Garren Tang, a fellow Malaysian scholarship recipient


Another outing in Singapore, this time with family (a photo I got from WhatsApp, hehe). In the middle, is my uncle (in blue, dad’s youngest brother) and Aunt Betsy, his wife (with walking stick). On the left, is Carol, their daughter, my cousin, whom I’ve not met for more than ermm… 20 years, at least. She and her family (white man in the middle, daughter and son) reside in Adelaide, Australia. (I’ve never met them, by the way). They were in Singapore to visit Carol’s parents. Flanking Justin is my brother Jason, and his wife Fang. Jason and Fang’s daughter, Stacey (with glasses) is on the right side of the photo. On the far right, is my cousin June, who was in Singapore for a short visit. Accompanying June, was her son, Mark (behind Stacey) and daughter, Jamie, who works in Singapore


Receiving a visit from his parents, Aug 2024. Here’s Justin with Mommy in front of his hostel, St Andrew’s Hall (the building on the left), beside the Kallang River, Singapore, Aug 2024. “Your exam’s coming up son (in September & October), study hard, we’ll see you back in Dubai soon, OK? Love you.”


Justin’s finished his year end exams! Back in Dubai, just in time for Diwali! Oct 2024. He nearly missed his flight, because he only remembered about his passport at the last minute! The night before his flight, he was on an overnight school camping trip, and he got back to his hostel after midday on the day of his flight (which was at 9pm that night). When he was about to head to the airport from a restaurant where he was eating with his friends, he suddenly remembered that he had to get his passport from the hostel administrators. It was all a rush from that time on, and we kept praying… and waiting for his updates (what else could we do? Jason was in NZ). But he managed to get back to his hostel, get his passport (after a bit of a wait), and got to the airport’s check-in counter, just before it closed, exactly 1 hour from departure time! Whew, nearly gave us (and himself) a heart attack!


Racing again! First time in the Outdoor Kartdrome, near our home, Nov 2024. He was so much looking forward to this! "It ain’t cheap, OK? Next time, bring back some money!" (he didn’t, because he nearly missed his flight, so he travelled with whatever money he had in his wallet & pockets…)


A bit of tea at home with his little brother, Jayden, Nov 2024. No, it’s not his birthday yet. There’s no big occasion actually. His mom just like to do treats like this, once in a while!


And this was his 15th birthday treat, which he arranged himself! A go-kart race at the Dubai Kartdrome with his Dubai friends, ex-schoolmates Shaun (left) and Matei (middle). He asked us not to get a birthday cake (but we got one, anyhow, hehe. What?? We also wanna have some fun, duh?)

Anyway, we wish you all the best, Justin. Stay focused, study hard, play hard, always be kind, righteous and brave. (And put that racing away for a while!) Love you!

The Kid Who Wouldn’t Grow Up

Jayden, 9.5 years old, at Bilad Sayt, Oman

Jayden’s 10 years old, for a few months now (since October). He’s in friggin Year 6 at school! (That’s the equivalent of Standard 6 in Malaysia). He’s basically a senior in his primary school!?! I just can’t imagine it. (Why? Because, he doesn’t act anything like a Standard 6 kid!) OK, he started school a year younger than Justin, and 2 years younger than I did, but that doesn’t mean that he should behave like a baby. Which he does. Which drives us up the wall. Maybe because he’s the youngest. Sigh, when will he grow up?)

Anyway, here’s my annual recap of the kid’s year. It’s only 3 months late, but what the heck. There’re so many photos to look at. Jayden’s 10th year photos coming up. Enjoy.


Jayden, on Diwali, Nov 2023, just a month after his 9th birthday, with his elder brother who was back from Singapore for his winter break, and Dyuti, daughter of Bhavna and Umesh Agarwal, one of our neighbours, in Motor City, at their apartment


Spending the Christmas season of 2023 in Central Asia! Jayden at a restaurant (Bay Town Restaurant) in Dashoguz, Turkmenistan, the hermit state of Central Asia, where internet does not exist… unless you know which wheels to turn…


Let’s have a snowball fight! At Chimgan, Uzbekistan, Dec 2023


Back to school, back home, to Motor City. Here at the Grid Walk of the 24-hour endurance race in the Dubai Autodrome. Revving up, the race’s starting, Let’s go! Jan 2024


Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy Chinese New Year! At our company’s CNY function at the Burj Park, Dubai Downtown, to welcome in the Year of the Dragon! Feb 2024


It’s picnic season, and his mother is a camping fanatic! On one of the hill trails at our favourite wadi, Wadi Shawka, Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE, Mar 2024


Spring Break! And Ramadan. How nice! A 3-week Spring Break due to spring break combining with the Eid holidays. Here he is, with Mommy at our hotel in Bilad Sayt, Oman, Apr 2024


Baking bread. Rushing to complete his Junior Duke tasks before the deadline. (Junior Duke is an award that helps children develop confidence and competence in life skills). He’s got from October 2023 to do all the tasks, but no, he has to wait till the last minute! That bread turned out pretty nice though. Well done! Apr 2024


Yippee, he got the Junior Duke award! Here with his Koko, who was back from Singapore for his mid-year holidays! No, I don’t have a photo where the award’s the right side up.


Finally, the end of Year 5 and the start of the summer break. Where shall we head to? First stop, Gujarat, India. Here’s Jayden, inside the tallest statue in the world, the Statue of Unity, Jul 2024


Next stop, Malaysia, to visit his grandpa (partially visible) and renew his passport. Having an ice-cream treat at Haagen-Dasz, Penang, Malaysia, Aug 2024. Heck, Malaysia’s a whole lot cheaper than Dubai! Go ahead, eat! I don’t remember how much this was, but I remembered the Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Butterworth were half of the price of its Dubai equivalent! No wonder we become fat every time we visit Malaysia


Continuing in Malaysia, a strawberry farm! In Cameron Highlands. Strawberries are one of his favourite fruits! Lavender Garden, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia, Aug 2024


A Singapore stopover to visit his Koko, before going back to Dubai. Jayden and Justin at Changi Airport, Singapore, Aug 2024


Back in Dubai, starting Year 6. Here he is, in the old part of Dubai, Bur Dubai where the Hindu Temple used to be, before they shifted to their premises in Jebel Ali. Look how narrow the alleys are. These used to be jam-packed with people (devotees) during the old days when the temple was here. Sep 2024


Finally, Jayden’s 10 Years Old!!! Happy Birthday. We love you. Even if you grow up. We’ll love you more actually. Guaranteed.

The Road to Hell

You’ve seen the Road to Paradise (my last post). Here’s the Road to Hell, for contrast.


The road across the Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan

This post is about a trip we took recently (Dec 2023), across the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan in Central Asia, from Turkmenistan’s northern border with Uzbekistan to the Darvaza Gas Crater (aka the Gates of Hell) in the centre of Turkmenistan. The Darvaza Gas Crater (also spelt Derweze) is a continuously burning gas crater. I’ll let the photos speak.

We started our journey at Dashoguz city, near the border of Uzbekistan.


Dashoguz (also spelt Daşoguz) capital of a region with its namesake, i.e. Dashoguz Region of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a strange country. People call it the North Korea of Central Asia, (I heard this from a Turkmen himself, in Dubai, and he’s not wrong). No one can enter Turkmenistan without a visa, and you can only get that with a Letter of Invitation issued by the Turkmen government*. The easiest (and I suspect, the only) way to get that is thru an authorised Turkmen travel agency (like Owadan Tourism, which we used). Media in the country is strictly controlled. And no, there is no social media!!! No WhatsApp, no WeChat, no Telegram, no Facebook, nothing, (except IMO, …shhhh), at the time of our visit. And if you think you wanna bypass that with a VPN, hard luck! Turkmenistan is well-known for shutting down VPN’s the moment they find out about them, like swatting flies in a clean room. Hell, Turkmenistan has one of the worst internets in the world! (Just Google ‘worst internet in the world’ and you’ll see Turkmenistan hovering at the top, or at the bottom depending on how they’re sorted). Of the 2 days that we were there, we had no internet or Wi-Fi connection whatsoever. (But our Uzbek SIM card works at some areas near the Uzbek border, hehe). The country’s leaders have their own eccentricities, especially its first president after independence, like renaming the names of the months and days to names associated with the leader’s family or things of interest, and requiring all and sundry to read and memorize his book, to pass school and university exams. Stuff like that, OK? Interesting, isn’t it? Anyway, this is not a post about the quirkiness of Turkmenistan. Go Google Saparmurat Niyazov if you wanna find out more.

* Some people claimed that you can get a transit visa, if you are entering and exiting Turkmenistan from one country to another country. No, I didn’t try that. Enter from Uzbekistan and exit to where? Afghanistan? Iran?

Anyway, after crossing the Uzbek border at Shavat into Turkmenistan, and spending an hour and more in Turkmenistan Immigration with our travel agency’s representative, we got our visa! Yippee! A visa costs a whopping 110 USD for adults, and USD 85 (or was it 90) for kids. (And they will accept ONLY US Dollars). (What? The costs include a mandatory test for COVID-19, OK?) Yeah, COVID tests are still around in DECEMBER 2023! Maybe, that’s why Turkmenistan is the only country in the world (excluding some small Pacific island nations) that officially had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 during the pandemic! Unbelievable, isn’t it? Well, that’s Turkmenistan for you!

Anyway, first stop, lunch, because after that, there’d be a 5-hour journey across the Karakum Desert to the Darvaza Gas Crater aka The Gates of Hell, and we wanna get there before sunset.


Lunch at Baytown Restaurant, Dashoguz with the very helpful Ms Aygul from Owadan Tourism

One tip for money in Turkmenistan. Don’t bother trying to get Manats (the local currency) from outside (except maybe from the Uzbek border crossing at Shavat). They’re not available as they aren’t convertible. And the official rate is a sham. Officially, it’s 1 USD to 3.50 Manats, but the going rate inside Turkmenistan is actually 1 USD to 15 Manats. Change it in the country. Ask your travel agent if you really need some.


Off we go. A wave off from the President of Turkmenistan, His Excellency Mr Serdar Berdimuhamedow. Good day sir! You have a nice and ‘interesting’ country


Leaving Dashoguz and civilization. Clear road ahead… (there’re not many cars on the road even though this is the main road that connects Dashoguz to Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat. Is there a catch?)


A stop before we head into the Karakum Desert. Toilet here, anyone? Or bush toilet further onwards! (Bush toilet ain’t such a bad idea after looking at the conditions of the toilets, ahem)


Fancy a pishme?


Welcome to the Karakum Desert. Karakum means ‘black sand’. This desert is a cold desert (and believe me, it was freezing when we were there), that takes up 70% of Turkmenistan’s land area! The road, as you can see, is full of cracks and potholes, to add some excitement and body massage to your journey. (Maybe that’s why there’s not much traffic…)


Baa baa black goats, have you any wool? I wonder where the shepherds are. I’ve not seen a single human (except for drivers and a few policemen) or settlement (except 2 tea shops) in the whole 3-hour journey across the Karakum!


A woolly one-humped camel in the desert (and I thought only 2-humped Bactrian camels had wool)


Getting off the main road to get to the Gates of Hell


Finally, the Darvaza Gas Crater, nicknamed the Door to Hell or the Gates of Hell! It is a gas crater that has been continuously burning since 1971, when some Soviet engineers decided to set fire to the crater to prevent the possible emission of poisonous gases from the crater. It has been burning ever since…


The freezing Karakum Desert from the top of a hillock near the gas crater


Cool crater, looks just nice for burning rubbish, from the top of this hill. If only it could heat up this hill, brrrrrrr… (I’ll leave more photos of this interesting hole for another post)

That’s all for now.