I’m sitting on the shores of Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan when three men on horseback thunder past with golden eagles flapping atop their raised right arms.
asserted
eagles → sit → arms
The scene is so striking, it could have been painted on silk.
uncertain
it → paint → silk
Soon after, a furry missile appears on the sand.
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missile → appear → sand
“We play football by riding a horse,” says our female Kyrgyz guide, Aisuluu.
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guide → play → horse
“But instead of a ball, we are using a dead goat without a head.”
I’m among a small group of transfixed spectators to this exclusive private taster of the traditional nomad games of the Kyrgyz people, commonly known as the Olympic Games of Central Asia.
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I → use → Asia
The official World Nomad Games festival is held every two years on the shores of the eighth-deepest lake in the world.
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festival → hold → world
It’s a remarkably skilful demonstration featuring both men and women, and culminates in a fiery finish for one brave athlete, his fireproof suit set alight as he canters out of sight.
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he → ’ → sight
Horses are the main mode of transport in Kyrgyzstan, but I have arrived at this emerging destination in considerable comfort.
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I → arrive → comfort
I’m on a 14-day Republics of the Silk Road rail itinerary to Tashkent, which departs from Almaty in Kazakhstan and takes in four of the five Stans.
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which → ’m → Stans
Sadly, Turkmenistan, which is notoriously isolated, has declined visas for Golden Eagle train passengers since 2024.
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which → isolate → 2024
Since the Ukraine-Russia war, the luxury operator has pivoted with new routes, and in September 2026 will relaunch its 22-day The Grand Silk Road itinerary from Beijing to Tashkent on board a luxury new sleeper train, the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express.
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operator → pivot → train
Our journey is fully escorted, with experienced Russian-Siberian tour leader Tatiana at the helm, alongside Russian guides Anna and Yana.
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journey → escort → guides
Each has been working with the company for nearly two decades.
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Each → work → decades
Founded by former British wine merchant Tim Littler in 1989 (and recently sold to Italy’s luxury Arsenale Group, which owns La Dolce Vita Orient Express), the company pioneered high-end train travel in Crimea, the Caucasus, and Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway.
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company → found → Railway
Knowledgeable local guides and comfortable buses accompany us at each destination.
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guides → accompany → destination
On-board expert, British journalist Liam Halligan, who lived and worked in Moscow for many years, provides a series of fascinating talks about geopolitics in the region.
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who → live → region
Luxury train travel is experiencing a resurgence, with a number of operators launching new trains and itineraries in the past few years.
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travel → experience → years
And while many of our fellow passengers are much older than me, Littler says there’s been a significant shift in demographic.
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Littler → say → demographic
“When we started out, our average age was about 66.
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age → start → ?
We never had anybody below 40, but now we have travellers in their 20s,” he says.
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he → have → 20s
“Slow travel is in vogue and somehow, there seems to be an awful lot more money around for experiential travel,” says Littler.
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Littler → seem → travel
This is one of the world’s more luxurious train journeys, and it comes with plenty of bells and whistles.
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it → come → bells
A resident pianist plays every evening in the bar car, and table settings sparkle with crystal glassware and porcelain tableware.
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settings → play → glassware
Meals strike a balance between fussy and rustic: fine dining aboard the train and authentic lunches at local restaurants at most of our stops.
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Meals → strike → stops
One night we’re treated to Russian caviar and vodka tastings, the next we’re rugging up for a barbecue on the train platform.
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we → treat → platform
I’m in a Gold Class cabin with an en-suite.
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I → ’m → suite
While compact, it is comfortable, although once the bunk beds are out, navigating the space with your travelling companion can feel like an awkward first dance.
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navigating → navigate → dance
A topic of conversation among the 50 passengers is the temperamental showers, which struggle to get hot throughout the trip.
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which → struggle → trip
Our Russian attendants Christina and Nikita are pure sunshine, offering tea and coffee every morning, greeting us with a blue carpet (to match the train’s livery) after each stop, and eagerly bridging language barriers via the use of a smartphone.
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attendants → offer → smartphone
A television in our cabin has an archive of documentaries about the ancient Silk Road and the broader region, which provides additional context to the complex history of this part of the world, including the conquerors that invaded the region, and the roughly 70-year period under Soviet control.
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that → have → control
It feels almost surreal to be travelling along this major trading route that began about 2150 years ago and ran from China’s ancient capital of Xi’an to the souks of Istanbul and merchants of Venice.
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that → feel → Venice
What started out with the trade of silk eventually led to the exchange of ideas, technology and arts that revolutionised Europe.
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that → start → Europe
In Uzbekistan, which we enter multiple times, we tour the souks of Bukhara and the ancient fortified city of Khiva, which served as a significant caravan stop during the time of the Silk Road, and is heaving with tourists.
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which → enter → tourists
Many of the cities are resplendent with blue and turquoise Persian architecture and tile work dating back to the 14th-century rule of Islamic conqueror Amir Temur.
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Many → date → Temur
It can be easy to grow weary of the many mosques, mausoleums and minarets.
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It → grow → mosques
But every now and then, the itinerary throws a curveball to reignite our attention.
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itinerary → throw → attention
After rolling past desolate rural villages in Tajikistan, the poorest country in Central Asia, we arrive in the capital Dushanbe and tour the ostentatious Kohi Navruz Palace, whose sole purpose is to chest-thump at visiting heads of state: floral parquetry, a six-tonne Swarovski chandelier and a hall adorned entirely with 15,000 kilograms of precious stones including lapis lazuli.
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purpose → roll → lazuli
Less polarising is the “desert of forbidden art” in the remote Uzbek autonomous region of Karakalpakstan.
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desert → forbid → Karakalpakstan
The world-class Nukus Museum was established by Ukrainian-born painter and archaeologist Igor Savitsky, who smuggled more than 40,000 works deemed anti-Soviet here between the 1920s and 1960s.
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who → establish → 1920s
It houses the biggest collection of Russian and Central Asian art outside of St Petersburg, and is one of the world’s most underrated cultural treasures.
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It → house → treasures
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
