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Author Archives: awtytravels
Throwing wolves by the lake shore.
Generalisations are often prone to error and misrepresentation, but – sometimes – they do hit the mark. I, for instance, always attached an aura of upper class, or in other words a certain whiff of snobbery, with all activities performed … Continue reading
Posted in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan
Tagged 2018 WNG, 2018 World Nomad Games, Altai, Buzkash, Cholpon Ata, gögbörü, Grey Wolf, Hippodrome, Horse, Horse riding, horsemanship, Ippodrom, Issyk Kul, Jailoo, Kazan, Kok Boru, kokpar, Kyrchyn, Kyrchyn Jailoo, Kyrgyzstan, Lake, Mongolia, Nauryzkhan Khajnabi, Nomadic sports, Polo, Russia, Sand, Sport, Wolfpack, World Nomad Games
12 Comments
Be Right Back.
I’ve been in a place where Hungarians dress up like they used to do a millenium ago, speed to a full gallop and then throw arrows into a padded target, whilst Kyrgyz flags flutter in the wind, yurts are everywhere … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan
Tagged Archery, Asia, Central Asia, Cholpon Ata, Issyk Kul, Kyrchyn, Kyrchyn Jailoo, Kyrgyzstan, World Nomad Games
12 Comments
The 5.29 train to Aktobe.
This post dates from over a year ago. It wasn’t meant for publication on this blog; a book was going to be its destiny, a book on travels in Central Asia. Alas, this wasn’t to be; yet, I liked this … Continue reading
Posted in Central Asia, Kazakhstan
Tagged Aktobe, Aktyubinsk, Aqtobe, Aralsk, Aralskoye More, Asia, Bas relief, Carpe diem, Central Asia, Failed books, Family, Kazakhstan, Kupe, Kyzyl Orda, Kyzylorda, Lenin, Long distance, Long distance trains in Kazakhstan, Plazkart, Propaganda, Russia, Steppe, Train, Train journeys, Trains in Kazakhstan
12 Comments
“My War Gone By, I Miss It So”, by Anthony Loyd, Anchor.
My edition has been printed in 2000 and, as all cheap paperbacks, isn’t ageing very well. The pages are yellowing with the characteristic celerity of poor quality pulp; its spine is bent, but in fairness it was already in this … Continue reading
Posted in Books review
Tagged addiction, Anchor, Anthony Loyd, Balkans, Book reviews, Books, Bosnia war, Caucasus, Chechnya, Croat, Daesh, heroin, HVO, I miss it so, Journalism, My War gone by, Serbia, Serbs, Srebrenica, Syria, The Times, UN, War
14 Comments
Confessions of a graphomaniac.
Doctor, dear doctor, help me for I’m a graphomaniac. Yes doctor, I love paper. I adore the smell of the thing, the muffled noise of a pencil running on a smooth sheet. In a nutshell, doctor, I love writing. I … Continue reading
Posted in Odd ones out, Random memories
Tagged Asia, Beirut, Central Asia, Drawing, Graphomania, Graphomaniac, Italia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mapping, Maps, Memories, Middle East, Mitsubishi, Moleskine, Norris, Note, Pamir, Pen, Sri Lanka, Staedler, Travel, Travel literature, Travelling, Writing
26 Comments
The sublime art of panning, or how to fail in Chicago and succeed in London.
Panning, excitable teenagers on Youtube will tell you, is a technique used in photography where the camera rotates on its Y axis in order to keep a moving object in focus. If done well, the result will be a striking … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, Europe, UK, USA
Tagged Bicycle, Bike, Bridge, Charity race, Chicago, Chiswick, Cyclist, Europe, Illinois, Lincoln Park, London, London Prudential 100, Motorbike, North Chicago, Olympus, Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III, OM-D, Panning, Prudential, Richmond, Shutter speed, Street photography, Street race, Thames, UK, USA
24 Comments
Elegy for gentrification. Yes, you read it right.
There are a few words as laden with meanings, almost entirely of negative connotation, as gentrification. Say it and your mind will conjure images of invading toffs, an irresistible volkswanderung of genteel professionals with no fear but for white carbs, descending … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, UK
Tagged Amazon, Britain, Canal, Canal boat, City of London, Decay, Europe, Gentrification, Harry Potter, Houseboat, JK Rowling, Kings Cross, KX, London, Photography, Platform 9 3/4, Pollinator, Punk, Renovation, Review, Skip Garden, Sky, Station, Street photography, Summer, Toffs, Tourism, Train, Travel, UAL, UK, University, Urban decay, Urban photography, Waitrose, Wimbledon
17 Comments
A good day to be in America.
Waking up at silly o’clock in a corporate hotel room (describable by the colour “beige”) on the 25thfloor of a Magnificent Mile high-rise in Chicago, I felt a genuine, good-spirited sense of excitement. It was a cocktail, I decided as … Continue reading
Posted in Americas, USA
Tagged Andersonville, Bronski Beat, Chicago, Coffee, CPD, Electric Six, Gay, Gay Pride, Great Lake, Hate, Homophobia, Inclusion, Lake, Lincoln Park, Music, Navy Pier, North Chicago, Parade, Pride, Religion, Skyline, Straight, Sun, Sweden, Urban
16 Comments
And the bumblebee buzzes by.
There’s a mammoth-sized hydrangea bush sprouting on the street we normally take on our way to the tube; think an explosion of pink and green caught in the moment of deflagration. As we passed it we heard an ominous buzzing, … Continue reading
Posted in Europe, UK
Tagged Bees, Bumblebee, Butterfly, Buzzing, EU, Flower beds, Flowers, Honey Bees, Insects, Lavender, London, Macro photography, Micheal Gove, Neonicotinoids, Oregano, Pesticide, Pollinators, Rosemary, Roses, Save the Honey Bee, UK
8 Comments
Beirut people watching.
Humanity is the best spectacle, in this city where gated communities rub shoulders with bombed-out, charred shells. Pneumatically-enhanced bimbos and babes driving Dodge Camaros on one end of the spectrum and ragged Syrian children tapping on their rolled-up windows for … Continue reading
Posted in Middle East
Tagged Art, Beirut, Corniche, Hamra, History, Mediterranean, Middle East, People, People watching, Phoenicia, Phoenicians, Sea, Street, Syria
12 Comments
