- Follow Are we there yet? on WordPress.com
Blogs I Follow
- The Accidental Oriental
- ame
- Natureview photography
- Salt of Portugal
- Hey Loons
- Soviet Reunion
- Pedalling West
- Ticket Away
- Under Western Skies
- Words We Women Write
- delikizinyeri
- Adventures of an Optimist
- Far East Travelogue
- A Life of Adventure
- and she went on and on...
- Lebanon, USA
- Jules Verne Times Two
- Travel-Gourmand.com
- bikesyndrome.com
- Wanderetta
Blog Stats
- 17,410 hits
Author Archives: awtytravels
The “Frontier School of Character”: Travels along the Pamir Highway Part II
To Karakul. “I shall wander the wilds of Central Asia possessed of an insane desire to try the effects of cold steel across my throat” George Hayward 1839 – 1870 After two weeks of relentless sunshine, departure day opened with … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
Tagged Akbaital pass, Army, Border Post, Francis Younghusband, Karakul, Karakul Lake, Kyrgyzstan, Land Cruiser, Montains, Osh, Pamir, Pamir Highway, Police, Road travel, Russia, Sary Tash, Tajikistan, Toyota
12 Comments
The “Frontier School of Character”: Travels along the Pamir Highway Part I
Osh. There are many sayings about the excellence of Osh Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty, India “Older than Rome”. “Established by Alexander the Great”. “No, by King Solomon; Suleiman Too is named after him”. The two youths … Continue reading
Posted in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan
Tagged 1990 riots, 2010 riots, Alexander the Great, Babur, Ethnic strife, Fergana valley, Ilyushin, King Solomon, Kyrgyz, Kyrgyzstan, Lenin, Lenin Avenue, Lord Curzon, Manas, Osh, Osh Bazaar, Pamir Highway, Pamirs, Second Kyrgyz Revolution, Uzbek
8 Comments
I might’ve accidentally found a place I love.
A somewhat prolonged absence from the blogosphere could mean only three things: a) writer’s bloc, b) inspiration gone dry or c) having gone travellin’. With the partial exception of a food poisoning from the office canteen – which is deeply … Continue reading
Posted in Central Asia, Tajikistan
10 Comments
A samosa wrapper.
There are street food sellers on Nuwara Eliya’s main street. If one is to walk outside the market, where the porticoed sidewalk shrinks to the width of a catflap, he’d see how a food cart has been parked in the … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Sri Lanka
Tagged Asia, Ceylon, Notebook, Nuwara Eliya, Pakora, Samosa, School, Sri Lanka, Street food, Wrapper
12 Comments
Song(s) for the Road 5 – Waylaid by the War on Drugs
It was meant to be a busy afternoon. I’ve spent the day delivering a course, the first time in my life being a trainer rather than a trainee (if only my mother could’ve seen me!) and I’ve returned to 60 … Continue reading
Posted in Music review, Odd ones out, Random memories
Tagged Music, Music for the road, music review, Odd ones out, The War on Drugs
2 Comments
Rummaging through Sir David’s bin: Outtakes from “Planet Earth II”.
In the year of our Lord 2016, BBC’s Natural History Unit decided to embark on a mammoth project, filming what would’ve become the four, splendid episodes of “Planet Earth II”. Under the watchful eye of Sir David Attenborough crews were dispatched to … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Sri Lanka
Tagged Asia, Asian elephant, Attenborough, BBC, Birds, Ceylon, Eagle, Forest, Kingfisher, National park, nature, Photography, Planet Earth, Safari, Serpent Eagle, Sri Lanka, Stork, Udawalawe
8 Comments
After the daytrippers have gone.
It never ceases to amaze me how much a place can change depending on the weather. Take, for instance, Nuwara Eliya: I arrive under a glorious sunshine and an air so gleaming with light that you’d be excused for trying … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Sri Lanka
Tagged Asia, Britain, Buddhism, Ceylon, Colonialism, Glorious dead, Hill country, Horse, Nuwara Eliya, Poverty, Sri Lanka, Tea, Tea Plantation
10 Comments
Going into the country.
One Greg Anderson, whose biographical info I could find identified him as being “American” and an “author”, apparently is the father of the quote, dear to all those who use and abuse of the word “wanderlust”, “Concentrate on the journey, not … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Overlooked locations, Sri Lanka
Tagged Ahangama, Ceylon, Country, Jungle, Overlooked locations, Sri Lanka, Tea, The Places In Between
8 Comments
Where kites fly above the fort.
I often think that I’d have been a Portuguese explorer. This isn’t because of an unquenchable thirst for boot, a penchant for ending up chewed by unfriendly natives, or an interest in being consumed by hideous tropical diseases; rather, it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Sri Lanka
Tagged Asia, Astronomy, Buddha, Buddhist, Cargo, Ceylon, Dutch, Dutch Hospital, Galle, Galle Fort, Galle Railway station, Holland, Indian Ocean, Islam, Kite, Lloyd's, Madrasah, Muslim, Netherlands, Rampart Street, Robert Louis Stevenson, Shipping, Sri Lanka, Sunset, Tropics, Twilight, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC
18 Comments
Sri Lankan trains.
To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers – In fact, to see life Agatha Christie There’s something special about the very act of boarding a train. For starters, it’s a lot … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Sri Lanka
Tagged 2004 tsunami, Asia, Britain, Colombo, Colombo Fort, Ella, Galle, Galle Fort, Hill country, India, Nanu Oya, Rail, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan railways, Tea, Tea Plantation, Train, Train travel
13 Comments
