- Follow Are we there yet? on WordPress.com
Blogs I Follow
- heart & sole
- The land of dreaming
- Average Hiker
- Coordinating Goldhagens
- Africa far and wide
- Two Gents in Italy
- stripSearchLA
- Bulldog Travels
- Vanilla Papers
- outerNotes
- Discover
- Travelicious Life
- The Traveling Titas of Manila
- The Accidental Oriental
- ame
- Natureview photography
- Salt of Portugal
- Hey Loons
- Soviet Reunion
- Pedalling West
Blog Stats
- 19,777 hits
Category Archives: Central Asia
Disaster by design: the death and partial rebirth of the Aral Sea (Part 3).
I’d expected the whistling undertaker from For a Fistful of Dollars to be appearing at every corner I turned. I was to experience this feeling again, in Central Asia, but Aralsk looked – even smelt, if that was ever possible – … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia
Tagged Aral, Aralsk, Aralsk Harbour, Central Asia, Harbour, Hotel, Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Port, Sea, Station, Train travel, Travel
15 Comments
“I’ve once been to Kyzyl-Orda, but never to New York”.
I recently attended a training course which, as corporate events normally do, started with an ice-breaker. Every attendee had to stand up, one by one, and declare to the roomful of colleagues something quirky, or unusual, about himself. When it … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, Kazakhstan
Tagged Aktobe, Aktyubinsk, Asia, Astana, Burger King, Central Asia, Communism, Ice breaker, Kazakhstan, Kyzyl Orda, Kyzylorda, Mosque, Murale, Russia, Russian, Soviet, Soviet Union, Steppe, Train, Train travel
14 Comments
Out of the steppe.
There are trips we’ve wanted to do for a lifetime, which work their way up to the top of your bucket list. Well, I’ve just crossed one from mine and if I had to distil it in four pictures whilst … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, Kazakhstan
Tagged Aktobe, Aqtobe, Aral, Aral Sea, Aralsk, camels, Central Asia, horses, Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda, Steppe
7 Comments
A strange capital for a strange country. Dušanbe.
With hindsight, it was surprising that we had no plans for Dušanbe; it was meant to be the last leg of our journey, a simple stop-gap, an interlude between the last leg of the Highway and the flight home. In … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, Tajikistan
Tagged Architecture, Bazaar, Capital, Dushanbe, Dušanbe, Islam, Putin, Rahmon, Raspberry, Salafism, Street photography, Tajikistan
11 Comments
The “Frontier School of Character”: Travels along the Pamir Highway Part V.
To Dušanbe. “In my opinion, eight officers out of ten are corrupted in Dušanbe” Tajik police officer, interviewed by I. Khamonov, 2005 My memories of Khorog are fleeting, for such was the nature of my permanence there. We took possession … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, Tajikistan
Tagged Afghanistan, Atatürk, Basmachi, Bolshevik, Bukhara, China, Dushanbe, Dušanbe, Enver Pasha, Khorog, Kulob, Lenin, M41, Marshrutka, Pamir, Pamir Highway, Panj river, Shared Taxi, Tajikistan, USSR
16 Comments
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
14 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
