Category Archives: Kazakhstan
Mountains, alleys and oppression. A taste of what’s to come.
It’s been my hardest trip. It’s the one I’ve been the sickest, the loneliest, the most confused and bewildered. But it’s also been a source of endless grins, of unexpected solutions to sudden problems, of sweeping views and of deep, … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
Tagged Alley, Almaty, Central Asia, Kashgar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mao, Mao Zedong, Mountains, Old town, Oppression, Osh, Pamir, People's Republic of China, Sary Tash, Summer, Turkestan, Xinjiang, Zedong
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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
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Fireworks, mountains and sleeping elephants. Wrapping up 2017, in pictures.
The last trip of the year has just ended; the rucksack’s been duly unpacked and its contents unceremoniously thrown into the washing-up pile, hoping for some merciful hands to put them into the washing machine without the whites turning pink … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Central Asia, China, Europe, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, London, Overlooked locations, Piemonte, Random memories, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, UK
Tagged 2017, 2017 Fireworks, 2017 in photos, 2017 London Fireworks Photos, Alps, Aqespe, Aral, Aral Sea, Aralsk, Asia, Asian elephant, Bactrian camels, Camel, Central Asia, Colombo Fort, Disappearance of Aral sea, Elephant, Fireworks Pictures, Italia, Italy, Jin Mao Tower, Jing Mao tower, Kyrgyzstan, Land Cruiser, London, London Mayor, Mountains, Murghab, National park, New Year's Eve Fireworks, North Aral Sea, NYE, NYE Fireworks, Pamir, Pamir Gap, Pamir Highway, Shanghai, Shanghai Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, Sleeping elephant, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan railways, Tajikistan, Train, Train travel, Udawalawe
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Disaster by design: the death and partial rebirth of the Aral Sea (Part 2).
I’d seen Serik a long time before we met in the parking lot outside the Altair hotel; in fact, I first read about him on Al Jazeera. Dubbed “Aralsk’s only tour guide”, he’d accepted to be my guide for the … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Kazakhstan
Tagged Aqespe, Aral, Aral Sea, Aral sea ships, Aralsk, Asia, Beached boats, Boat, Camel, Cotton, Desertification, Disappearance of Aral sea, Ecological disaster, Ecology, Impact on health, Kazakhstan, Lenin, Moscow, North Aral Sea, Salinisation, Ship Graveyard, Ships, Soviet Union, Travel, USSR, Uzbekistan, White Gold, World Bank, Zhalanash
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Disaster by design: the death and partial rebirth of the Aral Sea (Part 1).
The aurora was a promise of yet another scorcher of a day, as it’d been yesterday and tomorrow was bound to be, but right now it was fresh and cool as I sat on my pack on the first of … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Kazakhstan
Tagged Aral, Aral Sea, Aralsk, Asia, Cotton, Desertification, Disappearance of Aral sea, Ecological disaster, Ecology, Impact on health, Kazakhstan, Lenin, Moscow, North Aral Sea, Salinisation, Soviet Union, USSR, Uzbekistan, White Gold, World Bank
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“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
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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
The world from above. Steppe, mountains and the Caspian sea.
Looking at out planet from above is a profound experience. Michael Collins, Apollo 11’s resident philosopher, famously said that looking at Earth from a great distance was the strongest memory of his epic voyage, going on to add that Earth was … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Odd ones out, The world from above
Tagged 737, Alma Ata, Almaty, Apollo 11, Azerbaijan, Boeing, Boeing 737, Caspian, Caucasus, Dawn, Elbrus, Georgia, Michael Collins, Russia, The world from above, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Ukraine International Airlines
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