I had heard about a food called Lagman and never tried it until 2015, strangely I’ve now eaten it about 10 times! At the Almaty Backpackers in Almaty Kazakhstan, my hosts here Ginara and Rahat cooked it for us on the last night before I crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan. There was myself and Oliver from England Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Lagman in Almaty, Kazakhstan[…]
It doesn’t get much more crazy than heading on a backpacking journey to “Reactor Number 4”. Indeed, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone attracts less tourists per year than Antarctica, North Korea and Iraq. Here there are 13,000 tourists per year. That’s only 35 people per day on average! And I mentioned in parts 1 and 2 Read more about Backpacking in Ukraine: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Tour Part 6 – Visiting the Culprit, Reactor Number 4[…]
“I can feel the warning signs running around my mind” – Noel Gallagher. So far the day tour of Chernobyl has the mind constantly churning with thoughts. Against a dirty, smoggy, swollen sky it hardly seems appropriate to smile at any point. It’s easy to know that something bad happened here. You just sense it Read more about Backpacking in Ukraine: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Tour Part 5 – Backpacking in Kopachi[…]
This article might actually need a quick introduction. Mainly because most people I have met have never heard of a “country” called Gorno Badakhshan. In fact, even some Kyrgyzs people I have met this week were unaware of the existence of this disputed state, an autonomous region that has been claimed by China, Russia and Read more about How to Get a Permit to Visit Gorno Badakhshan While Based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[…]
So I arrived into “the Stans” in late December 2015 after a brief spell in southern Kazakhstan, where I toured Ile Alatau, Almaty and a few bars, then I crossed the border into Kyrgyzstan. I didn’t need a visa for Kazakhstan (15 days on arrival on a British passport) nor for Kyrgyzstan (60 days on arrival Read more about How to Get a Tajikistan Visa in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[…]
At the end of December 2015, I crossed the border from the Kazakhstani town of Korday into the magical world of Kyrgyzstan. After initially touring some cool sights in the north of the country, like Ruh Ordo, Ala Archa National Park and the Petroglyphs at Cholpon Ata, it became obvious that I would use the Read more about Staying at the Luxury 4 Star Hotel Evropa (Europa) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[…]
Almaty is a massive city, spreading far and wide in its elevation beneath the mountains of southern Kazakhstan. At first, finding a bar seemed like a difficult task for the walking backpacker. So I used my maps and advice from the staff at the Almaty Backpackers hostel and soon I knew I was able to Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Top 5 Bars in Almaty, Kazakhstan[…]
“Your joys are counterfeit. This happiness corrupt political shit” – Richey James Edwards. So in the fourth installment of my trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, I report on the journey driving down a Soviet built “road” through a dense forest to a radar system, often known as DUGA 1. This part of the tour seemed less Read more about Backpacking in Ukraine: Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Tour Part 4 – Secret Duga Radar System[…]