I’ve been busting to get some stuff on Afghanistan written and there will be a load more posts to come from my adventures to places like Tashkurgan, Masar e Sharif, Balkh, Samangan and Hayratan. I’d love it if you can all read this article, like it, share it and inspire more backpackers to venture to more…
Read MoreSo I have been in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for the last month sourcing visas for the neighbouring countries like Tajikistan and Gorno Badakhshan amongst others. One of the hardest beasts to negotiate is the visa for Uzbekistan. So I thought I’d give you all a run down of how I secured my Uzbekistan Visa here in…
Read MoreWell it’s been a totally immense time touring Tajikistan and I was excited to be on a tour to Hisor Fort in the far west of the country. When I heard that the ruins of this city were over 3,000 years old I was intrigued, especially since it’s on the Silk Road and in quite…
Read MoreCentral Asia is a region of the world which continues to be less explored than the countries that surround it. India, China, Russia – they’ve been backpacked to the hilt and they continue to be. But spare a thought for the magnificent Stan nations. There are lots of them, and while touring this region, my…
Read MoreWhile backpacking in the truly sensational Gorno Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, I was exploring the Pamirs. Breathtakingly gorgeous in winter and full of snow yet quiet; contrasts with busy for tourists in summer on the Pamir Highway, but the overall message is that this place is a traveller’s paradise. So would you like to volunteer here?…
Read MoreVisas in hand for Tajikistan and Gorno Badakhshan (ye-ha!), it was on with the show, the reality show. After arriving in Tajikistan and checking into Marian’s Guesthouse, I was ready to explore this less-ventured country and I started things off in the capital city, Dushanbe. Dushanbe translates as “Monday” and is a booming city with…
Read More“They can come true, yeah. They can come true.” – Gabrielle Dreams can come true, apparently. Central Asia continued to inspire as I left behind the bright lights and modern parks of the Tajik capital city of Dushanbe on route to the Pamirs region, Gorno Badakhshan. This was off the wall stuff. Off the cliff I…
Read MoreSo I’m still offline for a while especially social media but hopefully this one syncs to Facebook, Twitter etc. automatically like the others. It’s almost a live blog post which I’m copying and pasting from a Word Document in the only internet café in the city of Khorog. They kindly let me plug my laptop…
Read MoreThis ain’t no “Friday’s Featured Food” for yousens so it’s not. But to keep with the alliteration, I’ll rock it out on a Friday and it is food, I’m just not “featuring it.” You may not have built up an appetite reading my previous Chernobyl Exclusion Zone posts. So after visiting Reactor Number 4 (ouch)…
Read MoreWhile backpacking in Ukraine I was able to go on a free night tour of Kiev, the country’s capital city. I was staying bang in the centre of the city at Tiu Kreschatik Hostel. I heard about a free tour starting daily at 12 noon outside the earth monument in Liberation Square (Maidan Square) so…
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