Dare I mention the dread ‘C’ word?! Is NYE any better?! After all, I am so far away from the socio-cultural signs that indicate this time of year to me that I have only just realised the date and am in shock that I am still getting the required amount of vitamin D! So…
Tag: solo
Views of Osh, Kyrgyzstan
My photographic impressions of Osh city, the largest residential area outside Bishkek (the capital) in Kyrgyzstan. The city is situated in the south of Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana Valley and close to borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It is home to various different ethnic groups including Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, Turks, Tatars and other nationalities. The…
Summer in Kyrgystan … the land of milk and honey (part 1)
Imagine lush meadows of flowers stretching as far as the eye can see, hues as multiple as the stars in the clear night sky and fat honey bees lazily floating on the warm breezes, producing honey equally as varied in clarity, flavour and colour. Snow topped mountains giving rise to clear streams then wider rivers….
Ship to Shore … I’m back on the bike!
“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” Andre Gide, French Novelist 1869 – 1951 Hello!? If there is anyone still out there still interested in my random movements then ‘thank you’!! I am still out here and am back on the road travelling…
East Kazakhstan: Invisible Cities, Beautiful Bukhtarma and Kazakh hospitality
In the age of Google maps and the life documenting, all pervasive and instant social media it is strange to think that at one time a whole city could be made conceptually invisible but this was previously the case for Ust-Kamenogorst. During the time of the USSR U-K was not to be found on any…
The Chuysky Tract: Siberia’s Silk Road
As recently as January this year I had no thoughts, images or understanding of Siberia (or Russia for that matter) beyond frozen wastes and the vague concept that Siberia was a desolate place to which people with political and intellectual views contrary to the Russian powers of the time, were banished and forced to attempt…
Mongolia
To date, I think I can say with complete authenticity, that Mongolia has been the hardest country I have cycled in! The country broke my camera, broke Tilly and at times came near to breaking me … I lost kit, I lost money and at times I came near to completely losing perspective but as…
Northern China and the Chexit challenge
And so it had finally happened … The time had come and I was free to get back on the bike and leave China. Months of anticipation, looking at maps and discussing routes with fellow cyclists who were passing through were at an end. The final hurdles were the small matters of 1500km to the…
The Essentials of Çay/ჩაი/çay/шай/choy/чай
Tea is everywhere but did you know ….. ? » All tea comes from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis » This tea plant is an evergreen which can reach a height of over 30 feet if left to grow in the wild. » There are four main types of tea: white, green, oolong, and black….
Thoughts on (leaving) Turkey ….
Leaving Turkey was with a mixture of excitement to be moving on to another place, culturally and topographically, and sadness because Turkey is the country that I had spent the longest amount of time so far, learnt the greatest amount of the language, seen the most ‘sights’ and have met the most people … both…
