November 2014

My 10 Hours in TRANSNISTRIA (by Fabio Buonsanti)

November 30, 2014

“When the State itself is Illegal, Can You Imagine the Rest?” Article by Fabio Buonsanti, an Italian adventurer based in Oslo, Norway. Photos by Ania Akatova. Of all the strange places I have visited so far, there is one place that will forever stick to my mind: Transnistria (officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, PMR). Located on a thin strip of land wedged between the eastern Moldovan border with Ukraine and the river Dniester, Transnistria is a self-declared “independent state” since the end of the War of Transnistria in 1992. At the dissolution of the [MORE...]

Uzbekistan – a brief overview

November 29, 2014

Capital City Tashkent With a population of over 2 million people, capital Tashkent has a strong and rich history, and with some luck on its side, it should have a strong and rich future. Dating back to between the 5th and the 3rd centuries B.C., this area was settled by the peoples of ancient Persia (now Iran), the Chinese, the Turks, and many others. In early times it was known as the principality of Chach and then went through an Islamic period in the mid-seventh century under the Persian Zoroastrian Samanid dynasty (819–999). In 1219 Genghis Khan, founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the [MORE...]

TRAVELLER: Masato Aoyama, Moscow, Russia

November 29, 2014

[Editor's Note]: Masato grew up in Japan and with a keen interest in travel and languages (such as English and Russian) he combines his skills and interests to live where the Russian language is spoken and takes as many side-trips as possible to countries he has never visited. Masato recently survived living two years in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and currently is doing a 2-year stint in Moscow, Russia. His passion for travel, cultures, the arts, and meeting people has even inspired me to travel to new destinations! Masato was habitually enjoying raw fatty pork bacon on toast (treating it as sushi) until I told him that raw pork bacon really should be fried in a pan! [MORE...]

#33 – Wildlife, SOUTH AFRICA

November 28, 2014

Viewing wildlife in South Africa scores relatively high on most criteria, though the overall score is dragged down by the lack of good and safe public transport, and overall safety in this country riddled by crime. While South Africa is not an expensive country, private game reserves with good accommodation can be quite expensive! [MORE...]

#34 – Ship Breaking Yards, BANGLADESH

November 21, 2014

Ship Breaking Yard, Chittagong, Bangladesh

The Ship Breaking Yards near Chittagong, Bangladesh, is like no other place! Labourers engage in back breaking work to dismantle the world's large ships. It difficult to gain access and, as is generally true for much of Bangladesh, the transportation, food and accommodation are of very low standard here in Chittagong. [MORE...]

TRAVELLER: Min Che Su (a.k.a. Ninja), Taipei, Taiwan

November 20, 2014

[Editor's Note]: I met Min Che Su in late September 2013 in the town of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China. I just returned from exploring Central Asia, while he just arrived in the region and was about to cross the border into Kyrgyzstan. I was sitting alone when a terribly sick Min Che asked if he could sit with me at the guesthouse restaurant. We shared travel stories and I then also swapped my Kyrgyzstani som (money) for his Chinese yuan. While he was waiting a week for the China border to re-open, we travelled together by train to Hotan, far south into the desert. Dubbed "Ninja" by our fellow traveller, Frenchman Jeremy, Ninja will likely travel to many far away places as long as he does not again drop his passport in a taxi! [MORE...]

#35 – Ruins of Baalbek, LEBANON

November 14, 2014

The ancient ruins of Baalbek, Lebanon ranks high on all criteria except for safety and local hospitality. The town if Baalbek and the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon (close to the Syrian border) is a major stronghold for the terrorist group, Hezbollah, so safety is a real concern here. People are not too friendly to foreign visitors. Get in and get out alive! [MORE...]

Kazakhstan – larger than all of Western Europe!

November 8, 2014

Almaty Kazakhstan is is big. Very big! In fact, it is the world’s largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world. It is even larger than all of Western Europe. A country this big should be approached one step at a time. Start off with Kazakhstan’s former capital, and largest city, Almaty. Before the nation’s capital was moved in 1997 from Almaty in the south to Astana in the north, this is where the nation’s political power was concentrated. Nowadays Almaty is the commercial and cultural capital of Kazakhstan and is also the city with by far [MORE...]

#36 – Salvador da Bahia, BRAZIL

November 7, 2014

Salvador da Bahia scored moderately high among all the criteria except a general concern about safety. Be streetwise when visiting, don't walk alone at night, and be careful where you go at any time of the day or night. [MORE...]