Kyrgyzstan is the quintessentially remote Central Asian land and arguably the worlds least known country. It is situated in the southeastern part of Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, China to the east, China and Tadjikistan to the south, and Uzbekistan to the west. It is about 900 km long from east to west and 425 km from south to north. The area of the country (198.5 thousand sq. km) is comparable with such countries as … [Read more...]
Search found 25 results for: kyrgyzstan
Karl Bushby, Adventurer and Author
Karl Bushby is a British ex-paratrooper, walking adventurer and author. Since 1998, he has embarked on his Goliath Expedition - a round-the-world circumnavigation solely on foot. His journey has covered 43,493km so far. Giant Steps: The Remarkable Story of the Goliath Expedition From Punta Arenas to Russia is his book journaling his extraordinary journey. Karl was kind enough to let me interview him recently. Q1. One of the common … [Read more...]
Dave’s Travel Corner Celebrates Milestone Year, 25 Years of Traveling and Writing
The Site In December 1996 I began a very rudimentary travel site called Dave's Travel Corner in anticipation of what would be a life changing college sponsored trip to Nepal. It was my first major international trip and was the direct inspiration for building a travel centered lifestyle focused around creating content for this travel site. I experienced cultural and religious activities completely foreign to me including bodies being … [Read more...]
Destination Guide to Uzbekistan
The word Uzbekistan itself carries an air of mystery about it. When I told people I was traveling to Uzbekistan, they exclaimed "Uzbekiwhere?!" and then followed that up by "Is it safe?!" Uzbekistan IS bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, countries that are not very well known in the West. So I suppose the "safe" question was fair enough! I'm here to give you the 411 on this destination and hopefully … [Read more...]
Ode to the Antonov-24
I’ll hear no grumbles about bumpy flights on twin-prop planes from regional airports in the U.S.. No sighs about the robotic sign-off from the cabin steward, “Thank you for choosing United” (as if you had a choice). No, you have no grounds for complaint because you don’t know how terrifying such flights can be. You have not had the Antonov-24 (a Soviet-era airplane) experience. The Antonov-24, a Soviet 44-seater turboprop which made its … [Read more...]
Top 9 Lakes Visited Around the World
In my travels around the world I have been fortunate to have visited all of these lakes listed below other then the Blue Cave Lake in Brazil. That is now on my list for my next trip to Brazil! Any of these make your list? Others to add? These are some truly special spots; they are listed alphabetically. Blue Cave Lake, Brazil or locally known as the Gruta do Lago Azul is located in Southern Brazil. I wish I had known about this lake a few … [Read more...]
Backpacks and Bra Straps by Savannah Grace
This is book number two of the Sihpromatum series and hopefully not the last as there is still plenty of this family's round the world trip left to cover. Author Savannah Grace continues with stories from the perspective of a wide-eyed 15-year old (her age at the time of this part of their trip) who is in the enviable position of being able to experience a diversity of countries, cultures, foods and people at such a young age. This is the … [Read more...]
Long Weekend in Bratislava, Slovakia
I had arranged to meet my brother for a long weekend in Bratislava. He was on his way from Verona Italy where he lives and I was on my way from Kyrgyzstan where I had been trekking the past few weeks. We arrived at our floating Botel on the Danube River within 1 minute of each other. Talk about great timing! Ready to imbibe in some alcohol after a several week dry spell we immediately headed to the Grand Cru tasting bar, and ordered several … [Read more...]
Arriving in Almaty, Kazakhstan
I left Chopan Alta, Kyrgyzstan at 8am this morning and arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan at nearly 6pm. If there wasn't a mountain range between these two points, a line of site drive would probably be a few hours at most - but the route around these mountains through the main border crossing is much longer. Kazakhstan recently opened the border as visa free for citizens of the USA as well as select other countries on a trial basis and supposedly … [Read more...]
The Realities of Adventure Travel Sometimes
I finally arrived in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan on the Eastern edges of Issyk-Kul Lake - ready to head up into the mountains that are always in view from wherever you are in this town. In late summer this town is extremely dusty - washing socks and shorts in a sink left the water brown again and again many times. This town looks like it has seen better days - most of the roads are dirt with lots of rocks and a number of the streets are torn up for … [Read more...]