Almaty. A faded former capital of Kazakhstan.
My Air Astana plane was over an hour late! Instead of 10:55am I landed at 12:35pm. The airline was really good, though. The hot sandwhich was rather edible.
The taxi drivers at the airport were probably the lowest form of life that somehow shifted... more - travel report by
krisek
Great Silk Road. Uzbekistan. Pleasant Tashkent.
Tashkent welcomed me with temperature officially measured at 42C. I have no idea what it was in the sun, but I could feel my body panicking by generating several litres of sweat per hour. Last time I experienced temperature like that was in 2002 in Namibi... more - travel report by
krisek
Still a bit nervous?
The first sight of Hong Kong did not impress me at all. What I saw were just clusters of stupidly tall block of flats housing at least two thousand families each. The architecture of those concrete monsters was not very elaborate or ambitious. I began to... more - travel report by
krisek
Kuching, Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo)
Sarawak’s path to becoming the most multicultural state in Malaysia is rich in history: from evidence of early man 40,000 years ago, to the arrival of Eastern traders in the 7th century, then coming under control of Indonesian factions from the 11th centu... more - travel report by
el2995
Rajasthan Trilogy. 2. Jaipur. Overwhelming.
The driver, who took me from the airport, made a sales pitch to take me around the city and to the Amber Fort for 900 rupees. The receptionist at the hotel said that it was a reasonable price but if I wanted I could bargain down to 700 rupees.
I de... more - travel report by
krisek
A delightful and unusual mix of things
It took just under an hour to cross over to Macau. The immigration at the terminal was efficient and friendly. They did not ask any questions and stamped a permit for three months in my passport. I liked that a tourism office was right after you stepped o... more - travel report by
krisek
A Chinese Affair in Beijing
When I was a 5 years old kindergarten student, I started to learn Mandarin as my second language. However, on my first day at school when I began my Primary One education, I thought I was going to learn another second language, ie Tamil, as most of my fri... more - travel report by
gloriajames
Great Silk Road. Uzbekistan. Grand Samarkand.
Samarkand's history spans over 2,750 years. Its monuments dating back to the Temurids Dynasty rival those of ancient Greece in Europe, Egypt in Africa as well as India and China. They just need to be brought back to their former glory. The process is well... more - travel report by
krisek
Yerevan. Cafes everywhere, but where's nightlife?
I descended to Yerevan for a longer weekend. I arrived late on Friday and was departing on Monday mid day. This gave me enough time to see the capital as well as Echmiadzin and a monastery of Khor Virap, at the Armenia/Turkey border - right at the foot of... more - travel report by
krisek
Cheap Chic in KLCC
Kuala Lumpur means 'muddy estuary', which dates back to the late 1800s when the city was names by the tin prospectors. Nowadays KL is a great showpiece capital. There are many green areas, which makes it even more pleasing to the eye; however it is like a... more - travel report by
mistybleu
