There are times when I don’t believe that I was alive when the Berlin wall fell, the Soviet Union collapsed, or Chernobyl was struck with disaster. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but almost 30 years later – the traces of Soviet Union are still around. My interest in geography introduced me to Russia – … Continue reading Our experience with Soviet era hotels
Travel
PALM TREES, OCEAN BREEZE…
“Aatya (Aunt) aap kaha hoooo???” is the opening line thrown at me on the Sunday call with my niece. She is just 8 years old! I say “I am in Pune! why??” then she goes “then where were you before??” I am confused with this sudden cross examination because I can’t seem to remember the … Continue reading PALM TREES, OCEAN BREEZE…
Silk route diaries – O’zbekistan – Part 1
Why, Where, What, is there really a need to go there? The reaction we got was same from anyone whom we told we are going to Central Asia! Twenty-five years after the fall of Soviet Union, even Russia has warmed up to tourism but there remains an enigma about the “Stans” of central Asia. Our … Continue reading Silk route diaries – O’zbekistan – Part 1
Silk road diaries – O’zbekistan – Part 2
Read: Silk road diaries - O'zbekistan - Part 1 As the explanation on why to visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan fell on deaf ears, it was time to give another explanation. This was convincing enough. We are traveling to Kazakhstan in $1 and adding two more countries to our list of countries visited 🙂 The main … Continue reading Silk road diaries – O’zbekistan – Part 2
The Hospitable Steppe – Uzbekistan
Tashkent: Our second stop on the circuit was Tashkent. All I knew about the city, was that India’s Late PM L B Shastri passed away there while on an official visit under mysterious circumstances. Bukhara and Samarkand were vaguely familiar as ancient towns on the Silk Route. We landed in Tashkent in the afternoon and … Continue reading The Hospitable Steppe – Uzbekistan
The Hospitable Steppe – Kazakhstan
The fact that I am geographically challenged is well known within my family and friend circle as well as few of you who follow our blog. Even a year-long course in geo-politics and international relations has not helped me grasp how the world is shaped. I have even presented a research paper on Central Asia … Continue reading The Hospitable Steppe – Kazakhstan
How to see Kazakhstan in $1
One morning I woke up with a twinkle in my eye. We are going to Kazakhstan, I have found a way, I told my wife. "Sleep! you need some more sleep!" was her exasperated reply ! For the last two years I have had Kazakhstan on top of my list. Every time I started exploring … Continue reading How to see Kazakhstan in $1
“To Health, Happiness and Friendship!!”
Our love for Pasta took us to Italy and passion of Vodka took us to Russia. When your travel is dictated by the food and drink choices, you sometimes sit down in the balcony, overlooking the rainy city and reminisce the times when you had the best drinks in every country you have visited. All … Continue reading “To Health, Happiness and Friendship!!”
Timeless Tallinn
My first brush with Tallinn was when I read about the ex-KGB station being discovered few years after the soviets left (more on that in another blog), the next was when I came to know that Skype was invented in Tallinn and the third was just before the trip when I came to know that … Continue reading Timeless Tallinn
Laos: Where time stands still and Mekong rushes past
When we planned our Vietnam-Laos trip last year, I did not even know that there exists a nation called Laos; let alone the cities in that dot sized country. When TH (The Husband) was contemplating whether to go to Vientiane or Luang Prabang (popularly known as LP), I was just excited about our next adventure … Continue reading Laos: Where time stands still and Mekong rushes past
