I stayed in Karakol one more night to give my feet a rest from the pounding I’d given them, and the next morning I had yet another early start. My aim was to catch one of the early morning marschrutky minibuses along the less-visited but more scenic southern shore of Issy-Kul lake. It took, Read More
I left Bishkek early in the morning and traveled an uneventful eight hours to Karakol, in the far east of the country. The drive took us along some atrocious roads and along the northern shore of massive lake Issy-Kul. Karakol is a very “nothing” town that has the feel of a border post. I, Read More
I left Mashhad mid-afternoon yesterday and watched the terrain change as we flet north-east towards Kyrgyzstan. We first flew over the flat desert expanses of Turkmenistan, which reminded me of central Australia. Next came the Fan Mountains of Uzbekistan and the Pamirs of Tajikistan, all easily identifiable as the jagged peaks rose up thousands, Read More
I traveled to Bikaner en route to Delhi for one very quirky reason – a "Rat Temple". I’d heard about it from a few backpackers back in Delhi and it sounded worth the stopover. A street scene in Bikaner. Note the oh-so-safe LPG bottle strapped to the back of the bicycle! The temple was, Read More
From the outset I have to say I loved the “Blue City” of Jodhpur with its towering fortress looming high above the town below. Jodhpur was a very manageable size, more a town than a city, pretty in parts, there was lots to see and do, it was fun to wander the streets and, Read More
One afternoon in Jaisalmer I took the chance to head out into the desert for sunset. I drove out with a bunch of backpackers to an area of the desert covered with rolling sand dunes. Some of the other backpackers had arranged to take a camel ride across the desert for a few hours,, Read More
For the second half of my trip around India’s “Golden Triangle” I delved into the deserts of Rajasthan to visit three very different cities – Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner. Jaisalmer was my first stop and an overnight 2nd class train ride away. It was quite an experience – triple bunks and no linen, a, Read More
Thanks to my mate Milan’s family connections, I’d been able to arrange a private tour around the Taj Mahal (for free – yay!). The only catch was that it started at five something-or-other in the morning, meaning a veeeery early start. This didn’t turn out to be a bad decision however, as it was, Read More
I’d been told about this place by a few travelers along the way, and had to check it out. It was a day trip from Agra and for anyone heading out that way it’s well and truly worth it. Fatepur Sikri is a deserted city – originally built by royalty several hundred years ago,, Read More