I know I may have mentioned this before, but shortly before leaving Tajikistan I took a short trip with a couple of friends through Afghanistan. Despite what several people I’ve spoken seem to think, there was no sense of ‘extreme’ behind the idea. It wasn’t to brag about later, to […]
Central Asia
Qobustan Mud Volcanoes!
See that exclamation point in the title up there? Thats the most excited sentence you’ll see in this entire post. There are tons of tourist sites out there in the world, and while many of them are deservedly popular some of them are over-hyped. I really thought the near-Baku Qobustan […]
Mizdakhan Mausoleum Complex in Nukus
Whats that, you say? A 3rd Century B.C.(E.) fortress? And its across a small valley from a 4th Century Mausoleum Complex? Of course I’m in! I’d not really intended to check out Mizdakhan while I was in Nukus, but I’d agreed to rent a car to visit a bunch of […]
Xinaliq Azerbaijan :The Little Hilltop Village that Saved my Opinion of the Country
After a ton of bad experiences and disappointments in the rest of Azerbaijan, it took one final destination to restore any semblance of pleasure to my time in the country. I liked almost everything about Xinaliq, and spent more than twice the time there than any other place in Azerbaijan. […]
Tajik Pamir Hospitality
How many times does it take being invited in for tea in Central Asia before it gets old? I’ve had a lot of these experiences, so far, and I’m still going strong. We originally met this kid at the neighborhood water pump, hauling home about 8 gallons of water. What […]
Katta Langar Mausoleum in Uzbekistan
After so much time spent in dusty deserts and historic old towns of Uzbekistan, I often feel the pull to get out and find some green spaces. While reading through an old Uzbekistan Airways in-flight mag that someone had stolen and left in my guesthouse in Khiva, I saw an […]
Hey there! I'm Stephen, this is my travel blog, and that's me in the poofy hat.
I'm a photographer / writer traveling since 2008, and I've been doing my best to visit amazing places.
My current focus is Central Asia, because for a hiking and camping enthusiast it's as good as it gets.