As part of being back in Bishkek I’m making a point to learn as much about town as I can: things to do and places to eat and awesome daytrips to the many mountain valleys just outside of town. In doing so I thought it would be useful to put […]
Travel Words
Yak Butter Candles: Smells Like Yak (R)
Yak Butter Candles: Smells Like Yak Yak butter remains for me both the smell and taste of Tibet. At every temple, yak butter candles burn endlessly and release this strong (cloying) aroma into the air. At every restaurant, tea mixed with yak butter can be had for a pittance. What […]
Headed for Heurigen (R)
One of my favorite days in Vienna did not, technically speaking, take place in Vienna. The village of Grinzing, though, is where Viennese go to get their rowdy summer on. Grinzing is the wine-growing (and –drinking) rural region of Austria just outside of Vienna. City busses even go there from […]
Afghan Anxiety (R)
“Good Luck!” With that as the send-off, we were beyond the Tajik border in no-mans-land on the way to Afghanistan. I honestly don’t think I’d ever felt true anxiety until that moment. So many thoughts, so quickly. Is this a terrible idea? Are we making a mistake? Should I tell […]
Family Dinner in Tajikistan (R)
You know one of the things I really love about Central Asia? The tradition of hospitality. I was just walking down the street in Istaravshan having a wander at the end of a transit day, and asked these dudes whether the left turn or right turn down their street lead […]
Hohhot (R)
Hohhot was, in my experience, a dreadful city. Not much to do, nowhere decent to stay on the cheap, and really difficult to understand public transit system. My one really positive memory from Hohhot was the 5 Tower Temple, which looks so stunningly NOT Chinese-Buddhist that I had to hang […]
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.