The West African Return!

For the last series of Saturdays I have pulled out some old blogs and reflected on my first journey to West Africa. You might think that after contracting malaria in Burkina Faso and the difficult time I had during the trip in general, I’d be sworn off the place. You’d be wrong! After my 1999 …

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West African Memories – The Conclusion Part One

Hi folks. Well, today my series on my 2006 trip to West Africa begins to wrap up, this being the penultimate post. After leaving my readership hanging (never to happen again!) in Bobo Diolosso in mid-February 2006, I was home early March and yet didn’t post until the second half of May to tell the …

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West African Memories – Burkina Faso and Malaria

Howdy again. Just for one little day I’m taking a break from the Central Asia theme and returning to the ongoing story of my time in West Africa in 2006, reviewing my old blog entries and reacting to reading them again. And we’re at the tipping point today, when I contracted malaria. Actually it’s been …

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City Rumble – Dubai versus Astana

Boom! The City Rumble is on again and today the contestants are two cities with an eye to the future and some of the world’s most ambitious architecture. In the red corner, from the UAE in the Middle East, weighing in at a population of 2.1 million is the glitzy Dubai reaching high for the …

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Bishkek – Culture and Character

As Central Asia week continues, I bring you a little photo journey though he capital of Kyrgyzstan, little Bishkek. Not as big as the other regional capitals, Bishkek has a charm of its own and is actually a quite attractive city with some beautiful parks, lots of theatre, a strange museum which suggests that Kyrgyzstan …

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Travel Video – Kazakhstan

Come with me on this little (well, 17 minutes) video of my time in Kazakhstan, entitled ‘Curious Kazakhstan’. It’s been a while since I posted on Central Asia, but I still look at it very fondly. It’s one of the most rewarding places a solo backpacker can head in my opinion. In this city you’ll …

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Sunday Spotlight – Krakow

Poland has a number of great cities, but I think it’s pretty hard to go past Krakow in the country’s south as the best city going around. Which is why the Sunday Spotlight is shining straight at this lovely city, filled with alleyways and hills, with a stunning central city square where everyone congregates and …

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