I got off the bus to Pamukkale after a restless nights’ sleep, and was greeted by a massive wall of blinding white. It reflected the rising sun, looking like a salt lake’s tidal wave frozen in mid-crash. In reality, Pamukkale is a series of built-up calcium deposits, and mineral the local spring water is unusually…
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From the ridge at the top of the mountain, the craggy landscaped stretched out below us. Cracked granite boulders were scattered around, protruding from the softer earth. A snaking switchback gravel road receded into the valley and the village below. Two hawks hovered motionless, as if levitating, scanning the ground for anything edible. The odd…
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We caught the marshrutka from Mestia to Zugdidi after a hurried breakfast at 8am. From there, we arrived in Batumi a couple of hours later, a seaside resort town on the Black Sea near the Turkish border. Called by some the ‘Las Vegas of Georgia’, Batumi is one of the strangest cities I’ve ever visited….
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Dropped at the border with Georgia some 30km from Vladikavkaz, I approached the crossing on foot. A long, snaking line of cars and trucks backed up a few kilometres through the valley. The crossing is placed at the base of the Caucasus mountains, nestled in a deep rocky valley. Bored looking families wandered around, waiting…
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I spent the next three days in Moscow investigating various parks and museums – along with figuring out where to go next. Gorky park is Moscow’s version of Central Park; a good way to spend an afternoon, doing some reading as you watch skaters and rollerbladers zooming about. The park is excellently maintained with pagodas,…
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I spent my first few hours in Moscow wandering around in awe. After a year of skyscrapers, small apartments, ramshackle alleys, ‘Various Asian Buildings’ (from hammocks to bamboo huts), and, most recently, wooden Russian houses, I was now surrounded by impressive European architecture: carved façades, soft colours, and wide, planned streets. A Muscovite would scoff…
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