Couchsurfing in Almaty

By |January 8th, 2014|Asia, Central Asia, Couchsurfing @en, Journeys, Kazakhstan|

The taxi driver asks: "What was your first impression of Almaty?" I answer: "A nasty rip off by a taxi driver." In the morning, I took the Mashrutka from Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) to Almaty (Kazakhstan):      Cost: 500 Som (10 USD) one-way      Driving time: approximately five hours      Border post: Korday      Reason: visa extension [...]

Satellites and Drones for Nature Conservation

By |December 16th, 2013|Asia, Central Asia, Features, Mongolia|

Surveillance with the help of satellites and drones is known primarily from the military sector. However, conservationists also started to use these modern technologies to their advantage. How they do it, the following three examples show. GPS/Satellite Telemetry Scientist Koustubh Sharma switches on the computer in his office. Via alphanumeric password, he logs into the [...]

Eye Surgery on Snow Leopards

By |November 13th, 2013|Asia, Central Asia, Features, Journeys|

Visiting a zoo in winter is a solitary experience. This Monday morning in January, there only few visitors. Most of the staff are busy with shoveling snow. In addition to the birds' croaking from the aviaries, you only hear the scraping of the shovel blades on the asphalt. Many of the snow-covered enclosures are empty. [...]