"What was your first impression of Uzbekistan? " the students ask. "Many passport controls," I reply. We are at the Amir Timur museum in Tashkent. I'm standing in the middle and the students in a semicircle around me. I start to think, they are not here for the ruler of the 14th Century, but to [...]
At some point during my biology studies, I was interested in eco-volunteering. On the internet, I found a snow leopard monitoring project in Kyrgyzstan. "No clue where this country is," I thought, “I should check it out.” However, it cost too much and I didn’t apply. The idea remained. Every time, when I was fed [...]
It may happen that you start traveling in summer and, unintended, are not yet back in winter. Because there was no room in your 70-liter backpack for the thick down jacket, you will just stand there, clueless and freezing. The purchase of winter clothing can be fatal for a small travel budget. In this situation, [...]
"The shower is over there" , my couchsurfing host, Erdem, shows me his apartment. " A bathroom!? INSIDE the house?" I have not seen this for a long time. Erdem takes a beer from the fridge and puts it in front of me. Then he shows me the WiFi access. I 'm in seventh heaven. [...]
Start with the door ...
Life Tip: Drinking beer at seven in the morning might be a good idea when you are 20. At 30 this is not such a good idea. The hung over will occur right around lunch time and stay for the rest of the day. Some people say you just need to continue drinking, but this [...]
In the supermarket, in front of the vodka shelf: " Do we really need the big bottle ", I ask, "doesn't the medium one suffice?" Kishig and Mukhan look at me with big eyes and shake their heads in sync. "It's for the horsemen," says Kishig. "Yes, many horsemen," Mukhan adds. Well, I buy the [...]
The first time we stop because the gear chain is loose. I climb off the motorbike, Basa does, too. He sits down behind the bike and pulls a wrench from his Deel, the traditional Mongolian coat. The colorful garment has no pockets, just a fabric belt that's wrapped around the waist. Basa keeps the tools [...]
When Orkhon said, the way to the mineral springs would be difficult, he was not exaggerating. The term "rough terrain" has never been a better fit. We are in the mountains around the Tsagaan Nuur, the "White Lake" in the Arkhangai province, central Mongolia. Orkhon is the mountain guide of a three-day [...]
An American guy on the train told me: "Don't stay too long in UB." I wasn't planning on, but I ended up staying over a week and a half in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia. Why? - Circumstances. Now I'm sitting here, in Sun's Nomads Guesthouse (10 U.S. dollars per night with breakfast), located [...]