The deal sounded almost too good to be true: A free trip to Transylvania, where I even could make some money. All was about writing a hunting story - more about that later. A good friend of mine set the whole thing up. I guess he saw the disaster coming just as little as [...]
Saucer eyes and little whiskers – at the sight of baby seals hardly anyone can resist saying the words “Oh, how cute!” The childlike proportions are what cause in humans a caring instinct. Well intended is not always done well. […]
The small wood stove has heated the yurt quickly. Finally, having reached the camp in the valley of Ak Suu, we can relax, take off our jackets and warm our hands on a hot cup of chai. Our butts are sore from riding on horse back for four hours straight but in Kyrgyzstan it’s a [...]
"Where the f** is Karakalpakstan?" I wonder when I hear about it the first time. It doesn't have anything to do with Pakistan, the country. Wikipedia explains: "Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic at the northwestern end of Uzbekistan. It has an area of 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 sq mi) and a population of about 1.7 Million. The [...]
Karakol is one of the winter sports hot-spots in Kyrgyzstan. The town is located about six hours drive from Bishkek, east of lake Issyk Kul. There is a fairly large ski resort and several freeride options: besides snow mobile tours and horse lifts, ski touring is on the rise. All you need to do, is [...]
“Who needs pre-booking? Let’s do it on our own!” This is what we said, when we got the quote from the trekking company. Almost 280 USD per person would the three-day horse trek to Song Kul cost. It’s including transport and meals, but we are in Kyrgyzstan and there must be a cheaper way. Song [...]
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 I clipped the first carabiner on the iron rope, a rain drop fell on my nose. A couple of seconds later, it started pouring down. "Oh, great!" - I got up early in the morning, I drove forty-five minutes by bus from Arco to Sarche and spent an hour (30 minutes ascent, [...]