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michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows

Michael Meadows Just coming to the end of a two-month jaunt through Central Asia, finishing up in Iran. And then it's back to Singapore for my last semester of grad school! Still trying to figure out where I'll go from there...
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Joined on: December 27th 2005
Last Login: September 4th 2008

Blog Entries: 29
Photos: 825
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by michaelpaddo, order by Date newest first.

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Kymys. Fermented mare's milk. I'd been looking forward to trying it ever since I decided to come to Central Asia, but I guess I'd always had in mind just a small sip, rather than the overflowing bowl Aitbek had just thrust into my hands. I gazed into it uncertainly for a moment, fairly dubious about the tiny pieces of straw and strands of hair bobbing at the surface. But Aitbek just nodded encouragingly, before tipping his own bowl back and slurping it all down in several throaty gulps. Smacking his lips appreciatively, he motioned for me to do the same. And [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 15 Comment(s) | 31 Photo(s) | 1 Video(s) | [diary=303558] | 2008-08-01 10:34:11

Everyone pitching in to get the new yurt up as soon as possible
Islan
Hobbling the horses, before climbing up to see the petroglyphs

The previous night's queasy cocktail of menace & vodka turned uneasily in my stomach when I woke, but I felt myself very quickly invigorated by the thought of what lay ahead... Three days up in the Tian Shan, (Mandarin for 'Celestial Mountains'), a mountain range which LP claims "comprises perhaps the finest trekking territory in Central Asia". I'd decided to explore it for myself rather than hiring a guide; both for financial reasons and also because I knew it would be more of an adventure on my own. Which it certainly was - probably the highlight of the trip so far! [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 7 Comment(s) | 29 Photo(s) | 2 Video(s) | [diary=300982] | 2008-07-21 07:24:39

Packed up & ready to leave my room at the Jeti-Oghuz sanatorium
South of Svetov Dolina, (the Valley of Flowers)
Camping at the foot of the Teleti Pass

The old man with the wooden leg grinned across the low table at me, a mouthful of gold teeth gleaming in the candle-light. Raising his shot glass high, he waited for the rest of the table to fall silent, then looked me right in the eye and barked something in Kyrgyz, eliciting growls of assent from the men around me. I didn't recognise the word, but his sentiment was clear enough; it didn't matter how many drunken louts were waiting for me in the cold outside - fanning the flames of their violent anger with more & more alcohol - I [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 14 Comment(s) | 41 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=292707] | 2008-07-04 07:16:19

A still-defiant Lenin, relegated to the small square behind the State Historical Museum (Bishkek)
Statue of Manas, the warrior-hero of the epic of the same name
Me, Suyun & Azamat at Pristan, on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kol

Like moths to a flame, Prague's countless tourists swarm around the Old City streets, flitting in and out of the endless & identically-kitsch tourist shops, alighting nowhere for long. For most cities, however enchanting, this would be enough to wear the charm thin - very quickly... =/ But Prague is an untouchably magical place - a deep-dreaming city of cobbled lanes, Gothic spires and refreshingly-diverse architecture. And one of the most magical places of all is Staromestske nam, (Old Town square), at dusk. The twin Gothic spires of Tyn Church hang - a pair of sharp-winged bats - over [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 10 Comment(s) | 27 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=125539] | 2007-08-08 05:27:18

Tyn Church looking out over Staromestske nam, (Prague)
Dragon
Auschwitz-Birkenau watch-tower

My Year in Asia had always seemed to stretch endlessly out before me, all the way to the distant curve of the horizon and into the vagueness beyond. So it was with a sense of real disbelief - as well as sadness - that I realised I only had three weeks left after returning from Burma! And these three, already inadequate, weeks passed by ridiculously quickly - a loud, fast-forward blur of parties & dinners, cramming for final exams, nights out on the town with good mates, and all the inevitably bittersweet 'Lasts' that come with leaving a place... The Last [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 7 Comment(s) | 27 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=125538] | 2007-03-11 12:02:56

The Lippizaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School
Wispy clouds over Salzburg
Hundertwasser Haus, Vienna

Pulling up his longyi, Naung Naung proudly shows us the tattoo of a rabbit on his right thigh, surrounded by a faded swirl of Pali inscriptions. "This one makes me jump higher", he explains, his face deadly serious, before pulling open his tattered shirt to reveal a tiger on his chest. "And this one gives me courage!" This goes on for a few minutes, as he shows us a succession of significant tattoos - each located on a specific part of the body - and tells us the blessing each one bestows. I'd read a little about this custom before, (sometimes [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 9 Comment(s) | 27 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=112415] | 2007-03-04 23:03:46

Novice monks on the lake
Young boy helping out, on the boat trip in to Nyaungshwe.
From his mother

By michaelpaddo
February 12th 2007

Burma Two: Bicycles in Bagan

 Asia » Burma » Bagan
Lying on my back, on the floor of the small hut, the only sounds I'm aware of are the creaking of bamboo and the grating whine of mosquitos swarming closer. Two old ladies - in whose home we are about to enjoy our first Burmese massage - shuffle quietly around us in long, faded longyis, carefully arranging a selection of herbal oils on the floor beside us. Noticing me slap at a mosquito which has settled on my arm, one of them smiles knowingly, kindly eyes shining in the candle-light, and holds up a reassuring hand. Wait, wait, I've got just [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 8 Comment(s) | 21 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=112416] | 2007-02-12 19:28:12

Yulac; trying to sell us postcards as we watch a Bagan sunrise
Brian & I taking a refreshing dip in the Ayerwaddy (thanks Imho!)
Yulac & Imho, our guides to the wonders of Bagan

Leaning over to check how fast we're going - 150 km/h - I notice for the first time that the taxi driver has fallen asleep at the wheel. Behind us, the road stretches out straight and long, and I wander how long it's been since he nodded off. We nudge him gently, with a cautious hand hovering over the steering wheel in case he wakes with a start. Instead, he wakes slowly, almost lazily, and then grins sheepishly as he winds the windows down and turns the radio up. This proves insufficient stimulation, so he speeds up even more - 175 [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 9 Comment(s) | 25 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=104543] | 2007-01-19 12:21:36

A friendly little guy we bought tea from before boarding the Yangon-Mandalay bus
Posing for publicity shots with the Moustache Brothers, (Mandalay)
Sunset view from U Bein bridge

By michaelpaddo
December 10th 2006

Climbing Kinabalu

 Asia » Malaysia » Sabah » Kota Kinabalu
Clambering down from the rickety base-camp bunk-bed, I turn off the 2am alarm and wonder vaguely what was going through my mind when I packed for this trip. Already shivering in the frigid early morning air, I blearily consider my woefully inadequate clothing options. Let me sum it up for you like this: I'm about to climb to the summit of the highest mountain in South East Asia and I don't even have dry underwear to put on. A t-shirt still wet from yesterday's climb, a pair of light running shoes, a thin jumper, rain-jacket, quick-dry travel trousers, a beanie, gloves [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 12 Comment(s) | 27 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=98686] | 2006-12-10 10:51:21

Hundreds of pitcher plants line the trail
View from the summit, just after sunrise
You

After the vague disappointment of Angkor Wat, did Ta Phrom live up to my high expectations? It did and more - absolutely magnificent!... The temple itself was impressive enough; mighty stone structures covered in delicate carvings of flowers and seductive 'apsaras' (heavenly nymphs), carved balustrade window frames (designed to look like wood), arched passageways, and so on. But what makes this temple such a special place is that the whole mighty construction is being slowly but inevitably reclaimed by even mightier Nature. Deceptively fragile tendrils caress the walls & buildings, slowly wrap [View Full Entry]

michaelpaddo - Michael Meadows | Read The Full Entry | Subscribe | 11 Comment(s) | 27 Photo(s) | 0 Video(s) | [diary=89041] | 2006-11-01 09:59:39

Exploring the wild & secluded Beng Mealea
Looking out over the jungle that surrounds Phnom Bakheng
Another shot; closeup with apsara carving



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