the2moons

We are on an extended journey through Central Asia - essentially, what is known as the Silk Road - - - As the plane descended through the thick cloud cover into Baku, the landscape contrasted to that of Istanbul we'd left behind. Instead of an almost treeless dense urbanity, here householders had the luxury of much space between buildings. Very dry (Baku receives just 200mm / year), the outskirts where the airport lies revealed few trees. The short trip to Baku city centre showed an interesting landscape of aged and modern buildings each set on spacious grounds. The name Baku is derived from the old Persian Bagavan, which translates to "City of God". Situated on an isthmus on the Caspian Sea, the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku today known as the 'windy city'. Azerbaijan, and thus ... read more

. France - and a bit more: Episode 5 (Finale) This blog describes our 2023 journey to Europe; specifically France (with the possibility of a small foray elsewhere as both Italy and Spain are 'next door'!). As always, we segment the 'blog' into roughly weekly or fortnightly posts (this being the 5th). Our travel blog has been written for family and friends to 'travel with us'. We now recognise we write the blog for ourselves; it is how we revisit our past adventures and remind ourselves of the the enjoyment. Thus, there is more detail included than merely a brief discourse for family and friends. BTW, if you want to see the picture in a larger size, just click on it. Oh, and if you missed Episode #1, you can find it here, and Episode #2 ... read more

. France - and a bit more: Episode 3 (Weeks 3 + 4) This blog describes our 2023 journey to Europe; specifically France (with the possibility of a small foray elsewhere as both Italy and Spain are 'next door'!). As always, we segment the 'blog' into roughly weekly or fortnightly posts (this being the 3rd). Our travel blog has been written for family and friends to 'travel with us'. We now recognise we write the blog for ourselves; it is how we revisit our past adventures and remind ourselves of the the enjoyment. Thus, there is more detail included than merely a brief discourse for family and friends. BTW, if you want to see the picture in a larger size, just click on it. Oh, and if you missed Episode #1, you can find it here, ... read more

France - and a bit more: Week 1 This blog describes our 2023 journey to Europe; specifically France (with the possibility of a small foray elsewhere as Italy & Spain are 'just next door'). As always, we segment the 'blog' into roughly weekly or fortnightly posts (this being the 1st). Our travel blog has been written for family and friends to 'travel with us'. We now recognise we write the blog for ourselves; it is how we revisit our past adventures and remind ourselves of the the enjoyment. Thus, there is more detail included than merely a brief discourse for family and friends. BTW, if you want to see the picture in a larger size, just click on it. May 12: Day 1 & 2 - The journey. . Given the opening of borders after Covid, ... read more

We 'did' the snow part in Japan, and now it is the swim and snorkel part - in the Philippines. We arrived in Manila (Philippines) to darkness after a 5 hour flight from Narita in Japan. After the cold of Suginohara, the low teens of Narita allowed us to dress lightly so we weren't overdressed for the low 30's of Manila. We took a Grab (like Uber) to our apartment and the journey revealed much about the inequality of society in Manila. Folk in very expensive cars had no time for the many beggars seeking whatever to survive the day. At our apartment we were met with 3 heavily armed security guards. Before we could register at the accommodation, we had to pass the 'temperature test' and explain where we had visited over the past month. ... read more