Expectation is an unwelcome friend on any travel. Appearing at first to be an ally, it can undermine enjoyment of a destination, especially if expectation is too high. It is very rare to visit anywhere without any sense of expectation – but this did duly occur with my travel to Ukraine. Since my visit was organised and paid for courtesy of flydubai I did not need to research sightseeing, accommodation or flight options. Thus, my prior knowledge of Ukraine was confined to the musings of . So it was with much anticipation about the lack of expectation that my four day tour of both Kiev and Odessa commenced. The first and foremost memory of time in Kiev was the extraordinary beauty of its buildings. Streets upon streets of classical facades, many in pastel colours of blue, ... read more

Tales from aeons past seep from every corner of Axum. More than 2000 years ago, the former capital of the Axumite kingdom exerted its military, trade and cultural powers for more than a millennium. Legend states that the king who bore Frankincense (Gaspar) to Jesus after his birth hailed from Axum. The famed Queen of Sheba is also believed to have come from this ancient city. However, Axum’s biggest claim is its possession of the famous Ark of the Covenant that housed the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. So appropriately donning my worn and faded Indiana Jones hat, I engaged in my own version of Raiders of the Lost Ark and sought the resting place of one of history’s most important relics. Many deride Axum as having little to hold the visitor’s attention for ... read more

I doubt that there has been a more dramatic transformation of a city in modern times than Astana. In 1997, after a declaration from President Nursultan Nazarbaev three years earlier, Astana replaced Almaty as Kazakhstan’s capital, and since that time a building project of monumental proportions has been undertaken. Based on the grand design of Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, everything is planned – the symmetry of streets, parks, squares and even buildings all align in perfect harmony. The city’s architecture is extraordinary, something that easily matches other places with modern, futuristic architecture such as Dubai. There were also classical designs, like the opera house, whose facade could have been lifted from the streets of Europe. Astana’s desire to become a cultural centre was obvious, for there were many theatres and concert halls with more under construction. ... read more

The differences could not have been more stark. There are two towns within five kilometres of each other both called Ishkashim. The one in Afghanistan was dry, dusty with unpaved streets, ramshackled buildings, irregular electricity supply and the streets dominated by ambling men. In contrast, the paved roads of Ishkashim in Tajikistan were lined were elegant, tall poplar trees, neat buildings, and smartly dressed men and women were seen in numbers. The only similarity was the desire of residents to know about the Ishkashim on the other side of the border. It felt good to be back in Tajikistan. The next morning my driver, Mendibay, one of the many Kyrgyz living in the Pamir Mountains (the Pamirs), arrived at the guest house sporting metal caps on his teeth often found in the region. His Mitsubishi Pajero ... read more

Two unpredictable elements of travelling in Central Asia – officialdom and transport – conspired against me in my journey to one of the most remote regions on earth. The ribbon of land called the Wakhan Corridor – with the Hindu Kush and Pakistan on one side, with the Panj River and Tajikistan on the other. This is a rarely travelled route, so rare that I was the first tourist to journey along the Wakhan Corridor this year, and it was already the end of May. Public transport is non-existent so one must either bring their own transport, or organise a vehicle and driver. It so transpired that there were problems with the vehicle that my guide, Hameed, had originally organised. Thus, 90 minutes after our intended departure he arrived with another vehicle driven by a young ... read more