Time at Phuktal Monastery

We finally make it to Phuktal Monastery after some rough travels and enjoyed some ‘quality time’ with the resident family of monks…

Into the Zanskar Valley

Back in India, we ventured from the popular tourist sights of Leh to the remote Zanskar Valley in less than ideal circumstances….

Central Asian Soviet mosaics

In our time in Central Asia we’ve come across many fine examples of Soviet era mosaics, with some truly wonderful designs and styling. Here are a few of our favourite examples.

Karaganda and Temirtau

Far from the sanitised tourism of Turkestan, we visited the industrial heartland of Kazakhstan and the site of the largest gulag complex in the old Soviet Union. Cheery stuff indeed…..

Almaty to Turkestan

Our first two destinations in Kazakhstan – one a lively, modern & thriving city, one a bonkers Central Asian statement piece…..

The Ala-Kul trek

The Ala-Kul trek is a 53km hike in the Karakol National Park with around 2,200m of ascent in some pretty challenging terrain. It takes in the Aka-Kul Lake – a beautiful, bright turquoise glacial tarn, stretching nearly 3km end to end, and includes a traverse of the Ala-Kul Pass at a breathtaking 3,900m.

Kyzyl Oi to Issyk Kul

Following what proved to be a pretty bruising few days on horseback (reference Helen’s hips, thighs and backside, plus the significant mental trauma of fighting with our horses and probably losing the hotel’s dog), we thought a day out at a festival might be a useful distraction.

The Pamir Gallery

There were far too many photos to include in our Pamir Highway posts, so if you’re interested, here’s a further selection of sights along the road…..