The Adventures of Travellin' Uncle Matt
Friday, 4 April 2025
ALJOLSEN, ALCAPONE? - NO! - IT'S ALMATY
Wednesday, 26 March 2025
A VISIT TO THE 'STANS' (or some of them).
28th Mar 2025
You will have heard of many of the 'Stans' which are countries (the coloured ones above are ex-Soviet Union) which comprise a large part of Central Asia. They include those shown above (not including the newly created 'Londonistan') which gained their 'independence' in 1991. They cover a large area. For example Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world and the size of Western Europe, which gives you some idea of the scale. The distance from East to West of the map above is about 2000 miles. I have done a (very) small amount of research before embarking on this trip which, like all previous others, will be organised 'by the seat of my pants' (ie. play it as I go). During my limited research, and purely as a matter of interest, I discovered that the 'Paki' in Pakistan is an acronym from its component regions of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir and Indus-Sind. You live and learn! Anyway, given the vast distances involved and having little idea of the transport network, I will only find out where I can get to on arrival. The old 'Silk Road' trading routes, 4,000 miles of them (up until the mid-15th century) passed through this area through places such as Almaty, Tashkent, Samarkand etc.
I aim to start this journey on the 29th March at the romantic and charming transport hub of Stansted Airport (somewhere north of London) from where I hope to fly to Almaty at the south-east of Kazakhstan.
To be continued……….continuing!
I must say I find most airports intensely irritating establishments nowadays. Stansted is no exception and up with the worst. 80% of it is taken up by a vast shiny shopping 'mall' selling all sorts of expensive (duty free!) tat plus grossly expensive food and drink outlets. I do not come to these places to go shopping! The remaining 20% is an actual airport. The crowds and queues were horrendous and, after eventually getting to the security checks, you can never be sure what some jobsworth will find which is 'against the rules' (see my final previous Vietnam blog). I always travel with only a cabin bag and a small rucksack ('under the seat in front' sort of thing), and this is a minefield as to what is allowed 'free of charge' depending on airlines' greed and vagaries. Anyway, I endured this experience without any problems and caught the Pegasus Airlines (a Turkish company) Airbus 321 for the initial, 4 hour, flight to Istanbul East. It was on time. The aircraft was packed and, in cattle class, not much leg-room and no screen for in-flight entertainment or info. There was no 'free' catering service but you could buy very expensive refreshments from a limited menu. It was basic, but efficient.
Saturday, 25 January 2025
UPDATE OF INDEX
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
91. Kerala - India
2012
Jan
92. Goa - India
93. Bombay - India
94. Delhi - India
95. Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 1) - India
96. Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 2) - India
97. Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 3) - India
98. Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 4) - India
99. Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 5) - India
100. Calcutta - India
Feb
101. Rangoon - Burma
102. The Train To Bagan - Burma
103. Bagan - Burma
104. Mandalay (Part 1) - Burma
105. Mandalay (Part 2) - Burma
106. Inle Lake - Burma
107. Ngapali Beach - Burma
108. Bangkok - Thailand
109. Siem Reap - Cambodia
Mar
110. Phnom Penh - Cambodia
111. Saigon - Vietnam
112. Hanoi - Vietnam
Apr
113. Sa Pa - Vietnam
114. Ha Long Bay - Vietnam
115. Beijing (Part 1) - China
116. Hong Kong
117. Beijing (Part 2) - China
May
118. Mongolia
119. Siberia - Russia
120. Trans-Siberian to Moscow
121. Moscow (Part 1) - Russia
122. Moscow (Part 2) - Russia
123. St Petersburg - Russia
124. Helsinki - Finland
125. Rovaniemi - Finland
126. Up To Kirkenes - Norway
127. Hurtigruten (Part 1) - Norway
128. Hurtigruten (Part 2) - Norway
129. Hurtigruten (Part 3) - Norway
130. Hurtigruten (Part 4) - Norway
Jun
131. Bergen to Oslo - Norway
132. Oslo - Norway
133. Copenhagen - Denmark
134. Hamburg - Germany
135. Hook of Holland - and Home
Jul
136. The End
Aug
137. Post Script - London
138. Stand-by For More...
2013
Sep
139. To The Democratic Peoples Republic Of Korea (North Korea)
140. Pyongyang 1 - North Korea
141. Pyongyang 2 - North Korea
Oct
142. Kaesong and Panmunjom - North Korea
143. Back to Pyongyang - North Korea
144. Pyongyang 3 - North Korea
145. Samjiyon and Mount Paekdu - North Korea
146. Daehongdan County - North Korea
147. Chongjin - North Korea
148. Hamhung - North Korea
149. Wonsan and Mount Kumgang - North Korea
150. Mount Kumgang 2 - North Korea
151. Mount Kumgang 3 - North Korea
152. Wonsan Again - North Korea
153. Back To Pyongyang and On To Nampo - North Korea
Nov
154. Nampo and Back To Pyongyang - North Korea
155. Train To Beijing - North Korea
156. The Finale
157. Impressions of North Korea
158. Vids From North Korea
Dec
159. Zambia
160. Battledore Farm - Zambia
161. Cool Bananas - Zambia
162. Banana Hazards - Zambia
163. Back On The Farm - Zambia
164. Continued Jollities - Zambia
2014
Jan
165. Christmas In Darkest Africa - Zambia
166. Lusaka 1 - Zambia
167. Lusaka 2 - Zambia
168. Livingston (I Presume) - Zambia
169. On Safari - Botswana
170. Ndola N'Home - Zambia
Feb
171. Onwards To Sarf America
Mar
172. Buenos Aires and The Wedding - Argentina
173. Around Buenos Aires - Argentina
174. Jujuy Province - Argentina
175. Salta - Argentina
176. Cordoba - Argentina
177. Mendoza - Argentina
178. Santiago (Part 1) - Chile
179. Olmue and Valparaiso - Chile
180. Santiago (Part 2) - Chile
Apr
181. To Osorno and Bariloche - Argentina
182. Bariloche - Argentina
183. Ruta National 40 - Argentina
184. El Calafate - Argentina
185. Tierra Del Fuego (Part 1) - Argentina
186. Tierra Del Fuego (Part 2) - Argentina
187. Iguazu - Argentina
188. Buenos Aires - Finale - Argentina
2015
Jan
189. The Saga Of My Nearly Lost Hat - UK
Jul
190. We Wish To Apologise... - UK
Aug
191. Those Blasted Announcements... - UK
Sep
192. Tuscany By Train - France
193. Mulhouse to Montecatini - Italy
194. Florence - Italy
195. Around Montecatini - Italy
196. Lucca and Pisa - Italy
197. Venice 1 - Italy
Oct
198. Venice 2 - Italy
199. Venice 3 - Italy
200. Turin - Italy
Dec
201. 'Nam Revisited - Vietnam
202. Saigon Again - Vietnam
2016
Jan
203. Merry Keesmah - Vietnam
204. Up The Mekong - Vietnam
205. Happy Noo Yeer - Vietnam
Mar
206. Snowdrops - UK
207. Turkey - An Inspiration
208. Istanbul Or Bust
209. Budapest - Briefly - Hungary
210. Brasov - Transylvania - Romania
Apr
211. Bucharest - Romania
212. Onwards To Istanbul - Bulgaria
213. This Was Constantinople - Turkey
214. Up The Bosphorous - Turkey
215. The Turkish Bath - Turkey
Sep
216. Up The Kennet - UK
Oct
217. Down The Baltics
218. Tallinn 1 - Estonia
219. Tallinn 2 - Estonia
220. Tallinn 3 - Estonia
221. On To Riga - Latvia
222. Around Riga - Latvia
223. Riga Finale - Stuck Up A Steeple - Latvia
224. Vilnius...And The Dark Side - Lithuania
225. Vilnius...The Bright Side - Lithuania
Nov
226. A Damp Day In Warsaw - Poland
227. Berlin And Bed Bugs In Brussels - Belgium
228. Cultural Day In Lille - France
Dec
229. Bah Humbug And Chrexit - Vietnam
230. Laid-Back Laos - Vientiane - Laos
231. Va Va Vang Vieng - Laos
232. Vang Vieng Voom Voom - Laos
2017
Jan
233. Luang Prabang - Laos
234. Luang Prabang And Elephants - Laos
Oct
235. Ariba Ariba and Off to Cuba
Nov
236. Havana Wander - Cuba
237. Havana Further Wander - Cuba
238. On West to Viñales - Cuba
239. Cienfuegos - Cuba
240. Ye Olde Town of Trinidad - Cuba
241. Santa Clara. Viva La Revolución - Cuba
242. Varadero. - Cuba
243. Guanabo. Playa del Ested - Cuba
Dec
244. Back to Havana - Cuba
245. Havana Finale - Cuba
246. Chrexit 2017 - Thailand
247. Phuket and Beaches - Thailand
248. Phuket Town - Thailand
249. Saigon Again - Vietnam
2018
Jan
250. Wats in Chiang Mai - Thailand
251. A Day Out in Chiang Mai - Thailand
252. More Chiang Mai - Thailand
Feb
253. Chiang Mai - Bangkok - and Home
Apr
254. Silly Signs
May
255. By Plane to Ukraine
Jun
256. Kiev Part 1 - Ukraine
257. Kiev Part 2 - Ukraine
258. Chernobyl Disaster. The Background Story - Ukraine
259. Chernobyl Part 1 - Ukraine
Jul
260. Pripyat. The Ghost Town - Ukraine
261. Chernobyl Part 2 - Ukraine
262. Bermuda or Bust - Bermuda
Aug
263. St. George's - Bermuda
264. More Bermuda
265. Carnival Time - Bermuda
266. Hamilton - Bermuda
267. Finale - Bermuda
Sep
268. Update of Index 2
Jan
Apr
281. Amsterdam Cultural Tour - Holland
282. Yodel-ay-ee-Hoo around Switzerland
May
283. Yodelling on and back - Switzerland
284. Down the Balkans to Ljubljana - Slovenia
285. Down to Split - Croatia
286. Split to Dubrovnik - Croatia
287. On South to Montenegro
June
288. Cetinje - Montenegro
289. To the beach - Montenegro
290. Bar and back home - Montenegro
Sept
291. To Japanada (or Canapan)
292. Vancouver Island - Canada
Oct
293. All Aboard the Westerdam - Canada
294. Juneau (Juneau What?) - Alaska
295. Onwards Westwards
296. Past Kodiak Island and Beyond
297. Across the Bering sea
298. Kushiro Briefly - Japan
299. Arrival Yokohama - Japan
300. Kyoto Intro - Japan
301. More Kyoto. Day 1 - Japan
302. More Kyoto. Day 2 - Japan
303. Hiroshima - Japan
304. Nagasaki - Japan
305. Brief Visit to Kure - Japan
306. Tokyo - Japan
307. Sayonara Nippon - Japan
309. No 'Ell in Far East - Thailand
310. OMG!. Pattaya - Thailand
311. Sodom and Gomorrah - Thailand
312. Back to 'Nam Again - Vietnam
313. Đà lạt Part 1 - Vietnam
314. Đà lạt Part 2 - Vietnam