Day 117 - Mongolia 🇲🇳

When I think of Mongolia, I immediately think fo Ghengis Khan, mountains, open planes and endless blue skies. I know almost nothing else about Mongolia. Other than it comes incredibly close to having a border with Kazakhstan, but doesn’t quite make it.

Apparently Mongolia’s native horses (or Przewalski's horses) are the last truly wild horses. They have more chromosomes than domesticated horses. I’ve heard the fermented mare’s milk is especially tasty. Feel free to try it and report back in the comments…

Like Kazakhstan, Mongolia still has a large nomadic population with around a quarter of Mongolians still living Nomadic lives. This however is changing rapidly due to increased urbanisation, and loss of livestock due to climate change. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital is growing at a frenzied pace with over 600,000 people migrating there and largely living in unplanned ‘ger’ districts.

Ghengis Khan statue, Ulaanbaatar

This increased urbanisation is creating problems for Ulaanbaatar. I had no idea, but Ulaanbaatar is the world’s coldest capital with an annual average temperature of −0.4 °C. It also lacks basic infrastructure, and with a rapidly growing population, people switched to coal burning boilers to keep warm. A bitterly cold climate, unplanned urban growth and burning coal is the perfect recipe for dangerously high levels of air pollution. Recently Ulaanbaatar has banned burning coal, although it’s unclear if this will have the desired effects.

I really didn’t expect urbanisation and pollution to be huge problems in the world’s least densely populated country. Sigh, humans!

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Day 107 - Maldives 🇲🇻

Welcome to the Maldives, a small nation of 26 atolls spanning the equator in the Indian Ocean south of India. The Maldives is tiny. Despite being made up of 1,192 islands, its total landmass is smaller than that of Malta. It’s the smallest country in Asia by landmass. The largest island, Gan Island is a mere 8km long and 3.4km wide. 

The Maldives was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. All but nine islands experienced serious flooding, and six islands were completely destroyed.

This is partially explained when you learn that the Maldives is the lowest country in the world. The highest point in the country is 2.4 metres above sea level. It’s therefore pretty obvious that the Maldives is one of the most endangered nations on the planet due to climate change.

I’ll leave you with a more upbeat fact. The Maldives is home to the world’s largest seaplane airline. Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) operates a fleet of 55 seaplanes serving 79 island destinations. TMA’s main hubs are docks alongside Velana International Airport and Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. Perfect for connecting flights for an island getaway.

The TMA Terminal alongside the regular, land based Ibrahim Nasir International Airport

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Day 106 - Malaysia 🇲🇾

If there is one thing this project has made me good at, it is the ability to knock out a blog post in minutes. No guarantees of quality. Tonight is one of those evenings when I’m in a bind. We have a friend coming round in 15 minutes, and I’m guilty of procrastination.

Right, onwards with Malaysia!

Malaysia is actually smaller than I imagined. Its total size is smaller than that of Finland. Malaysia consists of Peninsular Malaysia, north of Singapore and part of the island of Borneo. Here are a few assorted tidbits about Malaysia.

Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy (like the UK), however with a twist that the king or queen is elected by nine state sultans every five years. The last kind of Malaysia abdicated after he married a former Miss Moscow and reportedly moved to Russia.

Malaysia is home to the largest known cave chamber in the world, the Sarawak Chamber. Its largest dimensions are 700 by 400 meters and can reportedly house eight Jumbo Jets in a row. Possibly a long term storage solution for the current aviation crisis?

Tanjung Piai, at the lower tip of the Malay Peninsula, is the southernmost point on the Eurasian landmass, so in theory, you could drive to Malaysia from Europe. Kind of like in the TV show Race Across the World.

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Day 97 - Lebanon 🇱🇧

Today brings us to Lebanon. A country with one of the most memorable flags, featuring the Lebanese cedar.

Tonight I’m very tight on time, so I’m going to share a few links. 

Lebanon has had a disastrous few years and has descended into crisis following the catastrophic explosion in Beruit last August. The economy is in free-fall, there have been widespread protests and the government has resigned.

BBC World Service, Real Story - Lebanon on the Brink provides a great account of the worsening situation in Lebanon before the 2020 explosion.

The Guardian, Beirut explosion, six months on – in pictures is a chilling account of the aftermath of last year’s mammoth explosion.

I’ll leave you with one final Lebanese pick from my friend Udi. He’s a big fan of Mashrou' Leila, a controversial Lebanese indie band that aims to shine a light on Lebanese society.

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Day 95 - Laos 🇱🇦

Today’s destination is Laos. Let’s get stuck in.

What I knew about Laos before today

Surprisingly little, other than it’s landlocked and is one of Southeast Asia’s least-known countries. It’s also Laos is one of the poorest countries in the region and similarly to Vietnam is a Communist country.

What’s Laos’s top tourist attraction?

Laos is a far less popular tourist destination than many of its neighbours such as Vietnam and Thailand. According to my quick research, Laos capital Vientiane is its most popular destination with the Patuxay (or victory gate) Monument being the most visited attraction

What was the last war or conflict Laos took part in?

Laos was severely affected by the Vietnam War and still is to this day while at the same time enduring its own interconnected civil war.

During the Vietnam War Laos was bombed by America for nine years during which hundreds of millions of bombs were dropped on the country. Since 1964 more than 50,000 Lao have been killed or injured by American bombs.

A Bizarre fact about Laos

Despite officially being neutral during the Vietnam war, Laos has been bombed more than any other country. 

Was Laos a former colony?

Yes, it was a French colony until 1953.

What are Laos’s main exports?

Laos’s closest export partner is Thailand and its largest export is “wood products”. Sounds unspecific.

What’s Laos’s National dish?

Apparently, laab (or larb) is Laos’s most popular dish. If you haven’t had laab before it’s a surprisingly tasty meat salad. Goes great with a Beerlao.

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Day 94 - Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬

Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asian country that I knew almost nothing about until today. Kyrgyzstan is neighboured by China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. It also shares some seriously messy borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan including multiple enclaves and exclaves.

Kyrgyzstan is traditionally part of the Silk Road and is a highly mountainous country with its highest peak Jengish Chokusu reaching a truly impressive 7,439 metres. Kyrgyzstan is also home to Issyk-Kul, the seventh deepest lake in the world with a maximum depth of 668 metres.

The lake has no current outlet, and until recently continued to get deeper and deeper. It’s estimated that it’s 8 metres higher than it was during medieval times. 

When Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union Issyk-Kul depth made it an ideal test site for submarine torpedo technology. As of 2008 an area around the lake is being leased by the Russian and Indian navies for testing purposes.

Kyrgyzstan’s capital is Bishkek and it still has a “Lenin” district. Perhaps this is because the end of the Soviet Union was particularly tough on Kyrgyzstan as 98% of its exports were to the Soviet Union. Nowadays Kyrgyzstan’s largest export is gold making up 43% of its exports.

The World Nomad games

Kyrgyzstan is traditionally a nation of Nomads and started the World Nomad Games in 2014 and then went on to host the subsequent two games.

Even though Kyrgyzstan’s nomadic traditions continue, it’s more common to live in yurts only during the summer months. Despite this nomadic families apparently still spend as much time as possible outside, performing daily chores like preparing food or washing dishes in front of the yurt.

Kind of like my childhood caravan holidays.

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Day 93 - Kuwait 🇰🇼

Today’s destination is Kuwait, a small country in the  Middle East bordering Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran.

Kuwait is tiny. It’s smaller than Fiji, but despite its diminutive size, it reportedly holds 8% of the world’s oil reserves. It’s unsurprising to learn then, that the majority of Kuwait’s exports are oil or oil-based products.

The income from Kuwait’s oil income has been better managed than many other countries. Back in 1953, the Kuwait Investment Authority was set up as the world's first sovereign wealth fund.

Kuwaitis are a minority in their own country with 3.4m million expatriates living in Kuwait constituting 70% of the population.

I’ll leave you with one final tidbit about Kuwait. Camel racing is a very popular sport in Kuwait and human jockeys are being rapidly replaced by robot jockeys. This beats the practice of using young children to jockey camels in the searing desert heat.

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Day 92 - South Korea 🇰🇷

Today we make the tense journey across (not under) the Korean Demilitarised Zone to the other half of Korea: South Korea.

The contrast between the two Koreas cannot be starker. While North Korea has languished in over half a century of stunted economic growth, South Korea has thrived to become one of the world's most advanced economies. Between 1962 and 1994 the South Korean economy grew an average of 10% per year.

South Korea is now the largest shipbuilding nation in the world and has grown huge corporate giants such as LG, Samsung and Hyundai.

Despite South Korea’s economic transformation, the two Korea’s are technically still at war and have been since war broke out in 1950. The demilitarised zone, just north of Seoul is a striking reminder that despite all of South Korea’s progress, there is still a potent flashpoint for all-out conflict on the Korean peninsular.

Mungyeong-si, South Korea

Almost one-fifth of South Korea’s population lives in Seoul, however, the South Korean government has recently been emphasising growth outside of Seoul. South Korea even has two capitals as of 2012. While Seoul remains the official capital and the economic and cultural centre of the country, Sejong City is now the administrative capital and home to many South Korean government agencies.

South Korea is another place I really want to visit - to me, it has much of the appeal of Japan, but is less travelled, even though the “Korean wave” is growing rapidly.

I can’t wait to plan that trip, there will certainly be lots of bulgogi, bi bit pap, kimchi and soju.

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Day 91 - North Korea 🇰🇵

North Korea or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to use its full name is undoubtedly one of the worlds most secretive and cut off societies. However, paradoxically, North Korea’s extreme isolationism has generated a huge amount of fascination and coverage of North Korea around the world.

For today’s post, I’ll share a few things I find fascinating about North Korea.

North Korea is home to what world’s most fascinating airline. Due to decades of trade sanctions and embargoes, North Korea’s national airline is reliant on a fleet of aged Soviet aircraft. Air Koryo is the last airline to operate multiple types of the 1950s and 60s era Soviet-built aircraft such as the Ilyushin Il-62M, Tupolev Tu-134 and Tupolev Tu-154B. North Korea is an aviation geeks dream.

While Air Koryo’s business class probably won’t live up to the standards of the global elite, North Korea has more in common with their hangouts like Monaco, the Cayman Islands and UAE than you might think.

North Korea is one of the few countries in the world whose residents pay no taxes. Taxation was abolished in 1974. Only individuals who make money outside of North Korea pay taxes.

Other things you might want to check out about North Korea include:

• Pyongyang’s immaculate metro - one of the world’s deepest and most elaborately decorated metro systems

• The Ryugyong hotel - an unfinished skyscraper that has been under construction since 1987

• The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium - the world’s largest stadium

• The Kijong-dong or “Peace Village" on the Border of North and South Korea

Reading the paper on a Metro station, Pyongyang, North Korea metro station, Pyongyang, North Korea

North Korea is a fascinating country. One day I’d love to visit, although I wonder if writing this blog post bars me from entry? Either way, North Korea has ambitions to change. Kim Jong Un has big plans to grow and partially liberalise the North Korean economy. So far though, these plans have been hindered by economic sanctions and a reduction in trade with China due to the coronavirus pandemic. On a related note, the recent video of Russian diplomats leaving North Korea on a hand-powered train rail trolley was simply astonishing.

North Korean’s love a good drink, and North Korea has dozens of breweries. The most popular beer is Taedonggang lager. Unsurprisingly they don’t stock this in my local Netto, so I’ll have to substitute with a locally brewed Tuborg this evening. Geonbae!

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Day 88 - Kazakhstan 🇰🇿

Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country and the 9th largest country in the world after Argentina.

Despite being in Asia, Kazakhstan is home to Europe’s longest road. The E40 links Kazakstan to France and is more than 8,500 km long.

It’s commonly known that Kazakstan served a Soviet space launch facility. Baikonur Cosmodrome was built in the 1950s and to this day is still one of only four sites around the world that have launched humans into space.

What is less commonly known though is that Kazakhstan was also home to one of the Soviet Union’s other mega projects. Kazakstan was the primary testing site for the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons development programme. The Semipalatinsk test site, also known as  "The Polygon" was used to test nuclear weapons from 1949 to 1991. 

The Soviets conducted more than 110 above-ground nuclear tests and today the once flat terrain is pitted with craters, unnatural lakes and empty decaying buildings. 

The effects on the residents of the surrounding area are even more pronounced. Kazakh health authorities estimate that up to 1.5 million people were exposed to fallout in the process. More than 100,000 people in the area are still affected by radiation, which has been transmitted down through five generations and spread hundreds of kilometres away from the test site. If this isn’t a reason for nuclear disarmament, I don’t know what is.

Tien Shan Astronomical Observatory Kazakhstan

The Semipalatinsk test site isn’t the only Soviet scar in Kazakhstan. The Aral Sea, once spanning 67,000 sq km across the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has shrunk by 95%. Now you can see rusting shops in the desert where there once used to be sea. The Aral Sea was the victim of aggressive Soviet irrigation projects in the 1950s and will likely never recover.

On a more positive note, Kazakhstan still has a wild population of snow leopards living in the Almatinsky Nature Reserve. Kazakhstan is also the birthplace of the apple. Despite the fact that apples are one, if not the most universally available fruit, DNA analysis indicates that apples originated in the mountains of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is also home to the last remaining wild apple tree groves in the Tian Shan mountains. 

And on that note, for some reason, I suddenly feel like I’ve earned a cider.

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