Day 193 - Yemen 🇾🇪

August 22, 2021

Today we head to Yemen, the most untouched corner of Arabia. Yemen as an official country formed relatively recently in 1990 from the unification of North Yemen, the Yemen Arab Republic and South Yemen, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

Yemen is a lot older than this though, Yemen’s capital Sana’a is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities at over 2500 years old. This is evident as Yemen is filled with beautiful traditional buildings built from sun-dried mud bricks. Yemen’s architecture is simply breathtaking, and from what I can see much of Yemen looks like it’s been untouched in centuries.

Sadly this is where the good news ends on our visit to Yemen. Yemen has the lowest Human Development Index out of all non-African countries and since the Aran Spring in 2011 Yemen has been in perpetual crisis. With large parts of the country under Houthi rebel control and other groups opposing the Yemeni government, the country is effectively in a brutal civil war.

What’s worse is Yemen is experiencing the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Famine, cholera outbreaks and drought have killed more than 85,000 children. Sana’a is currently at risk of becoming the first capital in the world to run out of a viable water supply as Yemen's natural water sources are depleted.

Things really change in Yemen fast enough - I genuinely hope peace is restored quickly. Hopefully one day Yemen can once again regain its nickname - Arabia Felix or “Happy Arabia”.

If you want to learn more about Yemen, or specifically the isolated Yemeni island of Socotra, I recommend watching Wendover’s documentary about Socotra:

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Day 192 - Vietnam 🇻🇳

August 21, 2021

Today’s post is going to be a photo overload.

I visited Vietnam back in 2014. Vietnam is a truly mind-blowing country changing at a frenetic pace. Today I’ll let the photos do most of the talking, but I have listed my favourite things I did in Vietnam, and a few things you might want to consider avoiding.

My favourite experiences in Vietnam

Drinking lots of Vietnamese coffee - served with condensed milk it’s sublime
Having my preconceptions about communism challenged by seeing first-hand how Vietnam is thriving. Also reading Vietnam Rising Dragon by Bill Hayton helped nuance my understanding.
Learning to ride and ride pillion on a motorbike. And escaping with my life
Enjoying the spectacular, and utterly tropical beaches around Hoi An
Street food!
Travelling from Hoi An to Hue by motorbike on the spectacular Hai Van Pass
Learning the Vietnamese perspective on the Vietnamese war by visiting the fascinating War Remnants Museum, Independence Palace and Củ Chi tunnels
Having my tastebuds explode with flavour during almost every meal, and especially table barbecue
Travelling North on the sleeper train from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang
Drinking as much bia hoi as possible while sitting on tiny plastic chairs
Taking a motorbike and visiting the Mỹ Sơn ruins at sunrise

Two things I would skip in Vietnam

Hạ Long Bay - this precious, fragile natural wonder already has enough tourists. It was painful to see pollution and too much tourism spoil this spectacular place.
Buying a tailor-made suit - it was a bizarre experience to be fitted for a suit, but ultimately the quality of what I bought wasn’t great and I didn’t wear it, so it felt like a waste.

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Day 188 - Uzbekistan 🇺🇿

August 17, 2021

Today we head to Uzbekistan, the world’s largest double-landlocked country. Actually, there are only two double-landlocked countries. The other is Liechtenstein. Uzbekistan is however the only country though that shares borders with all five of the other ‘Stans.

Since gaining independence in 1991 after nearly 200 years of Russian rule, Uzbekistan has been led by authoritarian governments. While Uzbekistan has isolated itself from the rest of the world, stories of its extreme national cotton harvest have seeped into international consciousness.

Cotton is a really important crop in Uzbekistan. So important in fact that the government enacts forced labour to harvest the cotton crop each year. Almost every citizen is expected to help with the cotton harvest. The cotton is then sold to the government for a low price before being sold on for a mark-up. This makes up one of the largest sources of government revenue. There are apparently very few exceptions the mandatory cotton picking labour and the cotton harvest has been known to even cause shortages of doctors and other essential workers. There have also been frequent accusations of child labour, although Uzbekistan is finally taking steps to stamp out child labour.

While cotton is Uzbekistan’s most controversial export, its largest export (financially at least) is gold. Uzbekistan mines roughly 80 tons of gold each year and has the world’s second largest gold reserves.

Uzbekistan launched Central Asia’s first high-speed railway in September 2011 linking Tashkent with Samarkand. The railway has recently lost its unique position as Central Asia’s only high-speed railway.

Today’s final Uzbek trivia tidbit is that none of Uzbekistan’s rivers make it to the sea as all of its drainage basins drain inwards. I know you’ll miss this kind of hard hitting geographic reporting next week when this project is complete!

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Day 184 - United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪

August 13, 2021

The United Arab Emirates has perhaps transformed more than any other country in the world during my lifetime. For example, back in the 1960s, the UAE was home to a population of under a hundred thousand. Today the UAE’s population is now approaching ten million.

For example, take Dubai, a city I first saw in Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 Days was once a small relatively unknown, undeveloped city where he rented an ancient dhow to take him to India.

Since the 1980s, Dubai has been transformed into a glistening metropolis of glass megalith-like skyscrapers, one-too-many lane highways and artificial islands spotted with holiday homes.

The scale of Dubai’s explosive growth is incomprehensible. To me at least. I’m not sure if Dubai is somewhere I want to visit. On the one hand, Dubai is unlike any other place in the world - its ostentatiousness is off the scale, in many ways, it’s similar to a city like Vegas. That is Vegas, but with infinitely stricter sex, drugs and alcohol laws.

Does this give it character, or does this mean the place is devoid of character? Does this even matter? What other place decides to, and then almost pulls off building a chain of islands mirroring the entire world? All I know is that both Michael Palin and John Simpson both listed Dubai as the place they’d least like to visit on the Travel Diaries Podcast.

Anyway, the UAE is a lot more than simply Dubai. The UAE comprises seven emirates, and given almost 90% of the population are immigrants, there must be a reason to visit, right? Maybe I should give The UAE a visit, that is provided they overhaul their draconian LGBT laws.

As the world shifts away from fossil fuels and hub-based air travel, I wonder what the future holds for the UAE? I certainly hope the UAE’s future is brighter than that of its sinking artificial islands.

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Door to Hell, or the Darvaza gas crater, Turkmenistan

Day 180 - Turkmenistan 🇹🇲

August 1, 2021

Today’s country is one of the weirdest destinations we’ve visited in a while. Turkmenistan is a similar size to Spain, but that’s pretty much where any similarity ends.

Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 Turkmenistan has been ruled by a succession of larger-than-life dictators. The first Saparmurat Niyazov was known for littering the entire country with golden statues and for his little pink and green book. His book entitled Ruhnama was a state propaganda tool and every Turkmen resident was forced to study it, even for driving tests.

The current dictator of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, also has a penchant for large golden statues. However, what he’s most known for is performing donuts around a burning crater named “Gateway to Hell” in order to quell rumours of his demise. No, I’m not making this up.

The Gateway to Hell, or the Darvaza gas crater is a huge crater in the Karakum Desert permanently burning natural gas. It’s the consequence of failed Soviet oil drilling attempts in the 1970s. To this day it burns and has become a weird tourist attraction.

Anyway, I really don’t have enough time to do Turkmenistan justice this evening, I recommend watching VisualPolitik’s take on Turkmenistan:

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Day 179 - Turkey 🇹🇷

July 31, 2021

Welcome to Turkey, Europe’s bridge to Asia.

Turkey is the world’s largest per-capita consumer of tea, beating both the UK and Ireland. I really wasn’t expecting to learn that today.

Turkey is one of those countries I’ve visited, but feel like I don’t know it. Well, other than the evil eye amulet is almost everywhere in Turkey, especially in tourist bazaars. Oh, and I also remember there’s a photo of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in almost every building.

I went to Turkey in 2008 on a bargain-basement package holiday with my friend Sean right before graduating. It was the perfect break after exams and before going on a longer interrailing trip later that summer. We stayed Gümbet, just outside Bodrum. Looking at it on a Map, twelve years later, it’s incredible how much has changed. The area is now vastly more developed, and the sprawl of Bodrum now extends far further along the coast. Anyway, the trip was fun, we mostly lay on the beach, drank cocktails and ate. We did manage a day trip to the Greek island of Kos though, and I have lasting memories of the enormous lavash served with almost every meal.

I’d love to visit Turkey properly one day and make the effort to appreciate the delicious cuisine, nature and culture. We had a trip booked to Istanbul for Easter 2020. Once it’s safer to travel again I’d love to re-book. Istanbul looks like one of Europe’s most fascinating cities, packed will delicious food, Turkish baths and iconic sights such as the Grand Bazaar or Hagia Sophia. Istanbul would also be the first transcontinental city I’ve ever visited. That is to say, a city that exists on multiple continents.

Anyway, Turkey, see you after the pandemic!

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Day 174 - Thailand 🇹🇭

July 26, 2021

Thailand is a truly special country. Energetic, chaotic and vibrant, yet at the same time serene and rejuvenating. Thailand fuzes incredible draw-dropping natural beauty, vibrant cities.

All of this is without even mentioning the aromatic, spicy food. Thailand is the only place where I’ve had three meals consecutively. We started in a Michelin guide-worthy Hainanese chicken place, then simply had to try some fried chicken in a neighbouring restaurant before calling into another place for grilled chicken satay chicken. It was the Bangkok chicken trifecta.

Our Thai itinerary

For Joe and I, Thailand was the perfect escape from a dreary Danish February. Scandinavian winters linger far longer than I can handle, and getting a little winter sun is the perfect antidote.

Many other, probably better itineraries are available, but this is what we did when we visited in February 2019.

We started in Bangkok. No trip to Thailand would be complete without at least a short stay in Bangkok. We ate our round Bangkok, mostly eating as much street food as we could. We took in many temples, braved the bustle of Bangkok’s canal ferries and enjoyed the contrast between new and old Bangkok.

After Bangkok, we headed to Koh Yao Noi, a sparsely populated island paradise. The perfect place to learn to ride a scooter. There’s not a huge amount to do on Koh Yao Noi, but this is kind of the point. The island isn’t so popular with tourists, so its beaches are calm and unspoilt. It was the perfect island to read a few novels and enjoy doing nothing.

From Koh Yao Noi we travelled by boat to the island of Ko Lanta. Ko Lanta island has a lot more energy than Koh Yao Noi, but is no less beautiful. Here we mostly spent our days exploring the island by scooter, eating, and lazing on Ko Lanta’s spectacular beaches. Ko Lanta also has a beautiful national park, the Mu Ko Lanta National Park. We also took a particularly worthwhile cooking class - Cooking with Mon. The recipes we learned here we still use on a regular basis.

Our final stop on our trip was in the Northern city of Chiang Mai. Chang Mai was the perfect place to round off our trip with its beautiful ancient walled city, temples, great street food and beautiful forested surroundings. We stayed in the spotless 99 The Heratage Hotel which I cannot recommend enough. Oh, and Chang Mai is also the perfect place to enjoy a massage or two. My pick would be the Oasis Spa.

Thailand I cannot wait to one day return!

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The road to the Ak-Baital pass, Tajikistan

Day 172 - Tajikistan 🇹🇯

July 24, 2021

Today we head to Tajikistan, a central Asian country, and although it is larger than Greece, it’s still the smallest nation in Central Asia. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. This is exactly what makes it interesting, as Tajikistan is a country at the crossroads of so many differing cultures.

Tajikistan was previously part of the Russian empire and then the Soviet Union. Since a civil war after independence, Tajikistan has been ruled by President Emomali Rahmon who has ruled over an authoritarian regime since 1994. In the Economist's democracy index report of 2020, Tajikistan is placed 160th, after Saudi Arabia, as an "authoritarian regime”. It’s unsurprising that in the most recent election president President Emomali Rahmon swept up more than 90% of the vote.

In April 2021 there were border clashes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan over water - the first clashes since independence.

Looking at the map you can see Tajikistan has some particularly messy borders with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan with enclaves and exclaves.

Tajikistan is a very mountainous country with more than half of the country lying above 3000 metres. 93% of Tajikistan is considered mountainous. That’s a lot of mountains to find names for - such as the mountain dubbed the “Lenin Peak” that reaches a dizzying height of 7134 m. Lenin Peak isn’t Tajikistan’s highest mountain though, that is Ismoil Somani which reaches 7495 m.

While we’re on the topic of mountainous superlatives, Tajikistan is home to the world’s longest glacier outside of the polar regions. The Fedchenko Glacier is 77 km long.

Tajikistan is also home to the Nurek Dam, the second tallest dam in the world at 304 metres built to provide hydroelectric power and supplies 98% of Tajikistan’s electricity.

Other than having fantastic geography for hydroelectric power, Tajikistan’s biggest export is Aluminium, cotton and dried apricots.

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Day 171 - Syria 🇸🇾

July 23, 2021

Today we visit Syria, a country that is now sadly synonymous with a bloody civil war.

More than 500,000 people have been killed, or are missing, the majority of which are due to actions of the Syrian government. The war has raged on for the past 10 years and has drawn in many countries such as Russia, The UK, US, France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel. In that time More than half of Syria’s population has been displaced since 2011.

Instead of finding facts about Syria, I’m going to donate to the British Red Cross Syria crisis appeal - it’s a small action, but hopefully it can make a small difference. Unemployment is over 50%, the cost of food has doubled, and coronavirus has only added to the challenges facing Syrians.

If you want to read more about the Syrian war, I recommend this BBC article which explains why the Syrian War has lasted for 10 years.

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Stilt fishermen on Mirissa Beach, Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Day 166 - Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

July 18, 2021

Today we’re in Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean once desired as “the finest island in the world” by Marco Polo. Sri Lanka is a touch bigger than Lithuania and is known for its Ceylon tea.

Sri Lanka was the first country in the world to have a female Prime Minister. In July 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the leader of Sri Lanka Freedom Party, won the victory in the general election and became the first woman prime minister. She then went on to serve for three terms until retiring shortly before her death in 2000.

Sri Lanka and India are connected by Adam’s Bridge a 48 km long series of limestone shoals and shallows which once provided a land connection between Sri Lanka and India. I’m kind of surprised that India and Sri Lanka have not already taken advantage of Adams Bridge to build an actual bridge connecting the two countries.