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Brazil South America

São Paulo Surprise

My plan was to leave Salvador and fly to Asunción, Paraguay; the flight and it took me through Sao Paulo, where I would have a short layover. I was interested in visiting São Paulo but I have to make choices and I had decided that I would use an extra couple of days to visit the capital city Paraguay rather than visiting a third city in Brazil. Things did not go as planned.

The problems started when my flight out of Salvador was delayed, and it became quickly apparent that I was not going to make my connecting flight out of São Paulo. The airline Azul) was remarkable; they told me, before I even had the chance to complain, that they had put me on a new flight (on a different airline) out of São Paulo to Asunción and that I would now have a 12 hour layover in São Paulo and for that reason they gave me meal vouchers and snack box, they put me into a hotel for the day, and gave me taxi vouchers to get me to and from the hotel. I was a little disappointed that my short trip to Paraguay would be delayed, but it gave me the opportunity to see São Paulo. I think the best way to enjoy travel without getting frustrated over the little things is to be flexible.

I arrived in São Paulo and I had to go to a desk to get my vouchers and hotel confirmation. Since I was at the airport, I thought well I may as well pick up my boarding pass for my flight later that evening to Asunción so I went over to the other airline to pick it up. My flight from Salvador to São Paulo was on Azul airlines but my flight from São Paulo to Asunción would be on LATAM Air. When I went to pick up the boarding pass, the man asked to see my yellow fever vaccination card. It was the first time I had been asked for the card on this trip and I had kind of forgotten about it. Let me say right now: I should have had it with me. Canadians do not need their yellow fever cards to visit Paraguay – unless they are entering from certain airport in Brazil. Oops. I think that with the repeal of the COVID travel regulations, I became a little bit lax about having my vaccination papers with me, however, no problem, I had a digital version of it. So I pulled up my phone and I showed him the digital version and he said I had to have the original. I said “I have the original but it’s at home in Canada.” And what followed was a short and polite negotiation on my part to try to see if there was any way that he would let me board. I asked him if he would accept a legally notarized digital copy of the original, which I could have gotten in short order, or if there was some way that I could get a new vaccination card in São Paulo, but he said that none of that would be sufficient and the only way that he was going to let me board the flight was with my original yellow fever vaccination card. At that point I realized I was not going to Asunción.

(The only alternative he suggested was that I fly to Lima and then to Asunción because the no proof of vaccination would be required, but I was only going for 2.5 days, so that seemed like too much extra hassle and expense.)

I was pleased with myself for not being a jerk to the guy at the counter, because obviously it’s not his fault (it’s my fault…and maybe the fault of the government of Paraguay), but as I walked away I felt upset that I wasn’t going to go to Paraguay. I’d lost out on my flight cost, my hotel cost, and now I didn’t know what to do. I went and sat down and moped for a minute or two and I thought, “OK I was supposed to be flying home in about two and a half days anyway, I guess now I’ll spend that time in São Paulo.” The thing was, I didn’t know anything about São Paulo. To the Internet!

I quickly pulled up some blog posts about Sao Paulo. It’s a city of about 20 million people. Massive. I didn’t really know what there was to see, so relying on other people’s blog posts (Thank you bloggers!) I figured out an area of the city to stay in (central), did a quick read about the subway system, and decided on some things that I might like to see. I booked myself into a hotel and I got into a taxi and went into the city, I at a budget hotel, which was a good price and in a good location very close to the subway and walking distance to many things that I wanted to see, the hotel lacked any charm and character but it was brand new and it suited my needs in a pinch.

I went up to my room, unpacked a little bit, called the airline to change my flights back home (I was supposed to fly back to Vancouver from Asunción to Rio to New York to Vancouver, but since I was not in Asunción, I couldn’t catch my flight to Rio, which meant I missed out on my final day in Rio, but I got it all rebooked from São Paulo and it only cost me $14. Canadian.

I went out into the city. São Paulo is known for being dangerous and I didn’t really have enough time to research whether that reputation was deserved, so I felt a little bit on guard as I walked around the city centre. São Paulo feels kind of rough. My take on it after having visited Rio is that Rio reminds me of Miami and São Paulo reminds me a bit of New York, but New York from a Charles Bronson movie. It feels a little gritty and a little rough around the edges. Fortunately, I like cities that are a little bit rough around the edges and I love Charles Bronson movies, so São Paulo suited me just fine.

Leaving my hotel, I walked a short distance to the Mercado Municipal Paulistano, the biggest indoor market in the city. It is in a pretty, butter yellow building from 1933 with stained glass windows and inside is a vast array of food items and places to eat.

I think this is a ‘must do’ in São Paulo – Especially if you eat meat. There was meat of varying types everywhere. I think it’s a carnivore’s dream. I am not a carnivore and I found it a little bit challenging to find a sit-down place to eat at.

Market Memories

Finally, I went up to one of the restaurants and explained that I was a vegetarian and they brought me some delicious appetizer and then some sort of pastry filled with cheese, The pastry filled with cheese was amazing, but the super spicy pickle sauce that they brought me on the side was delicious and made my face sweat it was so spicy. I washed it down with fresh watermelon juice. Delicious.

Lunch

It was already late afternoon, and I didn’t really want to be out much after dark, so I walked around the city centre, took in some murals in that area and some views over the city, and visited a church.

Mosterio São Bento

I then hopped on the subway at Luz station and went to Oscar Freire station, which was in a different area, in order to visit a cigar lounge/bar (Café Esch). The subway was very easy to navigate and was inexpensive though it was very crowded. From the subway I walked to the cigar lounge through an affluent neighbourhood.

I settled into the lounge and bought a couple of cigars and had a cocktail. It was such a heavenly environment after the day I had of delays and disappointments and changed plans. It was nice just to sit back and relax, even if while I sat there, I ended up doing a bunch of work remotely.

I’ll have to save Paraguay for a future trip, but I was loving my spontaneous visit to São Paulo. The next day would be a full one with museums and murals. (Next post here.)

Brazil South America

Salvador’s Lower City

I went on and on in my first post about Salvador about how pretty, interesting, and historic it is. What I carved out of that post was anything about the lower part of the city. My first post was all about Pelourinho, the UNESCO heritage treasure of the upper city, but the lower part of Salvador is also worth visiting for a few reasons.

To get to the lower city there are some excellent options: one is an outdoor elevator (the Lacerda Elevator). Perhaps not surprisingly, given Brazil’s Portuguese connection, the only other place I have seen an outdoor elevation is in Lisbon. Why is an outdoor elevator so cool? I don’t know. They just are. Even better, this one, (built between 1869 and 1873) has an interesting design and costs pennies (the equivalent of about 4c CDN).

The other way to reach to lower city is by funicular: the Gonçalves funicular, built in 1889). I love funiculars. Again, I don’t know why. Like the elevator, it is so inexpensive it is practically free.

Funicular Fun

I took the elevator down, which put me just across the street from the sea, and just across from the crafts market: Mercado Modelo. The market is worth visiting even if, like me, you don’t really have any plans to buy anything. There are lots of things to look at and lots of things I liked but I just don’t have the need to buy souvenirs. There are also some good places to have a bite to eat.

I wanted to see the market, but I was on a mission. I wanted to try some local cigars. Bahia is a tobacco growing region of Brazil and makes cigars and I had only tried two brands in the past, so I want to do some smoking. I had found a cigar store in Pelourinho, but the selection was dismal, and the cigars were in poor condition. I got a tip from a very helpful concierge at a fancy hotel in city that there was a good cigar store (Charutos Bahia) in the lower city. (I may stay at hostels, but they seldom have the intel on cigars, so sometimes I’ll seek the advice of a concierge at a hotel I would never pay to stay at.)

Buying cigars. Look how happy I am.

I found my way to the cigar store. It didn’t have a great selection, but almost everything that it had was local. The man in the store didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Portuguese, but we managed to have a robust conversation about cigars, and he helped me select six different locally grown and made cigars for me to try. And over the next 24 hours I did my best to smoke all of them so that I could go back the next day and buy more of the ones that I liked.

I walked more around the lower city and smoked my cigar and eventually stopped and found something uninteresting but vegetarian to eat.

Statues in the Square

The next day I returned to the lower city with the goal of purchasing the cigars that I liked the most. I bought one box and one bundle and then carried on my way wandering around. The thing about the lower city that is remarkable is that many buildings are in bad shape; they are mossy, some of them are look like they’re falling down, and some of them seem to be just hollow facades, but they’re all quite beautiful in their own way. They have a lot of character and a lot of colour. And some of the streets, especially those near the bottom of the funicular are lively, with small fruit and vegetable markets and coffee shops. I enjoyed wandering around down there. There were some nice murals and churches, and it was beautiful without being precious.

Lower City views

I really enjoyed my time in Salvador, and I felt very satisfied with how long I spent there. The next day in the morning I had a flight to go to Paraguay via Sao Paulo. That trip didn’t really go as planned but I’ll write about that in the next post.

Brazil South America

Stunning Salvador

Salvador was the place that I most wanted to visit in Brazil. More than Rio, more than São Paulo, more than Iguazu Falls, Salvador was the thing that appealed to me. My interest started when I would see blog posts of beautiful buildings and cobblestone streets, but I decided I would go when I was in Benin in West Africa. I was at the Museum of history in Ouidah, Benin, and they had many posts about the slave trade out of West Africa and to the “new world”. And there was a display about slaves going to Salvador. And how the African culture in Salvador became part of the culture of Brazil. And this interested me. I was loving the West African cultures I was moved by and horrified by the stories of the slave trade and I thought I wanted to see where the people ended up and what that city looks like today.

That sounds very thoughtful and that is why I decided to go, however, my time in Salvador was not spent doing some sort of deep research into the lives of people who were trafficked there, it was simply to see the city and experience it. And I was not disappointed.

Salvador is the capital of Bahia, state of Brazil, which is roughly in the northeast of the country, on a peninsula. The old city part of Salvador, Pelourinho, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Salvador was the First Capital city of Brazil, it was, sadly, the first slave market in the “new world”. Pelourinho, contains buildings from the renaissance time of the city, and the colonial era.

In short Salvador is amazing. It’s so beautiful. It reminds me a little bit of old Havana except that it is much bigger and there’s many more beautiful buildings and it feels less touristy than old Havana. It has stunning squares, and hilly cobble-stoned streets. The buildings are brightly painted and the churches are beautiful. There are inviting cafés and art studios and markets selling food (not very vegetarian friendly) and handmade items.

Salvador has an upper town and a lower town connected by both an outdoor elevator and a funicular. All the pictures in those post are in the upper town, where I stayed. Pictures of the lower town I will put in a separate post.

Part of the reason that I’ve broken up my Salvador blogs into a couple of different posts isn’t because I have that much to say, but it is simply that I took so many photos.

Churches

I stayed in Pelourinho at the Laranjeiras Hostel, which could not have been in a better location. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I had a lovely private room with a shared bathroom. I had French doors that opened and looked out onto the cobblestone streets and colourful buildings. And if I tried to take a nap in my room during the day there were little green birds that would sit and chirp outside the window. It was just stunning. (It didn’t have much of a fun hostel atmosphere, but the premises and location were perfect.) An added bonus was from the women’s washroom you had a direct view into the practice space at the Olodum Creative School and you could see and hear the infection samba drumming. (Olodum is the famous samba-reggae drumming group in Salvador that famously plays in Carnival, but also does regular concerts and champions social causes in the region.)

*Laranjeiras Hostel my room and views from it*

In terms of what there is to do in Salvador there is a million museums, a lot of bars, a lot of opportunities to take in music, and visit historical sites. But for me it was a place to wander around and look at these incredibly beautiful buildings and take in some of the history.

I happily spent a few days there doing just that; walking around gawking at the buildings and the streets reading about the history and visiting a few of the museums.

The Afro-Brazilian Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology are both certainly worth a visit.

What was the surprised was the excellent carnival museum: Carnival House. The history of Carnival and the social changes in Brazil was surprisingly interesting. Had I been there for a shorter time I wouldn’t have bothered to go, but I had a lot of time in Salvador, and it was raining so I decided to go in. It was a very interesting and interactive and well-done museum. There’s even a place where you can put on some Carnival costumes and dance around to samba music which I did and, yes, I felt stupid, but it was fun.

I also visited an excellent modern Art Museum: Museu Abelardo Rodrigues. Small and free, but really well curated. The private collection of some philanthropic lawyer. Always nice to see.

I visited a number of charming little cafes. I walked around the market enjoyed more street drumming, drank from a coconut, and tried to sneak pictures of the women in their giant dresses. Number of the women selling things at the markets food or crafts or whatever we’re wearing traditional Bahinan costumes called Baiana de Acarajé. Brightly wrapped headscarves, a white or patterned blouse and an enormous skirt over layers of petticoats. Many of them were selling Acarajé, a fried ball made of beans and stuffed with meat or shrimps, coconuts and other things. I was too shy to ask for a photo, so I just snuck a couple.

*Square with women in traditional dresses*

Smoking cigars in Salvador was a bit of a challenge. There are no official smoking lounges and although there doesn’t seem to be any law against smoking on patios, some of the busier restaurants just didn’t make me feel comfortable about smoking because almost no one on those patios was. But I certainly found places that were tucked away or where I felt like I could smoke without annoying anyone. One night when it was pouring rain, I went into a little pizza joint. I was the only one there aside from the owner and he let me smoke a cigar while eating my pizza inside. It was amazing. Also, drink cheap Caipirinhas, while having a cigar. That was perfect.

I try not to drink much (or at all) on my travels, but I had to make an exception for Brazil simply because the Caipirinhas were so delicious and I had never had them before. Also, in Salvador they had a local alcohol called Cravinho. There’s an unmissable bar, O Cravinho, on one of the main squares. It has barrels outside and inside it is tiny and seemingly crowded at all times of the day. They sell Cravinho which is a cloves and cinnamon and maybe honey flavoured alcohol that they dispense from spigots in the barrels. It comes with different flavors and is served in little thimble sized glasses. I stood outside sipping from the thimble and smoking cigarillos. Nobody else really spoke English, but I certainly had a lot of pleasant smiles and cheers. It was a nice spot.

I didn’t have too many conversations with people because in Brazil most people didn’t seem to speak English and I’m utterly useless at Portuguese, but one night while eating a plate of vegetables and smoking a cigar in a side street while watching drummers, I had a long conversation with a man named Falcon, who had super long dreadlocks and giant combat boots and was definitely a bit of a character. The conversation carried on a bit longer than I wish it had but we had we had a fun chat about Salvador and life. It finally ended only when I promised him that I would return someday to see Carnival. Without seeing it, he said, I have not lived.

shops and studios

buildings in Salvador

That’s kind of what I did in Salvador for the most part, although I am saving some comments about my visits to lower town for a second post. There are more activities that one can do in Salvador – there’s capoeira classes and cooking classes and guided tours and visits to the beach, but I was content just to sort of chill out and walk around and take it all in. I definitely recommend it as a destination, and I liked it far more than Rio.

Next up: meandering the mossy and colourful streets and searching for cigars in Salvador’s lower town (next post here).

Brazil South America

Way Down Among Brazilians – Rio Day 1

Brazil, Finally

I don’t know why, but I had been resisting going to Brazil. Every year for about the past four years I’ve made myself a Brazil itinerary. Not every itinerary was the same but all of them involved me flying to Rio and visiting Salvador, which were the two places that I most wanted to visit. But I just couldn’t get excited about it; probably because most of the things that I know about Brazil involve beaches and parties and I just couldn’t care less about either of those things. But then again, I do like Bossa Nova music, cigars, and coffee, and Frank Sinatra sang two songs about Brazil, so I knew there must be something to it. The real reason that I finally booked the trip to Brazil, honestly, is that I think I really wanted to fill in a big hole in my South American map. I hadn’t been to South America since I went to Peru in 2014 and it just seemed like it was time.

So I made an itinerary that involved me flying to Rio, spending a couple of days there, flying to Salvador for a couple of days, then flying to Asunción, Paraguay for a couple of days, before returning to Brazil for a day. You can’t see all of Brazil in a week, but I thought I would pick some highlights and decide that if I wanted to go back to see more at a later date.

And so I flew to Rio.

Bom Dia, Rio!

The flight to Rio was long. Flying to Rio from Vancouver is not like flying to Europe or flying to Asia where the flight might be long, but you sort of make up the time when you fly back due to the time zone changes. Flying to South America is just really far and there’s not much of a time zone change, so it took me roughly a day and a half to get there and a day and a half to go back. I was determined to make the most of it.

I landed in Rio without any issue (Canadians don’t need visas) and went to my I accommodations: The OK Hotel. The OK Hotel was…OK. It was in the Centro District, right on the edge of the Lapa area, which is where I wanted to stay; very close to the subway and trolleys, it was walkable so many places that I wanted to see, and it was cheap. Beach people would probably want to stay closer to Copacabana or Ipanema, but I liked this neighbourhood better.

Rio Centro

*buildings and quiet streets in Centro Rio*

I hit the ground running in Rio. I started out by visiting Centro (the historic district). it was a Sunday, which was maybe not the best day to start out, as most things were closed.

The streets were pretty empty and it just seemed kind of dull. However, the architecture was beautiful and I did go to the excellent Museo de Arte do Rio (gallery of modern art) and popped in into some churches. But I wasn’t excited. It just didn’t feel lively.

*excellent pieces* *at the Museo de Arte do Rio*

*more great art* *at the Museo de Arte do Rio*

more sights of Centro

I did visit the excellent Cathedral of Rio, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian. It was designed by Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca to resemble a Mayan pyramid and was built in the 1960s/70s. It is excellent. Very unique and modern, but also beautiful inside and out. I loved the stained glass and airy interior.

Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião

I hopped on the train and decided to go check out some of Rio’s beach areas.

At the Copa. Copacabana.

Let me be clear: I am not a beach person. I like swimming well enough, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to swim at the beach when I’m traveling by myself. (Just leave my wallet and my phone and all my personal items unguarded on the beach while I swim in the ocean? That doesn’t make sense.) So I tend not to swim when I travel, and the idea of laying in the sun on the beach just sounds like a nightmare. I don’t want to sit in the sun, I get bored sitting around, I don’t care for sand or children, or any of the things that come along with a day at the beach. But in this case, I was in Rio; of course I was going to go to see Copacabana and Ipanema just to get the vibe.

I started in Copacabana. I took the train from Centro. The metro is not super expansive in Rio, but it’s extremely convenient for covering long distances it’s very cheap and easy to navigate.

Metro Scenes and Machines

I walked a few blocks from the subway station to the beach. On the way there was a pretty good food market and I stopped off and had some sort of fried bread cheese thing with hot sauce which was pretty decent, and I continued walking to the beach. This area was quite a bit different from Centro. It was packed. All the shops and restaurants were open and people were out; there was music; it was actually a pretty good scene.

Copacabana street scenes

The wide road that separated the apartment buildings from the beach was great. It was mostly shut down to cars and was filled with pedestrians and rollerbladers and bicyclists. Along the sand was a row of outdoor restaurants and food and beverage vendors, almost every one playing music. That was pretty nice too. The beach itself wasn’t packed, it was winter in Brazil, but there were people out swimming and playing volleyball and hanging out. I took a look. I still had no idea no desire to participate in the beach activities, but it was nice to see them. I walked around that area for a while before hopping back on the subway to go to Ipanema.

Copacabana streets

This Girl in Ipanema

Ipanema was similar to Copacabana. It was busy with appealing accommodations and eateries and the beach was also nice. I guess the more interesting thing about Ipanema was that it had a really great view of the mountains in the favela in the distance which was an interesting site. I walked around there for a little while but was already kind of done with the beach concept so I walked back to the subway.

Ipanena Scenes

Leblon

I got off the subway in Leblon, which is the most affluent neighbourhood in Rio. That’s a pretty nice neighbourhood. I wouldn’t want to stay there; it’s too fancy and a little bit too expensive and it feels a little more generic than other parts of the city that I was in, but it was very nice. My reason for going there was to go and check out a cigar lounge. There is a place called Café Esch, which has inside of it a La Casa Del Habano. You can have coffee, you can have cocktails, you can have a steak dinner if you want too, and you can purchase all the best Cuban cigars in the humidor. The cigars aren’t cheap, but there was a great selection and anytime I can smoke inside I’m delighted. So I bought a couple of cigars, ordered myself a coffee and a couple of cocktails (I had my first Caipirinha – wow is that great and potentially problematic; it is so easy to drink) and sat inside watching football (soccer) with a bunch of cigar smoking men inside. Nobody really talked to me, but it was a really nice place to hang out.

Cigars at Café Esch, Leblon

When twilight dims the sky above

I wanted to make it back to my hotel before it got dark, so I walked back to the subway. In Leblon it felt absolutely fine to walk around at night. But by the time I got back to my hotel, that was not the case.

I’m not generally worried about violence, but Rio did give me pause. Even many of the savviest travelers that I know have had issues with street violence in Rio after dark. So I had decided that I really would limit my nighttime activities. This was fine, because I was already tired from walking around all day so I went back to my hotel and just decided to just read a book, but then I got hungry… and curious, so I went out. I walked around the streets around my hotel. Some of them were empty and didn’t feel particularly safe; the areas that were closer to the train and subway stations at least had people out and about, so they felt a little safer. Most things were closed, but there was a little corner pizza and hamburger spot, nothing fancy, plastic chairs, basically a fast-food joint. I sat there at one of the outdoor tables and I had a pizza. (As an aside, this was the worst pizza I’ve ever had in my entire life. The bread was soft and all it had on it was gross cheese and some sort of sickly sweet tomato sauce and it was served with ketchup and mustard. Really awful.) I sat outside and I had this pizza and a bottle of water and was just kind of watching the activity on the sidewalk. There lot of homeless and drug addicted people walking around. They approached me constantly asking for money and standing and staring at me and getting a little bit too close. I didn’t feel threatened, but it certainly didn’t feel comfortable. At one point, one of the guys picked up a bottle a beer bottle from a table next to me and broke it over the side of a chair and sort of looked at me, holding onto the neck of the bottle. He didn’t really brandish it and I didn’t think he was going to hurt me, but it certainly didn’t make for a pleasant eating experience. A bit later I did give him the rest of my pizza, so I feel like we kind of had a moment.

Anyway, that was my first day in Rio. I had a good day and I was happy to be there, I wasn’t loving it. Some places you vibe with and some you don’t. That’s ok. But I but I was excited to see more of the city the next day, which I did.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Minsk: Two Churches and A Library

The day after my excellent day trip outside of Minsk I was back in the city and decided to build a day around visiting the National Library. The Belarus National Library is extraordinary and unique. It is this very futuristic design, built in 2006 in the share of a rhombicuboctahedron. (that’s right. Look it up.) It has 26 sides. It looks like something that should be flying in space or used as a die in a role-playing game. it’s imposing, intimidating and beautiful, in its own way. At night it’s lit up in a variety of colours. (The library is also notable to me because it was featured in a music video for the Belarusian band Molchat Doma, a band I really like.)

It was a short metro stop from central Minsk and gave me opportunity to visit yet more attractive subway stations. From the library I crossed the street and wandered by some Soviet apartment block buildings that had on the sides of them really cool mid-century mosaics of Soviet life and achievement. There were astronauts and farmers and Olympians. The tall apartment blocks still lived in.

I walked past trees in blossom and beautiful wildflowers everywhere on my way to see the Church of All Saints.

I didn’t see the Church of All Saints listed in many “what to see guides” and for Minsk, which is bananas because it’s stunning. It’s a newer church, gleaming white and gold. From the outside it is absolutely beautiful, and it is equally stunning from the inside. I took about a million photos from different angles.

Church of All Saints

In the basement of the church is the crypt; it’s quite attractive but what’s mostly notable about it is that the walls of it are lined with small square cubbyholes with amber coloured translucent windows on them. Inside of them are the ashes or remains of people killed – mostly unidentified and mostly soldiers. It gives the crypt beautiful glow. Of course, my twisted brain also thought it a little like a beautiful and morbid automat.

What I didn’t know prior to arriving, was the right next to the church of all saints Is another church, the Holy Trinity Church. While the Church of All Saints is white and gleaming, the Holy Trinity Church is black and sinister looking. I couldn’t find out a lot of information about it. I don’t know when it was built, but I do know that it’s made entirely of logs like a log cabin. It is cozy on the inside with a log cabiny feeling. The two churches are worth a visit.

Holy Trinity Church

From the churches I decided to walk back to central Minsk. It was a long walk but took me past a lovely cemetery that I walked through and looked at the various headstones and their designs.

It was a pleasant and leisurely day in Minsk and of course I ended the day by having a cigar and a cocktail (ok, two) on the patio of a Lebanese restaurant.

I had one day ahead of me in Minsk and had plans to see the opera and a whole lot more of Lenin.

*pedestrian street in central Minsk at night*

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Castles Mir & Nesvizh: A Day Trip from Minsk

As much as I loved Minsk, I didn’t want to stay there during my entire visit. I wanted to spend a day visiting two UNESCO heritage castles: Mir and Nesvizh. If you have a car, it makes a perfect day trip. But not having a car, I looked at the options for bus and train; it was technically possible to see both in a day travelling that way, but looked rushed and stressful, with a strong likelihood of missing connections, so I decided to hire a car. There weren’t a lot of people offering this service, but I found a company online, messaged them the night before I wanted to leave, and they picked me up the next morning. (Minsk Airport Transfer & Tours)

Roadtrip!

This was one of those days where the hiring of a guide/driver was much more than just transport. I had a great day with Sergey. A kind and interesting man who was fun to hang out with. He even does his own version of ‘carpool karaoke’ with guests.

*Me and Sergey, in our ‘buddy cop’ movie pose*

Nesvizh

We drove first to Nesvizh (aka Nyasvizh, or Нясвіж, or Несвиж) a small town (population ~15,000), which is famous for its castle by the same name: Nesvizh Castle, a lovely castle built in the 16^th and 17^th centuries and surrounded by a pretty forest. It even has a moat. What more do you want from a castle? Dragons?

Sergey waited outside while I wandered the halls, and then we walked through the forest together.

Nesvizh Castle, inside and out

We made a stop at the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh, from the 16^th century.

Corpus Christi Church, Nesvizh

Before we left Nesvizh, Sergey offered me hydration in the form of Byarozavik (бярозавы сок in Belarusian), birch tree sap. It was clear and mild tasting; unsweetened, but slightly sweet tasting. Kind of like coconut water, but not disgusting. I liked it.

Village Life

We drove through the pretty countryside, and I was ogling the villages, so Sergey took us to one (the benefit of having a private driver). I believe it was called Vishnevets, though I can’t find it on a map. It was just so charming. Almost entirely residential, with small dacha type houses; small, with peaked roofs, but they were mostly painted yellows and greens. The landscape was all gardens and farms, very green, storks’ nests on tall poles. This was time number in don’t know how many that I had a fantasy about packing it all up and moving there. I know I would be bored after a weekend, but it was just so lovely.

We stopped nearby at a well by the side of the road and drank cool, clean water that Sergey hoisted up on a rope.

We carried on to Mir.

Mir

Mir is a village of about 2,500 people. It has a turbulent history, having been attacked and/or occupied and/or taken over by Sweden, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russians, and the Nazis (the latter of which killed off the town’s once thriving Jewish and Roma populations). Today, Mir is famous for its late Gothic, 16^th century castle.

Mir Castle inside and out

Mir castle is not as nice inside as Nesvizh, but is impressive, and the views from across the small river are lovely.

We had lunch at a nearby restaurant and I had some delicious soup and potato pancakes with mushrooms. (The vegetarian food in Minsk is not varied, but it is delicious.)

We drove back to Minsk, singing to Phantom of the Opera and My Way (some of Sergey’s favourites – and I can never resist a show or Sinatra tune) and talking about life in Belarus.

road signs

It was an excellent day; made much more fun by having company for the day and getting insights and info I would not have gotten on my own.

I really would like to see more of rural Belarus, but I also wanted to spend more time in Minsk, so I went back to my hostel and made plans for what to see the next day.

Belarus Belarus/Dubai trip 2023 Europe

Marvelous Minsk: KGB to KFC

Following my prolonged border experience on arrival in Belarus, and after a short sleep in my hostel bed, I was up and out to explore Minsk. Some cities just make a good first impression, while others take some warming up to. I liked Minsk right away. It’s not that surprising; I really enjoy all former Soviet countries and Belarus is about as close as you can get to experiencing that outside of Russia. Say what you will about the Soviets, but they knew how to design a city. Impressive and imposing architecture, lots of green spaces, public art, and excellent public transport. Minsk has all these things.

Statues near the Opera House

There was not a long list of specific sights or attractions that I planned to visit – a few, but mostly I just wanted to experience the city. I spent five days in Minsk, which is kind of long, but I loved it. (If you are travelling more quickly, two days is probably sufficient.) I did spend one day outside of Minsk, in the countryside, visiting castles, but I will write about that in a separate post – here.)

Park statues

That first day, I walked around Minsk, visiting attractive streets, looking for monuments of note, and going to an art gallery.

Various buildings along or near Independence Avenue

Belarusian National Art Gallery

The area around my hostel is a little picturesque neighbourhood next to a park and a lake, the streets cobbles and lined with pretty buildings.

Old Town views

May was a lovely month to be there. It was sunny and warm (but not hot) and flowers were blooming.

One of the main sights I wanted to see was the statue of Lenin. There is a massive one in front of the KGB building. (Yes, Belarus still has a KGB.)

Art and buildings on Independence Avenue

As in most former Soviet countries, there are a lot of impressive, orthodox cathedrals, beautiful on the outside and glittering within.

Holy Spirit Cathedral

Church of Saints Simon and Helena

Bernardine Monastery

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minsk

Assorted Churches

Another sight I wanted to find was Lee Harvey Oswald’s residence. He famously lived in Minsk in the early 1960s after he was discharged from the Marine Corps. It took some map studying, but I found it. It is a quite a fancy building along a canal. Apparently, he was under constant surveillance by the government. I wondered how often that is still the case in Minsk.

I talked to people who had stories of locals being jailed for a time if they were found to be engaging in conversations that were overheard and found to be … improper. Once story was of a guide who leading tourists around and was asked whether most locals spoke Russian or Belarusian. The guide apparently said that the government does not want people speaking Belarusian and so most people speak Russian. An un-uniformed officer heard this and took the guide to jail where she spent a few days. When anyone spoke to me about the government or the war, I noticed that they lowered their voices.

Victory Square

I had a lot of coffee in Minsk. There were excellent cafes, and everything was very inexpensive. Some places even allowed smoking inside, which was a dream, but the weather was so lovely I mostly sat on the patios. No one batted an eye at my cigar smoking. Yet another reason I love former Soviet countries: the high percentage of smokers.

Cafe on Independence Avenue

Another key sight in Minsk is the stunning Socialist sculpture called “Solidarity” by Anatol Yafimovich Arcimovich located, oddly, above a KFC just outside of Niamiha Metro Station. The KFC is just off. Socialism and capitalism combined.

I had an early dinner at a spot recommended to me by traveler/blogger extraordinaire Ramblin’ Randy: Kamyanitsa Restaurant (Камяніца). A charming place with a traditional menu. I had borscht and potato pancakes and a shot of icy vodka. Perfect.

Kamyanitsa Restaurant

I wandered around and enjoyed the evening. There was a stage set up in a square and performances of singing and dancing soldiers for Victory Day, which was really a spectacle. (I’ll write about the Victory Day festivities in a separate post.)

I would up at a small bar: Kurilka Bar (Курилка); dark and red with cool music and air thick with smoke. I had found my spot. I went back three times while I was in Minsk. Amazing cocktails and cigar friendly.

Kuralka Bar

Minsk was wonderful. I was so happy I had a lot of time there. There were murals to see, Victory Day celebrations to partake in, subways to ride, more beautiful churches to visit, and castles in the countryside to explore.

Asia Asian capital trip 2023 Philippines

Manila: Markets to Mausoleums

My second day in Manila was better than the first. I had already explored Malate, Intramuros and the areas in between. On day two, I went to Chinatown and the Chinese Cemetery.

Chinatown (aka Binodo) lies just across the Pasig River and to the right from Intramuros if you are looking at a map. There were numerous ways to get there, but I took the LRT, which was very easy and super cheap (about 30c CDN). The only downside was that they required (at the time) that you wear a face mask, which surprised me in 2023, but I fashioned one out of my scarf and that seemed to be good enough. The train ride was nice because it was high above the ground and gave glimpses over the city and into more modest looking neighbourhoods.

From the train (LRT) stop at Carriedo Station, I was just around a corner from a large, oldish church (nicer on the outside than inside), and an excellent market area. It was just what I wanted. Very busy streets with vendors selling produce (including more excellent fruit), household items, and hot dishes of the mostly meaty variety.

I filled my bag with mangosteens and settled in at a stall where one of the women spoke English and hooked me up with a plate of something tasty that seemed to be vegetarian.

It was a really good area. I saw women selling special “wishing candles” – like prayer candles, but different colors, each for a different type of blessing. That was different. I don’t believe in that sort of thing (and I didn’t need any candles) so I didn’t make a purchase. I thought ‘oh what a quaint belief to think that you can wish for things through candles’…and then my briefly judgmental mind realized that this is precisely the purpose of blowing out birthday candles.

From there I walked around Chinatown a lot. I didn’t have a particular objective; I just walked the streets. It was very hot, and I used that as an excuse to duck into a few cafes. There were lots of picturesque streets and churches to keep me occupied.

As well, there is a mosque (Masjid Al-Dahab or the ‘Golden Mosque’) that women and non-Muslims can enter (prettier on the outside than the inside).

After Chinatown, with a stomach full of mangosteens and red bean buns, I hopped on the train again. This time I was going to the Chinese Cemetery (from Abad Santos LRT station it is an easy walk to the South Gate Entrance). I had earmarked that as something I might visit if I had the time, and I did, so I went. I am glad I did.

The Chinese Cemetery is the second oldest cemetery in Manila, and it is huge (over 50 hectares). The reason to go is not necessarily because there are famous people buried there (there are some, but none who were known to me); rather, the purpose of the visit is to take in the spectacle of the grave sites or shrines. Themselves. It looks like a city, with streets lines with what look like proper houses (big ones), but they aren’t houses. They are the burial places for families or individuals. Some of them you can look into and there are chandeliers, photos on the wall, and marble floors. They looked like posh foyers. But they’re graves.

One had sad American country music playing. Another had dogs inside. Presumable (hopefully) someone was there visiting.

Mostly the place was empty and quiet. A bit eerie, but in a nice atmospheric way.

You can actually rent bicycles and ride around, which would have been nice, and there are guides who will find you and offer you guided tours of the grounds if you would rather learn instead of just gawk. I think it is worth a visit. Even if you don’t like graveyards, it is a nice place for a quiet stroll.

This took up much of the day. I took the train back to Malate and went to the Sheraton Hotel because I read that they have a rooftop bar and I thought it might be a place for a cigar. Well, they do have a rooftop bar, but it was closed. What I did find was a rooftop smoking area for hotel guests. I wasn’t a guest, but no one was around, so I went outside and found the most delightful rooftop oasis area. A little waterfall and tropical trees and plants, tables and chairs (and ashtrays) with a view over Manila. Very civilized. I sat down and enjoyed a cigar. (Ok, and took a selfie or two.)

*Don’t i look like I should be staying at the Sheraton?*

At one point a man joined me and chatted with me (assuming I was likewise staying at this fancy hotel and not sharing bathrooms and my hostel down the street). He invited me out later, but I declined as I was flying out that night (which I was), but I assured him I had had a wonderful stay at the hotel (which, in a sense I did).

I spent the next couple hours at my hotel, packing and enjoying a final meal on the roof top patio of my true accommodations before taking a taxi to the airport. Onward to Brunei.

I am glad I went to Manila, and I am happy with the two full days I had. I could have filled a third day, but I felt ready to go. I do think I might return to see something of the natural beauty of the Philippines, but not any time soon. There is still more I want to see elsewhere.

Africa South Sudan Sudan-South Sudan trip 2022

The Sights of Juba

My second day in Juba started when I awoke at the lovely Acacia Village Hotel. I wish I had better pictures of it, but as with the rest of Juba, photos are technically not allowed. All around the hotel grounds they had signs forbidding photography. (So there is no photographic evidence of how ~~great~~ sweaty I looked smoking my cigar and sipping on pineapple juice under the trees.)

While yesterday I was a solo vagabond, today I would be escorted around by a driver who would show me the sights of Juba. I don’t normally think this sort of things is necessary (and I much prefer to walk than drive), but with Juba,not being the safest of places, this was my best bet to see the city.

Money Matters

The first order of business was exchanging money. I had come from Sudan where credit cards and ATMs are non-functional, so I had wads of pristine US cash and Euros, but no Sudanese Pounds. The driver knew just the spot. He took me to a small supermarket/general store (not fancy but tidy and well stocked) and the cashier let me exchange money.

I ended up with a fistful of Pounds, each bearing the round head of John Garang de Mabior, one of the leaders of the South Sudan independence movement and the first VP of South Sudan…for 3 weeks. (He died in a helicopter crash.)

Not on the money, sadly, is Salva Kiir Mayardit, the first President of South Sudan. You will seldom see him without his trademark cowboy hat, reportedly a gift from George W. Bush. I must admit to finding that detail rather charming. I feel like if you are going to be the leader of a conflict riddled country you should have a signature look. Say what you will about Idi Amin or Mobutu or Muammar Gaddafi or similar despots – they all had signature looks. Like Karl Lagerfeld.

Take note that the amount of money I had in my hands was far too much for my remaining time in South Sudan and I was unable to change it back, so if you are reading this, and planning a trip to South Sudan, hit me up. I have some Pounds to sell at a good rate.

To Market

From there, we drove to the central market of Juba, the Konyo Konyo Market. I loved the market. It didn’t feel at all tense or unsafe; it was just a regular African market, colorful and lively, with produce, housewares, textiles, food vendors and whatnot. My guide said it was ok to take photos around the market (but he also told me when to not take photos). Lots of women getting their nails done, men selling hookahs and clothes, and so many items I could not identify, but looked to my untrained eye like rocks and sticks.

*Hibiscus flowers and…other things for sale*

We walked around the outside of the market a bit and even took a selfie.

Shipwreck

From there we went to what is probably the most photographed place in Juba, the Afex River Camp restaurant. It is very popular with visitors, expats, and locals who have the money. A nice, outdoor restaurant along the banks of the Nile, under shady trees. You must go through security to enter the compound, but once inside the gates it feels like a haven. We had coffees and water and chatted, while I watched kids climb up a giant tree to grab fruits. Maybe mangoes, but I can’t be sure.

Not only is it a nice spot, but it is the best place to see the most famous sight in Juba: the sunken ship in the Nile. It is about as iconic as sights get in Juba. It is a passenger ferry, half sunk in the Nile, and just…sitting there, stuck. It is incredibly picturesque, sitting at just the right angle and surrounded by foliage. My guide didn’t know a lot about its history but said it had been there for about 10 years or more. The best info I could get was that its engine had just failed and it floated and got stuck. I had been hoping for a more dramatic tale.

*Nile Boat with children in the tree on the left*

It is very tempting to swim out to it, but the multiple warning signs about crocodiles is a sufficient deterrent.

Congregants and Cows

Rested and fuelled, we drove around, stopping at a church to take in part of the ceremony. The place was packed, and people sat outside on the steps and grounds to listen to the sermon.

We drove across the bridge, over the Nile and stopped to check out a herd of the long-horned cattle for which South Sudan is famous.

Plans Thwarted

I had wanted to leave Juba to see a bit of the countryside and maybe drive to a village or something, and my driver was game, but said we may not be allowed to leave Juba. We drove down a rode on the outskirts. Just as the buildings faded away and were replaced by landscape, there was a road block. A rope strung across the street and a mud brick and corrugated metal shack to one side. Men standing around. We were motioned to pull over. A man came up to the driver’s window and they exchanged some words before the driver told me he had to go to the “office” (the aforementioned shack). I waited in the car for a few minutes and then I was asked to join them.

One man sitting at an empty wooden table asked to see my papers. It was impossible to know if there were police or soldiers or just dudes. I handed him my passport, my stamped e-visa, and registration document. He looked and them and then said that if I wanted to leave Juba I needed a special permit. We went back and forth on this for a bit, but he would not agree to let me leave the city. I don’t know if I truly needed a permit or if he wanted a bribe, but he didn’t give me any signals that a bribe was needed. (He didn’t say anything like “Perhaps if you could give me some tea money” or anything like that. Didn’t even ask about money.) So we left and turned around and drove around a bit more.

*Streets and Sights* *(the photo at the bottom is a row of street side barbers)*

Market of Giants

It was fine though because we were able to visit a rural feeling market that I guess was technically in Juba, but it really felt quite apart from the city. I don’t know the name of it, but it was a fairly large market. A collection of shacks, or three walled, roofed structures, extremely modest, on a few streets of dirt surrounded by open, flat barren-looking land. The places sold mostly food items: produce and meat, spices, flour, coffee, that sort of thing. It was market mostly for the Dinka people.

The Dinka are a tribe from the area of South Sudan about 4-5 million in number and traditionally have a pastoral lifestyle and polytheistic religion, though many have converted to Christianity. The thing the Dinka people are most known for though is their height. They, along with the Tutsi people of Rwanda, are the tallest in Africa, which probably makes them the tallest in the world. I know that usually the lists of the tallest people put Netherlands at number one, but I wonder if those fact collectors are overlooking Africa altogether, because I have never seen people this tall in Amsterdam. The Dinka are shockingly tall, and thin, which adds to the look of their height. Many of the men wore western style clothes, but the women wore skirts and dresses of traditional African textiles. Watching everyone parade up and down the market streets, it looked like a convention of super models. I am 5’9” and I felt short.

I don’t have pictures of the market. I took a couple and then my driver said that I shouldn’t, so I put my phone away.

We walked around and then sat in some plastic chairs in the shade of a thatched roof and had ginger coffee, watching the market activities.

Concluding Juba

That was about all there was to see in Juba. It was a good day. I returned to my hotel and spent a relaxing evening smoking cigars and having dinner.

*Wine, popcorn, and a cigar. The traditional evening treat in Juba.*

That was my final night in Juba. There is more to see in South Sudan. It is a country with some beautiful landscapes but there is no infrastructure, so it is nearly impossible to see on your own at this time. There are some multi-day tours that one can book to visit the Mundari tribe and spend time with them and their cattle herds. It looks fascinating, but I’m not a group tour person and I was out of time on this particular trip. I was glad to have seen Juba. To see a bit of a country so new and, unfortunately, so troubled. It’s only 12 years old though, so it hopefully it finds greater stability and prosperity in the future. Maybe not in my lifetime though.

That was it for my Sudan/South Sudan trip. The next morning I would leave for Canada, but via Istanbul, where I would have a lovely overnight layover.

Asia Central Asia 2022 Kazakhstan

Glorious Kazakhstan

I had decided to go to Kazakhstan. There wasn’t a particular thing that drew me. I just felt like it was time to go back to Central Asia. I hadn’t been to any of the ‘stans since my 2011 trip to Uzbekistan. (I had been to Pakistan in 2020, but that seems different.) Plus, in all honesty, there was something appealing about being able to color in such a big landmass on my travel map. Most of the pictures I had seen of Kazakhstan were of its natural beauty. Spectacular vistas of snow-capped mountains, bright blue lakes, and thick, evergreen forests. It all looks lovely…but it also looks a lot like Canada, so I decided to just visit Almaty. The former capital and largest city. I was light on expectations but brimming with curiosity. It surprised me but did not disappoint.

Facts

Kazakhstan has spent much of its modern history dominated by Russia. First the empire, then the Soviet Union. Prior to all that it was a country populated by nomadic peoples. Today it is a massive independent country sitting next door to Mongolia and just under Russia. The world’s ninth largest and the largest country with no connection to an ocean. Its capital is named Astana…or Nur-Sultan. It switches back and forth. Kazakhstan is considered one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world with a mixtures of cultures languages from the region. Kazakh and Russian are the national languages. It is a Muslim country but doesn’t feel particularly religious. It is well off (oil) and its cities are modern, but it still has a close connection to its nomadic and rural heritage. They grow tulips and apples, ride and eat horses, produce formidable boxers and mixed martial art fighters, and men who hunt with massive eagles while wearing large fur hats. (The men; not the birds.)

Kazakhstan is an easy place for Canadians to visit. No visa needed. No bureaucratic cash grab. Just show up, change your Dollars to Tenge and you’re set.

Arrival

I knew right away where I wanted to stay. I eschewed my budget accommodation preferences for a room at the Hotel Kazakhstan; an iconic, Soviet era high-rise with an imposing design. It’s even on some of the currency. (Also, while there are cheap hostels, none of them looked like anything special.) I arrived around midnight and when I awoke, I had a view over the city and to the mountains beyond.

Like all visits to a new city, I spent my first day walking. The streets of Almaty were pleasant. Lots of trees and inviting cafes. The architecture of the city has some definite highlights, but for the most part is unremarkable. Much of the old buildings were destroyed in an earthquake, but some Soviet apartment blocks and a few pretty buildings remain.

*Hotel Kazakhstan & and an impressive statue*

Wanderings and Impressions

Almaty surprised me. I guess I was expecting it to be more like Tashkent; a little more ‘exotic’ feeling. Really, it is more European, but with a central Asian twist. People are, for the most part, not dressed in any traditional style and the city operates like an orderly city. I didn’t find it exciting, but it was pleasant and I think it would be a decent place to live for a time.

One of the highlights was The Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen (aka Panifilov Park), a short walk from my hotel, it is a green park with the excellent Zenkov Cathedral (aka Ascension Cathedral) in the centre. The Zenkov Cathedral was built in 1904 and survived the earthquake. Candy colored and ornate. The most remarkable thing is that it is built entirely of wood – and without a single nail. Like Legos or a 3D jigsaw puzzle.

Just off to the side of it is the fantastic WWII war memorial. I’ve seen countless war memorials, but this one is one of the most impressive. A huge metal sculpture of soldiers bursting forth, roughly in the shape of the USSR. It has this aggressive power about it. I loved it.

Fun fact about the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen, it was a story about 28 Red Army soldiers who were killed in battle after destroying 18 German tanks and stopping the advance. It was famous. The were declared heroes. This park was named after them. The thing is…it was just a propaganda story. the Germans did advance, six of the soldiers survived; one of them joined up with the Germans maybe and another surrendered. Still, it is a lovely park.

*Soviet insignia are everywhere if you look for them*

*Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments*

*Another park. Flowers were everywhere.*

I did pay a visit to the Green Market, which was one of my favourite things in Almaty, but I’ll put that in a separate post.

Museums & Galleries

Between my days in Almaty (I’m condensing a bit here) I visited a few museums. The Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan and The Central State Museum of Kazakhstan.

I really liked the history museum. Lots of artifacts and clothing and weapons from the nomadic tribes that inhabited Kazakhstan.

The art museum was very interesting and worth visiting, though I can’t say that I loved the art. That said, I liked it for the purpose of seeing the culture and people represented. Nomadic peoples with huge furry hats and embroidered coats, eagles, and camels. The 20^th C paintings had a lot of depictions of workers and industry.

Kok Tobe

On my second day I took the cable car to Kók Tóbe Park, a small amusement park perched on a hill with excellent views of the city. It has more games than rides, but it is fun to ride the cable car and look around. There are great views of the city and a Beatles statute, and if you want to you can get your picture taken dressed as a Kazakh nomad with a real and massive eagle on your arm. I was tempted to do the latter, but ultimately did not or you would be seeing that picture now.

The only ride I went on was the Fast Coaster, which was a small cart on a metal track that races down the side of a mountain at up to 45km. I let go of the speed control and zoomed along. It didn’t feel entirely safe, but that’s what made it fun.

Evenings

Because I was staying at a proper hotel and not a hostel, I didn’t really meet anyone. While the local people were friendly, I didn’t have any of those great experiences of meeting and hanging out with anyone. The language barrier was probably also an issue. The national languages are Russian and Kazakh.

I spent my evenings in Almaty walking, smoking shisha at patios, drinking pots of local tea, and eating some excellent food. I am not a foodie, but Almaty had a great selection of restaurants we don’t see a lot of in Vancouver: Georgian, Armenian, Central Asian, Syrian, and Yemeni. I didn’t eat much Kazakh food because there just aren’t a lot of vegetarian options. I spent two full days in Almaty on the front end of my trip and a third on the back end, where I splurged and went to the opera. I’ll write about that later. I was a little sad that I wasn’t seeing more of the country, but I was onward to Kyrgyzstan.

Wandering North

Tag: church

São Paulo Surprise

Salvador’s Lower City

Stunning Salvador

Way Down Among Brazilians – Rio Day 1

Brazil, Finally

Bom Dia, Rio!

Rio Centro

At the Copa. Copacabana.

This Girl in Ipanema

Leblon

When twilight dims the sky above

Minsk: Two Churches and A Library

Castles Mir & Nesvizh: A Day Trip from Minsk

Roadtrip!

Nesvizh

Village Life

Mir

Marvelous Minsk: KGB to KFC

Manila: Markets to Mausoleums

The Sights of Juba

Money Matters

To Market

Shipwreck

Congregants and Cows

Plans Thwarted

Market of Giants

Concluding Juba

Glorious Kazakhstan

Facts

Arrival

Wanderings and Impressions

Museums & Galleries

Kok Tobe

Evenings