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Author Archives: Sarah

Balkan (4): Bosnia and Herzegovina October 6-8, 2012

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia) is a young nation with a rich but sad history. The assassination of Austrian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 was the curtain raiser for the First World War. Bosnia’s declaration of independence from Yugoslavia 20 years ago led to a most gruesome and devastating war from March 1992 … Continue reading »

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Balkan (3) Serbia October 3-5, 2012

I first learnt about Yugoslavia, Tito and political turmoil in the Balkan Peninsula when studying world history in 1970s. Yugoslavia disintegrated following wars and bloodshed in 1990s. After having visited Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia more than five years ago, I have longed to see other parts of the former Yugoslavia namely Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, … Continue reading »

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Balkan (2) Bulgaria September 29 – October 3, 2012

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Balkan (1) Bulgaria September 25 – 28, 2012

After spending 37 days in four countries in Central Asia, I continued to explore countries in the Balkan Peninsula. My original plan was to visit Bulgaria and Romania. At the end, I spent eight days in Bulgaria and 12 days in Serbia, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia.

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Central Asia (11) Turkmenistan September 20 -24, 2012

30- day Overland: Day 28 – 30

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Central Asia (10) Turkmenistan September 20 -24, 2012

30-day Overland: Day 26-27 Turkmenistan with 80% of its territory covered in the Karakum (Black Sand) Desert has the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserve. The world famous pure blood Akhal-Teke horse (known as ‘blood sweat horse’ in Chinese) comes from this region. It has three World Heritage Sites including Merv – an oasis-city on … Continue reading »

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Central Asia (9) Uzbekistan 2012

30-day overland trip: Day 25-26

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Central Asia (8) Uzbekistan 2012

30-day Overland trip: Day 22-24 Kalon Minaret & Kalon Mosque

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Central Asia (7) Uzbekistan 2012

30-day overland trip: Day 18-21

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Central Asia (6) Uzbekistan September 9 – 20, 2012

30-day overland trip : Day 16 -17 Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia with 29 million people, is rich in history. Its native son Amir Timur(1336-1405) established the first empire in the region in 1395. Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, key cities of the ancient Silk Road are all World Heritage Sites for their … Continue reading »

Categories: My Middle East / Near East / Central Asia trips | 1 Comment