A Eurasian Diary: out now!

A Eurasian Diary is now available on Amazon! The book’s ready for download to Kindles, PCs, Macs and all your favourite Virtual Reading Machines.

Covering six-thousand miles over sixty-eight days, A Eurasian Diary is the travelogue of a roundabout kind of reunion. Journeying through China’s Far West, onto the Silk Road and onwards to Europe, we encounter lands that are complex, beautiful and exceedingly friendly – leading us into some welcome (and, at times, a little bit unwelcome, if we’re honest) diversions from Best Laid Plans.

Pick up the story today for $2.99 in U.S. or Canadian money (or £1.99 in the UK). And, with 10% of the proceeds going to support the Community Based Tourism programme in Arslanbob, Kyrgyzstan, you’ll be helping me give a little something back as well – bargainsauce!

The countdown begins!

This coming Sunday, however wet, dreary and miserable the weather might seem, a warm light will suddenly ignite in the sky. A chorus of cherubic angels will lend harmony to the scene – doves and bunnies shall assemble with wolves, a double rainbow shall streak across the horizon, and volcanoes will spontaneously erupt chocolate mousse.

What event could possibly herald such wonders? A Eurasian Diary is gonna be launched – that is what!

The posters are ready, the typos are cleared away, and I think I understand the difference between .htm, .doc, and .png files well enough to finally send this infant tale soaring into the big bad world of Virtual Reading. Once it’s live, you’ll get the link to my Amazon page, and the necessary, details right here on the blog (so don’t go unsubscribin’!). 

Exciting times indeed. Thanks for being a part of it out there – see you Sunday!

Sounds, glorious sounds!

The great thing about being a bit of a luddite is I get quite excited about new discoveries long after everyone else thinks they’re perfectly ordinary. My newfangled bread-toasting machine is the best thing since, well, you know!

Besides discovering toasters, I’ve also just discovered SoundCloud  – and I’m getting stuck in by posting some lovely musical sounds I picked up during my Eurasian travels.

And here’s one of them!

One of my favourite memories from the trip was happening upon a big Uyghur milonga that takes place each afternoon in Renmin Park, in central Urumqi. Three or four dozen patrons assemble in a concrete plaza in the middle of the park, set up big speakers playing the best of the Uyghur pop universe, and set about dancing and twirling till the sun goes down. Partners flow in and out of the circle as the music plays – amongst the dancers, you see Chinese profiles and Uyghurs profiles alike; the young join the old; there was even an off-duty soldier taking the time to boogie with the best of them.

This song was one of the ones played on the day I happened to show up. One year later, I still get this catchy ditty stuck in my head from time to time – something I must admit I don’t mind in the slightest. And I love the fact I can infect your own beautiful brains with some musical earworms from the trip as well…. 🙂

 

Tea Time

A small teahouse hangs over the banks of the Ak-Buura River in Osh, Southern Kyrgyzstan. These fine gents were gathered here on a typically brisk November morning, sipping hot black tea, and all decked out in their white felt Kyrgyz caps – except, of course, for Michael Jackson in the background, as his friends liked to refer to him.