• Experiences of 2015, #1: Albania! All of it!

    Experiences of 2015, #1: Albania! All of it!

  • Ajman in an Afternoon (United Arab Emirates)

    Ajman in an Afternoon (United Arab Emirates)

  • The Blue Lagoon from Comino

    The Blue Lagoon from Comino

  • Blackberries: Autumn is the New Summer

    Blackberries: Autumn is the New Summer

  • The Chiloé Archipelago

    The Chiloé Archipelago

  • Kayak Trip Day 41: Štúrovo to Dunabogdány

    Kayak Trip Day 41: Štúrovo to Dunabogdány

  • Myanmar Itinerary: Maxing Out Our 28-Day e-Visa

    Myanmar Itinerary: Maxing Out Our 28-Day e-Visa

  • Bete Amanuel, Lalibela: Wonder of the Ethiopians

    Bete Amanuel, Lalibela: Wonder of the Ethiopians

  • Lisi Lake + Vake Park in Tbilisi, Georgia

    Lisi Lake + Vake Park in Tbilisi, Georgia

  • How to Get the Mauritanian eVisa Introduced in 2025

    How to Get the Mauritanian eVisa Introduced in 2025

  • Pirogue Sailing to Île aux Bénitiers: Our Second Lesson with Christopher

    Pirogue Sailing to Île aux Bénitiers: Our Second Lesson with Christopher

  • Santiago de Chile: Achievement Unlocked!

    Santiago de Chile: Achievement Unlocked!

  • Arriving in Porto - Kitten Rescue in Portugal, Part I

    Arriving in Porto - Kitten Rescue in Portugal, Part I

  • Waterproofing my Backpack Before the Next Trip

    Waterproofing my Backpack Before the Next Trip

  • Two Weeks in Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

    Two Weeks in Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

  • Springtime in Uruguay! (Laguna Merín)

    Springtime in Uruguay! (Laguna Merín)

  • Biryuchiy to Heniches

    Biryuchiy to Heniches'k: A Hitchhiking Detour to the Watermelon State (Ukraine)

  • Why We Started Catsitting + How to Start Housesitting to Travel

    Why We Started Catsitting + How to Start Housesitting to Travel

  • Take It Slow: 20000 Kilometers Hitched in South America

    Take It Slow: 20000 Kilometers Hitched in South America

  • My Evolution of Packing: A History of My Baggage

    My Evolution of Packing: A History of My Baggage

‹›

Skip to content
  • About
    • FAQ
  • Trips
  • Regions
    • Central Asia + the ‘Stans’
    • Caucasus + Western Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • East Asia
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • South America
    • Central America + Caribbean
  • Danube
  • Books
    • Thesis
    • Digital Nomads Guides
    • Under Way: Books in the Making
    • Books I Love
  • Gear
    • Hitchhiking Gear
    • Paddling Gear
    • Digital Nomad Gear
  • Game!
  • Contact
    • Guest Posts
    • Interview Me
    • Collaborations
    • Using My Content
  • Press
    • Interviews
    • Publications
  • Support
  • You
    • Strangers
    • Archive Your Blog

caspian sea

caspian sea mazandaran iran persia hitchhiking swimming hijab head scarf

Modest Swimming in the Caspian Sea

23rd October 201417th January 2021 Iris Veldwijk

#CaspianSea! #Mazandaran      

 
    

Featured in

the plaid zebra three positive hitchhiking stories mind of a hitchhiker

Huffington Post

Matador Network

tanie loty polish mind of a hitchhiker

daily star mind of a hitchhiker

Social

irisveldwijk

Semyonov Pass, Kyrgyzstan 💕 My first semi-prope Semyonov Pass, Kyrgyzstan 💕 My first semi-proper hitch in this country was with two Muscovites and their rental car. It had been his mom's birthday and they were making a week-long trip from Bishkek, surrounding Issyk-Kul Lake, and back to Bishkek for their flight back to Moscow

We met them the day before, when we were looking for a place that would feed us (everything was closed because the tourist season had yet to begin). We had just arrived in Cholpon-Ata. After a short chat, he invited us to come tour the Grigoryev and Semyonov canyons before they drove on to Karakol

This was an awesome little trip with our kind drivers and it filled me with joy. I obviously haven't hitchhiked much in the last year and I really missed this contact with strangers. Now we have an invitation to come say hi to them in Moscow, a city I'd love to visit in all seasons one day and a country I'd love to travel by thumb 

The canyons had really unpredictable weather. We were all constantly switching between it's so hot, take off the sweater and putting it back on for the cold and then a waterproof layer because it started raining. Sometimes you'd see the snowy mountain peaks, then you'd look away for a minute and then they were shrouded in clouds

I'm wishing for more remote trips during my next visit to Kyrgyzstan

#kyrgyzstan #kyrgyznature #kyrgyz #issykkulregion #issykkullake #issykkul #issykkul_travel #traveltokyrgyzstan #centralasiatravel #centralasia #stans #hitchhiking #hitchhiker #hitchhikers #hitchhike #hitchhikingstories #hitchhikingtrip #hitchhikingaroundtheworld #автостоп #автостопом #автостопщики #автостопщик #автостопомпороссии #григоревскоеущелье #семеновскоеущелье #иссыккуль #ыссыккуль #ысык_көл #кыргызстан
Burana, Kyrgyzstan 💕 Final resting place with a Burana, Kyrgyzstan 💕 Final resting place with a view. If you don't like (aesthetically pleasing) graves I think this post isn't for you

The cemetery at the Burana Tower (south of Tokmok) is also worth to wander about. Our driver told is that the graves show the likeness of the person who died. If they're depicted with a cup, that means they were a Khan (king) or Khatun/Khanum (queen)

He pointed at the smaller graves where the headstone also held cups and said those were princes or princesses. And the smaller graves with people without cups were non-royal beloved employees of the court, such as advisors

Some graves with Arabic (or Perso-Arabic?) script are supposedly from later times

The graves face the Burana Tower and the mountains. I think this is a pretty nice way to be buried. Your (approximate) face on your headstone, something about what you did in your hands (in my case that would be a hitchhiking sign or my thumb), and all in a beautiful location that receives the four seasons

#buranatowerkyrgyzstan #burana #buranatower #tokmok #graveandbeautiful #headstone #cemetery #cemeteriesofinstagram #буранамунара #башнябурана #башнябурана🏔️ #бишкек🇰🇬 #кыргызстан #могила #кладбище #Bishkek #kyrgyzstan #centralasiatravel #centralasia #gravestone #headstones #khan
Alamedin Gorge, Kyrgyzstan 💕 We were blessed wi Alamedin Gorge, Kyrgyzstan 💕 We were blessed with this gorgeous - pun intended - weather on the day of the Subbotnik and I definitely got my dose of fresh air 🏞️

After a long hike, don't you just want to stick your sore feet in ice cold mountain water like this? No? Am I alone in this? 😅👣🧊

This gorge is just a day trip from Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's capital city is really close to the Kyrgyz Ala-Too sub-range of the Tian Shan mountains. From the city, you can see mountains that reach in the 4500+ meters range 🏔️ (but below 5000, nothing too crazy)

If you haven't, would you consider going to Kyrgyzstan?

#kyrgyzstan #kyrgyzstan🇰🇬 #kyrgyzstantravel #kyrgyzstantrip #alamedingorge #bishkek #bishkekkyrgyzstan #bishkekcity #centralasiatravel #centralasia #asiatravel #кыргызстан #аламединскоеущелье #кыргыз #кыргызстан🇰🇬 #бишкек🇰🇬 #бишкек #фрунзе #frunze #kyrgyz #kyrgyznature #traveltokyrgyzstan #traveltoasia #ig_kyrgyzstan #hikingadventures #ig_hiking #hikersparadise #hikingtrip #dayhike
Follow on Instagram

Cofounder Of

Digital Nomads Guides travel book cofounder

Copyright © 2025 mindofahitchhiker.com - Privacy Policy