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    Between Two Capitals: Hitchhiking from Naypyitaw to Yangon

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    Three Days in Kyiv, Ukraine – Celebrating my 22nd Birthday

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mecca saudi arabia praying direction hotel Iran

Directions to Mecca

6th November 201417th January 2021 Iris Veldwijk

Every mosaferkhaneh (cheap sketchy hotel) in Iran gave you directions to #Mecca. (at Iran Urmiye)      

 
    

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Semyonov Pass, Kyrgyzstan 💕 My first semi-proper h 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 vi 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 with 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
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