Am 16. und 17.12. wird in Kasachstan der Unabhängigkeitstag gefeiert. 17 Jahre seit dem Austritt aus der Sowjetunion. Einen freien Tag nutzte ich um mal wieder einen Ausflug in die Berge zu unternehmen, diesmal ging's zum Butakowka-Wasserfall, dank an dieser Stelle an Ronny für die Wegbeschreibung. Um den schneebedeckten Komissarowka-Pass auf 2....

Der letzte Tag im Hotel. Noch einmal Pool und Sauna genießen, noch einmal das reichhaltige Frühstücksangebot auskosten. Wie schon geschrieben hat man beim Frühstück die Wahl. Meist fing ich englisch an, ein paar Würstchen, Eier, Speck und Bohnen. Der Höhepunkt des Frühstücks waren dann die French Toasts und Pan Cakes mit Ahornsirup. Seit den gut...

Well, I left Hong Kong this morning, early. The phone in the hotel room rang at 4:10 AM. Now that was a painful wake-up call! I'm bumming a ride with these three guys, Ross, Jon & Jim. They said they usually don't pick up bears, but they'd make an exception since I was from the States and all. I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting ...

Thank for sending me the nice comments over the past few weeks about the art show blog entries. Its so nice to know that people are reading this. My blog was highlighted in a blog newsletter about Kazakh contemporary art. I got some good feedback about my works on Mary Ward. The positive feedback gives me some more energy to keep working. I was ...

We're in Almata right now, and leaving for Bishkek, in Kyrgyzstan tomorrow. We're healthy and eating well, and we haven't been robbed or unwillingly donated any vital organs! We aim to spend the next week making our way through Kyrgyzstan and the Ferghana valley to Tashkent, and from there touring around Uzbekistan from mid-June until our date w...

May 11, 2005 Here are some interesting things about Kazakhstan that I though was different in the beginning but now they are perfectly normal. 1. Everyone carries a plastic shopping bag, called a packet, here instead of a briefcase, backpack or lunch bag 2. Diet Coke is Coke Light 3. Most homes have a room with a toilet - the bathtub and sink ar...