We were traveling from the end of May to the beginning of July and circumnavigated the world. This newsletter covers the first part in Central Asia. We did and saw so many interesting things and met so many local folks, the following is just a few of many highlights.

Our first stop was the infrequently visited Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan to attend the annual NomadMania conference. NM is a terrific community and website which provides information and inspiration to all types of travelers. While there, we reconnected with our extreme traveler friends, visited the historical and cultural sites and met many locals such as these young students studying tourism and business at Kokand University.

We then spent nine days driving through Kyrgyzstan, a country with 90% of its territory covered by mountains. Eagle hunting is a long-standing tradition in Central Asia, especially in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. This practice, known as "berkutchi" in Kyrgyz, involves training eagles to hunt animals as big as foxes. In front of the 1,000-year-old Burana Tower, I was able to hold one (which hopefully has reasonable freedom as a captive creature) and was amazed at their strength and enormous talons.

Kyrgyzstan is still a place where shepherds live in yurts for part of the year tending to horses, cattle and sheep. Below is a photo from my first visit in 1999 to Song-Kul Lake where I was served horse milk for the first time. The place is mostly the same but there are now yurt camps for visitors.

See more photos from Kyrgyzstan on my website.

An unexpected discovery was coming upon many imaginative bus stops, many deteriorating, built during the Soviet era (1917 to 1991).

Next was nine days in Kazakhstan, the ninth biggest country dominated with expansive steppes. We experienced these vast, empty plains with a 16-hour train ride between Almaty, the biggest city, and Astana, the capital.

Almaty is the second most populated city in the “Five-Stans” (next to Tashkent, Uzbekistan) with two million people. Now about 15% are ethnic Russians, in 1989 it was almost 60%. In my opinion, it’s the most fun city in the region with a plethora of cafes, restaurants and live entertainment. Surprisingly, we found statues of the Beatles there, even though they never visited the country, which were extremely popular with locals and visitors. I’m sure the song “Back in the USSR” was a factor for this memorial.

Astana became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997. Prior to that, it was a relatively small city, known as Akmola and previously Tselinograd during the Soviet era. It’s now dubbed the Dubai of Central Asia with innovative architecture everywhere, including this performance space for the circus.

The August newsletter will feature the rest of our trip, our two weeks witnessing astonishing festivals in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

UPCOMING TRIPS:

We’ll be visiting family in Chicago over Labor Day weekend and in Denver over the Thanksgiving holiday. We are researching and considering our next international trip but haven’t arranged anything yet. But I have to say, being home for a couple months, taking care of business and seeing friends, has been wonderful.

RECENT POST:

As we were traveling straight for six weeks, there were no new posts to ExploringEd.com. However, a friend sent me an article on the Burning Man festival and it reminded me of when I was there in 2001. On my site, check out the photos from then.

SUBWAY PHOTOGRAPHY:

My beautifully printed black and white “Station to Station: Exploring the New York City Subway” coffee table book is still available. Click here or email me for a signed copy, not available anywhere else!

SOCIALS:

My website www.ExploringEd.com with detailed posts on our trips.

FB: @Ed.Hotchkiss.3 and @Exploring Ed Travel | IG: @Exploring.Ed.Travel​

RECENT BOOK​:

I was fascinated by “Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria” (2012, 320 pages) by Noo Saro-Wiwa, daughter of human rights activist Ken Saro-Wiwa who was executed by the Nigerian military government. She was brought up in England, but every summer as a child was dragged back to visit her father in Nigeria. As an adult and an accomplished journalist, she spent several months exploring many parts of this huge country in order to make sense of it. As she is ethnically Nigerian, she didn’t stand out as a British tourist and was able to experience life as a local. Her insights veer from exasperation from the indomitable corruption and inefficiencies to paeans to the humanity and colorfulness of the people.

DONATE:

Since the beginning of human existence, orphans have been dealt a very bad hand in life. Sometimes family members can care for them, other times government institutions. In some parts of the world, they are left on their own to survive. While this is obviously a tragic situation, it’s easy to lose sight of it during the news of nonstop crises across the world.

I have just contributed to the following organizations which assist children in this regrettable situation. Please consider also donating to them or similar organizations.

​Miracle Foundation is an international organization that works with orphanage and foster care systems. They operate in India, Africa, and the US to ensure every child can thrive in a nurturing family. Since 2000, they have directly supported more than 50,000 children.

Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) means “Our Little Brothers and Sisters” in Spanish. Founded in 1954 by Father William Wasson, NPH has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of the most vulnerable children and young adults, providing a nurturing family environment, education, health care, and vocational and life skills training. NPH USA helps children in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru achieve their full potential.

​Orphaned Starfish Foundation scouts exceptional orphanages, homes for abused children, schools and community centers whose students don't have access to technology education and invites them to partner with them. Then they build a state-of-the-art technology center, including purchasing all supplies, hiring local teachers, and establishing a curriculum to support students who want to transition to higher education or employment.

Happy Traveling 🌏… Exploring Ed