I’m in Sevastopol, Ukraine. The city was formerly host to the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. After 1991, the fleet was partitioned between Ukraine and Russia and both halves are still based at Sevastopol, although most of the warships I spotted had Russian ensigns. Like Vladivostok, Sevastopol was a […]
Browsing Posts in Travel
Sevastopol and the Black Sea Fleet
September 18, 2011
Pyongyang: Kim Il Sung Mausoleum
August 4, 2011
I’ve been through the Lenin Mausoleum and the Mao Mausoleum. The Kim Il Sung Mausoleum is much, much, more intense than either. Definitely no loitering, chattering, or smirking. We were strongly encouraged by our guides to dress in our best clothes and to wear shirts and ties for our visit. The Mausoleum is a large […]
North Korea's Mass Games
August 3, 2011
I attended the Mass Games in Pyongyang. They were a bizarre, wonderful and very intense experience. (More photos here.) The current version of the games, the “Arirang”, tells the history of North Korea through a giant series of dance and gymnastic sequences. There are reportedly up to 100,000 participants, although only a few hundreds or […]
Nagorno-Karabakh: Shushi
May 26, 2011
I took a marshrutka out from Stepanakert to the old scenic town of Shushi. Shushi was on the front-line of the 1990’s Nagorno-Karabakh war and suffered heavy damage. It was an Azerbaijan stronghold, opposing Armenian-held Stepanakert. Over the course of the war most of the population fled, and the town still has many abandoned buildings. […]
Tehran: National Jewels Museum
May 17, 2011
The Tehran National Jewels Museum is truly over-the-top, with a staggering collection of gem encrusted artifacts. I had missed this when I was in Tehran in 2008, so I made sure to catch it this time. The collection is in 37 large display cases, full of many lavishly decorated items. There are bright crowns, covered […]
Astara Border Crossing Zoo
May 14, 2011
The Astara border crossing from Azerbaijan to Iran turned out to be a bit of a zoo. The border crossing is very slow, and to maintain order the Azeri authorities have created a special queuing area with four distinct queues separated by cage-like walls. Every 30-40 minutes the authorities would open the steel door for […]
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