Snowboarding in Gudauri, Georgia

We arrived to the Caucasus in quest for fresh powder. Is not just another snowboarding trip, above all it is the opportunity to get to know a new country and an interesting way to spend two weeks with good friends. I’ve already had the pleasure to experience snowboarding on the northern slopes of Caucasus (the…

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Where the garlic grows (Kalaw to Inle Lake)

We are going to take a double-decker pickup towards Kalaw. In fact, it is an ordinary pickup, with the difference being that people sit on a roof. Interestingly, local women are not allowed to sit on vehicle’s roof, because it is “not appropriate”. The car keeps overheating, but the situation is under control as long…

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Goat in the Masai village

Kenyan side of Mt. Kilimanjaro We are heading towards Kilimanjaro along the road C102. Police officers at the roadside station ensure us that we are unlikely to come across dangerous animals at this time of a year. On the way we pass scattered tiny villages with inhabitants taking care of their cattle. It’s nearly the…

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Kenyan Plantations

Lone tree between tea Among Sugar Cane Our dirty and dusty road crosses through giant sugar cane plantations. Car traffic is minimal until late in the afternoon when tractors loaded with sugar cane pop up. Workers are bringing the hard day’s work harvest to one of a few sugar cane factories in the area. We…

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Rolex to start a day in Uganda

We pack ourselves at 6:30. It is yet before dawn, which in Uganda takes place at 7.00. I hear voices coming from street snacks vendors through dense twilight mist. The air is filled with smell of baked chapati, corn flour pancakes. One of the stands has a chalk inscription drew on a wooden plate “ROLEX…

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Breakfast in the City on the Seven Hills

I see millions of anonymous lights glittering far beyond the horizon. The urban landscape extends endlessly and floods both sides of the Bosporus Strait, a narrow passage of water connecting the Balkans and Asia Minor. This is how Istanbul has gained the status of the only city in the world located on two continents. Maşallah!…

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Red wine, the best beef and yerba mate

Colorful Buenos Aires Every time I recall Argentina in my mind, I remember all warm and genuine people I met here. It brings back a lot of colorful and intense memories. It is a country where every single day begins with a few servings of yerba mate and in the morning it is impossible to…

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Sipping tereré in Paraguay

Tereré on a hot day Gran Chaco is the second least accessible part of South America (preceded by the Amazon jungle). We pass this giant uninhabited area with a passenger and smuggling bus. The bus is definitely overloaded, there is a crowd in the aisle, lots of bags and boxes with unknown contents cramped all…

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Tierra Caliente in Bolivia

Chatting by the table In the beginning I must admit that the last few weeks spent at over three thousand meters made me feel a bit tired. This feeling is accompanied by longing. I miss early morning sun which warms up my tent and wakes me up. I also miss these pleasant evenings, sitting outside…

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Emoliente street vendor

A stranger on a street energetically removes pulp of a plant resembling aloe. His swift and graceful hands adds some mysterious extracts from bottles arranged in a row. Then he scoops a cup of hot herbal brew out of a massive pot and starts blending all the ingredients with a spoon. Yet still the drink…

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Guinea pig for dinner

Peruvian cuisine Once in the Peruvian province of Amazonas I decided to look for traditional Peruvian cuisine . Half-intentionally half-accidentally I find a restaurant called Sabores del Peru in the town of  Chachapoyas. A welcoming chef and the restaurant owner Seńora Violeta invites me and my friend Camille to her kitchen. We are able to…

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Venezuelan cuisine

Arepa and perrico I take a look at Venezuelan cuisine and do my best to experience it. Luckily most of the time I stay with people who are natural-born enthusiasts and experts in this field. Altogether including some extra street culinary experiences, I would like to present a sample menu. It is a list of…

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Israel on two wheels

Some places you get an idea that half of Israel is one huge firing area Instead of the promised sun and heat, it is heavy rain to greet us upon arrival. An immigration officer asks a few detailed questions, he stamps our passports and lets us in Israel. Our friend Ohn Debby picks us up…

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Tarantula for dinner

Cambodian women selling fried tarantulas Someone enters through the window and the three of us in the backseat are now five people. Along the way, another ten new passengers join the ride and the driver constantly encourages more passersby, even when there is definitely no room available. I do not exactly know what it is…

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Ankor Wat and the Khmer Empire

Prah Khan temple, Angkor Wat The history of Cambodia dates back to 2000 years ago. The former Kingdom of Funan grew in power over the years to become the Khmer Empire in the ninth century. Many problems plagued the empire, but still it had been consistently gaining the importance in the region. It is also…

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A cup of Ethiopian coffee

A sensual ritual of preparing coffee I visit a tiny souvenir shop in Addis Ababa. Lemlem is roasting beige coffee beans on a clay hearth. Just within minutes the sun is overcast by dark clouds and an imminent intense rain sets all the shopkeepers to action. I help Lemlem and her sister to hide merchandise…

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Ethiopian flavours

Khat house is a common meeting place The very two things that will take aback a visitor to Ethiopia is khat and injera. Moving around the country, it is the stimulant herb khat, chewed over and over again by the inhabitants of Abyssinia and a firfir, a resembling sour bubble-pancake dish, which would become a…

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Lotoko, a Congolese moonshine

Penetrating dark passageways in search of lotoko An accidentally met Congolese girl leads us through the dark streets of Kalemie. We believe she is a person who knows a place where you can buy lotoko. In twilight, seeing only the shadows cast by warm light of street lamps we reach the secret place. It is…

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Port in Porto

Night panorama of Douro riverbank We park nearby Paços do Concelho, the city council of Porto. Shortly after I befriend a Portuguese woman who appears to be the parking ticket warden, so for that reason parking becomes complimentary. We crawl along Avenida dos Aliados, the main alley leading from the center to the Douro riverside.…

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The vineyard of Herdade da Ajuda

Wine production in Alentejo Portuguese province of Alentejo. A dark complexion, a little bit obese worker is arranging stacks of wine barrels. Drawn away from his work at the moment he reveals unconcealed enthusiasm and willingness to guide us through the vineyard. We are on the 21-hectare plantation in central Portugal. Not so long ago,…

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Mussels and squid

Praia do Amado Cooking squid for not a skilled cook is kind of a challenge. Awkward incision makes intensely black ink  splatter around. I remove the squid’s float, looking indistinguishably like a part made of plastic. Everything around is stained with ink and definitely does not look like anything edible, not to mention being tasty.…

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Paella and snails

Our feast in Tomatito bar, Tarifa During my stay on a surfing spot near the Valdavaqueros beach, one day I take my longboard for a ride to Tarifa. I visit my friend Polly, who is working for the summer in a bar called Tomatito. This is a very unusual place taking into account not only…

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A place for a grilled chicken

El jardí de Sòl de Riu Cruising along a swerving coastal road we head south. Our intention is to skip the toll tunnel to see more of beautiful Catalonia. We stop at numerous viewpoints on our way and in the evening we arbitrarily choose a place to stay. A small village of Vinaròs is located…

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Canadian cuisine made in Asia

Canadian cuisine made in Asia Spices and herbs in Chinatown Vancouver has lots of shops, restaurants and bars, as in every big city. Both small groceries and giant shopping malls. A few decades ago wealthy Asians from Hong Kong started to buy Vancouver apartments in excessive amounts. Their investment contributed to a real estate boom.…

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Mexican Operation Tequila

Mexican Operation Tequila Mexican folklore I always dreamed of a hot day in a Mexican park, sitting under a tree with a bottle of tequila in my hand and sipping it in absolutely the laziest way until late evening. .At first glance, Tijuana, a Mexican border town near San Diego, is a terrible tourist imitation…

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American Dream in New York City

Times Square by night This is my first trip to the USA. There are five of us to go. The trip will be both full of valuable experiences and shocking confrontations. Especially from the perspective of a person who previously lived in Europe only. New York is the most multicultural urban area in the world. …

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Prague and the land of cheap beer

Idyllic views off the main road Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Despite the recent emergence of hordes of tourists still quite an interesting place with varied historical architecture. However, it is a rich and extensive nightlife that makes every visitor to get to know two sides of the city. In the daylight the…

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