A great new travel book published just in time for Christmas. A selection of travel stories from the more unusual parts of the globe that you can explore from the comfort of your armchair. These are places that you will never see advertised in a travel agent's window. ...

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Ayaz Qala II. Dominating the surrounding desert The forts rise majestically out of the Kyzyl Kum desert. All were built on the edges of the ancient kingdom of Khorezm, whose capital was Gurganj (which is now in modern day Turkmenistan). They were constructed to protect Khorezm from attack by foreign armies and Uzbek nomads. Their remoteness, on the very edge of Karakalpakstan, and...

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Leaving Turkmenistan was a lot easier than arriving in it. Sort of. My guide was panicking as the borders were closed between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, some sort of tiff as far as I could understand. Having been in Central Asia for two weeks I was less concerned, these crazy things tend to sort themselves out, all you need is patience. ...

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Khiva, like Bukhara, was a powerful city state on built on an old oasis between the Kyzl Kum and Kara Kum deserts. It grew to become a major trading post on the Silk Road, building up a specialty in slave trading. Khiva continued to grow and  developed a small empire, including much of modern day Turkmenistan, before it was overcome by Russian forces...

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I met a lovely family in Bukhara, who adopted me for my stay. Rustham and his large extended family lived in a narrow street near the Kalon minaret. A typical Bukhara house with a huge yard containing a day bed at one side, which acted variously as an eating table, a play table for the kids, and a bed at night to look...

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I was up at 5:30 AM, a time unheard of normally for me, but this was Bukhara, in the middle of the Khyzl Kum desert, with temperatures passing 45C by midday, so I had to overcome my natural aversion to getting out of bed. ...

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  Seeing as the Brazil World Cup tournament has just kicked off, I thought it was timely to post this Football influenced blog. I am not a huge fan of the game regarding it as more of an opportunity for 90 minutes of philosophical reflection, in between fleeting moments of excitement on the pitch. ...

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I have always enjoyed traveling by train. It probably dates back to my childhood. We did not have much money when I was growing up, and yet almost every weekend my father took myself and my brother on a train trip to see every corner, every museum, every historical building, and every bloody railway station in the UK. It was a great education...

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Before I left Australia I had decided to say ‘Yes’ to any offer or invitation that came my way, as Danny Wallace did in the fun read ‘Yes Man’. The idea was to see what adventures this may lead me too, to get out of my hotel room, and to get out of my comfort zone. The only condition was that it had...

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  Within one hour of my arrival in Tashkent I had been stopped in the street three times, my bag searched twice, and my pockets emptied out once by curt, unfriendly police. I was left in no doubt who was in control, although I was getting somewhat annoyed, but hey, this is Uzbekistan. ...

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One of the best sites in Samarkand is away from the main tourist trail of Minarets, Madrasah and tombs, the remains of Afrosiab. This was the original city that pre-dates modern Samarkand. Described as ‘the most beautiful city in the world’ by a contemporary, it was a major trading station on the Silk road. Once occupied by Alexander the Great, it was destroyed...

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Updating this blog on a Cyrillic keyboard, Russian win xp, and with a partially working space bar has given my brain a nice workout. Arriving in Samarkand is really going back in time, not just with no Wi-Fi and waiting 2 mins for a page to load, but to be in the city of the beautiful Registan. ...

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On the final leg of my journey to Uzbekistan  (a journey that took me almost 24 hours from Sydney) I was approached by a large South African man. He wanted my autograph, and have his picture taken with me. I was a famous TV cook and he loved my show. I did like the attention, and thought about pretending to be a personality,...

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Farflungplaces is off to Central Asia. My last trip to Uzbekistan was in 2010,  and this is one of my favourite photos taken as I wandered amongst the stalls of the Chorzu Bazzar in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. ...

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