by Matthew Allison | Nov 1, 2023 | Asia
November 2023: I traveled to Northeast Kazakhstan for a week to indulge my fascination with the Soviet era, as Kazakhstan was once part of the USSR. I’ve long been intrigued by the Cold War—the clash of ideologies, espionage, brutalist architecture, and the...
by Matthew Allison | Jun 4, 2023 | Asia
May 2023: I first fell in love with the Buddhist regions of the Himalayas in 1998, when I visited Ladakh and Zanskar in northern India, spending several months traveling and trekking in the region. Since then, I’ve returned to trek in Bhutan (2005) and in Tibet...
by Matthew Allison | Mar 10, 2023 | Asia
March 2023: As part of a larger “babymoon” trip through the Pacific Islands, my pregnant wife, Paula, and I spent three days in Taiwan. I had only experienced Taiwan during layovers in the past, so this was my first proper visit. A major motivation for the...
by Matthew Allison | Aug 27, 2022 | Asia
August 2022: After decades of conflict that have seen the majority of Afghanistan unsafe for exploration, the country is now relatively secure for travel. The Taliban insurgents that I avoided during past visits to Afghanistan because they wanted to kill me were now...
by Matthew Allison | Sep 17, 2019 | Asia, Europe
September 2019/Day 1: We arrived at the Russian State of North Ossetia after visiting the neighboring and independent country to the south-South Ossetia. To enter North Ossetia, we crossed over the beautiful snow-covered Caucuses Mountains. Both Ossetia’s...
by Matthew Allison | Sep 5, 2019 | Asia
Break-Away Republics September 2019: South Ossetia is an independent country that can be best described as a break-away republic. A break-away republic is a land that has formed its own independent country after splitting from another country that lays claim to it....
