Along the Silk Road - Kucha
When the flight flew over the Taklamakan desert, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe the desert in its fullest form through the window…
The most interesting discovery was the very distinctive colour palette. Almost all the paintwork in the town was the mixture of bright base colours, green, yellow, red and blue etc…
When I crossed the very high threshold of the gate, I entered a different world - the world of the king, the past…
Along the Silk Road - Hotan
Walking along the avenue, what struck me most was not how familiar the scene was, but how unfamiliar I felt being there - a tourist in my homeland…
Different backgrounds, different languages, different religions - all had been colliding here for centuries and eventually left their mark in all kinds of ways in this place called Hotan…
I found myself standing in a real desert.
It was profound, to be someone who had been to the Taklamakan desert, a mythical place that had only ever appeared in stories.
It was vast, like a sea. It was golden, reflecting the sunlight. It was blistering, like nothing could live…
A Spontaneous and Magnificent Trip to the South of France
It was a one-day-ahead-planned trip to Toulon in the summer of 2024, one-way ticket, in the south of France - so far, my most courageous move as a traveller. And it lasted for three weeks.