Central Asia

Who is Online

Details: Written by: Richard_McKie; Parent Category: Travel; Category: Central Asia; Published: 21 September 2025; Hits: 2689

In August 2025, after a seven-year absence, Wendy and I returned to Central Asia. This time, we would visit the less well travelled 'stans' Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In part, our choice of Central Asia was governed by a desire to be away during the worst of Sydney's winter. As we don't speak Russian, nor either of the local languages, we looked for a guided tour. As it turns out we were the only two who booked the package, so we had a personal guide and driver, together with a large Toyota 4-wheel drive for most of the trip.

Read more: Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan

Details: Written by: Richard_McKie; Parent Category: Travel; Category: Central Asia; Published: 28 July 2019; Hits: 64571

Having, in several trips, followed the Silk Road from Xian and Urumqi in China across Tajikistan and Uzbekistan our next visit had to be to the Caucuses. So in May 2019 we purchased an organised tour to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia from ExPat Explore. If this is all that interests you you might want to skip straight to Azerbaijan. Click here...

Details: Written by: Richard_McKie; Parent Category: Travel; Category: Central Asia; Published: 10 August 2018; Hits: 106934

Travels in Central Asia

In June 2018 we travelled to China before joining an organised tour in Central Asia that, except for a sojourn in the mountains of Tajikistan, followed in the footsteps of Marco Polo along the Great Silk Road.

Travel

Sri Lanka

In February 2023 we joined an organised tour to Sri Lanka.

Beginning in the capital Colombo, on the west coast, our bus travelled anticlockwise, in a loop, initially along the coast; then up into the highlands; then north, as far as Sigiriya; before returning southwest to Colombo.

Fiction, Recollections & News

Bonfire (Cracker) Night

We children were almost overcome with excitement. There had been months of preparation. Tree lopping and hedge trimmings had been saved; old newspapers and magazines stacked into fruit boxes; a couple of old tyres had been kept; and the long dangerously spiky lower fronds from the palm trees were neatly stacked; all in preparation.

Opinions and Philosophy

Renewable Electricity

As the energy is essentially free, renewable electricity costs, like those of nuclear electricity, are almost entirely dependent on the up-front construction costs and the method of financing these. Minimising the initial investment, relative to the expected energy yield, is critical to commercial viability. But revenue is also dependent on when, and where, the energy can be delivered to meet the demand patterns of energy consumers.

For example, if it requires four times the capital investment in equipment to extract one megawatt hour (1 MWh) of useable electricity from sunlight, as compared to extracting it from wind, engineers need to find ways of quartering the cost of solar capture and conversion equipment; or increasing the energy converted to electricity fourfold; to make solar directly competitive.

Terms of Use

Terms of Use Copyright