Santiago de Cuba boasts a rich, diverse culture heavily influenced by Spanish, African, and French-Haitian roots. It is also Cuba’s second city. Santiago was the capital of the island in the sixteenth century. On...
In the Viñales Valley and Las Terrazas, you can find your inner peace and feel as if you have been brought back in time entirely. After I arrived in Havana, I planned to have...
It is common knowledge that Cuba has suffered for a long time. I was there when the USA kidnapped Maduro, and this made the Cubans terrified. I was going to spend Christmas and New...
I know many countries have competition between the capital and the second city. That is very much the case in Spain as well. We have the same in Norway between Oslo and Bergen, and...
Kunya-Urgench and Merv are far apart and not closely connected, but both played important roles on the ancient Silk Road. Kunya-Urgench is situated in north-western Turkmenistan. Urgench was the capital of the Khorezm region,...
Darvaza Gas Crater is the most popular tourist destination in Turkmenistan, even though it releases carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. Despite environmental and safety concerns, the “Door to Hell” has been a significant tourist...
Visiting the tourist zone of Awaza, on the outskirts of Türkmenbaşy, is forbidden. But the Yangykala Canyon is thankfully open to everyone who has a visa to Turkmenistan. I had read about Awaza before...
When a dictator wants to impress the world, what should he do? Why not build a white marble city, and paint all cars white? That is basically what happened when Saparmyrat Atajevitsj Nyýazow took...
I have not been to North Korea, so I cannot compare, but I have read that Turkmenistan is a good candidate to be number two. It is like a cult in which their honourable...
Transnistria, or Pridnestrovie, as they like to call it, does not really exist, and they are longing for the USSR. It is a breakaway, self-declared state internationally recognised as part of Moldova. It is...
As in so many ex-Soviet states, marshrutkas (small minibuses) are widely used in Moldova. But hitchhiking is also an excellent alternative. The marshrutkas are not the most comfortable; there is little legroom, and they...
Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, is said to be the poorest capital in Europe. It may not be the most beautiful, but it has charm and warmth. Seen from a Norwegian viewpoint, wanting to...
If you want to see a small country thoroughly, why not set aside a few days to explore it on foot? I set off six days. When I looked up my Lonely Planet book,...
The Indonesian island that the Portuguese gave the name Flores is probably best known for the Komodo dragon. The indigenous Indonesians call the island Nusa Nipa, meaning “Dragon island”. The Komodo National Park is...
Seminyak is closely connected to Denpasar, Bali’s capital, and Nusa Penida, an easily accessible island just outside. On the map, it is not easy to see where Denpasar ends and Seminyak starts, but as...
