How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author: Julia Cameron
One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
Author: Jared Diamond
An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.
The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Author: Bill Shore
Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Author: John Carlin
Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Author: Paul Theroux
The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.
Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.
Shantaram: A Novel
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.
On the surface, a Kazakh visa should have been our easiest visa to obtain. Kazakhstan is arguably the most developed of the former Soviet countries. But the bureaucratic machine still runs strong at the Kazakh Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and in Kazakhstan itself. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Kazakhstan, Travel by: Daniel Noll
3 Comments | 6 February 2008
We are often asked “What were your best experiences? What are your favorite places?”
“All-time favorite places” is a difficult one to answer without writing a book, but if we limit the question to 2007 (as we did in our personal growth exercise last night), the answer becomes manageable and something worth sharing with our readers. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Cambodia, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Perspectives, Southeast Asia, Travel, Turkmenistan by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 1 January 2008
Barely recovering from self-inflicted death march from Kazakh mountains. Copter airlift looked likely. Rappelling down waterfall = escape.
– Our Twitter update from Almaty, Kazakhstan on 3 September 2007
My, how things can go wrong. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 11 December 2007
Sometimes we seek beauty and sometimes we find it. Sometimes we seek a thrill and it finds us, giving us more than we had bargained for. Along our journey into the Tian Shan Mountains in Kazakhstan, we encountered pieces of history, stunning landscape, a draining hike, and the softer side of Almaty. The only thing missing: a map. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
1 Comment | 11 December 2007
You know you are in trouble when the only people in the place who smile at you are the missionaries.
A trip to the post office in each country we visit is pretty standard for us. We dread it because of the time it usually eats up, but we always find ourselves making the journey in order to mail backup DVDs of our photos or an occasional postcard. From a cultural anthropological point of view, however, a trip to the post office affords us another slice of real life and provides a window into how a country actually works (or doesn’t).
Shakedown at the Kiddie Painting
Almaty, Kazakhstan was no different. We stood in a line of three people at the main post office and awaited our turn as a possessed animatronic postal worker repeatedly stamped letters drawn from a stack about two feet tall. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Perspectives, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
10 Comments | 3 December 2007
Wedding parties, mountain lakes, Soviet scientific centers and parks – images from Kazakhstan are up in our photo gallery. Enjoy!
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Photography, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 10 September 2007
Changes to our home page, our erratic publishing schedule, and varied topics have thrown some of our readers off. It’s time to come clean.
We’re not actually traveling. We’ve been updating this site from a beach in the Maldives. We’ve fabricated all of our stories and grabbed content and photos from around the web and Photoshopped ourselves in where possible. Isn’t technology amazing?
OK, the real story.
For those of you who believe everything you read, that last bit was a joke. All the experiences are ours. And so is the content. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Motley Mots, Technology, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
No Comments | 7 September 2007
“This is a hotel, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have rooms?”
“Yes. How long would you like the room?”
“For one night.”
“The whole night? You mean until morning?” It was 11:00 P.M. The woman at the desk seemed surprised by Audrey’s response. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Humor, Kazakhstan, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
25 Comments | 26 August 2007
Have you ever watched the news and witnessed escaping refugees at a border crossing, crushed against iron bars like animals in a cage? You know the scene. Now superimpose two backpack-laden white faces onto that newsreel, throw in a few cries of “Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan” amongst the shrieks of old women and children being squashed in a sea of madness, and you would just begin to understand what we went through at the Uzbek-Kazakh border yesterday. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Perspectives, Travel, Uzbekistan by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
18 Comments | 25 August 2007
