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Category: Asia (Page 1 of 14)

Where Next Barney’s route guide to Armenia

2023.05.16 /

Ed Gill writes »

In June and July 2022, I spent five weeks riding and exploring Armenia’s backcountry and trails, entering from Georgia in the north-east, heading south down the eastern side of the country to the Iranian border, before making my way back up to Yerevan on the western side.

In this guide, I’ve tidied up and summarised the routes I took into 8 sections for anyone who is considering a trip there. By and large these routes are good for mid-weight and lightweight dual-sport bikes with decent 50/50 tyres and similarly equipped 4x4s, though the latter should proceed with more caution than the former.

From the muddy mountains of the country’s north-eastern Tavush and Lori regions to the searing heat along the border with Iran, Armenia is an explorer’s delight. The country is slightly sleepier but no less beautiful and the people no less welcoming then its slightly more brash, northern neighbour, Georgia.

Follow this link to read the whole guide, complete with GPX files!

Thanks Ed!

~~~

Adventure Trend’s Armenia Country Profile

Building the Pamir Trail

2023.05.14 /

Andrew Marshall, Explorersweb »

So far, the coalition has identified over half the route — roughly 850km. It’s hard to say how long the final trail will be.

Knowing that, in America, a problem with creating long-distance trails often springs from securing rights across privately-held land, I asked Baaker if he’d run into the issue.

“Actually, [the real problem] is the complexity of the terrain,” he said.

It seems a few spots in Tajikistan are so rugged that nobody has made trails there yet. That’s saying something for a country that’s been inhabited more or less constantly since the Bronze Age. Puzzling out how to get through certain passes, or around certain landslide-prone areas, is the primary problem Baaker and his team faces.

River crossings are another.

 

Explore! releases their list of the 35 best hikes in the world that almost anyone can do

2023.05.12 /

Explore Worldwide, an “adventure travel” agency, has put together a list of 35 of the best hikes in the world that almost anyone can do, from short jaunts you can do in less than an hour to longer, multi-day itineraries »

Continue reading

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are looking to launch a unified single visa for tourists

2023.05.03 /
Map indicating GCC members (Source » Wikimedia)

Map indicating GCC members (Source » Wikimedia)

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states include  Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Waheed Abbas, Khaleej Times »

“We see that happening very soon because we see people flying from abroad to Europe usually spending their time in several countries rather than in one country. We really saw the value this can bring not to each country but all of us,” Al Sairafi said during a panel discussion on “The Future of Travel for the GCC”, held at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.

AKA Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf at Wikipedia.

Israel opens embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

2023.04.21 /

Rina Bassist, Al-Monitor »

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Turkmenistan on Thursday to inaugurate Israel’s embassy in Ashgabat, as the country considers opening an embassy in Israel.

Cohen arrived to Turkmenistan Wednesday evening after a two-day visit to Azerbaijan, and was received at the Ashgabat airport by Turkmenistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Berdyniyaz Myatiev. It was the first visit in 29 years by an Israeli minister. The first and last such visit took place in 1994, a year after the two countries established diplomatic ties, when then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres traveled to the country.

 

The most populated countries in the world

2023.04.19 /

On 15 November 2022, the world’s population surpassed 8 billion people.

Earth’s population continues to explode » from 1 billion in 1820 to 2 billion in 1930, to 3 billion in 1960, to 4 billion in 1974, to 5 billion in 1987, to 6 billion in 1999, to 7 billion in 2012, and 8 billion in 2022.

Following are the 50 most populated countries using the latest figures available »

  1. India » 1,425,000,000 (April 2023)
  2. China » 1,413,143,000
  3. United States » 339,665,000
  4. Indonesia » 279,476,000
  5. Pakistan » 247,654,000
  6. Nigeria » 230,843,000
  7. Brazil » 218,690,000
  8. Bangladesh » 167,184,000
  9. Russia » 141,699,000
  10. Mexico » 129,876,000
  11. Japan » 123,719,000
  12. Ethiopia » 116,463,000
  13. Philippines » 116,434,000
  14. Democratic Republic of the Congo » 111,860,000
  15. Egypt » 109,547,000
  16. Vietnam » 104,799,000
  17. Iran » 87,591,000
  18. Germany » 84,220,000
  19. Turkiye » 83,594,000
  20. Thailand » 69,795,000
  21. France » 68,522,000
  22. United Kingdom » 68,139,000
  23. Tanzania » 65,643,000
  24. Italy » 61,022,000
  25. South Africa » 58,048,000
  26. Myanmar » 57,970,000
  27. Kenya » 57,052,000
  28. South Korea » 51,967,000
  29. Colombia » 49,337,000
  30. Sudan » 49,18,000
  31. Uganda » 47,730,000
  32. Spain » 47,223,000
  33. Argentina » 46,622,000
  34. Algeria » 44,758,000
  35. Ukraine » 43,306,000
  36. Iraq » 41,266,000
  37. Afghanistan » 39,232,000
  38. Canada » 38,517,000
  39. Poland » 37,992,000
  40. Morocco » 37,067,000
  41. Angola » 35,981,000
  42. Saudi Arabia » 35,940,000
  43. Malaysia » 34,220,000
  44. Ghana » 33,846,000
  45. Mozambique » 32,514,000
  46. Peru » 32,440,000
  47. Yemen » 31,566,000
  48. Uzbekistan » 31,361,000
  49. Nepal » 30,899,000
  50. Venezuela » 30,518,000

An overland adventure in Tajikistan across the Roof of the World

2023.04.15 /

Karin-Marijke, Landcruising Adventure »

Crossing high-altitude deserts with snow-capped mountains rising on the horizon, meandering through gorges along vertical rock walls. And that for 766 miles! How can that not be attractive to any overland traveler? The largely unpaved road alternates with smooth asphalt and paved stretches that have turned into washboards and potholes, so you never know what to expect around the corner.

The Pamir Highway challenges you to stay alert every second.

Driving the Pamir Highway, Tajikistan (©Coen Wubbels)

You inflate your tires because it seems that ‘from now on the road is good’ and deflate them after half a mile on rock-protruding road surface that is killing your suspension and your back. Your mood swings from wondering what the heck you’re doing in this desolate part of the world seeing nobody and nothing for ages to marveling why you have never heard of this gorgeous route before.

Welcome to the Pamir Highway, locally dubbed the Roof of the World!

Read the rest of Karin-Marijke’s post at  Landcruising Adventure »

Ten driest places on Earth

2023.03.26 /

Driest places on earth based on least average annual precipitation »

  • McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (0 mm / 0 inches annual precipitation)
  • Arica, Chile (0.76 mm / 0.03 in)
  • Al Kufrah, Libya (0.86 mm / 0.03 in)
  • Aswan, Egypt (0.86 mm / 0.03 in)
  • Luxor, Egypt (0.86 mm / 0.03 in)
  • Ica, Peru (2.29 mm / 0.09 in)
  • Wadi Halfa, Sudan (2.45 mm / 0.1 in)
  • Iquique, Chile (5.08 mm / 0.2 in)
  • Pelican Point, Namibia (8.13 mm / 0.32 in)
  • El Arab (Aoulef), Algeria (12.19 mm / 0.48 in)
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