highwayman

Jiu Fen - Taiwan

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:40:18 PST

Taiwan 051.jpg, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

This photo was taken 5 years ago in front of a Buddhist temple in a small beautiful tourist town, Jiu Fen, near Taipei. This is a popular weekend destination for Taiwanese people. You can get lots of local delicacies in the local markets, stay over night in tiny houses that overlook the coast.

Flight of the Angel, Venice Carnevale

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:08:20 PST

Now you don't see it everywhere! The main show of the Venice Carnival - Volo dell'Angelo (Flight of the Angel).

Rialto Bridge on Grand Canal, Venice

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:08:20 PST

Venice Carnival

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:08:20 PST

Our trip to Venice Mask Carnival last February. Festive atmosphere, costumes, masks, excellent mood, Venetian music and fantastic shows - there was everything! Video tells it all.

Camp Nou, Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:07:28 PST

Here's another small video of the empty Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona. You can clearly see how beautiful and enormous it is!

Sagrada Familia

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:07:28 PST

The most known tourist attraction of Barcelona. It is indeed astonishingly beautiful and unique of a kind! There's so much architecture and art in every piece of it, and I was glad that I took my binoculars to get a better look. Antoni Gaudi started the construction in 1882, and his work continued till today after he died in tram accident. He was buried inside Sagrada Familia.

Here's a bit of information from Wikipedia;
"...privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026. A portion of the building's interior is scheduled to open for public worship and tours by September of 2010.
Considered the master-work of renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the project's vast scale and idiosyncratic design have made it one of Barcelona's (and Spain's) top tourist attractions for many years....
... Every part of the design of La Sagrada Família is rich with Christian symbolism, as Gaudí intended the church to be the "last great sanctuary of Christendom". Its most striking aspect is its spindle-shaped towers. A total of 18 tall towers are called for, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ...
...The building works are expected to be completed around 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death, although the likelihood of meeting this date is disputed. Computer Aided design technology has been used to speed up the construction of the building; initially, the construction work was expected to last for several hundred years, based on building techniques available in the early 1900s...
...Construction on Sagrada Família is not supported by any government or official church sources. Private patrons funded the initial stages. Money from tickets purchased by tourists is now used to pay for the work, and private donations are accepted through the Friends of the Temple.
The construction budget for 2009 is €18 million."

Greetings from Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:07:28 PST

Here some late greetings from Barcelona. Alex and his family hosted me and Fatima at their place in the outskirts of Barcelona. We had great few days there eating lots of delicious food (paella, bull's tail, variety of seafood), watching some architecture by Gaudi, driving around Barcelona and Olympic Town, and watching Barca game at Camp Nou.

Once again I want to thank Alex and his family, and also Vanessa and her family for inviting us for a nice breakfast!

Street Musicians in Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:59:01 PST

Barcelona Car Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:51:58 PST

We were a bit unlucky to be caught by the rain in May in Barcelona. They said it was really sunny just before we arrived. And for that reason we did most of our trip in the car. Alex drove around the city pointing at the main attractions and also just wandering around, just to stop over to check another interesting place to try some local delicacies. Just to get more from these driving tours, I shot video of Barcelona streets, and combined that with Fatima's as well. So here's the video of Barcelona streets, nothing much to offer though, just random video snaps. So if you are still curious how it looks like, take a drive!

Watching FC Barcelona Live (2008)

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:47:37 PST

I get the chance to watch FC Barcelona last year in May when I was invited by Alex to Barcelona. Although it was raining most of the time, we spent great few days with Alex and Vanessa who showed us most of the capital of Catalunia. And of course, for me the highlight of the trip was Barca game at mighty Camp Nou stadium! Barca rarely loses at home, but that time they did...

Berliner Dom & demolition of Palace of the Republic

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:45:27 PST

Berliner Dom, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

Berliner Dom and demolition of Palace of the Republic. The palace was built under GDR government, and now Germans decided to get rid of it and rebuild back Berlin Palace that stood once in the same location (and destroyed during the bombing of Berlin).

Berliner Dom and Museum Island

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:44:52 PST

Berliner Dom and Museum Island, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

Another place that you must visit in Berlin is the Museum Island. There are few interesting museums there, as well as another beautiful piece of architecture, Berliner Dom, that survived through WWII Berlin bombings.

Last year I happened to be in one of the museums on the island - Altes Museum.

Reichstag - Berlin

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:42:24 PST

Reichstag, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

Last weekend I spent some time editing and uploading some videos from my past trips. At some point I decided to take short videos besides photos, that way I think I could express myself more and provide better understanding of a certain place or tourist attraction. And add some short narrations. Well, I am not really happy with my narrations, as I somehow get nervous in front of (actually behind) my very own camera :) And I thought I have quite fine English pronunciation, but on the video I don't really like it. Anyway what matters is these amazing places that I'd like to share. So here's another one; famous Reichstag in Berlin!

More Berlin photo stories are here and here.

Buffet lunch in the mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:19:38 PDT

6568_252010415509_593485509_8344087_3660437_n, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

Imagine that you've been hiking all day in the mountains and already dreaming about some tasty snacks and cold refreshments. Right there, right at that moment. One possible way is to carry food and drinks in your backpack. Tiring and the amount you can carry is limited. Another option is to outsource it :)

Imagine a buffet lunch organized in the middle of nature, kilometers away from any shop or restaurant, where smiling waitresses welcome you in English... In Kyrgyzstan, there are companies that turns this into reality.

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral, Antwerpen (Belgium)

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:59:39 PDT

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral, Antwerpen (Belgium), originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

(Wikipedia) The Cathedral of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic parish church in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp was started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos.
The cathedral is on the list of World Heritage Sites.

Video of the Day: Antwerpen, Belgium

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:00:23 PDT

Antwerpen, Belgium, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

According to one legend, there used to live a giant who would cut people's hand and throw them into a river nearby. But one young hero cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. And that's where the name of the city comes from - Antwerpen (Ant=hand, werpen=throw). In the video you see the statue of this young hero throwing the giant's hand.

Antwerpen is another beautiful Belgian city which is famous for being the center of diamond trade industry. Although today there are other centers of diamond trade emerged, the city is still full of diamond shops and trade centers. And mostly these are ruled by Jews. I spent almost half day in a diamond museum that exhibits basically everything you need to know about diamonds; how they are formed, extracted, shaped, traded and so on. You get to know about the types of the diamonds; brilliants, rubins, emeralds, sapphires, etc.

What I also liked is the dynamism and trendiness of the city. It doesn't look boring and grey like Brussels. More colorful and vibrant, it is for sure more happening. And it has a very beautiful historical city center. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral at the Groenplaats is one of the highest gothic cathedrals in Europe, and I can bet that it is one of the most beautiful ones. Main square Grote Markt is another point where you get swept away by the view. It is surrounded by guildhouses, City Hall and the cathedral. Also, the symbol of the city is the statue of a man throwing a hand, and it stands above the fountain in the center of the square.

After visiting Antwerpen and Brugge, I said to myself: "Wow, I never thought that Belgium could be so interesting!"

Video of the Day: Historic Center of Brugge

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:10:13 PDT

Brugge, Belgium, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

A must visit place in Europe - Bruges (Brugge). It's a beautiful city in Belgium that preserved its historical architecture and attracting millions of tourists every year. Historic center of the city is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium.

If you decide to visit Belgium, then put this town on the top of your places to visit. 1 day visit is more than enough to explore the charming neighborhoods of Brugge. The best way to spend your time is to wander around the streets, relax and absorb the atmosphere of the town central square and take a boat tour. Boats are also one type of transportation like in Amsterdam and Venice, and it is sometimes called "Venice of the North". Like Venice, it also used to be one of the global centers of commerce due to its port and importance.

Video of the Day: Russian folklore in Brussels

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:12:23 PDT

MOV05808, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

I came across these guys in the center of Brussels. They were playing Russian folk songs, and the size of the "balalaika" itself was enough to attract the crowd. I love these street performers around Europe. This is just like a dessert after a nice meal.

random awakening

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:44:24 PDT

I somehow lost my motivation to blog and share about my travels recently. All the posts I want to share are piled up in my head, but somehow it is hard to allocate time for it. Just that there are things with much higher priority in my life recently. But here I decided to break the silence and put some random post about the stories that were published in our internal newsletters in DHL.

The first story/interview was in internal newsletter, under the section "Get to know your colleagues" (read it here);

And the second one was published in intranet (read it here);

p.s. I just came back from one month holiday back in Kyrgyzstan. I spent some time in Kazakhstan as well, and I had a brief stay in Ukraine, Kiev. By the way, Ukraine is the 2oth country that I visited. More posts to come soon, hopefully.

Stay healthy!

Next destination: Brussels & Brugge

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:07:38 PDT

Next week I am taking 5 days off and heading to Belgium to visit my old good friend Gitti and others, as well as to chill out in Brussels and Brugge. I'm not really motivated at work these days, so this break might help me a bit to freshen up.

Photo of the Day: Greetings from San Siro, Milano

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:15:15 PDT

San Siro, Milano, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

Who is the drunkest nation?

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:11:42 PDT

Peering into North Korea - The Big Picture - Boston.com

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:26:18 PDT

Peering into North Korea - The Big Picture - Boston.com

I wonder how these people can still bear such a regime. It's like a voluntary slavery, and can't be pitied. Even at the border they must be seeing how Chinese towns/cities are changing. And what they will think when one day (surely it will happen) they will get to see how different South Korea has become? Will these two countries with same nation be able to unify at all even if they get such a chance? We have to wait and see.

Photo of the day: Gothic in Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 06:35:07 PDT

IMG_3227, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

View from the roof part of Duomo Cathedral in Milano

Photo of the day: Children of the evil

noreply@blogger.com (Aibek D.) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:55:22 PDT