Category: Uncategorized
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Guatemala: grassroots voluntary projects making a real difference
In the first round of Guatemala’s 2023 parliamentary elections spoilt ballots topped the polling. Blank votes came in third place. Widespread disenchantment with the ruling classes led to a protest vote of such significant proportions that the spoilt and blank votes outnumbered those garnered by any individual party. The causes are myriad and the roots…
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Costa Rica: Pura Vida
Every country has an army, right? Incorrect. Most countries have an army, but there are a few notable exceptions. Costa Rica is a rare example of a country that is neither a microstate nor an island but has nevertheless completely dispensed with its armed forces. It became one of the first countries in the world…
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CDMX and Guanajuato
Mexico City, Ciudad de México in Spanish and CDMX for short, is the world’s fifth-largest city. You will never run out of things to do in this sprawling, busy but welcoming metropolis. Grandiose squares, lively markets and around 150 museums are found in the centre. Ancient canals and houses of famous artists lie in the…
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Vietnam: Kings and Queens of Karaoke
The Welcome “We only know two songs in English. One by Ronan Keating. The other by Wham.” Choosing Wham resulted in a karaoke session of ‘Last Christmas’, in March. This did not matter. The Vietnamese love karaoke and will use it to welcome you to their home. North or south, urban or rural, many Vietnamese…
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Cambodia
In 1860 French explorer Henri Mouhot hacked his way through the humid jungles of what is nowadays Cambodia, intrigued by tales of a vast, ruined city that had been reclaimed by nature. He discovered an ancient metropolis covered in vines and creepers, attacked by carnivorous banyan trees and forgotten by time. Today, we know this…
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Nepal – healthcare volunteering in a less economically developed setting
There are few places on earth that remain untouched by the technological advances of the last 150 years. Bichhya, a remote village in northern Nepal that lacks roads, plumbing, internet or mains electricity, is one of them. As part of a round-the-world trip I wanted to spend some time volunteering in a medical capacity. Despite…
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Uzbekistan: sand, silk and ancient stories
For millennia, central Asia sat at the most important crossroads on the planet. Spices, silks, precious stones and a myriad of other exotic cargos flowed between east and west on the backs of trusty camels and donkeys. Even more importantly, ideas, technologies, religions and cultures flowed alongside, in the mouths and minds of traders. The…
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Kazakhstan: road trips and Russians
Russians It is night-time on the endless Kazakh steppe, and the guests at a remote homestay are warming themselves around a bonfire. They roast marshmallows on sticks as the light from the flames illuminates their faces. Most are Russian. “I have a mortgage on a flat, and a nice car, back in Moscow. But I…
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Baku
The ancient Greeks believed that Prometheus stole fire from the gods, leading Zeus to nail him to a mountain in the Caucasus as punishment. Roman historians referenced a ‘Land of Fire’ in the same region. For centuries, the people of this area practised Zoroastrianism, constructing temples around flames that leapt out of the ground. Today,…
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Skopje
What had you achieved by the age of 30? Even many great historical figures had limited resumes upon reaching this relatively tender age. All that Julius Caesar had accomplished was to be kidnapped by pirates. Genghis Khan’s curriculum vitae was similarly embarrassing: a major falling out with, and defeat in battle by, a childhood friend.…
Somewhere Must Be Doing It Better 