Hey everyone, it’s been a while since I last gave you one of these diary episodes. The last time was in late March when I was in Buenos Aires. Now it’s June, and so much has happened since then. Let me fill you in on my vagabonding life since my last diary entry.
After spending three months in Buenos Aires, I took a cruise across the ocean to Italy, with stops in Barcelona and Marseille. Both cities were amazing. From there, I went to Florence but only stayed a few days because I wanted to get to Istanbul. I’ve been to Turkey many times but never to Istanbul. I spent around three weeks exploring that incredible city.
Next, I headed down to Beirut in Lebanon for a tour. In Beirut, I met up with my new friend Peter, whom I met in Buenos Aires on the same day I did my last diary entry. We spent two days with a private driver exploring Lebanon before joining the rest of our group for a Nomadmania trip to Syria. We toured Damascus and other parts of the country. I recorded over 50 hours of audio and video during this trip, which I’ll share once I’ve edited it.
After Syria, I went back to Lebanon and then flew to Spain for a TBEX conference in San Sebastian, in the Basque Country. I also spent a few days in Bilbao before heading to Almaty, Kazakhstan. That was just about a week ago. I had a few days alone in Kazakhstan before taking a domestic flight and a minibus to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
And now, here I am in Khiva, Uzbekistan, staying inside the walls of this ancient town. I’m traveling with my good friend Cynthia from Florida. This is our fifth trip together. We’ve previously traveled to Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Togo, Benin, São Tomé, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Australia, and New Zealand. This time, we’re exploring Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
This episode is also available as a video
We started our journey in Uzbekistan, visiting Tajikistan, and now we’re in the western part of Uzbekistan. Tomorrow, we’ll explore more of this region before crossing the border into Tajikistan and eventually making our way back to Almaty, Kazakhstan. From there, we plan to rent a car and road trip to Kyrgyzstan to see the stunning landscapes.
By the end of June, I’ll be flying to Denmark to see my family. My daughter is graduating, and my brother is turning 50, so there will be celebrations. During my cruise, I realized my eyesight was getting worse, especially in my right eye. An eye exam in Istanbul revealed that I have severe cataracts in my right eye and mild cataracts in my left. I’ll be getting surgery on both eyes in Denmark to restore my vision. While I’m a bit nervous, I’m excited about seeing clearly again and experiencing colors more vividly.
Hello! Some cute kids just approached me, and they’re trying to give me a hundred dollars, but it’s not real. Thank you, but I don’t need more fake money.
That’s a quick update on my travels. I haven’t had much time to edit a regular episode due to all this traveling. I did manage to do some work while on the cruise, so you’ll find episodes from Cyprus in the feed. I’m currently working on an episode from Elkhorn, Iowa, which I hope you’ll find amusing and interesting. There are many more episodes in the pipeline, including those from Syria and the Central Asian “Stans.”
My name is Palle Bo, and I’ve got to keep moving. See you next time!
I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Please tell me where are you and what are you doing as you listen to this episode? You can either send me an email on listener@theradiovagabond.com, go to TheRadioVagabond.com/Contact or send me a voice message by clicking on the banner.
Either way, I would love to hear from you. It’s so nice to know who’s on the other end of this.
SPONSOR
A special thank you to my sponsor, Hotels25.com, who always provide me with the best, most affordable accommodation wherever I am in the world.
Hotels25 scans for prices on the biggest and best travel sites (like Booking.com, Hotels.com, Agoda and Expedia) in seconds. It finds deals from across the web and put them in one place. Then you just compare your options for the same hotel, apartment, hostel or home and choose where you book.
When you book with Hotels25, you get access to 5,000,000 hotel deals. And it’s “best price guaranteed.”
PRODUCED BY RADIOGURU
The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. Reach out if you need help with your podcast.
