I travel because I am fascinated by the world - and especially by its people. Our actions can be powerful and far-reaching, but we also create little moments – beautiful songs or poems, special meals, unique atmospheres - that are not widely-known. Often they say more about a country, and are more rewarding for its visitors to discover, than pop culture.
One of the feelings that motivates me to write is a desire to share these moments with readers who might enjoy them too. On this page I will add links to little-known or underappreciated parts of the cultures of every country that I have been to (and many that I haven’t). Some are connected to people I know, others relate to things I have found on my travels.
Use the “Leave a Reply” box below to add recommendations of your own…
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Kseniya Simonova - ‘A requiem in sand’ . An extraordinary Ukrainian artist, who tells stories through animations in sand. She was the winner of ‘Ukraine’s Got Talent’ in 2009.
ICA Kiev. An English-speaking church in Kyiv, which serves Ukrainians and the city’s foreign community.
Chris Vourlias – travel writer. An American travel writer, who has composed thoughtful and terrifically well-written articles from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Simon Roberts – photographer. A critically-acclaimed British photographer, whose work focuses on human stories.
Yuliya Savicheva – ‘Malo’. A Russian singer, with a song from her album ‘Magnit’.
Besh O Drom – ‘Meggyujtom a Pipam’. An energetic Hungarian folk music group.
Eddy van Wessel – photographer, ‘The Chechens, 1994-2005′. A well-compiled, brutal photo essay of Russia’s war in Chechnya.
Catherine Easterbrook – travel writer. Some charmingly-written tales of South-East Asia and South America.
Ed Vallance – travel writer. A British travel writer who writes articles about remote communities, including Arctic Russia, Mongolia and Micronesia.
Shane Dallas – travel writer and photographer. An Australian traveller, who has written about China, India, and, most recently, North Korea.
Nick Kembel – travel writer and photographer. A Canadian traveller who has lived in Asia for several years, and is currently writing about his journey through the Middle East.
Uncornered Market – travel writers and photographers. An eloquent, funny and comprehensive series of articles about the world’s communities.
Musa Dzhalil – poet. A writer from Tatarstan, Russia, who died in a prisoner of war camp in Germany at the end of the Second World War. The poems on this page are in Russian.
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