In my travels, I find large and small wonders almost everywhere. But, um, Romania isn’t doing it for me, although I guess it should. The capital, Bucharest, is full of beautiful historic buildings. Its Old Town is gorgeous and lively, with a lot of young people hanging out at cafes and bars. And the Romanian countryside is spectacular, with forests and mountains and charming villages. But….
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Yesterday, I visited Transnistria, a country in the middle of Moldova. At least, it acts like a country. It has a border patrol, a military, a government bureaucracy, and currency. It calls itself a country. And actually, it no longer calls itself “Transnistria” because its leader directed residents to use its Russian name, “Pridnistrovie.” This is one of the most complicated cases of national identity I’ve ever heard of, or actually never heard of.
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I am in the capital of Moldova, which I bet most people don’t know is Chisinau. I didn’t. Moldova is one of the least touristed places in Europe (after Liechtenstein it seems). Moldova wants you to visit. It will stamp your passport without even looking to see whether your face matches your passport photo. Moldova’s marketing one-liner is “Discover the Unexpected,” and I’ve already definitely discovered some unexpected.
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I’m only a tourist here but, coming from dignified Baku, I get the feeling Tbilisi is quite a hedonist. This city stays up late, drinks a lot, eats a lot, and smokes a lot. Georgians are mostly Eastern Orthodox, but the churches are sharing a fair amount of real estate with bars, shisha parlors, spas, and casinos.
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Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan, and wow, the city has been a huge surprise to me. It is surely one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever visited. It is a combination of Paris (but cleaner) and Dubai (but with more personality). Elegant old neighborhoods border modern architectural wonders. It has two beautiful coast lines on the Caspian Sea, and it’s probably among the most walkable large cities in the world.
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I walked to Pakistan this week. Because Pakistan and India have an antagonistic relationship, you can’t fly or drive between the two countries. But you can walk, and the only place to do that is at Wagah Border, about 10 miles from Lahore, Pakistan.
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Amritsar is a city near the northwestern part of India in the region called the Punjab. It’s the home of the Sikh religion and the Sikhs’ most important place of worship, Harmandir Sahib, also called the Golden Temple. This is not a normal temple. In addition to being a holy place of prayer and reflection, its kitchen and hundreds of volunteers serve more than 100,000 free meals every day. This work is part of the Sikh philosophy of “sewa” or service, and the reason I came to Amritsar.
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Bhaktapur was one of the three Nepalese kingdoms that united to become the Nepali nation in 1768. It’s a few miles southeast of Kathmandu, small and peaceful. In the historic old city, street dogs ask for a hug and the kids hang out on the ancient temples doing homework. In the several plazas, holy places and palaces show off a variety of architectural styles, mostly Newari, Nepali and Indian. Most have been rebuilt after a devastating earthquake toppled many of them in 2015.
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Camino Milagro 