Kashgar Articles

Lawar: a Balinese Delicacy

2012-05-08T13:53:09+10:00

If you’ve ever been to Bali, you’ve probably sampled a version of the local savory delicacy called lawar. One of the island’s most iconic dishes, lawar literally means “thinly sliced” or “finely chopped”, and consists of chopped meat and vegetables mixed together with fragrant spices and herbs. It is typically served at important Balinese events and ceremonies. However, visitors to Bali can easily find different versions of lawar in most restaurants and warungs...

Balinese House Compounds: a Microcosom of the Universe

2012-03-21T16:43:53+10:00

A visitor to the smaller towns and villages of Bali would be forgiven for thinking that temples adorn every street corner and all of the spaces in between. High walls with the smallest of doorways allow only the briefest of views by passers-by, while above the walls there are tantalizing glimpses of exquisitely carved shrines, some no larger than birdcages. However, these are all in fact private residences, more properly called compounds or karangs, which may house several generations of Balinese families at one time.

River of Dreams, River of Destruction

2011-11-09T15:02:03+10:00

This year’s Loy Krathong festival in Thailand takes on a poignant significance with Bangkok submerged in floods...

Story by By Andrew Forbes and Colin Hinshelwood. Photo: Celebrating Loy Krathong in Lumpini Park, Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Robertpollai

Today I Went Down Some Spooky Old Stairs: a Photo Essay

2011-10-28T17:23:33+10:00

And in the spirit of spooky month, Kashgar presents a guest article by photo journalist Ruykyu Mike , who lives in Japan and specialises in photos of wildlife, festivals and travel sites. Sharing tips for travelers with a twist of humour is part of the life Mike loves on the Island of Okinawa.

The Bawdy Graffiti of Pompeii and Herculaneum

2011-06-02T12:16:15+10:00

Everyone is now familiar with the recent release of quite explicit photos and service charges found on the walls of a brothel excavated at Pompeii, the resort town destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CCE. Now for your viewing pleasure comes a list of bawdy graffiti scrawled on the walls of Herculaneum and Pompeii, which confirm, if we didn't already know it, that the Romans were people exactly like us, albeit slightly more obsessed with defecation...or on second thoughts, maybe not. Here is a summary of some of the funniest and rudest graffiti translated so far...

To Give or Not to Give When Travelling Abroad: the Issue of Begging

2011-02-08T16:49:36+10:00

Visit Angkor Wat today and you are met with a shrill chorus of "one dollar one dollar one dollar" from hordes of begging children, while in Ethiopia the unrelenting chant is "you you you you". In Cambodia, older children organise groups of smaller ones to jump up and down in front of photo vistas; Nepalese kids pull and punch you until you hand over "protection money". These resourceful strategies are the new front line in what has become one of the most common and frustrating dilemmas faced by modern travellers, that of begging.

Photo courtesy of Gregor Younger

Places Not to Visit

2011-01-25T16:30:36+10:00

Some people would say that any travel is good travel. But here at Kashgar we beg to differ. There are some places on planet Earth that are so awful, dispirited, sorry or wretched that one night in the place feels like a year and the memory lingers with you forever...

Book Review: Begums, Thugs and Englishmen: the Journals of Fanny Parkes.

2010-05-26T00:00:00+10:00

Fanny Parkes was the daughter of a British colonial officer and the wife of a civil servant who came to India with her husband in 1822 and stayed for twenty four years, traveling extensively throughout Raj India, often on her own, and assimilating all aspects of Indian society and culture. When she returned home she published her memoirs at the behest of her mother, producing an 800 plus page edifice called Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque, During Four and Twenty Years in the East; With Revelations of Life in the Zenana...

Where Would You Like to Go Today: Timbuktu, Legendary City of Gold

2009-11-12T00:00:00+10:00

In the 14^th Century CE, fantastical stories were circulating through the civilized world about a city in Northern Africa where the streets were literally paved with gold. While Western foreigners finally managed to "discover" the city in the early part of the 19h Century, the image of Timbuktu as a city of myth and legend has persisted to the present day: in 2006 a survey conducted among 150 young Britons found 34% did not even believe the town existed...

Bernie's Trip to Mexico

2009-11-12T00:00:00+10:00

Want the lowdown on our latest buying trip? Bernie visits the famous colonial silver capital of Taxco to see what's new in Mexican silver jewellery

Beijing Bicycles: Cycling the Silk Road

2009-09-28T00:00:00+10:00

With China's relentless pursuit of 'the car', bicycles are becoming a rarer and rarer sight, at least in the main cities of its eastern seaboard. However, that shouldn't put off those keen to keep their carbon footprint low whilst following our route on the Silk Road...

Paul Wilson has been traveling the Silk Road for over ten years and has written several books and articles on the route. He has passed through Kashgar many times and on moving to Sydney came across our version of Kashgar in Bondi Junction. His latest book: The Silk Roads (Trailblazer Publications) is available nationwide and also in our store.

Where would you like to go today? The Pushkar Camel Fair

2009-09-14T00:00:00+10:00

Pushkar is a small town nestled in the hills north west of Ajmer next to Pushkar Lake in the state of Rajasthan, India. Considered one of the five sacred dhams or pilgrimage sites for devout Hindus, the town is better known to foreign travelers as the home of the famous Pushkar Camel Fair...

Stories From the Silk Road: Hats Off to The Silk Road

2009-07-28T00:00:00+10:00

Paul Wilson has been traveling the Silk Road for over ten years and has written several books and articles on the subject. Paul has just returned from Kashgar and writes "there have been several events in Xinjiang recently which have dampened my spirits (see our story on these events here), but I did manage to seek out a new hat for my collection, a Kyrgyz 'ak kalpak ', and it has inspired this month's article 'Hats off to the Silk Road', a discussion on just why the headgear to be found along this route is an anthropologist's dream.

Kathmandu Guest House Time Capsule

2009-07-20T00:00:00+10:00

Recently the Guest House contacted some of it's regular guests with an interesting proposition - they plan to create a Time Capsule, to be established and sealed on January 1, 2011 and opened on January 1, 2050, and are asking their guests to place something inside, either for a future loved-one or for future guests of the hotel...

Foreign Correspondent Program on Kashgar's Old City

2009-07-20T00:00:00+10:00

Rob, the Australian Broadcasting Commission's cameraman in China, tells us that an ABC film crew have just returned from the city of Kashgar where they have been filming a story for the program Foreign Correspondent, Australia's premier international current affairs series. It's about the demolition of Kashgar's Old City and the historical importance of this magical place on the old Silk Road...(Picture courtesy of Ben Paarmann)

Stories From the Silk Road: the Silk Road by Rail

2009-05-13T00:00:00+10:00

Paul Wilson has been travelling the Silk Road for over ten years and has written several books and articles on the route. He has passed through Kashgar many times and on moving to Sydney came across our version of Kashgar in Bondi Junction. His latest book: The Silk Roads (Trailblazer Publications) is available nationwide and also in our store. Each month he will recount some of his adventures and offer advice to our website visitors. This month's article is The Silk Road by Rail, a look at the joys and perils of train travel on the magical Silk Road!

Stories from the Silk Road: Sunday Markets

2009-03-30T14:10:32+10:00

The Silk Road has served as an important communication link between the cultures and economies of Asia, Europe and Africa for thousands of years. Today one can travel the Silk Road and still find evidence of the people, ideas, and goods that helped transform our world. This month's article by Paul Wilson is on Sunday Markets, a discussion of where real bargains can still be hunted out on today's Silk Road.

Our Buying Trip to India 2008

2008-05-31T14:28:08+10:00

In March of this year it was time for us to make our way back to India and once again select a container’s worth of knickknacks, jewellery, collectables and antique furniture for our store. On this occasion we planned a very tight trip, giving ourselves only two weeks to buy everything we needed from India for the coming retail year....

CONTINUED...

A Buying Trip to the Philippines

2008-01-10T12:08:58+10:00

One of the most frequent comments we get from our customers is how much they would like to join us on our buying trips. Read on about one particular trip to the Philippines and see what our job is REALLY like..