elf_boy

Xinaliq website http://www.xinaliq.com/
weather http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AJ/42/Xinaliq.html
photo gallery http://christopherjanderson.googlepages.com/azerbaijanphotos

The plan is to book time off work, then closer to that time go on lastminute.com and book a holiday for about 4 days. This way we should get something relatively cheap. I could probably stay with friends if I asked nicely but I don’t want to impose. If we get a package holiday we’ll have secured a room and still be able to visit.

I went with some pretty cool people so it was quite an okay holiday and certainly an experience. A bit depressing at times, how much the locals were lacking some of the basics, but then how much food they brought out when visitors showed up on their doorstep. Visited in Świdnica (Wałbrzyskie), Wroczlaw (Wrocławskie) and a few smaller places including a wooden church in a forest near the Czech border.

ummm, most of my travel companions spent the weekend in a bit of a haze… I was here twice before in the 80s and 90s, but can’t remember when (even though I was totally sober for the entire time).

I once visited for New Year’s Eve, it was an organised home hospitality thing. Very pretty town centre with some sort of a castle or fortress. Of course the local production of cidre was another main reason for checking out the area!

I’ve actually been here more times but couldn’t remember all the dates.

I have to admit I didn’t see very much of the city as I spent most of the time indoors on a training course. The trip up there in the car was very scenic though.

Not a very memorable place.

Kalmykia is a republic in the south-eastern part of the Russian Federation, between the Volga and Don rivers. One of the most interesting facts about this small country is that most of the population are Buddhists. The country’s landscape is dominated by steppes and mountains, which enables horse and sheep breeding. The main natural resource is oil. Elista, the capital city, has a university.

For further reading, there are the country’s official website (http://kalm.ru/en), that of the Kalmyk embassy (http://www.kalmykiaembassy.ru/html/eindex.html)
details on political & economic situation (New Yorker magazine)
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/24/060424fa_fact4
or Bob Iverson’s site that also has a wealth of links (http://www.bobiverson.com/kalmykia/)

I’ve honestly stopped counting how many times I’ve visited – it’s always worth coming back, I almost feel at home there now. Brussels is fabulous if you’re there with the right people!