Something that surprised me when I mentioned to people that I was going to North Korea (or had already been when I returned) were the number of people that told me it was not possible to do so. Now, I could understand this if it were phrased as a question – something along the lines … Continue reading
The title of this post channels George Orwell and is a commentary on the picture below: The picture was taken just outside of the airport in Pyongyang, North Korea. Readers are no doubt familiar with the poverty found in North Korea, but despite this and despite North Korea being a communist country, the North Korean … Continue reading
A horse grazing on the edge of a Kyrgyz village where we stopped for lunch along the border with Tajikistan… Continue reading
A meeting with His Excellency, The President Of Molossia in the Office of the President… There will be more to follow on our recent visit to the Republic of Molossia. However, The Velvet Rocket Staff are departing shortly for Xinjiang and North Korea. So, the Molossia content will, regrettably, have to wait for our return. Continue reading
The small size of Shebaa Farms – only a mile or so wide and several miles long – belies its significance. The next war between Israel and Hezbollah could very well start here… In 1926, when France created Lebanon, they drew the border with Syria in such a manner that it severed a number of … Continue reading
Caspar David Friedrich Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, 1818 In German: Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer It currently resides in the Kunsthalle Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany. ***** Does anyone else find the mysterious wilderness of fog-bound crags tantalizing? Continue reading
Made famous by the Bret Harte story, Outcasts of Poker Flat, which actually has nothing to do with the real town, the name “Poker Flat” will likely at least have name recognition for many people. And to expand on the previous sentence, although the Poker Flat in the story bears no resemblance to the real … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 