#kazakhstan-travel

#kazakhstan-travel

The Theth-Valbonë trail in Albania connects two breathtaking national parks via a scenic mountain pass, suitable for all kinds of hikers.

Planning the trip, however, filled me with apprehension. Our boys were no longer little travelers content to trail along behind us through forts and museums. They were teenagers now-15 and 13-with strong opinions, independent streaks, and a finely tuned radar for boredom.

An artwork is not created when an artist finishes it. It is created when it's visible to an audience and when it becomes discourse. If there's no ecosystem, nothing works. Central Asia is in the midst of an unprecedented investment in such art infrastructure, including new permanent venues, purpose-built museums, and international biennials.

Travel broadens the mind thing has been knocking around since long before time immemorial, but I'm pretty sure for Seneca, among others, travel meant pottering about with great effort, getting to know other peoples, their ways of speech, habits, and foibles.

This dual ambition-questioning their own practice while contributing to a broader cultural discourse-frames each project as an evolving process, not a fixed outcome. The term "workshop" embedded in their name, New Almaty Architects Workshop, reflects this spirit of continuous testing and learning. Interiors become platforms for material research, atmospheric exploration, and critical self-evaluation. In a regional context where architectural discourse remains underrepresented internationally, their work emerges as a sustained effort to articulate identity through built experience.

Singapore has a special way of blending old traditions with modern life, especially evident in its historic neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam. There, colorful shophouses, temples, and mosques sit alongside cafes and boutiques, while long-standing food and craft traditions remain part of daily life.

Rising from the ground as a cultivated landscape of learning, the Uzbekistan Pavilion "Garden of Knowledge" at Expo 2025 Osaka translates national transformation into a spatial and material narrative.

Rather than imposing itself on this remote terrain, the resort scatters a constellation of compact, sphere-fronted cabins across the landscape, each one placed with surgical intention over patches of degraded sand where vegetation has long struggled to take root. By positioning guest suites directly atop eroding sand depressions, the architects aim to arrest soil loss and give the steppe a chance to regenerate beneath and around the structures.

Announcing the decision on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, OCA President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamas Al Thani thanked Kazakhstan for its commitment to and development of winter sports. "Almaty is a city with deep connections to winter sports and we have very fond memories of when we last hosted the Asian Winter Games in 2011," he said at a press conference. "We have no doubt we will build on this legacy and deliver an unforgettable Games in 2029," Al Thani added.

The best train journeys in the world have an intangible allure about them. Since the dawn of time, the romance of railways has seduced poets, spellbound novelists, and dealt directors the perfect hand for capturing fleeting friendships, illicit affairs, and all manner of crimes and capers. A ticket is not just a permit to ride, it's permission to trespass on the intimacies of other people's lives.

Its historic architecture is known for its courtyards, domes, and blue ceramics, typical of its Timurid heritage. The capital of Uzbekistan today, it was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, before becoming a Soviet republic. While part of the Soviet Union, the city became an example of modernization, celebrating socialist achievements in Asia. A devastating earthquake in 1966 accelerated this modernization as the city was reconstructed, leading to many of the modernist monuments for which Tashkent is known today.

From walking gently through Kotor's ancient streets to building a soulful, high-end life abroad, this guide blends mindful travel with smart expat strategy.

A week's hiking in Jotunheimen national park (230 miles north of Oslo) last summer brought me tranquillity and peace. During four days of challenging hiking and wild camping through the area we saw hardly anyone else, having entire lush green valleys and still glacial lakes to ourselves. We were fortunate to have stunning weather throughout and, despite it being July, still had a reasonable amount of snow to traverse.

AllTrails, a hiking app with trail maps and reviews, dug into insights from their 90 million-plus members and team of trail experts to spotlight lesser-known places where the trail alone is worth planning a trip around. Their guide, Travel-Worthy Trails for 2026, spotlights eight unexpected destinations around the world where the trail is the destination.

Albania is a hidden gem in Europe, known for its stunning natural beauty, rich history, and warm hospitality. From the pristine beaches of the Albanian Riviera to the rugged peaks of the Accursed Mountains, there's something for every traveler.

The city is remarkably walkable - there will be no need to take public transit or taxis once you've dropped your bags at your hotel - but there are a few key things to know when visiting Skopje, including the best places to get rakija, the historical sites that'll help you understand the country better and where to find the best speakeasy-adjacent casinos.