Continue reading 10 countries Americans need advance visas to visit

10 countries Americans need advance visas to visit originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Travel then and now: Travel to the USSR and GDR

Travel then and now: Travel to the USSR and GDR originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Corruption: The world's 10 worst countries

Continue reading Ten most corrupt countries of the world

Ten most corrupt countries of the world originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mother attempts to flush newborn baby down airplane toilet originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cycling the Silk Road

Cycling the Silk Road originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Visiting Turkmenistan

Visiting Turkmenistan originally appeared on Gadling on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Tokyo, Japan - I don't think anyone is going to argue with this one
  
• Las Vegas, Nevada - true only if you find $5 all-you-can-eat lobster tails to be eccentric
• Ashgabat, Turkmenistan - a country with flaming holes and an eccentric dictator definitely qualifies in our book
• Amsterdam, The Netherlands - whoa, cannabis and sex shows. So weird!
• Guanajuato, Mexico - I had always thought of Guanajuato as a charming Mexican colonial city, but that's wrong. Apparently they have mummies. Mummies!

Lonely Planet names top 10 "weird" cities originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Turkmenistan's "Door to Hell" originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gambia's great, Senegal plagiarized, and Libya didn't even try. So says a fun new evaluation of the flags of every nation in the world. In an admittedly unscientific ranking of the world's flags, high marks are given for good color schemes and originality, while grades are lowered for the presence of weapons, writing, and "too many stars."

Here's the unflattering commentary on Saint Lucia's flag: "Best corporate logo. Makes me want to invest money there."

The flag of Turkmenistan is described as vomit inducing, while the lowest-ranking flag, that of the Northern Marianas Islands, "appears to have been constructed from clip art."

I've always been partial to the flag of South Africa, while I find the flag of Guam to be hideous beyond comprehension. In my book, Bhutan's flag (seen above) wins the award for most bad-ass, barely edging out Mozambique's, which features an AK-47.

Check out the highly entertaining rankings here, in order from best to worst. The ranking methodology is described here.

Ranking the world's best and worst flags originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Turkmenistan

Capital: Ashgabat

Location: North of Iran and Afghanistan, it shares a Western border with the Caspian Sea.

In a nutshell: Under President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan became one of the most bizarre, isolated countries in the world. The authoritarian Niyazov, who was surrounded by an enormous cult of personality, had a propensity for naming things after himself: months, mountains, cities, and even a meteorite. His death in 2006 cleared the way for new president Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow, who has since enacted some modest reforms.

How you know it: You once chipped a tooth while trying to pronounce the name of the country's president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow.

Interesting factoid: In 2004, Niyazov prohibited the men in his country from having long hair or beards. In a rare moment of good judgment, he also outlawed ballet and opera performances, saying they were "not a part of Turkmen culture."

Make sure to check out: The Neutrality Arch (pictured above), located in Ashgabat, features a golden statue of Niyazov which rotates in a slow circle so that it always faces the sun. Oh-kay.

See also: Part 1 of this series, Kyrgyzstan, and Part 2, Kazakhstan.

Keeping the 'Stans Straight, part 3: Turkmenistan originally appeared on Gadling on Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There is something terribly crazy about totalitarian governments and their sense of architecture: monumental, gaudy, pompous, and, more often than not, in extraordinarily poor taste.

That's whey the fine folks over at Esquire Magazine have compiled a list of what they feel are the world's most "colossal monument[s] to narcissism."

The Seven Wonders of the Totalitarian World, as you might imagine, is a rather bizarre assortment of architectural toy things by those drunk with power and devoid of taste. I can't say I agree with all of them--there are certainly others that should make the list such as Kim Il Sung's massive bronze statue in Pyongyang (above). But the ones that are included are still worth checking out nonetheless. And remember, when dictators fall, as Esquire points out, their statues soon follow--so be sure to visit soon.

Fist Crushing U.S. Fighter Plane, Libya
Monument to President Laurent Kabila, Congo
Lenin's Mausoleum, Russia
Monument to President Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan
Mao Leading the Chinese People's Liberation Army, China
The Hands of Victory, Iraq
Monument to the Founding of the North Korean Worker's Party, North Korea

Seven (screwed up) wonders of the totalitarian world originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kazakhstan Replacing Cyrillic Alphabet with Latin One originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the death of Turkmenistan dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, the country he ruled for 21 years has announced that it will be softening its stance on foreign tourism, easing visa requirements, and developing coastal resorts along the Caspian Sea.

Niyazov was a bit of a nut, but a rather dangerous nut, during his long rule (that's him above, by the way, gold-plated and part of a fountain). For the most part, only the locals were affected by his craziness (such as having to recite the great leader's poetry in order to pass the national driving test).

Tourists, however, had to endure his bizarreness with tough visa requirements and, according to an article in the Moscow Times, "a law allowing [Turkmenistan] to deport foreigners for 'immoral behavior.'" This is hardly the type of law you want hanging over your head at a beach resort.

So, for whatever reason, the new kinder and more benevolent leader of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, now plans to make his country more tourist friendly. Let's all do him a favor and visit!

Death of Turkmen Dictator leads to ease of Travel Restrictions originally appeared on Gadling on Wed, 23 May 2007 07:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Word for the Travel Wise (11/10/06) originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Word for the Travel Wise (09/04/06) originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 04 Sep 2006 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Amsterdam
• Ireland
• Costa Rica
• India
• Vietnam

• Middle East & Northern Africa
• The Mediterranean Coast
• The United States
• Latin America & the Caribbean
• States of the former U.S.S.R.
  

SmarterTravel: Best & Worst Travel Destinations for Women originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Central Asia Refresher originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

All this talk of Central Asia has gotten me all excited about revisiting this strange corner of the planet. I spent a few months in the area but only a couple of hours passing through the least visited country of this rarely visited region: Turkmenistan. The main highway through Central Asia initially disregarded frontiers since all of the Central Asian republics were within the Soviet Union. So, my only glance of Turkmenistan was through the dusty windows of a bus as we detoured briefly (and illegally for me, without having a visa) into the country before heading back into Uzbekistan.

With the hope of going back to experience more of this country, I found a recent and fascinating article in the Independent (London) that paints a bleak, but realistic account of the challenges and rewards facing travelers who venture into this part of the world. Journalist Lucy Ash experienced the horror of visiting a local dentist, marveled at the surreal capital of Ashgabat (which she describes as "a cross between Stalinism and Las Vegas"), and relished in the joy of wandering through Merv, a 2,500 year old town that was once a major stopping point on the ancient Silk Road.

For me, the most attractive draw of Turkmenistan would be the opportunity to visit one of the few remaining countries where a Cult of Personality is still actively practiced. President Saparmurat Niyazov, the self-appointed "Turkmenbashi" has littered the country with countless portraits and statues of himself (see photo above). He has renamed towns after his mother and requires those taking driving tests to recite his poetry. Check out this hilarious BBC account of just how crazy this guy is.

Red Corner: Harsh, but Intriguing Turkmenistan originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 02 Feb 2006 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.