After 48 hours in the Vatnajökull region , ArcticTropic traversed Route 1 into Northeast Iceland – now less than 100 miles from the Arctic Circle. Though days are getting longer by over 7 minutes each day – the weather is very wintry.

Black Tower Beach

Sturdy Viking Horses. Direct descendants from the Year 900.

High atop the cliffs.

Sea Harvest.

Snow 12 Months A Year.

Reindeer – It’s What’s For Dinner !

An amazing waterfall coming off the Glacier this afternoon in South Iceland.Today was the first day – actually only a half day – on the Ring Road around Iceland.

A boiling caldera.

1000 Year Old Viking house.

The Geysir Erupts !

Volcanic rock formations , recently formed.

Icy River !

2014 was an incredible travel year for ArcticTropic. We explored Myanmar ( Burma), European Russia,Siberia,Mongolia,China,Japan,British Colombia,Canada,Singapore,Philippines and Panama. Here’s 184 clips in 11 minutes. This version is natural sound,a musical version will be uploaded soon.

Japan does not normally conjure images of adventure, but ArcticTropic stopped in for several days to be totally immersed in this vibrant modern/ancient culture.

Tokyo is always the City of the Future.

Gundam ! Japan s the world’s merchandising capital.

Food choices not found elsewhere.

In vibrant Shinjuku ,where we stayed.

The best neon anywhere.

Our flight trajectory did not take us over North Korea even though we were in a Chinese plane. We passed about 50 miles south of that path.

After flying for over two days – from Miami to New York to Frankfurt to Singapore to Yangon – ArcticTropic then boarded an Air KBZ ATR 72 prop plane to Bagan. I arrived Friday late afternoon on March 14,2014. The temperature was a dusty 104 ( 40 C) when I got off the plane. In the next few days it would get up to 107 in the day, then down to about 78 at night.

A combination of a silent electric scooter and a GoPro strapped to my forehead made for great stealth shooting (video) opportunities. Village inhabitants did not realize my presence till I was already gone.

Baby Burmese.

Crab Curry.

Houseboat.

Next Stop – 1948 !

Offerings To Lord Buddha.

Burmese is written in one of the 19 Sanskrit alphabets.

Next Stop – 1648 !

Searing heat bakes the riverbed,now 20 feet above the current waterline. By August this spot will be under 20 feet of water.

Lunch Break.

After 12 days in Myanmar, ArcticTropic returned to the United States. There was an 8 hour layover in Singapore. Customs is very quick and a colleague gave a tour around the dynamic City – Nation.

The food is excellent – a combination of all Asian cuisines . For dinner we dined at the exclusive Tanglin Club, a bastion of Empire Days.

The next leg was 12 hours to Frankfurt, with great views of Afghanistan, Iran and Ukraine in the middle of the night. A quick breakfast in Frankfurt then on to freezing New York. The temperature was 25 degrees ( -5 C) with a 40mph wind. I had no coat after being in Myanmar where it was 107 ( 43 C) . Finally there was a late night arrival in Miami and the Myanmar journey comes to an official end.

ArcticTropic’s next journey takes place in late May – to Moscow,Siberia,Mongolia,China and Japan.

Below are some Mongolian food pictures. The food is hearty and hot – perfect for the eight month winters where temperatures can drop to 60 below zero.

Goat Porridge – milk and meat from just outside the ger.

Kumys – mildly alcoholic ( less than beer ) fermented horse milk.

Horse.

Mutton Dumplings.

In addition to our adventurous evening at Donghuamen Night Market we encountered and ate some rather unusual items at traditional restaurants throughout the country. Above – frog viscera – still alive – about to be flash boiled – delicious once cooked.

Snake ( On The Left )

Pheasant

Donkey – Tastes a lot like ” Mongolian Beef ” in Chinese restaurants in the US.

Turtle – Absolutely Delicious !

Snout

A first – a meal so spicy I could not finish it !

Skipped This Entree.

The Hen

We arrived in Beijing at 5;15 this morning. After a day spent meeting
with our Beijing team, getting train tickets for Mongolia and getting
organized in general we went for an early dinner at Donghuamen Night
Market. On the menu – Tarantula.

Scorpion

Grasshopper

Pigeon

A walk through the market

The Great Helmsmen

Yesterday and last night’ s flight was upgraded to Business for the 10
hour Zurich to Beijing leg – Thanks Swiss !

Though it is mid October temperatures in Bulgaria are springlike, in the upper 70s during the day.

A view from my hotel, high above the city.

This woman has seen history – has lived under Ottomans,Russians,Germans, Communists and now under a free regime.

Haggling the price down a few Stotinki.

Behind the ancient doors. Quirky wireless connection in the Hotel Lepzig here in Plovdiv makes it impossible to upload more pictures at the moment.