Turkey Protests (Alternatives International)

I love Istanbul. It’s a city without comparison. A city spread across two continents, a grandeur that is fitting of its culture, history and mega metropolis geography.

I also love Turkey despite growing up with Armenians. It’s a fascinating and unique country, and I enjoy writing about it. A country that is difficult to simplify and deconstruct into neat categories, and declare that they’re just like someone else. If I had to, Turkey ends up resembling Russia the most, despite their glaring superficial contrasts.

North Korea’s Nuclear Craze (Alternatives International)

I’m just going to come out and say it: North Korea is bad.

It’s true. They’re really bad. Like trouble making children.

But they’re not the bully in the playground. They’re much more like the child that tortures insects. The kid bullies avoid because they don’t want to encounter that world of strange and bizarre. Plus, who knows what kind of filth could be picked up?

Jeep Trekking: The Consequences of a Road on the Annapurna Circuit (Nepal)

“The jeep road to Manang is no good for trekkers and no good for locals – no good for no one!” proclaims an exasperated Purna Gurung. He recently opened a guesthouse in Chame, Nepal, along the world’s most famous trek: the Annapurna Circuit. He blames the newly-built road as the source of his business struggles.

“I don’t know why they built the road, or who it benefits. The government decides, and that’s all.”