"Backpackin Mac on Safari with Mari" Backpackin_Mac's Profile

Mari and I met in Brisbane, Australia from where we then moved to her native Japan and lived in a small town in western Japan for three years. We packed our bags and headed on the road for the better part of a year before heading to Maris hometown of Kyoto for 1 1/2 years. We moved back to Brisbane in September of 2003.

During our time together I have talked Mari into travelling to the places you see on our travel map. We have had many good (and bad) experiences which you can read about in our travelogues.

Although we travel quite rough I am very lucky to have someone like Mari who never complains no matter what crazy trip I talk her into.

A public bus from Tashkent to Bukhara

Whenever we get the chance our preferred style of travelling is to start in one place and then using local transport make our way through different cultures and end in a completely different environment from when we started.

In this way we have travelled from London to Paris, Amsterdam, through Eastern Europe to Istanbul. From Istanbul through Syria and Lebanon, Jordan until we reached Cairo.

Another fun trip we were able to do when my three year contract in Japan ended we caught a ferry from Osaka to Shanghai and travelled from there to Chendu and on to Lhasa. From Lhasa we travelled via Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu. From there to Chitwan, Pokhara and then to the over stimulation of India with "rests" in Varanasi, Calcutta and Puri among others.

A friendly mosque keeper in Northern Tajikistan

Our most recent trip was from Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Khujand and Istaravshan in Tajikistan Then onto the Fergana valley, Osh and the mountains around Jalalabad in Kyrgyzstan and then back to Tashkent before travelling onwards to the silk road cities of Bukhara and Samarqand (with side trips here and there) before heading back to Tashkent where the journey ended with a flight back to Japan. Unfortunately we did all this in the middle of summer ('03) in daily temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius. We didn't do this by choice but when my contract in Kyoto finished it was our only chance before we settled back in Brisbane. We recommend the trip but not the season. Very hot but many chances to eat tasty watermelons.

For our next trip we are planning to fly to Istanbul. From there catch a ferry to Odessa, Ukraine. From Odessa travel to Moldova via Transdniester. From there to Bucharest via Brasov. Bucharest to Istanbul where we will fly back to Brisbane. As we have spent a bit of time in Bucharest and Istanbul this trip will concentrate on Moldova and northern Romania.

Mari in Kyrgyzstan

Due to Mari and I finally biting the bullet and having found "careers" for the first time in the last couple of months we will only have four weeks for our next trip. Not as long as we would liked but it is all we can manage. Our days of long term travelling are over....maybe.

This site is a work in progress so we hope you will all come and check it out from time to time.

Mari and I will be putting up many travel tips and cheap accommodation info which may be helpful for some people. Also we are uploading our travelogues which contain the highs and lows of our journeys.

We hope you enjoy reading our pages and appreciate all comments.

Happy travelling.

Macca and Mari

"If you tremble indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine" - Ernesto Che Guevarra

Intro Updated Oct 21, 2004
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Comments (12)

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petwouters Feb 8, 2007 at 12:57 AM

Man - this page rocks! I have a passion for Central Asia even though I haven't ever been there :( but your pages are surely very motivational to once undertake the trip I want to make! Great pages, I'll be visiting them regularly!
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321a Feb 28, 2006 at 4:16 AM

Happy Birthday to you! Best wishes!
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pecaspeca Jan 29, 2006 at 10:24 AM

Hi...I love your photo of the public bus...I think it's my favorite of all vt's photos...for now.
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Loubna Sep 13, 2005 at 5:27 AM

Great homepage and as read through it I remembered I have a watermelon in my fridge mmmhhh :o)
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travelife May 26, 2004 at 4:14 PM

Amazing HP.. like those central asian destinations...
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shrimp56 May 11, 2004 at 6:02 AM

You've ranged far and wide -- and how nice to have a good companion to experience it with you!!!
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hevbell May 11, 2004 at 5:14 AM

thanks for the comment on my homepage! I think you have been a bit more adventurous than me in your travelling though!! :)
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dr.firas May 11, 2004 at 5:07 AM

Hello Kuri ;-)) Yes being a dentist has brought me good travels ;-) bests :-)
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margaretvn May 9, 2004 at 2:12 AM

what a fantastic homepage - i really enjoyed reading about your wonderful travels and your way of writing is great.
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soundsgoodtome Jan 10, 2004 at 12:13 AM

Macca, you have been to so many amazing places and have wonderful stories to tell. I hope you will have lots of pictures to show and travel tips to give in the near future.