My first trip OUTSIDE Europe was to India:

April 2003

Delhi-Varanasi-Delhi-Leh-Delhi

This was the first and the last trip when I travelled with a companion. From then on, I traveled alone. And loved it!

December 2003-January 2004

Argentina (based Buenos Aires)

Over New Year:

Buenos Aires - Arica (Northern Chile) - San Pedro de Atacama (Atacama desert, Chile)- Salta (Argentina) – Buenos  Aires.

February –April 2004

Based in Delhi, India.

took trips to:

Jaipur

Agra (Taj Mahal)

Haridwar-Rishikesh

Srinagar/Kashsmir

September-October 2004

Pakistan (!!)

Islamabad-Skardu-Gilgit-Karimabad-Passu-Gilgit-Chitral-Mingora-Peshawar-Lahore-Islamabad.

November 2004 – based in Moscow, Russia.

Spent a long weekend in Uzbekistan:

Tashkent-Samarkand-Shahrezabz-Tashkent.

December 2004-January 2005

I returned to Pakistan! So much I loved my first trip:

Karachi-Hyderabad-Sukkur –Bhong (for Bhong Mosque) - Multan/Uch Shariff-Karachi

Suddently, my work took me to Thailand – February-March 2004

Based in Bangkok. (That was a culture shock after India and Pakistan! Western clothing, short skirts and no staring at foreigners)

Trips to:

Chiang Mai

The Loop: Chiang Mai-Mae Hong Song-Mae Sariang-Chiang Mai

Mae Sot (Tak), with a day trip to Myawaddi (Burma)

Udon Thani-Nong Khai-Chiang Khan-Udon Thani 

Hua Hin

Koh Chiang

Then back in Europe and stayed there until I made Hong Kong my home in August 2005!

But just before flying to Asia I have spend a week in Marocco:

July 2005

Casablanca-Fez-Marrakesh-Casablanca

Once in Hong Kong, my first holiday destination was naturally  mainland China:

September 2005: Guilin-Yangshuo (Guanxi)

Explored a bit more of Thailand and have really had enough of it

Phuket (November 2005)

Koh Samui (December 2005-January 2006)

Went back to China:

Huangzhou/West Lake (February 2006)

Gansu/Eastern Silk Road (Xian-Lanzhou-Jiayuguan-Dunhuang-Mogao Ku) (April 2006) 

then back for more Western China, or, rather, Himalayas:

Chengdu-Lhasa-Gyantse-Sakya-Rombuk-Everest Base Camp-Shigatse-Lhasa (May 2006)

In July that year, I travelled to my home town in Russia to see my family and stopped over in Istanbul.

In September, I went back to Tibet, to stay in Lhasa, my favourite city in Asia, for 10 days. I just didn't feel like moving out of Lhasa, and I cried all the way back when I took the Qinghai-Tibet train to Xining. While in Qinghai, visited Tongren (Repkong). 

Being away from Lhasa for too long is making me restless, so I went back there for a few days in the end of December.