May 2017 -May 2018
From May , 2017 I was only working in KIMEP University, Almaty, during Spring semesters (January to May). So I had six months off from May 2017-December 2017 and May 2018-December 2018. The travel frenzy got more intense!
May 2017 – Frankfurt for a few days
June 1– Arrived at Seattle and got on a Celebrity Solstice cruise to Alaska – on my bucket list!
Rest of June, 2017 – Lawrence, Kansas . I had to send my passport by mail to the Chinese embassy in Chicago to get a tourist visa to China. It took more than three weeks. Meanwhile I waited in Lawrence visiting old friends.
Driving my rental car 
Downtown Lawrence Party
July 2017, Berlin and Magdeburg, Germany, to visit my erstwhile colleague , Dr. Naqvi and his family. Then on to Stockholm, Sweden for a few days, and then to Talinn, Estonia for a few days, before returning to Kolkata
Old Town Talinn 
Gamlastan, old Stockholm 
Viking Ship 
Swedish Sculpture and Swedish Blonde 
Stockholm by night 
Magdeburg, Germany 
Munchkins at Berlin
End of July 2017 – I am in china with my colleague from Kansas, Dr. Jianbo Zhang – we traveled in Beijing and in Hebei province – this was on my bucket list as well!
Fake trees inside hotel 
Chinese hot pot 
August 2017 – Went to Phnom Penh while coming back from China,, by this time I am hooked on Phnom Penh
Early December 2017 – Went to Phnom Penh again! This time stopped at Bangkok for a couple of days
Phnom Penh 
Traditional Silk -weaving 
Bangkok 
Bangkok 
Bangkok 
Bangkok – he’s mad at me!
Went back to Almaty first week of January 2018 – Fortunately I was staying on Campus this year – my apartment was four minutes walk from my Department. February 2018 was the most brutal winter I have encountered – and I have seen a lot of snow and cold during the last forty years. During February 2018, the temperature was minus 30 consistently for about a week during the day. Classes were not canceled!!
March 2018 – only went to India during this break, I think!