Wait that's China I think

@Nemets I think they are donkeys. Just plain old donkeys

Lmao at the mcdonalds popping up in the horizion

Did you guys see that giant pool shaped like a phoenix?

what are we talking bout now

Tf the structure is moveable ?

let me see if I can find a pic

Last year in Ukraine with some friends just goofing

@Logan they look like they've had a few drinks and they still don't give a fuck

The McDonalds

the title of that piece of art is also hilarious

What's it called?

And why is everything so cryptic?

"The letter to the turkish sultan"

@Flint this is probably Kazakhstan or China because there wasn't McDonald's in Kyrgyzstan

you could pretty much extrapolate the content of that letter from the picture

What a rowdy looking bunch of guys, I would not be comfortable in their company

same

i mean

if you understand what Cossacks are originaly

this would not surprise you

Conan the Barbarian levels of deceit

Cossacks were originally runaway peasants that settled on the frontiers and borders

because there would be no wealthy landowners in those parts

Selling wheat one minute, blades to your throat bartering your freedom the next...

Fuck yes I found that phoenix pic

Show the pic

and the govt of russia at first tried to capture some of them. but then they made a deal where they would protect the borders in exchange for freedom

I scrolled up, didn't see anything offhand

so they were basically peasants that were very tough and basically were vassals of the russian tsar

Just when I think I know history, you fellas bring me back down to earth

over time, they transformed into a more organized fighting force and became a crucial fighting unit of the cavalry

Cossacks exist even today

in fact, they are very right wing

I don't know Russian history at all outside of 1918 onward (and even then...)

The world's a big place...

their most famous stunt from the last decade is when they whipped Pussy Riot with whips during the Sochi olympics

Oh, that's them? I love those guys!

yeah

lol

based and redpilled

For anyone who has visited Kazakstahn, this is one of their ornamental gardens in Astana.

They should have consulted the painting

@guacmerchant that's cool, how do you know so much about the land of Borat?

@guacmerchant Wow, that looks pretty 60's scifi futuristic

raise your hand if you love retrofuturism

🖐

Like, they have 7ft tall blonde women

That's what this is about

@YourFundamentalTheorum I don't I just remember wanting to visit some of the architectural wonders of the stans, despite the bad transport.

How many Stans are worth going too, though?

Pretty rough area

realistically?

none

If I was 18 and thought I was invincible, I might go

they are all former soviet countries

and they have really high tensions between them

Now that I realize my mortality, I won't even go to a Braves game...

Turkmenistan.

yeah the soviets built that shit

i think

Commies built that?

Yea surprised it isn't in ruins

they built a lot of stuff in the stans

Can't still exist...

it's funny because this is what internationalism leads to

your own people are starving

I would be imagined of my shock

but hey, at least the people in Kazakhstan are apprciating communism and gibs

Or, they were

I tend to doubt any of those mid-Asian countries are faring well

Man what a bad ass looking statue.

WTF? How have I not seen *any* of this?

can you imagine my shock?

lol

@Flint the stans are the only places on Earth you can go and escape tourism faggotry.

Most casuals will go to Vietnam or Italy. Only real weirdos hang out in the Stans.

Imagine one of these with like George Washington

@guacmerchant i think that was built later

idk what STan is that

but they have some Chad legends

about warriros

@Logan I get that, but it looks so pristine and clean and civil

Turkmenistan believe it or not

damn

@Flint all are police states. It is rad

And they let you infidels just walk around with your cameras?

Rad like how? Safe? Secure?

You are welcome there?

I long to go to a place that is excited to see an American and I'm excited to be there.

Welcoming & safe? Not interested

I mean you can take photos of shit in Saudi Arabia as long as its not their holy city.

Like, I miss the ages that people were excited to learn each other's differences

customs, etc

That's when travel seemed fun

Do they speak English, did you hire an interpreter?

Exactly THE TOURISTS WERENT SUPPOSE TO STAY FOREVER

@Flint depends on which one. Kazakhstan was safe and orderly. Kyrgyzstan less so. Tajikistan was disorderly but safe because the people are not inclined toward violence despite their fairly recent civil war.

I get the feeling it would be nicer to live somewhere homogeneously foreign like Japan than somewhere like here where my daily life is 20% white

I guess I've only thought about visiting barren lands and never populated places with histories of great wars

Muslim countries are pretty welcoming. They think you are going to hell and are uncivilized but they are friendly