Mr BSqB is an old friend of mine and has invited me to write about my recent Kalmykia experience. Is Kalmykia travel destination for everyone? Certainly not. But if you’re looking for something off the grid, this might be just what you were waiting for. Kalmykia is the only Buddhist region within Europe. I know about this Russian province because I’m married to a Kalmyk lady. When I first met my wife eight years ago, it seemed a bit fantastic to me that there were a group of Mongolians in Europe for more than 400 years, who lived in their yurts until the 1920s. I googled it and – yes, it turned out to be true. We then visited her friends and family in Kalmykia several times over the past few years, and I gradually got to know this fascinating stretch of land and its hospitable people better. How to […]