HELLO! IT'S ME
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Namaste! My name is Lucy Maratkanova. I’m 30. I was born in Central Asia, Tashkent – the city, where I saw through the window the Sun rising from beyond the Tien-Shan’s spurs, where was a smell of dust, melons and basil and where dark as Kish-Mish grapelets kind eyes return your smile.

When I was 8, my father was redeployed to Russia, his motherland, Izhevsk – the city, which is situated on the opposite side of color palette, or, rather, is falling outside the color spectrum.Journey as the greatest and the most serious science helps us rediscover ourselves…Albert Kamus

Yes, in the course of time I got to like this city too, particularly its people that surrounded me, but the lamenting longing for mountains, Sun, smells and frank looks in the eyes always stayed with me and, finally, formed my life.

In my 15 I slung a knapsack, and since then I pay only flying visits to my home. At first – Russia from Caucasus to Baikal through all mountain systems, many rivers and hundreds of kilometers of uninhabited taiga. I devoted my latter years to Asia, starting from my beloved Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan and further to the East: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and, at last, Tibet. My little daughter Amelia accompanies me in all my trips.

I am a photograph, both by vocation and avocation. I try to hand over all emotions and beauties I was lucky to see to my viewers with love and awe. Today, journeys become more and more affordable, but many people choose so-called “humaned” vacation, depriving themselves of unlimited pleasure to perceive this world in it’s the most wonderful, breathing, vivid and live form, such as self-guided tour in Asia.

Maybe, I’m very naive J, but I still believe in Kindness and Wonders, and they respond to my “call signals” in a remarkable manner and fill my life, and I, in my turn, want to share them with you!

And now let me introduce you two my beloved men, who are the direct participants of the stories described here and co-creators of the majority of the works presented.

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AMELIYA

Amelia (Mia) – my dear child, help-mate and faithful companion in my life, filled with adventures. Having appeared as a little part of my body in the very heart of West Sayan mountains, Amelia continued her nomad destiny since the age of 2 months, in the mountain hiking in Caucasus. She celebrated her first happy birthday by opening the water season with the rafting on the Ural river, and three months later she participated in the 140 km horse-foot trek towards charmlike and cure-all Shumak Springs in east Sayan mountains. Since the age of three, Mia explores Asia on my right hand with all inherent kindness and curiosity. She already left behind all India from south to north, with dozens of towns and villages, ancient samples of architecture and sacred objects, treks along the West and East Indian Himalayan and approaches to the base camps of the highest tops of the world (Nepali Kanchenjanga and Annapurna). Sri-Lanka, Cambodia, Tailand, Vietnam, Nepal, China and Tibet are also in that list, which, I guess, will grow in future. Amelia is very interesting young lady, very creative, loving nature, especially dogs (no dog can be let pastJ). Her school is all the surrounding world, she has friends in all continents. And you will easily get in with her!

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KOLYA
Коля

Kolya is my beloved fellow traveler, the poet and faiy-taler, inspirer, engine, sovereign remedy, anchorman and the second wing of our flying carpet. In one word: the Stunner. It is my opinion, let us give him a word to introduce himself:

Hi! Lucy gave me a lot of praiseful names, it’s a pleasure for me. But as a Stunner, I would say that with years passing by I become more and more aware that there are a lot of housemates who live in the fairytale palace with a sign “Nikolay Zharov” over it’s entrance: the Coward and the Hero, Wild Animal and Sly Gorlum, Constant Sufferer and Kind Snow Lion … Sometimes they live peacefully, sometimes no. We are lucky, me and Lucy. One day our fairytale «palaces» met, its inhabitants “muzzled” each other and waged the tales gladly. We found out, that we both crazy in the same way differ from the social norm: believe in Wonders, Fairy Tale and Kindness. Since that time our “fairytale palaces” have sprout the wheels and now travel hand by hand together. And it is always “outside” and “inside” journey at the same time. Wandering, we are getting acquainted with the fabulous surrounding world of new countries, places and people, but at the same time we discover and explore the inner world – world of our feelings and thoughts, fears and wishes, beliefs and doubts. Travelling, we are changing in the changing world. But, you know, we start to guess that this distinction into “inner” and “external”, “Me and “other world” is very relative. I have experienced a lot of interesting and strange jobs in my life: economist, coach, transpersonal psychologist, translator. Today, I also proudly work as Lucy’s art producer – help her with promoting her brilliant works (Lucy’s cakes). I am a multi-tasked helper: sometimes I work as a camera stand, porter, responsible for the contacts with fauna (“Kolya, shoo that bird, I’ll make a photo!”)

A lot of things happen during this big journey, and I want to share them with you here, in Lucy’s blog. Consider my notes as a travel notes, or Fairy Tales of Uncle Kolya, if you like 🙂 See you!