Vagabonding in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, without plan or destination.
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Gili Air
The Gilis are three small islands off the coast of Lombok, the next large island to the east of Bali. Gili Trawangan is the party island, Gili Meno is boring, and Gili Air is the perfect balance between the two. The boat takes three hours and was packed, due to the demon situation on Bali. Gili Air is the perfect place to sit at a table on the beach, watching the small outrigger boats, and having a really fresh Red Snapper. It’s peaceful, there are no motor cars but many horse carts, and there is none of the bustle and concrete seafront construction of Gili T. I’ll wait out the demons here.… Read the rest
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Diving at Lembongan
There are coral reefs all around the islands, some shallow and some on walls that fall off steeply. Global warming is bleaching corals everywhere, but here they are still mostly intact. There is a strong current, it’s like idly watching the sea life from a moving walkway. We stayed mostly in shallow waters, much of it less than 10 meters and never deeper than 22. Shallow means better colors, but maintaining the correct depth is harder. It’s still very hot here, even in the late afternoon when the boat returned. In Berlin at this time of the year everyone walks on the sunny side of the street, here everyone seeks the shadows. Ice cream is hard to find because of the demons.… Read the rest
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Lembongan, Indonesia
Finally, after three years of Corona, I am properly back in Asia! Back home we still occasionally get snow at night but here it’s 30+ degrees C. The taxi driver who took me from Bali’s Airport to the ferry harbor knew what snow is but has never seen it. I felt his hesitating curiosity at something so alien. The ferry from Bali to the small island called Lembongan just runs up the beach, and lets the passengers jump off into the water and wade ashore. That’s exactly how one should arrive at a tropical paradise. I love the small islands near Bali because Bali itself has long lost its charm to hordes of Australians looking for booze and parties. Lembongan still has peaceful beachfront bars, small boats bobbing in the surf, hills with unspoiled views, and almost no cars. I am sitting at a terrace at my hotel, sipping a pineapple shake, and contemplating the sunset and tomorrow’s reef dive. It’s only been a few hours but already I only have a vague recollection of what a git merge request might be.… Read the rest
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Monastir and Sousse
Monastir is a tourist town at the sea close to the center of Tunisia. It’s known for its Ribat, an enormous fortress, and for being the birthplace of modern Tunisia’s first president, Habib Bourguiba. There is plenty to see here for a day; exploring the endless ramparts, tunnels, casemates, and exhibitions in the Ribat takes half a day. There is also an extensive Muslim cemetery between the Ribat and the main mosque, and the usual markets. IOn my last day I spent some time in Sousse, a bit north of Monastir. Its old town is very scenic but follows the usual pattern. I found an excellent restaurant there, the Kasbah Café (last photo), and had Couscous to complete my Tunisian experience.… Read the rest
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Tunis
Tunis is the capital of Tunisia. I ran out of my all-inclusive hotel and got myself a hotel in the old town of Tunis, the El Jeld. This turned out to be a true palace, with courtyard gardens, mosaic rooms that would make a mosque proud, rooftop terraces, and a quite good restaurant. Food in Tunisia, even outside the all-inclusive purgatory, is occasionally ok but not great, so this was very welcome. The old town has several streets roofed over, turning them into enormous markets. It took me a day before I got them figured out and no longer got lost and ended up on the wrong side of town. Outside the quite large old town, Tunis is a modern city with traffic and noise (last photo), but inside it doesn’t appear to have changed much in a thousand years. Several merchant palaces, like Dar Othman, can be visited. I congratulate Tunis for preserving its heritage!… Read the rest
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Bizerte, Tunisia
Bizerte is a harbor town at the northern tip of Tunisia, two hours north of Tunis. I got myself a taxi to take me there and back. Like everywhere in Tunisia, it seems that every available space is filled with markets, covered or out on the streets. They also have a fort on a hill, but apart from the ramparts there isn’t much to see there. There is a beach and a long promenade, but it was mostly deserted; I suppose few tourists find their way here. How could they, I guess, when they spend half their time razing the all-inclusive buffets to the ground and the other half dealing with food poisoning.… Read the rest
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Sidi Bou Said and Carthage
Sidi Bou Said is a village east of Tunius, the capital of Tunis, easily reachable by light rail. It’s a sparkling white and blue village right at the Mediterranean sea, with great views of the coastline and the sea. Carthage is an ancient kingdom, the archenemy of the Roman republic. Three wars were fought until the Romans finally conquered Carthage in 146 BCE, long before the Roman Empire. There is essentially nothing left of Carthage except an overgrown cemetery. The Romans were quick to raze everything and build their own villas, an amphitheater, and a huge Roman bath right at the sea.… Read the rest
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Kerouan, Tunisia, 2023
This is the first time after my escape from Bangladesh in March 2020 that I ventured outside the EU. Tunisia is inbnorthern Africa, on the Mediterranean coast roughly south of Italy on the other side. I had to go in early January because I had four unused weeks of vacation left from 2022 and HR wouldn’t have it. Use it or lose it. Tunisia is pleasantly warm even at that time of the year. Still, I wanted to take advantage of a law that makes vacation operators responsible for getting me home safely in case of trouble. Didn’t want a repeat on 2020 when I sat in a dingy hotel room near the airport in Dhaka trying to find a flight home. I hate tour vacation operators but I got their all-inclusive package, having no intent to make use of it but still checking it out. Free breakfast, free lunch, free dinner. It was truly awful. Bland overcooked buffets with very little variety, and all clearly cost-optimized. Why do people do that? Free is still too expensive. Anyway, first I took off for Kerouan, an old royal city in the center of the country. Unlike the all-inclusive tourist ghetto it was a beautiful ancient town, all white and blue and sand-colored, with city gates, shops, markets everywhere, and mosques.… Read the rest
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Rügen at the Baltic Sea
Rügen is Germany’s largest island, off the northern Baltic Sea coast. It’s a major tourist destination, but it was late in the year and not during school holidays, so it was not crowded. We stayed in the seaside village of Binz for a few days, and visited various other towns by bicycle. Straw-thatched houses are typical for northern Germany. The most iconic view of Rügen is probably the sea bridge at Seddin. They also have a steam train there, called Rasender Roland (racing Roland) but it’s really quite slow.… Read the rest
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Fjords of Norway
Everyone knows the fjords of Norway. The fjords are long, narrow inlets from the Atlantic, bracketed by steep mountains. We went on a boat tour – electric of course! – on the Gudvangen fjord all the way to Flam. Once again, perfect weather. Most of nature here is untouched but there are a few villages along the way, and many waterfalls. Riding an electric boat is perfectly quiet, enhancing the majestic experience. In Flam they built a viewpoint bridge; I took the last two photos there.… Read the rest
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Bergen, Norway
Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city, after Oslo, It’s the gateway to several very scenic fjords at Norway’s Atlantic coast, but it is a very pleasant place to spend a few days in itself. The fish is fantastic, my best salmon ever. There is a mountain with great views, reachable with a short cable car ride. Bergen is also one of Europe’s rainiest cities, but we were lucky and had sunshine throughout except on our way back to the airport. Bergen had a large Hanseatic League (Hanse) presence. The Hanseatic League was a major, mostly German, trade network from the 12th to the 15th century. Many German coastal cities, like Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck, proudly cherish the tradition, and so does Bergen in its Hanseatic Bryggen neighborhood even though it was not a proper member. All the buildings here are original, and built from wood, following draconian fire safety standards. Tours are available, explaing the Hanseatic function and traditions. Bryggen Bryggen Bryggen… Read the rest
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Oslo, Norway, 2022
Oslo, like all of the Skandinavian capitals, is a beautiful, well-organized, friendly, exceedingly civilized, and restrained city. Nobody has anything to prove here. It’s a pleasure to stroll through the avenues and streets, enjoy the sights, and relax. They still have a king and queen; their park and parts of the palace are open to the public. The Norwegian artist Edvard Munch has a very large museum here where you can see three versions of his most famous painting,The Scream; only one is shown at a time. Norway is also enormously expensive. An unimpressive burger will set you back €30, and dinner at a good restaurant is €70 and up. This is a very rich country.… Read the rest
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Marseille, France
I spent about two and a half years living in Marseille, at the Mediterranean coast, at the boundary between the Côte d’Azur and the Côte Bleue (which both mean blue coast). Beautiful place, We had no time to hike in the Calanques, the Côte d’Azur’s most stunningly beautiful limestone min-fjords in the mountains at the sea, all part of Marseille, but I love the city too. I used to live in the Cours Julien neighborhood, if you visit Marseille check it out! Marseille is France’s oldest city, founded over 2600 years ago, and France’s second-largest after Paris. Despite some damage in WWII, and poverty in the northern suburb, it’s a beautiful city yet not overrun with tourists because they all head to the more well-known tourist traps like Nice or Cannes. No idea why they do that. Marseille has tons of charm, also because of its large harbor and large northern African population that add so much color to this city. Old harbor from Le Pharo Palais Longchamp Parc Borely near the beach Le Panier Marché des Capucins Mucem museum view Notre Dame de la Garde back down from ND de la Garde Dessert!… Read the rest
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Luberon, France
The Luberon is a hilly region in France, southwest of the French Alps. It is stunningly beautiful and captures everything you have read about France except the Eiffel Tower. Very green, ancient villages built from rough rocks, cobblestones, flowers, Lavender. We spent two days traveling to the villages of Lourmarin, Saignon, Roussillon with its ochre mountains, Gordes on a hillside (my favorite), the abbaye at Sénanque (regrettably the lavender fields were not purple yet), Isle Sur la Sorgue, and various others. Beautiful! Forget Paris, come here next time you are in France. Lourmarin Saignon Saignon Roussillon Gordes Gordes Gordes Abbaye Sénanque Isle Sur la Sorgue… Read the rest
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Avignon, France, 2022
There hasn’t always been a single pope. On occasion they couldn’t agree who gets the hat and ended up with multiple popes fighting each other. During this period, from 1309 to 1376, when they had up to three popes and they clearly couldn’t all be in Rome, Avignon was a papal seat for seven successive popes. They built a palace and a church there. Unfortunately, unlike the Vatican, the papal palace in Avignon didn’t do well during later centuries, especially the French revolution, and so it’s mostly bare inside. Every French child knows the song sur le pont / d’Avignon … (on the bridge of Avignon). The bridge over the Rhône river was built in the 13th century, to replace an even older one. Since the 17th century, only four arches remain, the others have collapsed. Still, tourists are obligated to pay admission, walk on it, not see very much, and walk back. A little downstream there are much better views.… Read the rest
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Hiking on Tenerife
There really are remote places on Tenerife. One is around the Taganana mountains in the northeast. Getting there isn’t easy – a bus from Puerto to San Cristóbal, then an hour-long taxi ride up the mountains. The taxi ride was ridiculously cheap so I had to over-tip. The forest is occasionally steep and rugged, with tree branches forming a curly roof over my head. It’s a long hike down to the coast, but very scenic. There’s a bus from there the south coast, and from there back to Puerto. My other hike was from Los Silos at the northwest of the island, near the Montaña de Taco. Quite hilly, but very quiet and scenic with lots of sea views. Finally, I went up El Teide, Tenerife’s volcano in the center of the island. I didn’t know that you have to reserve a ticket for the cable car well in advance, and there is no ticket counter there, but perseverence clicking Reload until a slot opened worked. I couldn’t get to the top of the caldera because of snow, but the views from up there are fantastic. I also didn’t know that there is no bus back in the afternoon, but I was hiking down anyway to see the bizarre rock needles in the valley anyway.… Read the rest
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Tenerife, Orotavo, 2022
Tenerife is a island, one of the Spanish Canary islands, off the Atlantic coast of Morocco. In March, northern Europe is cold, but the Canaries are always warm. Corona isn’t quite over yet so I still don’t want to leave the EU. The south and east coast of Tenerife are very touristy, but the north coast is much quieter, especially in March. I was staying in a villa near Puerto de la Cruz and spent much of my week there hiking. The photos show Orotava near Puerto, up the hills, and a nearby monastery. A good easy hike to start the trip.… Read the rest
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Malta 2021
Malta is an island in the Mediterranean sea, between the Italian island of Sicily and the African coast. It is a member state of the EU. Its location was strategic, it controlled trade between the western and eastern Mediterranean. It was under the control of the order of the Knights of Malta, which were involved in Jerusalem in the 11th century. The order became extremnely rich, which still shows in Malta’s capital, Valletta – the cathedral is an almost obscene orgy in gold and marble, and paintings by Caravaggio during his time on Malta. Valletta is mostly its old town established by the knights. Narrow and often steep roads, which still don’t stop way too much car traffic. The trademark feature of Valletta and other towns are the colored covered balconies. Most of the attractions are on the main island; the smaller island of Gozo to the west and tiny Kemmuna in between does not have large towns. Malta is rather dry, no forests here. I spent a week there in September and loved it!… Read the rest
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Breslau 2021
Brelau is in the south of Poland, and rivals it’s more well-known, and much more crowded, neighbor Cracow. Since 2016, when Breslau was culture capital of Europe, a “culture train” connects Breslau to Berlin, with presentations and talks on the train, so it’s easy to reach. Breslau has been completely restored since my first visit shortly after Poland joined the EU. It’s more beautiful than ever now. One of the attractions are the small cast-iron dwarves found all over the city. They run dwarf tours that visit them all. The first photo is me greeting the first I saw.… Read the rest
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Little Venice
Another sunny weekend in the winter 20/21, in Little Venice. That’s a neighborhood in the east of Berlin, just east of Berlin’s largest lake, the Müggelsee. It’s called Little Venice because it’s built on a system of canals, all houses have direct water access. It was unusually cold this year so most rivers and lakes are frozen. The open spaces in the photos are not roads, they are canals and the Müggelsee (except the last two, which are on a forested hill, the Kranichberg). I went there with a friend who grew up at the Mediterranean, and who has never before walked on a lake! Lots of Jesus jokes.… Read the rest
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Winter 20/21 in Berlin
The winter in Berlin was unusually snowy. We normally don’t get much snow, or when we do, it melts quickly. This year winter looked exactly like winter is supposed to look like. The photos are from Grunewald forest, one of largest and forested parks in Berlin, between the Havel lakes and the western suburbs. At the highest point is a tower with a statue of Bismarck inside, and beautiful views from the top.… Read the rest
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Boats in Spreewald
Spreewald (river Spree forest) is a large region in Brandenburg, southeast of Berlin. The river Spree widens into a maze of small rivers and canals in the forest. There are a few villages where small hand-rowed boats run tours, or kayaks are rented. It’s incredibly scenic and calm. Most families here have lived in the region for many centuries, despite the attraction there is no overtourism. Everything must be brought in by boat, there are no roads. We were there in October 2020 – and many times before and after.… Read the rest
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Cycling Saale-Unstrut
Saale and Unstrut are rivers in Sachsen-Anhalt, a few hours southwest from Berlin. The main city is Naumburg, best known for its Unesco-listed cathedral. From here, the countryside with its vineyards and numerous castles can be explored by bicycle. We even brought a tent to extend our range.… Read the rest
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Beelitz Heilstätten
Southwest from Berlin, a short train ride away, is the town of Beelitz with its Heilstätten hospital. It’s like a lost place, except that they have built a skywalk over it and do tours. Trees now grow in buildings and on partially collapsed roofs, and much of the facilities are open to the public. In the late 19th century the factories and uncontrolled growth of Berlin caused by migrants seeking work in the rapidly expanding factories made Berlin a very unhealthy place for workers. So at the turn of the century they built an enormous and – for the time – luxurious sanatorium witth some 60 buildings scattered in the forest so workers could recuperate and remain productive. Hitler recuperated here at one point during WWI.… Read the rest
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Szczecin/Stettin 2020
This blog is about traveling in Asia, but Corona makes travel abroad impractical, as my difficulties escaping Bangladesh have demonstrated. So I’ll be traveling in the EU for a while, where I cannot get stuck. First was Sczczecin (German: Stettin) in western Poland, close to the Baltic Sea. It’s a pleasant city, beautifully restored yet still showing signs of communist times. It’s also a short ride away from Swinemünde with its endless beaches at the Baltic. You can just walk west from Swinoujście (German: Swinemünde) and at some invisible point you are in Usedom in Germany. This used to be a defended border. I love the EU.… Read the rest
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Bangladesh 2020
I have visited most east Asian countries, but not Bangladesh. Dhaka, the capital, is the most crowded, busy, and poor place I have ever been to. The old town is a maze of winding alleys, packed with colorful rickshaws and crowds of people. It was so crowded in some places that I could not move, and since I am taller than most here, I kept getting hit in the face by baskets carried by people on their heads. The Buriganga river that winds through the city is wide, busy, and regrettably rather smelly. Dhaka had the distinction of having the most polluted air in the world at the time. An especially interesting place is Sonargaon outside Dhaka. It used to be an affluent merchant town, but all the Indian merchants fled when Muslim Bangladesh – named East Pakistan at the time but later became independent in a bloody civil war – was split off from mostly Hindu India. Today, Sonargaon is a crumbling town of partially collapsed palaces, yet still showing their former grandeur. I got stopped every few minutes by local visitors, mostly groups of veiled women, who wanted selfies with me. Very friendly people! But the reason for my visit to Bangladesh was not Dhaka but the Sundarban national park, a huge mangrove forest that covers much of the Ganges delta.… Read the rest
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Bangkok
Final stop Bangkok. Good place to replace the polarizing filter I broke a few days ago. Bangkok is into refrigerated malls bigtime, perhaps no surprise in hot and humid tropical weather. Traffic somehow managed to become even more dysfunctional than last year, and pedestrians have no rights even at zebra crossings and the rare pedestrian lights. All taxis forbid transporting weapons like guns and durians, many have cameras that record passengers, a few have SOS buttons. Life in Bangkok is becoming rougher, although still much more pleasant than most other Asian megacities. Food is brilliant as always. Had a huge lunch at one of my favorites, the Baan Khanitha. … Read the rest
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Muang Mallika
To hours west of banglok is a historic village that shows life in Thailand at the time of King Rama IV. The entrance is a wooden covered bridge with rows of stalls on both sides. Everywhere are costumed people doing period things, like theshing rice, and selling period products. They even have their own old currency, copper coins with holes to string them up, which must be purchased at the entrance. On the way to Bangkok is the bridge over the river Kwai, built during the Japanese occupation 1942-45 to connect Thailand to Burma (now Myanmar). Thousands of POWs died during construction. The bridge is still in use, and also a tourist attraction. You can walk across, but must step into one of the safety platforms when a train approaches.… Read the rest
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Hua Hin
Hua Hin, the beach town favored by the Thai Kings… I fondly remember a sleepy white city with wide boulevards and sandy beaches, where a rickshaw once took me to the train station. Well, no more. It’s a crowded mess of traffic and tangled power lines, and the beaches are mostly private and difficult reach. The King’s Home homestay is lovely though, an eclectic museum filled with everything from oil paintings to tacky figurines, in the best way, run by two old ladies. And it’s easy to find good food.… Read the rest
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Ko Payam
Ko Payam is one of the northernmost Thai islands off the west coast. It’s a little difficult to reach, which may be the reason why it hasn’t really been discovered yet except by Westerners who spend the winter here. No hordes of tourists, no fancy hotels, just a few quiet beach resorts. There isn’t much tourist infrastructure at all, besides motorcycle rentals. The only way to get here is from Ranong, a small town north at the mouth of the Kraburi River, which is the border to Myanmar. I had been advised on the boat that the nicest place on the island is Ao Yai on long Beach, a 5km walk from the pier. Ao Yai is just a small cluster of restaurants and a dive shop where people are so terminally relaxed that they won’t dive until the end of the week. Oh well… So I just walk a lot on the island, and discover things like that the bridge over the only river has been under construction for over ten years and the locals kind of lost interest. Entire forests of rubber trees, each with a little spout and a little bucket to collect natural latex. … Read the rest