Author: Gabriel Geck
Blue Flames at Lake Ijen
From Cemero Lawang one can make it to Sempol (the “base camp” for trekking to the Ijen Crater) in one day, if one figures out public transport correctly. But since the bus driver of the public bus down to Probolinggo refused to leave before the bus was full it got […]
Indonesia’s Volcano Panorama at Mount Bromo
One night on a crowded train brought me from Yogyakarta to Malang. From there I took a minibus and later an ojek (motorbike taxi) up a steep mountain road and told the driver to drop me off at a certain intersection. From there I would have continued to Ranupani, the […]
Yogyakarta and Borobodur
Like every good tourist who comes to Java I went to Yogyakarta (short Yogya) which is said to be the cultural capital of this island nation. Yogya itself is an autonomous region, where the Sultan who lives in his palace (the Kraton) in the city center apparently has much more […]
10-Day Meditation Course
Numerous people had told me about the Vipassana technique; The first time I heard about it from a fellow traveler in Hong Kong, later several people in Thailand recommended it to me. Since then I had tried to attend a course at one of the numerous meditation centers in Thailand […]
1000km Malaysia: Cycling around the peninsula (long article!)
Through HelpX I came to stay with a lovely family for a week, in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. I helped with weeding in their garden, which was more than necessary after the rainy season, and I had also intended to figure out the next destinations in my trip. Which […]
Singapore, my new favorite city state
The difference to Malaysia was immediate and striking: There were no more street vendors or awkward shops along the road. In fact, there were no buildings at all lining the roadside: After I had managed to exit the proper highway coming straight out of immigration I was cycling through a […]
Tioman Island – an unexpected paradise
Having heard from numerous people that the islands off the east coast were supposed to be nice, I decided to give the biggest one of them, Pulau Tioman, a try. From Mersing I took the boat over to Tekek, the main village and the only place on the island with […]
Obstacle race in the rainforest (Volunteering in Sg Lembing)
Very spontaneously I decided to go to the small village of Sungai Lembing. I had gotten the chance to help out at an obstacle race. I met with the organizers two days before the race, and we all spent a great amount of time and effort to get everything ready […]
Cycling Malaysia (Teaser)
I will be off on a bike tour through Malaysia (with tent and everything). Nothing is decided yet – I just have a general direction for the first days – and I will probably be going to Singapore for Chinese New Year. But other than that — That means chances […]
Emerald Cave
While I am busy processing and compiling all of my previous adventures I am not refraining from going on new ones, like today: I am currently staying on the island Koh Mook (on the west coast of Thailand, close to Trang) and rented a kayak for the afternoon, to explore […]
Hong Kong – So much more than expected
My first flight after three months of traveling brought me to the autonomous region of Hong Kong. Technically it belongs to China, but visa-wise I had left China. Hong Kong has its own currency, its own government, people are using a different set of characters (traditional, as opposed to simplified […]
Relaxing in Dali
Situated between Erhai lake on one side and the Cangshan mountain range on the other Dali lies in a unique location. Moreover it is blessed by year-round (more or less) warm and pleasant weather. No wonder many Chinese celebrities make this their home base, so there are whole mansion quarters […]
Yangshuo – Inspiration not only for Painters
The village of Yangshuo is located on the Li River, about an hour south of Guilin. It is surrounded by karst mountains and looks just like you would imagine China. It’s beautiful, maybe a little touristy… With four awesome people I had met I went on a day-long bike tour […]
Longji Rice Terraces
About 90 minutes north of Guilin there is a beautiful valley where people have been growing rice for hundreds of years. An unbelievable portion of the hillside has been terraced for that aim, and it is still in use, with farmers growing rice the traditional way. There is a nice […]
Zhangjiajie (Fog Edition)
In Beijing I met a guy who, amongst others, told me about a place that probably was the inspiration for the planet Pandora in James Cameron’s sci-fi movie Avatar. When I saw pictures of it I immediately knew that I had to go. It would probably have been my favorite […]
Yangtsi River Cruise
The downside with having a guide book: You feel like you need to do lots of things, and the book makes them sound really special and spectacular. Maybe I am spoiled by other places (Norway?!), but for me the Yangtsi river cruise was neither. Plus I realized that I don’t […]
Hua Shan – 15000 steps to heaven
China has five holy mountains that used to be taoist pilgrimmage sites, but have now turned into tourist attractions. Cablecars connect bus packed parking lots with the soaring peaks that were once reserved for the most tenacious and persisting only. Because a few years back, these peaks were only reached […]
Climbing the Great Wall
Here is what I did today: I climbed the Great Wall of China! The entire structure was once thousands of kilometers long, today many parts are in ruins or totally gone. But there are still quite a few solid sections left and open to the public. It is also convenient that many of the most photogenic […]
No Sunshine for Beijing
I spent almost a week in Beijing, never seeing the sun, but quite a few other things, while acclimatising to China. Here are a few pictures of China’s gigantic capital: (click on pictures for better resolution)
Tasting Chinese Foods
I loved Chinese food, even before I came to China. Then I had to realize: it is something totally different to get it here than back home. There are so many more things to choose between, and also the same things taste different. Every city has their specialties and every […]
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