Tag: Culture
Following the trail of the Ancient Puebloans
We continued on to New Mexico, were there are, hidden in a vast landscape of bare plains and hills, the ruins of ancient Native-American settlements. Some of the most impressive examples of their high culture architecture can be found in Chaco Canyon, a UNESCO world-heritage site. Regardless of that status […]
Around the South Island
I decided to head south from Christchurch, and ended up in a tiny place called Moeraki. Another traveler had told me about the light house there, and about a penguin colony. As it turned out I got there at the wrong time of day and they had all headed off. […]
Christchuch: Where there’s a will there’s a way!
Already flying across it I fell in love with New Zealand; with its rugged coastline, its green meadows, but most of all with its wild mountains. They were simply evoking a strong sensation of and adventure in me… But first I landed in Christchurch, the biggest city on the South […]
The Death Cult of Tana Toraja
In the center of Sulawesi lies a region called Tana Toraja. Villages and settlements are hidden away in green rolling hills, connected only by winding roads that follow high ridges or cut through valleys of lush rain forest. Muddy tracks lead off these roads, to access an amazing patchwork of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Waiting in Ulan Bator
I would not have chosen to stay in the Mongolian capital for almost a week, but that was how long it took the Chinese embassy to process my visa application. Applying there had felt difficult and uncertain at the time, but I had done my homework and in hindsight it […]
Moscow – Ulan Bator (Trans-Siberian Railway)
Taking the Transsiberian Railway from Moscow to Ulan Bator was a memorable experience. You could do that journey in as little as five days, but I got off the train several times, twice (in Novosibirsk and in Orkhon, Mongolia) for almost two weeks each, so it took me around one […]
Alone in Perm36: Visiting a Gulag Museum
My first stop along the Transsiberian Railroad: Perm. Just above one million people live here, more than 1000km east of Moscow. I arrived at noon, quickly found the tourist information (as opposed to Moscow, this city is one of the few Russian cities that actually have one!), and went to all the […]
Impressions of Moscow
When I exited the train station on the morning of my arrival I instantly knew that I liked this city. It is huge, but clean and not as chaotic as you would expect this big a city to be. From almost everywhere you can see at least one of the […]
Circle of Light Festival
While I was in Moscow, the International Circle of Light Festival took place. Professional graphic designers from all over the world had created colorful animations and video mapped facades of different buildings throughout the city, such as the Bolshoy (=big) theatre and several pavillions at VDNKh (Exhibition of Achievements of […]
Pushkin – a palace worthy of a tsar
On my last day in Saint Petersburg I decided to go to Pushkin, a suburb named after the famous Russian poet who had begun his education in this place. After 30 Minutes on the metro and almost an hour in a crowded mini-bus that was speeding over ill-maintained bumpy roads […]
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