Get to know the world - and yourself along the way!
After a 24-hour journey from Kathmandu to India, I reached the city of Varanasi in the morning by night train. Still half asleep, I rode a rickshaw through town and was overwhelmed by its intensity. A large part of life takes place on the streets: …
Every day of my solo travels I start with a fresh cup of coffee. Whether with a book on my own terrace, surrounded by people in a café or deep in thought in front of the tent – however I arrange my ceremony, I experience …
In the harbor of the Indonesian city of Larantuka, I had found out in a funny way how I, as a European, am perceived by the locals. A little girl could no longer hold herself in laughter while she looked me in the face. It …
The further east you drift from the island of Bali, the fewer tourists you meet. On the ferry from the Island of Flores to the Island of Lembata, I seemed to be the only foreign tourist on board. Right at the beginning I was approached …
Those who set out for Shangri-La usually have high expectations of their destination. It is not surprising, they seek somewhere as paradisiacal as author James Hilton’s description of the fictional place in his novel Lost Horizon. When I headed for a town with the aforementioned …
For eleven months, I had traveled – mostly overland – once across the Asian continent. The biggest culture shock awaited me at the transition to Europe. But Istanbul proved to be a perfect seam for me. As I walked across the Galata Bridge from the …
The higher you wander into Indonesia’s hills, the more ornate the rice terraces become. On my way to the top of Kelimutu volcano on the island of Flores, I spotted a particularly interesting terraced cultivation in which only a single rice paddy glowed in a …
Every year, the bridge builders of Kampong Cham start from scratch: They build a bamboo structure across the Mekong River that connects the city with Koh Pen Island. During my stay, when the elaborate construction was already half-completed, a local resident told me trucks would …