Trekking was the part of the Bhutan trip I was looking most forward to. The cultural part reliably proved to be highly influenced by Bhuddism and is in its essence not so much different from Tibet. But in Lhasa I barely left the city proper. Here now I was supposed to walk six days, five nights, over and through Buthan’s mountains at the south-eastern edge of the Himalaya Mountains. Continue reading Druk Path Trek (I) Only One Survives
Tag Archives: Imported
Paro (II) Taktshang Goemba
Taktshang Goembe, “Tiger’s Nest”, is the most famous and spectacular monastery of Bhutan as it is attached to sheer rock 900m above valley ground. It is the place where Guru Rinpoche flew “on the back of a tigress, a manifestation of his consort Yeshe Tsogyal, to subdue the local demon, Singey Samdrup.” (Lonely Planet) Guru Rinpoche then seem to have liked the tranquility of the place and meditated right there in a cave in the rocks for three months. Continue reading Paro (II) Taktshang Goemba
Bangkok – Stop-over
Bangkok, Thailand…so much said about it everywhere, what shall I add? This document is just a sign of life. I arrived yesterday afternoon from Siem Reap, checked into my nice hotel and directly ventured out to the main modern shopping area around Siam Square with its shopping centers. I had some things to organize in Bangkok: Continue reading Bangkok – Stop-over
Angkor (III) Carvings and Angkor Wat again
Today (09-OCT) was the day of long motorcycle rides. There are two sites, which are a bit out of the way, but luckily in the same direction. As a matter of fact, when you drive out to Kbal Spean for the underwater carvings you pass by Banteay Srei, a temple known for its unique stone carvings. So the day is all about carvings 😉 Continue reading Angkor (III) Carvings and Angkor Wat again
Angkor (II) North East and Roluos Group
Today focused on the ‘smaller’ temples in the North-East of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat, as well as the older Roluos group, a bit to the East of Siem Reap. Continue reading Angkor (II) North East and Roluos Group
Angkor (I) The Main Sights
The reason most people (including me) come to Cambodia: Angkor Wat! Or to be more precise, something I learned from my book: Angkor Wat is actually the name for ‘just’ the main temple. Angkor refers to the old capital of the kingdom of Cambodia during most parts of the Angkorian Period (802-1432). A long time. While Angkor Wat is so magnificient that the Cologne Cathedral looks like child play (except for one thing…we’ll come back to that…hm, maybe two ;)), 600 years are sufficient to build a lot more. The city of Angkor, Angkor Thom, was close by and has been built and abandoned twice. Some remains, those built from stone, the material reserved for the gods, can still be seen. The rest was made from wood, and it doesn’t need much imagination to figure out what happened to that. Hence, I put these documents under its own category “Angkor”, as this in fact is a city’s name. Continue reading Angkor (I) The Main Sights
Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
Today was mostly about getting from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, which is the place where you stay for visiting the temples of Angkor. My Phnom Penh Tuktuk driver brought me to the bus company and bid me farewell. The bus was highly comfortable with all seats on the top floor and me sitting in the very front, so I could also watch straight ahead through the wind shield. And: I was surprisingly the only foreigner. Only five other locals on the bus. During lunch break a westerner arriving with a different bus company joined my table. Apparently the same service, about the same price, but bus full. Well…this time I probably made the better deal with this more local company.
Continue reading Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
Phnom Penh – Culture, Busyness, and Genocide
After one month on the road again, starting off in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. To be honest, it took some self-conviction to leave the ease of life in Frankfurt, where I had not to work for the past month, know where to get everything, don’t need to pack things every other day, can meet family, friends, and colleagues. But Asia, even South-East Asia, is larger than ‘only’ China and Vietnam. And so I boarded a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok, changed there to Phnom Penh, and here I am, back in the backpacker’s life. Continue reading Phnom Penh – Culture, Busyness, and Genocide
IAA – International Motor Show Cars
IAA…that’s not really about Asia, but I have been to two Motor Shows in Shanghai, so I thought I simply have to take the chance to go to the IAA (“Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung” or International Motor Show Cars) right here in Frankfurt and see what’s the difference. The difference is clear right from the very beginning: In Frankfurt (nearly) all is about ecological locomotion. In Shanghai it was a mere display of car makers’ abilities: “We are here, we sell these cars.” Continue reading IAA – International Motor Show Cars
Future Plans: Cambodia, Bhutan, Thailand
Plans are becoming more and more clear: There is the already fixed date of 12-OCT through 23-OCT in Bhutan. Around that I planned a Thailand trip of about 2 weeks with two friends, which now is added after Bhutan. In order not to extend too far into the year I will likely visit Cambodia before going to Bhutan. One of the countries has to be the one on the edge of the raining season…
After Thailand there might be time for a quick look into Malaysia and Singapore. Continue reading Future Plans: Cambodia, Bhutan, Thailand