Christian's Travel Blog

2004, December 26 - As many as 200.000 lives were  wiped  out within minutes when a giant tsunami hit Aceh's west coast on Sumatra; ten times the figure of the recent tsunami that stroke Japan in February 2011. It took some days till the world public could grasp the devastating situation in Banda Aceh, as a long-lasting civil war between the central government and members of the Free Aceh Movement had escalated the years before and made it a non-go-zone for foreigners. When I arrived end of February in the province of North Sumatra to coordinate on site Caritas Austria's aid efforts for the people on Nias Island, just off   " fireline " along the western coast of Sumatra, I felt the island somehow escaped the worst of the tsunami's deadly destruction. But a few weeks in, a second powerful underwater earthquake struck Nias on Easter weekend 2005, causing not only the loss of additional lives but indeed destroying many buildings in its capital Gunung Sitoli, ...

For a globetrotter, including travelers, the journey is the reward. I do understand that tourists on their vacation want to get most out of their chosen destination, but it inevitably leads to that kind of "from A to B" with no patience for any delay of any kind of transportation "getting there", as well as "back home to duty". What about a road trip in Sumatra? I invite you to take a seat next me in one of the long-distance buses, like the colorful painted SUTRA buses from Medan to Berastagi (75 km/1 USD fare). Did you enjoy it? Than let's get into it and try the local short-distance "Minivan" from the Hot Springs at Semangat Gunung Village back to Berastagi (12 km/50 Cent fare). More about my reencounter with scenes and people from Sumatera Utara in my next blog.

Catching the bus from Krabi to Hat Yai - a traffic junction close to the Thai-Malaysian border - I had to make a difficult decision during the 3-hours Minivan drive: Taking midnight the train along the east cost to Kota Bharu, the starting point of the "Jungle Railway", which winds through the valleys and round the sandstone hills down to Singapore, or heading west to Butterworth to board upon arrival one of the regular ferries that connect Georgetown (Penang) with the Malaysian peninsular. Funny, I never thought time might become a constraint on a one-year journey around the world. Eventually I delayed my departure in Vienna for one month, as I did not spend even a month during my previous two trips around the world in Asia, limiting myself to Singapore as hub to visit the than "Top-10-Islands-to-visit" of Tioman, before heading for more familiar terrains like Australia and New Zealand. Hey, meanwhile I am touring some 2 1/2 months through Southeast Asia. Hav...

The last time I eventually walked along a beach was in April the day before I left Beira and the African continent behind. And while globetrotting for two months up north Thailand and Laos, I finally arrived at the old- fashioned  sea-bath of Hua Hin, known for its small fishing port and fresh seafood. It makes a nice stop-over on the way down to the famous islands on the east and west of Thailand, scattered over the Golf of Siam and the Andaman Sea. Celebrating the occasion, I enjoyed my sun-downer right at the jetty watching the local fishermen unloading the daily catch, while others departed for a long night of hard work offshore. Next day I took the night ferry to Ko Samui, one of Thailand's pearls southeast. On board I met a group of American students on an exchange program in Singapore, all heading for the probably biggest party event in Southeast Asia: The Haad Rin Full Moon Party on Ko Pha Ngan ( www.phangan.info ). It went off some 25 years ago as someone'...

Lost in history ... but let me start first with today's topic: Happy Birthday, Ryuko! I think it is wonderful how our brain is capable creating links that are not obvious, and probably, nor pop-up to make sense. At least you are present at my journey around-the-world, as you were in person during my previous two trips some 20 years ago. 25/55. Congratulations, today (25) you caught up with me (55). Eventually the figure jumped into my eyes while watching local news. With absolutely no understanding of the  beautiful  drawings of Thai language, it was the date that caused some irritation, or better said, that provoked my curiousity. And while taking some notes on historical dates surrounding my visits to the ancient ruins of Wat Phou (Laos) and Ayutthaya (Thailand) for this post, I stumbled also over the fact that Thais use both the Western Gregorian and a Buddhist calendar - the latter based on the year 543BC, the year Buddha entered Nirvana . What a nice coinc...

I made my way down South to walk through the ancient ruins of Wat Phou: being in person at a location, without having certainty that my physical presence will inspire or influence my imagination of the evolutionary story of our civilization. Visiting a World Heritage Site allows me, beside the fact of acknowledgement by a global community about the significance of a particular place to mankind, to add the possibility of making myself a picture from different angles and perspectives. It's not about theory, nor a case study, but rather the power of the momentum that authentic experiences unleash. In fact, I decided for that reason to visit instead of the "must-see" site of Angkor Wat in Cambodia two locations that receive less package tour visitors, Ayutthaya in Thailand - next on my way back to Bangkok - and Wat Phou.  The day I was walking through the remains of the latter and sitting under the shady trees overgrowing the loose reassembled stone ...

Once you lived in Africa, you'll never forget it. To manifold and different are your experiences from your own socioeconomic conditions, not to mention the cultural-historical background. However, my last two days on the road, to be more precise on a so-called local bus, were like one of your favored movies passing through your mind: a lifetime experience of a roadtrip in rural subsaharan Africa. I guess the bus from Savannakhet down South to the Emerald Triangle, where the borders of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand meet not far from the plateau that sparkles 4000 islands over the Mekong river, must have been pre-loaded over night. Motorbikes, handcraft products and rice bags on the roof, fabric packages and corn bags all along the floor ... the passengers still missing to find a seat that still had parts of its cushions on the blanc metal frames. Oh, one small difference: Eventually we departed on time. However, one hour into the second leg we got stucked with a flat tire. Bu...