Tuesday was supposed to be my lazy day. I had extended my 3-night stay in Ramallah to a 5-day one and wanted to spend my last day with doing nothing besides some writing and drinking coffee. Fellow traveller Nigel got in the way though. He’s working as a journalist and mentioned that he’d join an […]
Happy Abu Dhabi
Staying at hotels is something I could get used to. The bed was incredibly more comfortable than anything any hostel has to offer and the breakfast buffet was as extensive as it was delicious. Scrambled eggs made to order for you? Certainly Sir, coming right away Sir! Belly filled I took a taxi over to […]
Music and Dance
It’s the last day of Bisket Jatra today. Or second to last, I lost track. In comparison to huge chariots, even bigger poles and pools of chicken blood, today was almost mundane. Devotees of the various gods and goddesses walked through the streets, visiting their favourite temples. Many of them were wearing traditional Newari dresses […]
Valdanos Adventure
5km north of Ulcinj a bay called Valdanos lures with a nice beach and 17,000 olive trees. Following its call, some of us took a taxi for the short ride out and had a look around. The beach is nice but “sadly”, after many months in Australia and Asia, it’s hard to impress me on […]
Yoshin Pole
It’s New Year’s eve today (in the local calendar) and as part of the celebrations, a huge pole was erected on Bhaktapur’s pottery square. The small square was jam-packed with locals and a couple of visitors. More than a hundred people were working on erecting the pole with ropes and supporting tree trunk constructions. Even […]
Mekong Cruise
The northern part of Laos is still largely undeveloped and the road network reflects that. Going from Luang Prabang to the Thai border at Houay Xai by bus would mean 14 hours on dirt roads in a vehicle that is old twenty years ago. A more pleasant alternative is to travel on the Mekong. Every […]