Hello Myanmar
We had no idea what to expect in Myanmar, and we were quite curious when we finally got here. Although it has been possible to enter the country for some time, mass tourism seems to have arrived only recently. We tried to get information from different sources, but realized that a lot of it was already outdated since the country is developing at a very fast pace. Secretly, I hoped that we would have a couple of days to acclimatize in a nice hotel, and to process the sensory overdose of India. And so it was: We managed to book a nice family...
read more15 million and a goodbye
So – here we are, at our last stop in India. Another 11-hour train ride from Varanasi, we actually got here in a very pleasant manner. Waiting at the train station in Varanasi for more than 6 hours without knowing when the train would actually arrive (and on which platform) was kind of a pain. Once it did arrive – on another platform than announced, and with 5 hours 10 minutes delay – we were pleasantly surprised that we actually had the entire compartment for ourselves. We pretty much slept through, until we arrived in Kolkata around noon...
read moreCity of the Dead
The bible of backpackers (aka The Lonely Planet) says that “Varanasi takes no prisoners”. Sounds a bit dramatic, we thought – and dove right into it. But oh my, the Lonely Planet was right. As usual, we arrived very early – around 5 A.M. – and with somewhat mushy brains caused by a total of 51 hours of train ride. Good thing our host came to fetch us where the labyrinth also known as the Old Town begins (Vehicles are not allowed or even possible in there, so you have to get out anyway). After leading us through what seemed a scene of The Maze...
read moreHappy in Hampi
We are starting our third week in India in a state called Karnataka. The small city and World Heritage Site named Hampi is located within the ruins of many temples and is still as a religious place today. It was once the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, established in the 14th century. Once again, our Airbnb booking proved to be a lucky strike: The Uramma Heritage Homes in the neighbouring village Anegundi was a perfect place to stay. Soon, we noticed that the village somehow looked different from what we had seen so far in India. It was...
read more50 shades of green…
…and one elephant. But let’s start at the beginning. The slogan of Kerala (the state of India we’re currently in) is “God’s Own Country”. While we found Kochi to be nice and all, we could not quite confirm it to be God’s own country. Good thing we went to Wayanad next. Me hanging in the train. Before 8 Indians boarded our compartment. Thanks to the generous offer of our Dubai-host to visit his hometown some 300 km northeast of Cochin, we managed to sneak a peak of what the inventor of that slogan must have seen in Kerala. And it’s...
read moreNamaste!
First of all, I would like to introduce you to the “Lungi”. The “Lungi” is a long strip of cotton, that men in the Indian state Kerala wear instead of pants. It can be worn at ankle length or simply folded and fixed, so that it reaches only until the knees. The second method is most popular when walking. When we arrived in Chochin by plane, it was once again early in the morning, and we were suddenly surrounded by Lungis. The old town of Cochin is located on a penisula and calld Fort Kochi. It was our place to stay....
read moreDubai
We arrived in Dubai on a bus from Muscat, and the difference between the cities was nearly an overstimulation of the senses. Dubai is big, like really BIG, there are skyscraper as far as the eye can see, modern public transport, many people all over, and more shopping malls than we could count. We planned to stay in town for two nights, and then move on to India by plane. After having managed our previous destinations mainly with Airbnb and booking.com, we had some great Couchsurfing experiences in Dubai: Our host Shaji showed us around and...
read moreOman…
What do you know about Oman? Right. Probably nothing, or next to nothing. Which was the case with us, and which is also the reason we decided to go there. (Also, we wanted to catch a boat to India from there, since it’s the closest country in the Middle East to there. But no sir, not possible. Reasons for that require a seperate post about travel issues, I suppose..). We got into Oman, or Muscat, to be precise, at 5 AM by plane. It was hot. There is no Couchsurfing and almost no Airbnb. And no hotels in walking distance from where the...
read moreIndy and a Jordanian Wedding
So – there we stand, in front of Al Khazneh, the main and most famous attraction of Petra, the city of stone (seen in the picture above). A rather special moment for me: Ever since I first saw Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, seeing this has been on my bucket list. But, as it appears, it has probably been on the bucket list of lots of other people, too. Even though we were told that this was about half the usual amount of visitors due to the unstable political situation of the Middle East, it felt … wrong. Too many people, all taking the...
read moreInto the sand
It is so quiet I can literally hear the blood rushing through my veins. Absolute silence. I open my eyes and see the milkyway bend over me. Millions of stars, and I stare at them, trying to capture the beauty of this sight. The air is chilly and clear. We lie on our self-arranged bed of mattresses and blankets beside a Bedouin tent in the desert of Jordan – and it feels awesome! Picture taken around midnight with our mighty Sony alpha 7 We found Eid on Airbnb (what else). He offers probably the most authentic Bedouin experience for...
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