The SuperPit

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We rolled into Kalgoorlie at around 10.30 pm, in the pitch-black night. I had started to have some doubts about a potential gold mine visit – what was there to see in the night? They told us though that the mine was operated around the clock, so I hoped to get an idea of the […] Read More

Wine tasting (without wine)

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As South Africa is famous for its wines, we took off for a two-day trip to the wineries around Cape Town. Sven had sniffed out the best places, of course. Our first stop was the Babylonstoren Farm, one of the oldest ‘Cape Dutch’ farm yard. Cape Dutch is the specific Dutch inspired style of architecture, prominent in […] Read More

Elephant ride

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The Game reserve offers a limited number of elephant rides each day in the morning, when the big one, Sam, and his family, take you on a 30 minute ride through the little valley. We were late with our booking, but our guide arranged for us to take one ride, cutting the morning tour a […] Read More

Rise and shine

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Getting up at 5.15 in the morning is like torture to me. I don’t function properly. But the prospect of seeing more animals on the morning tour got me going. Especially because most animals we saw yesterday were lazy in the summer heat, and they were more likely to be out and about in the […] Read More

Animal Kingdom

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Sven booked us in at a private game reserve a bit north of Mossel Bay, the Botlierskop Private Game Reserve. It lies between the impressive Outeniqua Mountains and the warm beaches of the Indian ocean, in the heart of the Garden Route, the long scenic drive along the southern tip of South Africa. We arrived and were shown […] Read More

Sunrise over the Taj

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We got up shortly before 6, to walk over to the Taj Mahal. Our lovely Aman Homestay Guesthouse was close to the ticket counter, and we got there just in time for opening at sunrise. There was already a huge queue, but – once opened – it moved fast. We were there in time to […] Read More

Agra Fort

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If you live without a job for such a long time, you simply don’t know what day it is any more… Monday, Friday, Sunday – all the same to you. However, if you book a trip, in that case to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, you should at least check if, on the one day […] Read More

Elephanta

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As every guide book recommended it, I could just not NOT do it… a day trip to Elephanta Island, and the temples that have been carved into the rocks. It’s a nice one-hour boat trip from Mumbai, the boats leave every ten minutes from the Gateway of India. It seems like a tourist destination, though […] Read More

South Mumbai stroll

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I made my first steps into India today, first with one of the young men working in the hotel. He took me to a nearby mobile phone stand and organized me an Indian SIM card. He managed to get the color photo copies of my passport and visa pages, warned me that I needed a photo and […] Read More

South China Sea

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I did a few trips around Hong Kong Island, to Middle Bay Beach, and to Stanley, a little town on the South coast of Hong Kong Island. It’s famous for its Stanley Market, which left me a bit unimpressed though. It’s a market full of the usual trinkets, clothes and stuff you can basically find […] Read More

Tian Tan Buddha

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I met up with my new Irish friend Connor, who is here on a business trip, and we headed out to Lantau Island, to see the big Buddha statue on one of the mountain tops, the mighty Tian Tan Buddha. Also simply called the Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of a Buddha Amoghasiddhi, on Lantau Island, […] Read More

The temple of A-Ma

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On the southern tip of the peninsula, built onto and into a rock formation, you’ll find the Temple of A-Ma, which supposedly gave Macau its name (as the Portuguese tried to enunciate the sound of the name of the place). It is one of the oldest Taoist temples in Macau, built in 1488, and it […] Read More