South Mumbai stroll

Let it go
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

Bangkok arrival

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My flight was easy, and I arrived in the late afternoon at Daria’s place. It turned out to be one of the most impressive and sought after apartment towers in Bangkok, on the renowned Langsuan Road. It’s like entering another world, guards open the door and salute, the entry hall alone is impressive with its […] 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 Mandarin’s House

Let it go
The historic center of Macau is filled with places to visit. One of the most impressive ones was this big complex called the Mandarin’s House. It was constructed in 1869 by Zheng Guanying, an author and merchant who was read by emperors, Sun Yat Sen and Mao himself. The 60-room complex is impressive and beautifully designed […] Read More

Reclamation Street Market

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It was finally time to visit the other part of town: Kowloon, on the mainland. I took the ferry from downtown that brings you over the Victoria Harbour in less than 10 minutes. The views on Hong Kong are fantastic. If it weren’t for the smog over the harbor and all around. It was hard […] Read More

Coyoacán

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Lisa, Renato, Dennis and I went south to Coyoacán, to visit the Frida Kahlo museum. But Coyoacán had a lot more to offer. As one of the towns in the greater area of Mexico City, it got swallowed up slowly by the capital, but has retained its tranquility and small town charm, much like Tlalpan. […] Read More

MTL from above

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After over three weeks, I finally made it to the place that gave Montréal its name: Mont Royal, the mountain and park in the middle of the city. It is more a forest than a park, and a real mountain, rising quite steep. Lazy me took a bus halfway up, and then walked over to […] Read More

On and on and on

Let it go
Yesterday I saw the first rainy day in over two months if I remember correctly (not: it rained last week), since that rainy weekend in Istanbul. I had totally forgotten about that phenomenon, and especially that it makes me (want to) stay at home. In those moments, I miss my place a little. You get distracted […] Read More

Lachine

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Lachine is a little suburb of Montréal, earlier its own city but of course long been swallowed by the spreading city. It sits along the Lac Saint-Louis, where the St. Laurence river widens to form this lake, and along the Canal that was dug to circumvent the rapids in the river. It got its name, Lachine, in […] Read More

Sur le plateau

Let it go
The flight to Montréal was smooth and uneventful. I’m really glad it all worked out with my connections in Istanbul. And it was great to see Heike and Toma and their little baby, already grown so much after two months. They hosted me for a short night and even got me from and drove me […] Read More

Golden

Let it go
I am still spending most of my days at the beach. With my summer cold, there’s not much to do, I need to rest, but I won’t do it in my room. I might as well sleep at the beach. Each evening, when I go home, something truly magical happens in this city. There’s a […] Read More