When it comes to discovering local food, there is nothing better than joining someone local who knows their way around the place. A really big place in case of Manila. The metro Manila area is formed by 16 cities with a total population of I don’t know how many million people. Friday around lunch time […]
The freedom to choose a lifestyle
Over the last days I had a few chats with one of my hosts. He’s a couple of years my senior, has a family and runs his own business. One morning we were having a chat about investments and he said “if you have good karma, your business will succeed”. Quite a difference to the […]
Nakhon to Bangkok
Another adventure. Nakhon Si doesn’t have any public transportation to the airport. My friendly helpers at the hotel organised a ‘shuttle bus’ for me but I wasn’t happy with it. It was to leave town at 3 and the check-in for my flight would close at 3:30. No problem they told me, we are small […]
Morituri in Bhaktapur
Happy Nepali New Year, everybody! Around here, the first day of the new year is not greeted by littered streets and hungover masses. Instead, people flock to the holy places to bring offerings. I joined my guest family on their visit to the chariot, where they wanted to offer rice, fruits and a chicken. The […]
Taking the Red Pill
In the movie Matrix, the protagonist is offered a choice of two pills. Blue will make him forget all he uncovered, while red will show him the world as it really is. That analogy was given by the hostel owner when I told him how my pre-defined image of Palestine was shaken up by reality. […]
Bunga Dyah Jatra
Bhaktapur has a Jatra and it has a chariot. Both are huge. But Bhaktapur is not the only city in the valley that sports these kind of things. I had heard marvellous stories about the Bunga Dyah Jatra in Lalitput, supposedly featuring a 20 metres high chariot. I couldn’t believe that and put it off […]