The meal was good and the rain had stopped, so everybody was ready to tackle the second half of the day. Back into the jungle. Walking got considerably harder. The path was still muddy and now constantly lead up and down, sometimes just inches from a slope down to the river. The guides were doing […]
In French
At a sandwich store yesterday, I order in English. The guy behind the counter is big, with a coarse face. Somebody you’d see as a bad guy in a James Bond movie. While we wait for my order, he asks if I speak any French. “Only a little bit”, I reply in French. A smile […]
Albania to Kosovo – In Detail
The timeline to yesterday’s photo-story. 5:10 The alarm goes off. Not feeling fully rested but not totally destroyed either 6:10 A minibus (I’m starting to dread these) picks me and a fellow traveller up at the hostel. For the next fifteen minutes the driver makes his route through the city, picking up two or three […]
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. […]
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 […]
Around the City
Southeast Asia is a dangerous place. Lots of people, including visitors, get killed in traffic accidents. That’s not really on peoples’ minds though and when westerners are going to any country in the region, they are usually more afraid of Malaria. Palestine is probably a much safer place, especially for visitors. The Israeli occupation kills […]