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 […]
Trainee’s Log, Sept 19th, Day 3
We are scheduled to leave port at 7:30 and get an accordingly early wakeup call at 6:30. For the departure it’s all hands on deck and as 0-4 watch we are responsible for the rear part of the ship. Once all lines are lose, the pilot does a 180° turn on the narrow river and […]
A Shower
Today I woke up to the sound of rain drops. Sleeping in a car definitely has its advantages. By the time I had decided to get up it had stopped raining. After saying goodbye to my kangaroo neighbours I was on the road again. My destination for today was the Hunter Valley near Syndey. It’s […]
Tazaungdaing Festival
The Tazaungdaing Festival, also known as the Festival of Lights, held on the full moon day of Tazaungmon, the eighth month of the Burmese calendar, is celebrated as a national holiday in Burma (Myanmar) and marks the end of the rainy season. It also marks the end of the Kathina season, during which monks are […]
Early Morning
6:30 am, the alarm clock is ringing. Due to daytime temperatures of 30-35°C we now start work at 7 am to be done with it before the worst heat kicks in. I spent the last two days with removing dead wood from tree lines and driving it to the farms fire place. It was about […]
Khopra Ridge Trek Day 5
The lodge is a big house with a high roof and the rooms are only separated by thin walls. I wake up at 5:30 when my neighbour opens his squeaky door to visit the crapper. Given that I was in bed before 22:00, I don’t mind the early hour, it’s getting light anyway. It still […]