A new beginning – I have moved my Blog!

A new beginning – I have moved my blog (Photo taken by Bengt Langer)

I didn’t seem to be active on this blog in 2014 yet, but I was busy. As I have written in my last post, my review of 2013, setting up a self-hosted blog was one of my goals for 2014. I have already put this plan into action and have setup a new self-hosted blog. This was quite a lot of work and took more time than I have expected. You can now find my new blog under http://www.travellingcolognian.com.

2013: My China Year

2013 was without a doubt my China year. Unlike other travel bloggers I haven’t stayed there for several months or even a year, but China has definitely stolen my heart. I have been to China once before, in July and August 2010, when travelling through Yunnan and Tibet. At that time already I absolutely loved it  and have always planned to go back to see more of the Middle Kingdom. But I have never expected that it would blow me away that much and that I would travel there twice in eight months. At any one time I have stayed there for three and a half respectively four weeks and have spent a few additional days in Dubai, Hongkong and Thailand.

Merry Christmas

As much as I love travelling, especially in Asia, I always make sure that I am home for Christmas. In the past three years I got back home at least two weeks before Christmas or left Germany in early January to be able to absorb a bit of the christmassy spirit which fills the cities and places in my home country in the weeks before the feast.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Community

Community in a local pristine village in Laos at the banks of Mekong river

On my travels I encountered many different sorts of communities. Four and a half years ago on a boat trip on the Mekong river from Huay Xai at the Thai Lao border to Luang Prabang we stopped on route at a local, very pristine, basic village without electricity which lies at the banks of Mekong river. At that time locals there apparently hadn’t seen many westerners before. They were shy but also curious at the same time and took us into their village which only consisted of a few wooden huts. Especially the kids seemed to love being photographed and gathered themselves around us to watch our results.

Souksaan wankeud – Happy birthday, King Bhumibol

Souksaan wankeud – Happy birthday, King Bhumibol.

The thai Monarch is turning 86 today. He was born on the 5th December 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA where his father Mahidol Adulyadej studied medicine in Harvard at that time. His father died in September 1929. Four years later Bhumibol Adulyadej moved to Switzerland with his mother, his older brother and his older sister, where he went to School and University. On the 9th June 1946 he became the King of Thailand after his older brother King Ananda Mahidol died under mysterious circumstances on that day. Currently Bhumibol is the Head of State in the World with the longest term of office, he is reigning even longer than Queen Elizabeth II. Bhumibol Adulyadej was officially crowned king on the 5th May 1950. His wife Sirikit,who he has married two years before, was named to be Queen the same day.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Let there be light!

During my travels all across Asia and back home I encountered all different sorts of lights, natural and artificial lights. Down below I present a collection of what I saw so far. Let there be light!

Candles, seen next to the canals in Lijiang, Yunnan, China

Weekly Photo Challenge: Unexpected

Little chinese girl and her Mom in the Yuantong Si Temple in Kunming, China

The little chinese girl is watching me carefully. She seems to be curious and shy at the same time. Apparently she hasn’t seen many westerners before, so the encounter with the blonde western woman who is smiling at her seems to be something totally unexpected. I meet her and her Mom during my second visit to the Yuantong Si Temple, one of the oldest and the most famous buddhist temple in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province in the Southwest of China.

Back to China

“Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I am definitely not lost, but I have a burning desire to wander. I love to explore other countries and cultures, mingle with the locals and support local businesses. I also love to meet people from all over the world. I have just been to China in April and May and I am captivated by the beauty of the country and the friendlyness of the locals. On my journey I met some fantastic people along the way.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Good morning

Morning mood on the river Ganges, Varanasi

The air is crisp and cold. It is still dark when I step out of my hotel room at 5 A.M. We take a private minibus to the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi. Locals are surging down the Ghats to the river.

A new Design – Update

A few days ago I announced that I will test and introduce four WordPress Themes – Photography, Portfolio, Profile and Photographer – on my blog in the next one and a half weeks. Well, apparently that plan was a bit too ambitious as adapting a Theme onto one’s blog often means more than just placing a few tick marks and sometimes takes more time when things don’t work like intended. I purchased the Photography Theme two days ago and tried to adapt it onto my blog for one whole evening but in the end it didn’t appear like I wanted it to. To try out four Themes ten days are obviously not enough. As I am leaving for China on the 17th October I decided to maybe postpone this trial. I might purchase, try out and introduce the contemplated four Themes when I am back home, but definitely not before my departure.