unsere absteige in bhang lung (nordosten cambodias)

von saigon wieder nach phnom penh(cambodia), unseren ewigen durchreisestop.

hier eine impression nach einer durchfeierten nacht.

wiedersehn in saigon...das chaotenteam ist wieder zusammen.

der flugzeugtraeger auf der die autodeskparty stattfand(bzw. im moment der aufnahme stattfindet) und auf den ich trotz einladung, aufgrund von ueberfuellung nicht draufkam. muahhh!!!

blick auf das baseballstadium von der dachterasse der bar eines der meriothotels.

hier lasse ich meine yacht parken wenn ich beim shoppen bin.

siggraph convention center innereien: der raum meiner damals kuenftigen presentation.

..und einmal das siggraph convention center von aussen.

wilkommen in amerika, wo's die freiheit in familienpackungen gibt.

auf dem weg von saigon nach san diego.

quer durcheinander

so. neue zeiten (nach maxes vorbild wird nun auch mein system geandert). nachdem ich noch vom letzten mal ein paar bilder schuldig geblieben bin, meine ueberlangen texte eh keiner lesen mag und ich mir mit einem bild ja bekanntlich tausend muehsam getippte worte sparen kann, gibbet ab jetzt fuer den poebel mehr bilder und weniger geschwafel. nur zur aufklaerung fuer den geneigten aber verwirrten leser: nachdem ich schon bereits zuletzt von der zeit waehrend und nach san diego bzw. mekongdelta geschrieben habe wurdet ihr von bernhard wieder schamlos und ohne vorwarnung in die zeit davor zurueckgesetzt um nun bilder technisch von mir in die zeit waehrenddessen geschubst zu werden um dann aber halbwegs chronologisch voranzuschreiten(zumindest bei meinen beitraegen). da der blog aber die zuletzt hochgeladenen bilder, zuerst anzeigt ist das quasi aber genau andersherum und ihr lest diesen text der an den anfang gehoert erst am schluss. logisch, oder? alles klar? dann auf..., bzw. zurueck, bzw. wieder hoch...oder so.

Binh, the rain, and his wife

So here's a jump back in time. We're now just before Leszek left on Siggraph and I'm about to describe what I did meanwhile: While he got celebrated over there - I decided to become mosquito food and head into the Mekong Delta for a week, together with Binh. Binh is one of the "Dalat Easy Riders" a group based in Dalat, Vietnam (who would have guessed?) and claiming that they have outstanding knowledge about Vietnam culture, people and roads and that this makes them ideal to bydiscover some scenery and sites on the back of their motorbikes - which you wouldn't normally see as a tourist travelling yourself. Soooo... long story short, I got lucky and found the oldest Easy Rider in Dalat, Binh who was recommended as the mekong specialist knowing every mosquito by name and every ox cart track in the area.

Papa-Smurf alias "Binh"

Spending the days with him was nice. Being farmer by nature, he told me everything about tea, coffee rice, rubber trees to the extend that I would feel confident starting a farm myself. He knew everthing about the war, vietnames politics, hill tribes, boatmaking, the weather and one surprising fact: people tend to rip off foreigners! Hmm... maybe not exactly news to me but he developed the urge to prove it to me: Every meal he bought for us had included three dishes and was under one dollar fifty including the drink. Whenever I bought something, negotiating wildly and finally convinced of a good price, Binh would always get the same thing for half the amount. It was priceless seing assumed theory work out so perfectly. "I don't like rip off!" he kept saying "Good and cheap!? Okay!!". In some ways he sometimes reminded me of my father who can't resist buying something that is good and cheap - regardless if it is of any use to anyone ;) I believe ALDI builds it's success upon these people.

Binh enjoyed everything we considered as kitch: he was a fan of vietnamese films and music and in the end I wasn't even surprised when Binh burst out singing in a restaurant, chanting along with another sad love song (to my impression the only musical topic of vietnam) which ran in the radio and touched him, eventually resuming "Yes, I am a very good singer!"
With his obvious preferrence for kitch, I could predict what I will see when he claimed we are heading to a "very beautiful" temple.

A very beautiful temple "Chua Dat Set"
A monk dedicated 70 years of his life into decorating this temple with clay figures.
It's crazy how much he created, and everything has some appeal. I think he had a lot of fun with it: Here a leap from the realistic into the cubistic.

Another talent of Binh was to find out about people very quickly. Whenever we sat down somewhere he would find out which person belongs to which family in which relation, where they come from, what job they do and who is in love with whom. He loved chatting away, and it always appeared that he had already known them before. As he claimed later, he didn't. I call that instant "rapport".

So I was lucky with Binh - but the weather was the opposite. It kept raining and raining and raining. Whatever we did, wherever we where - it poured down on us. Some people may tell me, I should have expected weather like this during the rainy season - BUT ....? EVERY DAY? Non-Stop!? I was frustrated. In the beginning i still had hope it would end until the final day of our trip - where i planned to go to the supposedly beautiful Phu Quoc Island. You know what i got? A TAIFUN. All boats were brought back to land and forbidden to head out into the ocean. Good bye Phu Quoc...


Because of this weather, my Camera-darling didn't get much to shoot. Just like me, it had a cold and was fogged up everywhere. So not so many nice pics of the Delta...

Binh eventually concluded:
"Yes I agree. Everything looks boring in the rain."
after a pause he added smiling -
"Everything looks boring in the rain, except maybe my wife - and your girlfriend!"

Binh was great...

The Trek

Leaving Nha Trang, we teamed up with a neat danish couple, Frederick and Pernille - with whom we started touring around for a couple of days, also doing a small trek in Yok Don National Park.

This is how the Trek looked like for Leszek ( in the middle)

and for us:

The Trek was nice - our Guide Miuk (who didn't speak a word of english) spent his time jumping off the track every two minute, ripping out a root, picking up a fruit, peeling a plant, digging for nuts - while we spent our time eating all the things he gave us, hoping there was no fatal misunderstanding.

Miuk

The highlight of the trip came later. After dining and having quite a bit of ricewine with the guides, Frederick (being a fishing and hunting addict) couldn't help inquiring if we couldn't join them when they went fishing next time. As it turned out they preferred fishing at night, so we ended up walking through a jungle in moonlight - only equipped with a bottle of ricewine, a fishing rod and ... an AK 47 machine gun, since one of Miuks friends who walked along was ranger and responsible for keeping the national park free of illegal hunters and lodgers - obviously at all times.

While we wondering about how politely he usually does this - the ranger was suddenly alarmed by a weak torchlight 500m ahead of us. So he instantly instructed us to duck into the bush, and without hesitation loaded his gun and charged off into the jungle. We eventually stopped wondering about the extend of his diplomacy.

After a few minutes hiding in the bushes, he came back - claiming that these were his friends (we never found out if that actully excluded illegal lodgers and hunters with enough ricewine or money in their pocket) - but at least no shot fell and we slowly moved our of our cover.

Eventually the day ended with a strange picture - at night in the middle of the jungle, a plastic bottle of ricewine and a machine gun lying in the grass, frederick standing on top of a dam fishing and - last but not least - a swimming competition in the river with Miuk and the ranger. A nice finish :)

This was more than two weeks ago. more to come....

Nha Trang

After Hue, we took the train down to Nha Trang - where Leszek had the infamous operation on his foot. We left as soon as possible, since this place is a beach resort like any other: It could be in spain, italy, France - it's expensive, overloaded and with no peticular charm. (sorry!)
While Leszek took care of his foot, I tried to make the best of the time: Two great dives around the islands and playing beach volleyball with dozens of excitedly shouting vietnamese: After playing one ENTIRE game in the belief that i am playing with locals, something dazzled me: One by one, they gradually switched from vietnamese into talking SWEDISH to each other, then began adressing me in perfect English along with a thick swedish accent. It turned out that the guys were swedish tourists with vietnamese parents. Weird encounters.

geschiedene leute

hallo liebes publikum,
nach einer kurzer beziehungspause haben bernhard und ich
dann doch noch beschlossen, (uns) weiter zusammen zu reisen.
wie es zur tragischen trennung kam wissen ja schon die meisten.
meineneinen hat es ins schoene san diego verschlagen waehrend
bernhard beschlossen hatte die hiesige mekong delta
mosquitopopulation vor dem verdursten zu retten (aber das soll
er selber erzaehlen).

meine entdeckung amerikas sollte sich zunaechst aber eher zaeh erweisen. statt von indianern mit goldgeschenken begruesst zu werden, wurde ich von einem bulligen schwarzen zollofficer stattdessen gebeten ein formular auszufuellen wo ich nochmal bescheinigen musste nicht mit irgendwelchen nazis oder terroristen verwandt oder verschwegert zu sein. eigentlich kein problem als solches( ich kann mich ja gut verstellen) aber der zeitpunkt war sehr unguennstig. mein flug begann naemlich schon zu boarden. ein anderer netter officer zu dem ich gebeten wurde bestaetigte mir aber, ich wuerde meinen flug sicher kriegen. (hab ich ihm natuerlich treudoof erstmal geglaubt). nachdem ich dann aber mit meinem gestempleten papierchen, zehn minuten vor abflug zu einem anderen officer gebeten wurde, der dann in aller gemuetlichkeit di ganze sache in seiner computer eintippte, wurde ich dann doch bisschen stutzig. das ende der geschichte war dann das ich nachdem ich ueberraschenderweise meinen flug verpasst hatte, ich wunderschoene zusaetzliche sieben stunden auf dem flughafen in san francisco verbrachte wo ich gluecksstrotzend von einem gate zum anderen laufen konnte um immerwieder festzustellen dass united airlines es sich zur aufgabe gemacht hatte ihre fluege zu ueberbuchen um verzweifelt zurueckgelassene passagiere in massen aufzustauen.

nach ca. 28 stunden reisezeit war ich dann aber doch noch in sandiego aufgeschlagen, zufalligerweise genau mit dem gleichen flug in dem thomas, constanze, tobias und volker auch ankamen. schicksal? oder wird man die aka einfach nur nirgends mehr los?;) war aber insgesamt doch ganz schoen. nachdem ich am ersten tag im electronic theater, nach nur vier stunden schlaf, kurz eingenickt bin und aussgerechnet meinen eigenen trailer verpasst hatte, konnte es ja nur besser werden(war nicht so schlimm, ich kannte ihn ja schon). ich traf auch direkt am gleichen tag die jungs von "en tuos brazos"( den gewinnern des awards of excellence) und verbrachte fortan die meiste zeit mit ihnen. sehr nette kerle auch wenn sie franzosen waren.

meine kleine presentation auf der siggraph ging auch relativ glimpflich ab und bis ich die aufnahme davon sehe, bin ich doch zufrieden wie es lief(vielleicht sollte ich es mir auch sicherheitshalber doch nicht angucken). der rest der siggraph war wie eine riesige fmx. alles ein wenig groesser, laenger und aufwendiger. man kann beim besten willen einfach nicht alles angucken. dazu noch ein paar partys am abend und schon ist wieder eine ganze woche rum. schade eigentlich da san diego n ziemlich huebscher fleck zu sein scheint. bis auf den letzten tag hab ich es aber nicht geschafft mich an die zeit anzupassen. meist bin ich gegen 1 oder 2 ins bett, um puenktlich dann um 5 auzuwchen und nicht mehr einschlafen zu koennen. das ist schoen, dass macht spass. am letzten tag musste ich auch um sieben in der frueh schon am fluhafen sein und da ich leider keinen wecker mein eigen nenne, hab ich einfach beschlossen, nachdem ich ers nach 2 ins hostel kam, die nacht durch zu machen. man fuehlt sich leicht dusselig im kopf nach so einer woche.

hab dann wahrend der woche nach dem langen kinoentzug in asien, mir transformers und rattaouie angeschaut und das verrueckte unterfangen unternommen in amerika eine kleine flasche schampoo zu kaufen. gibs hier einfach nicht! die haben nur so mega zwei liter eimer. ich wurde dann irgendwann in die reiseecke verwiesen wo ich dann doch noch so voellig ueberteuerte miniflaeschen ersteigern konnte mit dennen ich mir jetzt viermal die haare waschen kann.

so dass war mein kurzumriss meiner kleinen amerikaerkundung. jetzt hab ichs wieder nach 22 stunden nach saigon geschafft und morgen versuchen wir uns unseren weg nach cambodia zurueck zu bahnen. mal sehn wie weit wir kommen;)......

For Elmar

Emar is collecting buddhas, so here you go:

The two buddhas that i found most outstanding (... uhm ... in a way)

And here one that strangely reminded me of of a german comedian ...

Hue

After renting two moto's we drove up from Hoi An to Hue, sleeping and relaxing on Lang Co Beach - a great mountain/seaside ride. Many stunning and strange things along the way, one of it being the construction of something that reminded us of the tower of Pisa - same size, no apparent sense and even more crooked.

Also, driving through Danang was a great start into the vietnamese "traffic": something that resembles driving bumper cars: everyone is going in all directions except you are riding a motorbike and NOT trying to hit anyone.

I recently find myself just spending my days driving (hopelessly lost) around the 6 Mio. sized city of Saigon ... its great ... and you see so many things you wouldn't get to see in any other way!

Tomb of Tu Duc, Hue

But sorry ... our Blog we're still in central Vietnam, where we spent two days visiting the emperor's tombs among other sights around Hue - and eating at a famous restaurant that once was recommended in the lonely planet. (Since then it is surrounded by 5 similarly named restaurants that claim to be the original that was recommended by lonely planet in the first place) Here we met the two German Doctors: Thomas, a lad of 2meters (this equals being a superstar in Vietnam) and Elmar, who worked over a year in Bangkok and told us everything we needed to know about having a pleasant private live. No further details ;)













So this is Thomas is swimming in the "Perfume River", which you will realise is a very deceiving name - once you stood by the riverside looking at the pieces floating by. But brave Thomas wasn't afraid - and while we stood there watching him in a puzzling mixture of disgust and respect, a little girl was so impressed that she drew Thomas in his underpants. Unfortunately the paper wasn't quite big enough to fit his legs.

Back to nature

All right, Leszek is back in Asia - and his return rings in the end of our relaxing Big City times (Saigon & San Diego) and we will carry on into the national parks of North-East Cambodia. This Blog is still 2 weeks behind, so David's right: it's time for updates ;)

Entwarnung!

Leszek und seinem Fuss geht's wieder gut ;-)

Chopping along

Riding from Hoi An to Hue and back

Underwater Intellect

Two genuinely strange underwater creatures. Cedric ("don't eat the rocks") and the fish that knows everything. However, he never told anyone.

Hotel California

What could be sweeter than finishing off a day of diving with a night on a empty beach on Cham Island ... or two ... only sharing it with those who once came and never since managed to leave ;-)

Sun in Vietnam

Aaah... sun! Yay!! After rain has been chasing us all along in Cambodia - we arrived in Da Nang, Vietnam. Every sunbeam is being absorbed in any way possible. Time for the backpacker's tan! But wait a minute ... is there something wrong with the sun here?

We find WHITENING sunblock lotion and every woman here is bathing with shirts and long pants. In tropical heat, through several layers of clothing we are being told that no vietnamese man finds tanned ladies beautiful...

Anyone who inventes the DE-tanning salon will be Millionaire.

On the day we leave Phnom Penh everyone is happy.

Backpackers

Hmmm... there is something terribly wrong with backpackers. Everyone you meet has more travel time than you, has been to the most incredible, remote places, has spent half their lives in foreign countries and cultures knows at least 5 languages and 20 musical instruments by heart. Here we see french Fanny - who knows fire dancing ... besides all the other things, of course.

Bokor

An ancient, majestic casino in a cambodian mountainsite, later deserted and turned into khmer rouge prison. Spookiest time: Windy, foggy afternoons... and at night when our guide promised us no one ever stayed there longer than 20 minutes: All flee the place, convinced to have heard lost souls talking ...

the dance

Here an impression of a cave hike near Kampot - and an image of the candle that died right after we reached the pitch black part of the cave. MacGyver Leszek not only showed us the way back to daylight with his camera display - but also produced something that seemed perfect for a proper celebration:
Ladies and gents - On the right we see the authentic cambodian i-pod dance.

... maybe the display IS too small...

... or should i start worrying?

fact is when i am with Leszek the waitresses start hiding...

Phnom Phenh

Here's an unfair picture of Phnom Penh that shows Cambodia's Capital from a not such a pretty side. But walking through the city you will find many houses and old french style villas that have obviously been burned down after the entire city has been "evacuated" by the Pol Pot Regime, starting a genocide which killed one third of Cambodias population in just three years.

So the most impressive sites in PP are not exactly uplifting. During these years a School, "Tuol Sleng" that was transformed into a prison, and a former teacher from the same school became the prison's director. After this career leap, he took took acribic track of over 15 000 prisoners and made sure that they were efficiently tortured and exterminated on the killing fields. Most of them were killed with shovels, small children and babies were hit against a tree. Today only 3 people are known survivors.

But now comes the most amazing fact: almost no one of the members of Pol Pot's Regime has been inprisoned. One of the ministers of Pol Pot is today Minister in the current government of Cambodia. And of course almost all former khmer rouge soldiers live among the people. Now: Does it surprise us that it is not allowed to teach about Pol Pot in Cambodias public schools??

From jetzt on in English

Sooo ... it's a long time since my last text-entry and many, many things have happened in the last weeks. After some thinking (which i do practice from time to time), i came to the conclusion that writing in english would be a nice idea for some friends and the great people we meet during our travels - so that they can participate in reading our mind-boggling stories ;)
It's kind of hard to squeeze the last weeks into some lines of text: During my last entry, we were in Phnom Penh - with rain and swarms of moto-drivers humming around us, and I am now in the Mekong Delta - with rain and swarms of moskitoes humming around me. Leszek is currently in San Diego probably probably enjoying a luxurious life since his film received the "Special Jury Honors"-winner of this year's Siggraph, while i am having my last drop of blood sucked out of my venes by swarms of vampire insects the size of golf balls... But a lot has happened the last month - and hey! We even had some days of sun ;) But instead of writing a long text which no one will have time to read, i'll just post some new pics we made along the way... :)