Year: 2008

About a week ago I arrived in Tainan, Taiwan. The plan is for me to work here at least 5 months.

As I came here I thought it would be nice to learn some mandarin and possibly be able to understand what is on the menu. Yesterday evening we found a chinese restaurant with an english menu.

Sounds good?

Squid mouths?

When I start realizing what actually is on the menu I am not sure anymore that I would like to learn. Maybe it is better not to know what you are eating…

Yesterday I was flying from Bangkok to Taipei. As we took off from Bangkok I looked out the window and saw the flooded rice fields. They formed an uneven green brownish pattern that ended in the sea. It was sunny and the light was reflecting in the water. It was very humid and hazy which made the sea have exactly the same orange colour as the sky. The effect was that the rice fields that ended in the sea looked like the end of the world.

It is windy, a bit chilly but I have the most amazing view over the eastern parts of the Alps. I am standing on the top of Gr Priel in Austria, tired from the long climb. The mountains here are steep and bright grey, almost white, since it is all limestone.

Around us people, equally in need of energy, are trying to find a spot sheltered from the wind to eat their packed lunches. Amazingly enough the wind seem to be blowing from all directions at the same time. We sit down in a fairly calm place. A dry sandwich never tasted this good. I only wish I had brought that lemon soda I have been dreaming about the past half hour.

Me and my brother, Richard, have just finished a very long and demanding Via Ferrata called Bert Rinesch klettersteig. I took us 3 hours to finish the climb which was secured the whole way. It was necessary to be constantly hooked in using the Via Ferrata equipment since it was quite airy and we often had several hundred meters below our feet. In some places it was overhanging which made me wonder how well the iron bars that secured us were fastened in the rock. I chose not to think about this for very long though. The climb was not as hard as I thought but just very long and there were no really good spots to take a rest. But best of all, it was great fun! I loved each step of the way. And the picture is of me, I did not steal it off the internet this time…

A lonely old woman with a bent back standing in a rice field. Water up to her knees, her hands searching under the surface. The rice field is on a slope and there are several terrasses just like the one she is standing on. The fields are bright green and are almost shining in the golden afternoon light from a hazy sky. Above the fields there are some trees and behind the trees are several tall modern apartment buildings. They look unreal, does not go together with rest. The contrast is striking, the traditional agricultur against the modern arcitecture. This was a photo opportunity rarely seen but unfortunately I was sitting on a high speed train when it all passed by.

To plan a trip is for me a big part of the whole experience. I usually check some websites, maybe read books, look at the surroundings on GoogleEarth and talk to people I know have visited the place I am heading to. I like to have some sort of idea of where I am going. Usually you do not have unlimited time at your destination so in order to make the right decisions and get the most out of your time, it is not a bad idea to be prepared. But it is also important not to plan too carefully. The one thing you can be sure of is that it will not go as planned. You will have to make decisions along the way that will have a significant affect on your holiday. This is the charm of travelling though and I am always careful not to have my mind set on what I “have” to do.

Planning gives you the opportunity to enjoy your trip during a long time. If you start reading up on things early you can start dreaming and longing for your departure. Right now I am planning my holiday in Austria in August. The main purpose of the trip is to visit my parents who have a house there and do as much hiking I can possibly take. I have missed the mountains for a long time and am looking very much forward to it. Already a couple of months ago I was reading about the hikes and via ferratas in the area. I have been looking at films on Youtube, pictures and read stories about hiking trips to this particular mountain range. I found the via ferrata I would like to do (weather permitting) and because it is a very demanding one I have also started to train for it. I still have 5 weeks to become just a little stronger and more fit. My brother and I are pushing each other and we have ordered the gear needed for it. The picture is taken on the Bert-Rinesch Via Ferrata on the Gr Priel which is my goal. It was stolen from an Austrian site about hiking (www.bergsteigen.at) where Josef Zwedorn had left it for others to admire. Does it not look fantastic? It almost feels like I am there already.

At least for another 5 weeks this trip will be exactly the way I want it to be. Once I get there, you never know what will happen and that is when it becomes real. It is the moment I long for when I am facing reality and will find out what the trip will really be like. During the preparations I get a feeling about the place where I am going and I am always equally curious to see if it is right. It never is but I keep on trying and I am enjoying it.

The plan today was to go parasailing with Linda and Frank who I met at the hotel in Seoul. Unfortunately what we ended up doing was parawaiting. For a couple of hours we sat around watching where the wind was blowing wishing that we were up in the sky enjoying the views. It never turned the way we wanted so we had to go back without even trying to fly. 🙁