I love to spend time in cities, immersed by the creative chaos of mankind. This year I’ve seen a fair share of them: Tokyo, Marrakech, Ulaan Baator, Novosibirsk, Seoul, Amsterdam, Beijing, Inverness, Irkutsk, Kyoto, Moscow, Oban, Perm, Incheon…
Some people might call me a movie buff, but today was one of those days when I deserve that. I have walked alone in the streets of Kyoto, visiting temples and shrines at a leisurely pace, just like Scarlett Johansson’s character in Lost In Translation. I even listened to the song “Alone in Kyoto” by Air on my iPod, featured on the movie soundtrack as the music played while she walks around.
I am currently sitting in a dark room at a hostel in Seoul, South Korea. Trying my best to recover from an exhausting day of warfare study. Or should I call it a study of humankind? Earlier this morning I looked into North Korea with binoculars, seeing their flag shaking defiantly in the wind. So close, so far away.
Yesterday I had a drink at a small place discretely hidden inside on of the old hutons (traditional narrow alleys). The owner was a friendly chap and recommended a club in town called the Banana Club. I was quite skeptical due to the corny name, but he wrote down the address in Chinese letters and we took a cab there.
I am currently back in Ulaan Baatar after sleeping some nights in a traditional ger tent at the Mongolian plains. After five days on the Trans-Siberian train, that freezing tent felt like pure luxury but right now I’m glad to be back in civilization (sort of) with an internet connection.
I got off the Trans-Siberian express at 7 am after four nights of irregular sleep, placing my dusty shoes on the pavement of the Ulaan Bataar railway station. When tired and hungry, you are an easy target for the shadowy existences walking around here. Luckily it was sunday morning and the Mongols tend to sleep a lot.
I shared cabin with a Russian couple on a night train from Helsinki to Moscow earlier this week. They told me that a plane had crashed near Perm with 80 dead and some damage done to the Trans-Siberian railway. Since I was about to embark on the Trans-Siberian a few days later and pass the city of Perm, I was curious on how this would effect my journey.
I just got back from a trip to Riga, the capital of Latvia. Apart from delicious Laima chocolate and lots of cobblestones, the city is home to a lethal brew with the somewhat mysterious name Black Balsam (or Melnais Balzams in Latvian).
The revered Bagpipe Bastards have just finished the Scotland branch of our worldwide tour. We came, we saw and we had a a fistful of haggis. The road was long and we covered like 1500 miles in a week with visits to uncountable cities, towns and villages.
The Isle of Skye is one of the most remote areas of Scotland, with the Hebrides archipelago around the corner. Despite narrow roads on hillsides with sharp turns and sheeps on the road, it’s very nice to explore the island by car. The countryside is charming and some places even have coffee.
