I am skirting a horseshoe shaped pond to the west of the main palace. Due to coming directly from Taiwan my clothing is insufficient for the Korean winter so I have to keep walking to keep warm. In the pond are two rectangular islands with some kind of pine trees growing on them and in the center of the horseshoe shape is a gigantic two story pavilion. Big wet flakes of snow fall slowly but the absolutely still surface of the pond is still unfrozen. The surroundings are rather barren, sand, yellow grass and a few pines, and the palaces … Read the rest
We are flying at the same height as the setting sun. It paints an orange strip on the shadowy surface of the sea beneath us and lights my face in a warm glow. The sky above is still a light blue and right in the center of the sun is a horizontal yellow line dividing the dusk below and the brightness above. It is perhaps the most beautiful landing I have ever experienced, I just wished they could turn off the jazzed up Christmas melody in the background. Except for that, it is almost nice. At least the beauty distracts … Read the rest
I am in the most incredible bathroom I have ever seen. The toilet is situated in the middle of a small platform of grey stone with an assortment of plants, bamboo rods and yellowish lights all around. Sitting on the toilet seat, my feet are only a few centimeters from the wooden edge of the platform and a small pond. In the pond rises three small pillars supporting slate stepping-stones leading to the sink and then the door. The pond is filled with small fish and plants and is lit from below with a turquoise luster. A hidden pump is … Read the rest
I’m sitting at a table in a garden drinking tea, it is dark, the ambient light from the nearby cafe building spilling out on the people sitting here combined with a small oil lamp is the only thing that illuminates us. The early december air is verging on cool and in the background I can hear the noise of the nearby motorway as the walls around the garden do not block it out completely. Three women are sitting around me having a lively discussion is Chinese and one of the women’s son sits in front of me fiddling with a … Read the rest
Ancient steel trusses pass by to the sides and overhead, flowing backward as I speed forwards on this narrow train bridge come bike bridge. The river landscape around me becomes faded as the sun sets and ahead of me looms the narrow, almost drop shaped opening of the tunnel. With its rough cement walls covered by a hundred years of grime from passing trains, the tunnel should be an unwelcoming place but a series of bulbous lights in the ceiling stretch out into the darkness like a band of glowing pearls, casting a light over the cyclists inside. Long, straight … Read the rest
In the upper left corner of my field of view is a tree lit up from below, high above a few lonely stars look down on me from a totally black sky and right in front of me a cloud of steam rises up from the next pool, swirling poetically skywards. There is a murmur of voices all around from people enjoying the relaxing warmth of the waters. Centered on me though, there seems to be a bubble of emptiness, I hear little of the murmur and see little of the swirling mists even though it is right in front … Read the rest
The night is dark, the road is straight and I keep my hand firmly locked at the 50 kilometers an hour mark. The wind is ripping at my rain cloak and the rain drops pelt my body like little stones. The helmet’s visor is covered in droplets that cloud my view, I have to concentrate on the white lines to see where I’m going. Lifting the visor to see better is not an option as the drops hitting my face will sting my eyes and my soft exposed skin. The rain is so heavy I can even feel it drumming … Read the rest
The road curves about like an asphalt snake and I have to adjust the throttle carefully to flow smoothly through the bends. My clothes flutter in the wind and the sun glares in the scratched surface of the visor on my helmet. The touch of my girlfriends thighs against mine remind me of her presence. The high pitched roar of the scooters little engine accompanies us as we zoom through the landscape’s bends and turns. To the right, the high, light green mountains of Taiwan’s eastern seaboard, to the left the pacific ocean. Far out a bright sapphire blue, followed … Read the rest
The sky is blue and the bright sun makes the clear blue water dazzle. Under my bare feet is a mass of smooth, palm size, sea polished, round stones. The stone beach stretches out to my left in a sort of natural pier between the sea and the river mouth, and curls a little towards the tip where the river meets the sea. I sit down to watch the waves for a little while. Close to the coast the water brings with it sand and stones and turns from a brilliant blue to a darker, more muddled hue as the … Read the rest
“The road ends here!” The black and yellow striped concrete barrier makes the message as clear as can be. Beyond the barrier, a sheer drop of several meters then a vast expanse of rice fields and trees, and on the far side, the outskirts of some satellite city. I really cannot understand why there is a stump of wide, newly paved road out here in the dilapidated farmyard and industry back streets of the city. There are no construction works nearby, no half-finished support columns for a road out there in the fields. Just this short stump of black asphalt … Read the rest
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