In front of me is a bowl of red-orange soup. I have only managed to finish about one-fourth of the fiery liquid. I’ve fished out enough noodles to fill up my belly but now I can eat no more, it is far too spicy. My lips are burning, my tongue is numb, there is sweat on my forehead and I feel slightly nauseated. All the while the staff is just standing there, each of them engrossed in his own mobile phone, not noticing the foreigner greatly needing something to alleviate the spiciness. That’s it! I’ve had enough, I need to … Read the rest
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
The same familiar airplane surroundings, the screen now tells me I am over Göteborg, my home town. What bothers me is not the effort I spent the last two days to get to Stockholm via my parents house just to be back so suddenly; neither is it the rather soggy excuse of a sandwich they have provided me with. No, what bothers me is why they provided a packet of skimmed milk, some sugar and a small – in lack of a better word – spoon with my sandwich. What also bothers me is why they decided to make a … Read the rest
In front of me, the blue leather back of a seat and a bland gray piece of plastic euphemistically called a table with the words “Fasten seatbelt while seated” and “Lifejacket under your seat” printed on it. To my left, an incredibly bright sky, white clouds and wing of an aircraft. Up and to the right is a small screen with a rather grainy graphic showing me that I am over Örebro, my parents home town. I left here for Stockholm a little over five hours ago and now I am back. Was it worth all that trouble? Wouldn’t it … Read the rest
I am standing in the clinically efficient bathroom of a German sleeper train. The floor is gray, the walls have bland white nuance and here and there clean gray aluminium panels with painfully clear symbols on them let you operate the bathroom fittings such as toilet flushing and the tap. The only splash of color is a turquoise toilet seat cover and even that is washed out. Everything is so much better, so much more efficient, so much more comfortable than the Czech sleeper train that brought us to Budapest but that one made up for it by having so … Read the rest
The moon paints a streak of silver on the black sea. Just at the edge of it, where the sky meets the water, a series of lights mark out the shape of another ship. The wind is truly cold as it whips at my clothes and the pages of my notepad. The deck I’m sitting at is brightly lit but it is the blackness out there, perforated only by a big glowing disc, that catches my attention. The low humming drone of the ship’s engine and the rhythmic splashing of the waves fills my ears only to be pierced now … Read the rest
The air feels fresh as I walk out on deck and the sun warms my face and glitters off the calm ocean surface. In the relatively low temperature and chilly wind it quickly gets cold out here but I stay to ward off the drowsiness. The lack of sleep last night has taken its toll and now I need to clear my head to not fall asleep again. I can see the trail of swirling water snaking out behind us and another ship following close behind as we pass through the archipelago. The scenery is quite beautiful with the blue … Read the rest
Three empty seats across from me, two to the right. The seats are covered in a dreary blue cloth and the walls of my compartment are clinically grey. Outside the open compartment doors is an empty corridor and to my right, my white and orange jacket in front of the black window. It dangles back and forth with the trains motion, gadunk, gadunk, gadunk. This train reminds me of the Trans Siberian railway but not in a good way, rather in all the ways it is lacking. The compartments in those old Russian trains were more lively and more colorful. … Read the rest
I have never seen a major city airport terminal so deserted. The place is huge and the shops are many, made to swallow thousands upon thousands of shopping hungry customers but, there is no one there. The sales clerks and airport staff easily outnumber the travelers. Large floor to ceiling windows are no match for the cold Beijing night and it feels chilly inside. In this vast, cold empty hall I feel very, very alone.… Read the rest
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