China

At the Golden Triangle, visiting the sorcerer, on the banks of Mekong – the river we love so much

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The Golden Triangle itself

04.01

We continue hitchhiking north towards the Golden Triangle. The region is defined by Mekong River and forms a triangle on the border among Thailand, Laos and Burma and is famous for producing opium for hundreds of years. Traditionally here live mountain tribes, animists with quite exotic customs whose main crop is poppy. People in Thailand don’t use opium and heroin anymore and the government tries to educate the tribes to start growing other cultures and to develop its tourist industry here in the meanwhile. In Laos and Burma things are different. There they continue producing drugs full force and Burma is the main producer of methamphetamine and they often traffic their production through Thailand. Nevertheless the region is considered safe. Continue reading →

How to asphalt a road by hand, the drivers who drink beer every time they stop for a rest and arriving at much yearned for beaches with palm trees

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Children of Myanmar

06.12

Map_KyaukpadaungWe climb down the mountain on a narrow pathway and reach the main road. We have prepared mentally that we will walk 5-6 km, but after twenty minutes a businessman takes us to the nearby town Kyaukpadaung. Then we start to wait. And wait. After an hour a luxury car stops and takes us to the place we want to go – namely Magway. Traveling is pleasant accompanied with the usual views of palms and bamboo houses. We pass 150 km. without even noticing. Continue reading →

Strange rituals next to a Sadhu temple and hitchhiking towards National Park Great Himalaya

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Sadhu

09.06

We walked around the streets all day long until we saw everything we wanted to see. In the morning we had breakfast near the swimming pool at the Bhagsu temple. The pool was full of tourists mainly coming from Punjab. In the morning we visited the museum of the monastery which was not so pleasant because it showed what the Chinese did to Tibet and its culture. There are 160 000 refugees at Dharamsala who try to keep their culture alive but the situation is not looking good – if you are interested you can find more information in Internet. Continue reading →

Entering the alien looking Hunza valley and how to transport one’s jeep by a motor boat

 

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Peaks in Hunza Valley

08.05

Apparently we led too luxurious and easy life the past few days and to counterbalance today was full of hardships. As soon as we prepared to leave the hotel the owner said we owe him 500 Rupees (5$) for the tent, but we refused to pay him. Later the hitchhiking was slow but after waiting for a while a guy took us to Battagram (around 20 km.), he treated us to tea and cookies at his office and it was hard to explain to him that we want to continue hitchhiking.

Continue reading →