Happy New Year

Dear fellow readers!
I wish you all the best for the upcoming year and hope I might see you somewhere around!
Lets play a little catch me if you can: If you know where this picture is taken you know my first destination.


Happy new year and stay tuned for more amazing reports on world wide travel.

ON THE RUN

Next Year starts soon and I might be around your place. Drop Me a line if we could meet in:
Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Manila, Hong Kong and Seoul!
As I found this serious documentation the main task will be to recheck if it is trustworthy! I still wondering if Copacabana Else will wear also kind of a bunny outfit?!


Stay tuned for in depth reports on my upcoming destinations!

Anyway- its done!

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

The girl from Ipanema

One of my very good friends- Copacabana Else asked me recently to point out the very special way of german lifestyle or what I might think about it.
When I arrived during my recent stay in Berlin I was really afraid what might happen and to be honest- its worst case!
Not only that it is fucking cold, the peoples behavior is more than rude, but one could say that this is the very special charm of the city- so never mind. As I still own a small place in one of Berlin's so called hip quarters (by the way- if you wanna rent it, please drop me a line) I should have the "back home" feeling, but I do felt uncomfortable. I just dropped my stuff and went for a walk through the small streets around to see what might changed and how people behave in their environment. It seems to me that people especially in "my" area reached a certain level of lifestyle which one could call bourgeois, but indeed these peoples understatement creates a new form of well educated, family oriented, organic food buyers ghetto guys. Yeah you got it right- these people create their very own ghetto- even so people just thought ghettos are exclusive to jews or poor people!
The funny thing is that people in poor areas pretending to be rich when buying Dolce and Gabana copies and in famous ghetto Prenzlauer Berg they do buy rough looking outdoor clothes (fucking expensive!) for their next big track to the coffee shop around the corner. People here are not extraordinary rich (compared to other areas in the world for sure yes), but even within Berlin the ghetto guys of Prenzlauer Berg are mainly middle- class oriented and they arranged them self in their small world. I guess none of them took once a train coming from the suburbs in the morning. Their point of view is "straight" through in depth reports on real life in newspapers and magazines like Spiegel, Faz, or Sueddeutsche. The only "real" contact to the outside world is for example to get in touch with the vendors in the bakery shops or your dry cleaning.
My mum told me once while she visit me in Jakarta: "you can just understand peoples lifestyle if you feel the dust, the air pollution and the heat with your body!"
There is no heat, no air pollution and no dust in Berlin any more- so what should I feel?

Stay tuned for my upcoming in depth report on "sternburg"- ghetto Berlin Friedrichshain

Saigon

Love Circle:

Hanoi

This year I used to stay my very first time in Hanoi and I have to say I am kind of impressed. The vibe inside the City is really relaxed, besides the masses of tourists within the old quarter there are several areas around which you might explore while driving around with your motorbike. On weekends there is a "love circle" in the late afternoon. The youngsters driving side by side around the Hoan Kiem Lake downtown to get to know each other- kinky he?
So if you found somebody on the "love circle" you can go onwards to the West lake to rent a swan- this is real love baby!
Again- to rent a swan in Hanoi used to be the only reason for me to fly into Hanoi.
Many fellow travelers come to Hanoi to see "uncle Ho" but as I had vacations he went also on a spa trip to his russian friends- rest and relax uncle Ho!
Places to stay:
If you are into names- you should definitely stay at the Ritz. The Ritz is located in a small alley just one minute from Hoan Kiem Lake and around 5 minutes away from all the other tourists in the old quarter.
Nightlife:
Is there any real nightlife in Hanoi besides drinking beer on the street or the love circle on weekends? I guess not as the communists have to learn how to have some late night fun.
The main thing you could do after the sundowner is to have an amazing dinner as the food is fantastic. If you into vegetarian delights you should consider to visit the Com Chay Nang Tam restaurant. I never had so tasty tofu and saitan dishes- everything was so delicious.

Singapore

Recently I checked my flight statistic and as I have to trust my own numbers, I realized that Singapore is one of the places where I am quiet often even so just for a brief stop over. So what's so cool about S'pore? Right- its mainly the worlds best airport and the base of my favorite airline. Besides that fact I do like the City very much as the vibe is a mix of western and influences all over asia. If you wanna see an efficient and clean City have a look what Singapore has on offer.
Places to stay:
I got the chance to stay in many different hotels around Singapore. Due to my last stay and value for money I would recommend the Pan Pacific Club Floor in Pan Pacific Orchard. If you are on the cheap side there are plenty of other options around, for example Hangout Hostel or if you are looking for something special, go for s'pores red light district Geylang in one of the many Hotel 81. There you can have rooms for just a couple of hours and even the whole night. Design hotels are on offer as well- namely Naumi , which is the most expensive and newest one, midrange New Majestic Hotel and the "oldest and cheapest" option Hotel 1929.

Relax:


If you are looking for an urban retreat- Sentosa is your place to be. You always thought "Strandbad Wannsee" in Berlin is artificial, than you never been to famous resort island Sentosa. Take the monorail from Vivo City mall near Harbour Front mrt and you will be in a few minutes at the tropical beach in between one of the busiest harbour's in the world. I do go there always before leaving or the airport to catch some sunshine and have a last swim in the sea. Sentosa is not only a beach resort it is also home of famous zoukout party.

Nightlife:
Nightlife in s'pore is not as hedonistic as in Jakarta for example, but still there are several options to hang out for a couple of drinks. A friend of mine is living in S'pore at the moment and he recommends Supperclub. Other options are Homeclub at Riverwalk which is near the entertainment area Clarke Quay or Zouk. The famous Ministry of sounds is closed.