Thailand I

Hi friends, 

As most of you already noticed, I am extremely behindhand with my travel blog. To make up my travel experiences I decided to continue with my post in German since I find that less trouble then writing in English and so I can save my memories before they finally get lost. But as usual you can use the implemented Goggle translator on my page to carry on reading my posts.

For my Spanish followers you can also check the travel Blog of Lechu und Yair which are more frequently updated than mine and include alle photos of our trip together .

Von Brasilien nach Asien ist quasi nur Katzensprung!
Man setzt sich am 16. Februar morgens verkatert von der letzten Carnevalsnacht in Laguna, Suedbrasilien, in einen Bus nach Florianopolis, wo man 5h irgendwie die Zeit totschlaegt, weil dies quasi der einizigste Tag im Jahr in Brasilien ist, wo wirklich alle Geschaefte auf der Strasse geschlossen sind und ganz Brasilien sich auskatert. Um 17h nimmt man dann einen 18h Nachtbus nach Rio, um abends den 17.2. um 20h "erholt und frisch" die grosse Reise via Madrid (8h Flug, 3h Aufenthalt), London (2h Flug, 6h Aufenthalt) und Kulua Lumpur (10h Flug, 9h Aufenthalt) anzutreten, um am 20.2. morgen um 9h schlussendlich das Reiseziel Bangkok in Thailand erreicht. Bin fest davon ueberzeugt, dass meine Reise Guinessbuchverdaechtig ist...ich kenne zumindest niemanden der 5. Laender in nur 3 Tagen bereist hat, wenn man die 10h Zeitverschiebung mitverrechnet. An diese Stelle nochmal grossen Dank an den Flughafen in Kulua Lumpur ohne dessen grosszuegige Duschkabine in der Damentoilette (in Madrid und London keine Spur davon) ein langersehntes Wiedersehen mit meinem Liebsten in Asien weniger "dufte" ausgefallen waere und natuerlich auch ein Dank an Iberia und AirAsia, die es mir ermoeglicht haben fuer insgesamt schlappe 350Euro diese halbe Weltreise mit zu finanzieren.

Lost in Tranlation
Nach 3 Monaten Brasilien war ich es gewohnt mit Gott und Welt zu quatschen und immer die Leute nach dem Warum zu fragen, wenn mir etwas Ungewoehnliches aufgefallen ist. Eine der gravierensten Umstellung fuer mich deshalb in Asien die sprachliche Umstellung - auch min rudimentaeres Englisch half mir hier in Thailad kaum weiter um zumindest meine grundlegenden Beduerfnisse kund zu  tun. Und da Asien nochmal einen weiteren grossen Schritt vom westlichen Kulrturkreis weiter entfernt ist, war es doppelt so aergerlich fuer mich auf einmal in die Beobachterrolle versetzt zu werden und alle Hintergrundinfos zum Land lediglich aus einem Reisefuehrer zu ziehen. Trotzdem mich die Thais nicht verstehen, sind Sie extrem gastfreundlich und hilfsbereit. Das Wort "Nein" scheint in Ihrem Wortschatz nicht zu existieren und Sie tragen immer ein breites Laecheln zur Schau - deshalb kann man Ihnen auch einfach nicht boese sein, wenn man z.B. ein Muesli mit Fruechten und Yoghurt bestellt, der Besitzer aber leider kein Muesli mehr vorraetig hat und einem stattdessen eine grosse Schale voll Fruechten und Yoghurt kredenzt liebevoll mit Koernen verziert, in der stillen Hoffnung, dass ich nicht mitbekomme, dass mein Muesli gar kein Muesli enthaelt. Oder man ein Gericht mit "Prawns" bestellt, sie einem aber "Pork" vorsetzen (die Woerter klingen fuer sie halt so schrecklich aehnlich :) ) - oder wie man hier in Thailand zu sagen flegt - "Same, Same - But different" ;). Anmwerkung an Rande: Auch die Brasilianer quaelen aehnliche Verstaendnisprobleme mit dem  Deutschen und Englischen, wie ich anhand Gabi mitbekommen konnte:  "Beach" / "Bitch" oder "Hure" / "Ruhe", wo ist da der Unterschied.

Bangkok 
Auch wenn Rio und Sao Paulo bei weitem Bangkoks Einwohnerzahl von 9 Millionen spraengen (1/7 von ganz Thailand), wirkte es auf mich trotzdem viel hektischer. Zum einen mag es an der feucht-schwuele Hitze liegen, die die Luft sozusagen zum Stehen bringt, woraufhin ich meine Sightseeing Gewohnheiten dahingehend modifizierte, jeden der tausend klimatisierten "7Eleven" (= eine Kette von 24h Minimaerkten) auf dem Weg einen Besuch abzustatten. Zum anderen ist Asien der Kontinent der  "Scooter", die nicht nur eine stetig lauten Geraeuchschpegel verursachen, sondern auch auch die Luft extrem mit Ihren Abgasen belasten. Der 0815-City Thai traegt deshalb immer einen Mundschutz um Atemwegserkrankungen zu entgehen.

Abgesehen davon ist Bangkok auf jedenfall mal ein Reise wert - auf der einen Seite spiegelt die Stadt Thailand's  wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung wieder, wenn man dessen Business District betrachtet mit unzaehligen Hochhaeusern, supermodernen Shoppingmalls und Kinos und dessen Skytrain, die einem in nullkommanichts von Punkt A nach B bringt. 

Das andere Bangkok scheint aber seine Geschichte und Traditionen zu bewahrt zu haben ,wenn man die Anmengung an Tempelanlagen, Buddhas und Schreinen, den Koenigspalast, Chinatown, Maerkten oder die schwimmenden Hausbooten im Fluss sieht. Man kann locker eine Woche hier verbringen und hat danach immer noch das Gefuehl nicht alles gesehen zu haben. Einer der schoensten Tempel, die ich bis dato auf meiner Reise gesehen habe, ist der Wat Arun, eine indische Tempelanlage mit vielen bunten Figuren verziert, die idyllisch am Fluss von Bangkok gelegen ist. Die vielen kleinen Glocken an den Spitzen der Pagoden klingen leise im Wind und lassen einen kurzzeitig das Chaos der Stadt vergessen. Und zum Sonnenuntergang ist das ganze Szenario nochmal doppelt so schoen.

Und dann gibt es da noch das 3. Gesicht Bangkoks - das beruehmberuechtigte Backpacker-Viertel "Khaosan Road" - ein eigener kleiner Mikrokosmos, bestehend aus 4-5 Strassen, die vollgepackt mit Hostals, westlichen Bars und Restaurant sind und auf den Strassen jeglicher Souvenir-schnick-schnack angeboten wird. In Thailand kann man praktisch alles gefaelscht erstehen, angefangen von meiner neue "RayBen" Sonnenbrille, meinen neuen "North Face" Rucksack bis zu den kopierten "Lonely Planet" Reisefuehrern. Schick reisen kann so billig sein ;). Und auch westliches Essen oder gemuetliche Videoabende in einer Bar brauch man hier nicht verzichten. Allerdings zieht die Khaoson Road mit diesem Ambiente deshalb magisch alle Auslaender an, so dass man sich dort eher in Europa, als in Asien fuellt. Thais haben normalerweise kein Geld uebrig, um gross auszugehen und ein Bierchen in der Bar zu zischen. Deshalb kommt es einem schon komisch vor die vielen huebschen jungen Thai Frauen hier in den Diskotheken zu sehen, von den Thai-Maennern fehlt allerdings jegliche Spur. 

Um einen tieferen Einblick in Thailand's Sextourismus zu erhalten, brauch man nur mal einen Abstecher in Bangkok's Rotlichviertel zu machen. Dort kann man Augenzeuge eines anderen fragwuerdigen Touristenhighlight werden - der beruehmten PingPong Shows, die an jeder Ecke angeboten werden. Und dabei handelt es sich nicht um High-Professional Tischtennistourniere, wie der Name evtl. vermuten laesst. Wenig bekleidete Asiatinnen stellen sich auf einer kleinen Buehne zur Schau und zeigen Ihr kurioses Talente wie z.B. sich meterlange Rasierklingenkette aus der Vagina ziehen, einen Stift in dieselbige stecken, um dann etwas auf ein Blatt Papier zu schreiben oder aber mit einem Rohr in der Vagina Geburtstagskerzen auszupusten bzw. Lustballon abschliessen und vieles mehr. Aus Neugier wollte ich zumindest kurz auch einmal solch eine Show sehen und wir folgten einem Schlepper mit dem Angebot in eine Bar lediglch die Getraenke zu bezahlen, wobei ein Bier ca.2,5 Euro (+100 Baht) kosten sollte. Nachdem wir unser Bier geleert habe, wurde uns eine horende Rechnung von 12.000 Baht praesentiert fuer jgl. Pseudo-Extra, was man sich vorstellen kann. Gluecklicherweise waren wir zu viert und haben darauf behaart nur die Biere zubezahlen,wie esunsgesagt wurde. Klaro, der Typ, der uns hierher gelockt hat, war nicht mehr da und Wort stand gegen Wort . Erst wurde die Ladenbesitzerin laut und ungemuetlich, dann kam der Chef und versuchte den Preis runterzuhandeln, in der Hoffnung, dass wir Stress vermeiden wollen und ihm wengistens die Haelte des Geldes fuer die10min Show geben. Aber wir blieben stur und es waere deshalb fast zu einem kurzen Handgemenge gekommen. Gluecklicherweise sind die Thais aber eher klein und schmaechtig und sind mit der Angst belastet evtl. Ihr Gesicht zu verlieren und liessen uns dann schliesslich ziehen.

Wer es eher entspannter mag, sollte einer der beruehmten Thai Massagen ausprobieren.  Der neueste Schrei in Bangkok sind gerade Fisch-Fussmassagen. Man setzt sich auf eine Bank und steckt seien Fuesse in ein Aquarium voller kleiner Fische, die gierig beginnen Deine Hornhaut abzuknabbern...Yummy! Einige Tage spaeter waren wir bei den Erawari Wasserfaellen im Umland baden, wo ich kostenlos eine Vollkoerpermassage von den vielen Fischen im Wasser bekommen haben. Aber ich empfand es eher als Adrenalinstoss, als Entspannung, wenn Dich kontinuierlich ein Fischschwarm verfolgt und Dich ueberall leicht am Koerper zwickt.

Nochmehr tierische Leckerbissen werden in den vielen Strassenstaenden von Bangkok angeboten. Unbedingt sollte man einmal eine der geroesteten Delikatessen probieren - Wuermer, Heuschrecken, Skorpione, etc. Um mir die Medaille "Ich hab's mal gemacht und kann nun mitreden" zu verdienen, hab ich mich ueberwunden und ein Habs Skorpion gekostet...abgesehen, dass diese extrem knusprig sind, erinnert der Geschmack am Ehesten an karamelisierten Malz. Ich sag mal - Thai Curry trifft dann doch eher meinem Geschmack :).

Last but not least durfte es in der Hauptstadt dann noch ein bissl Hochkultur sein, ausserdem um einen Referenzpunkt zu erhalten, ob sich das thailaendische Puppenspiel, was ueberrraschenderweise erst seit 100Jahren existiert, mit der langjaehrigen Puppentheaterkultur in Magdeburg, meiner Heimatstadt, auch wirklich messen kann. Wie ich feststellen konnte, haellt auch Hightech in diesem Metier Einzug und ich konnte den ersten Puppenrobot in meinem Leben sehen...Madame Tussaud laesst gruessen. Ich bevorzuge dann doch eher die alte Schule mit super filigranen Puppen, die im Durchschnitt ueber 1m gross sind. Die Puppenspieler waren so versiert, man hat den wirklich Eindruck, die Puppen sind Menschen, so geschmeidig bewegen sie sich.

Read more

Carnival 2010

And then there it was - my big farewell party from Brazil which coincide more or less by sheer good fortune with CARNIVAL ;)....but not in Rio, Salvador or Recife where the whole world invade these days (13. -16.2.) - No, the secret place to be for Carnival in the South of Brazil is called Laguna in the State of Santa Catharina. 360days of the year a further sleepy average medium-sized city at the beach without anything outstanding to mention, but during these 5days the city gets more than crowed with over 1 Million people from all over the South of Brazil - so a real native Carnival where foreign people are rarely seen.

So, how a typical street carnival look like?
You start with a proper breakfast/lunch when you wake up, about 2 p.m with some toast and cheese and ketchup, muesli, crackers, spaghetti or whatever you find to kill the last alcohol in your blood from last night. Then you have a quick shower and start with your first beer in the new day before having a small rest as the beach. Back at 4 or 5 p.m. you finish your stroll in the supermarket buying sufficient fresh supplies for the following night - with most essentials beer, red bull, vodka or other tough spirits, lots of ice cubes and to recover the German hangover the next morning, of course, a glass of pickles, because sour makes you funny we use to say ;).

Before starting with a second round of alcohol at this day you better prepare your stomach well with some hot dogs for example...But be careful of a new culture shock - for Brazilians (Gabi and his brother Dani) and Germans (Sebastian and Patrick) hot dogs might not be the same and can court everyone's resentment in the kitchen when it comes to the preparation:

• Brazilian style: Bread, filled with a pre-cooked tomate sauce with sausage slices, onion and corn, topped with some pickles and grated cheese and finally some potato chips sticks on top.
• German Style: Put a warm sausage inside a breads with some ketchup and mustard with some roasted onions and a pickle.

When in Rome do as the Romans do, we tried the Brazilian version and I have to admit, although I am not the biggest fast food fan, the Brazilian hot dog was outstanding.

For digestion we started with a second round of beer after dinner sitting in the frontyard of our bungalow playing some guitar and watching and chatting with people who went by. About 7 p.m. you get yourself ready, put the rest of the alcohol plus ice in a cold box with and displace your party in a friend's house before you finally end up at the main street about 22 p.m..So, officially at this point the real party starts. Big trucks with bands and people dancing on top pass by on the street which you can follow or you make a stop at one of the cars with their huge loudspeaker in their trunks playing predominantly Baile-funk and Hip Hop. And in keeping with the saying "as dirtier the music as better the party", you get a slight idea during Carnival where their fame as the "hottest" country comes from. The women tend to wear less clothes and dancing in a non-ambiguous way and if you count Carnival as exceptional circumstances you can easily get kissed several times a day if you don't mind - but don't bother the poor guys with small talk - so, they never win the personal trophy of the most kissed man at night. To stay easy-going and not annoyed by so many people you keep yourself on certain level with at best "red-bull beer" - because since it's quite hot at night, it doesn't make you so dizzy. Or you try a "Kapeta", which got sold an every corner - a typical Brazilian Mix-Cocktail out of vodka, sweet condensed milk and some fruit juice. So actually this street festival is more a big drinking bout without any obligation to dress up yourself - only at Carnival Sunday traditionally the guys dress up as women and are excited to show up with their feminine side, although Brazilians in their normal life don't tend to be that tolerant with gays. So you can keep going dancing, drinking and meeting new people all night long til sunrise to accompany the last trucks at home.

As a final summary can be said, of course, it wasn't the typical Brazilian Carnival as known from the media - f.e.like Rio where the big Samba schools made their procession the entire night through a Sambadromo and you attend only as an spectator, but although different the street carnival in Laguna was really great being are in the thick of the spectacle with Brazilian friends having lots of fun. And to close my post with THE tourist Thai slogan "Same-Same, but different" - I think one Carnival in Brazil wasn't enough to get a complete impression of what a real Brazilian Carnival is like....so Rio, Salvador or Recife.....count on me for a next time!!!!

Read more

Santa Catarina

DEAR READER...MY CAMERA GOT BROKEN ;(...SO FOTOS WILL FOLLOW AS SOON I GET THEM FROM MY FRIENDS....to accelerate this process, please address a polite reminder to: patri...@... ;)

After travelling some thousands of kilometres in January without making longer stops, for me a perfect opportunity that a good friend of mine, Sebastian, starts his stay in Brazil short be before my departure and even better when he has some really nice friends in Florianopolis with a house at the beach were we could stay for free. If that isn't enough already another friend from Sebastian from Germany, Patrick, also joined our trip....always better persevere your unemployment in Brazil in summer than in the cold Germany ;).

Our hosts Gabi and Wagner lived with 2 further friends from university in a simple but nice house in Campeche (a district of Floripa), directly at the beach with their dog, a proper barbecue inside and outside the house, hammocks on the terrace and the surfboards within reach to get the next perfect wave within eye shot. As nearly normal in the backpacker world, both spoke a very good German, but even more impressive Gabi spoke with Bavarian accent and Wagner with a Swiss one, since both spent last year some months there. We enjoyed so much their company and this heaven on earth where they live, so we took advantage of their hospitality for an entire week - having our own room, late breakfast on the terrace, beach life every day, homemade food and improvised guitar sessions at night where Gabi gave us a lesson in German culture of music: Please here it yourself! Funny von Dannen: Okapiposter ... very catchy tune!
Furthermore this life there don't have to be expensive in case you like eating fish. Every evening the fishermen take in their nets and since they are only a couple of old men they are reliant on helping hands to get the heavy catch out of the sea. So they developed a clever plan: One third of their catch, never mind how much it will be shared equally between all volunteers that day...so for 15-20min a bit of working and free bronzing you get out 6 big and fresh fishes which even taste better since you can tell that you catched them with your own hands ;).

But my favourite and most adventures place there was the Lagoa do Leste - a hidden beach only reachable by a 40min walk through the forest where you find blue water, white sand, huge waves and only a couple of people on the beach - no shops, only pure nature - so obviously that we made the most of this paradise beached and Patrick and I stayed til twilight without wasting a single thought how to safety back in the entire darkness...luckily, Patrick at least carried his headlight with him so the one hour walk over rough and smooth, tapping through hidden muddy plashy was slightly less dangerous than without any light ;). But at the end this are the unique experiences you will never forget.
But the days before Carnival we finally pick ourselves up to make a 5days road trip through the State of Santa Catarina. But lucky us, in the same moment we start the motor of our car, it started raining and raining and raining for the next three days....Grrrh! So what to do? At our first stop in Blumenau, a kind of German enclave of 300.000 inhabitants were in the 19th century lots of German immigrants settled down. It's the stereotype model of German culture. You can find the traditional timbered houses there, German signs on the streets, "Biergarten" and, of course, since the Brazilian like beer at least the same like the Germans, the 2nd biggest "Oktoberfest" worldwide after the original one in Munich, you can find here. But we had a munchies on German food so we attend in a Buffet "Cafe Colonial" - which expect you which a huge range of delicious German cakes, German bread, cheese, sausages and cold meat and other typical warm dishes - a true land of plenty were we spend over 2hours eating and drinking in my case at least to amortize my money. Also we felt really homy in this place, wooden chair and tables with table-cloth, flours on top of it, curtains at the window and coffee served in pots...like in Germany =).

With full stomachs we decided to brave the elements next day and we went on a 6-7hrs trek in the National Nature park of Marumbi, high mountains shrouded by clouds and surrounded by a rich rain forest. Our entire clothes and shoes were drenched by the strong rain within 5min, but who cares when you can see waterfalls and swinging with lianas. I guess the hotel owner this night was less amused by our adventures vein, since we behaved like gypsies and covered the entire tiny room he rented to us with our humid clothes....socks at the fan on the stake for the curtains...everywhere!
To complete our program there was still missing 'Partying' on our agenda. So we decided to do that on the "Ilha do Mel" (Honey Island), according to our guide, THE party hot spot for young folks like us ;). But bad timing from our side, exactly the days before Carnival we encountered an abandoned island and therefore really laid-back and quiet place to relax with gorgeous lonely beaches and restaurants for ourselves. At night we needed our headlight to find home on the narrow sandy paths which cross the island like a maze. But thanks to our Robinson Crusoe Gen we finally found the other 15 stranded backpackers and protract together our night with some Caipis, a Guitar and the sound of the rushing sea hanging around at the beach under the moon. Actually the perfect preparation for the following exhausting Carnival season we had to confront the up coming 5days.

Read more

Foz de Iguazu & Itaipu

My longest bus ride in Brazil I did end of January from Sao Paulo to the Foz de Iguazu - nearly 24hrs to one of the world biggest waterfalls located in the border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Caused by a nostalgic feeling I decided to cross the border to Argentina to discover the falls from there and of course recover some of my Spanish which I nearly used since 2 months. And I directly noticed that 2m month are are long time, so I mixed up my Portuguese and Spanish all the time - my brain was a mess. But by self-testing I noticed that a good argentinian ref wine helps a lot to recover my memory ;).

Since 2/3 of the Iguazu Nature Park are situated on the Argentian side, it was a early bird mission for me arriving in the park as first at 8 a.m. to avoid the inrush of tourist and the scorching heat. Brandmarked as a "Gringo" of course I had to pay 4 times more entry fee than the natives, but there you got a comfy paved trails through the park adapting to the flip-flop culture there as German adventurer fully dressed in their functional close like ;). What I forget instead to bring along was my huge thermo flask for my Mate Tee which every Argentinian carried along...as bigger as better!

But the waterfalls as itself were really breathtaking. Caused by the strong rainfalls of the months before the Iguazu river carried lot of water. Over 250 falls you can see in this area but one of the most impressive cararact for me was the Devil's Throat ("Garganta do Diabo" in Portuguese), a U-shaped, 82-meter-high, 150-meter-wide and 700-meter-long fall which drench you entirely. Apart from that you could observe some wild life like huge salamder and spiders and a kind of some really cute little striped bears who could climb up the trees and of course the best - finally I saw a Toucan from near with his big yellow beak which was still pending since my Amazonas visit.

The visit of the Iguazu Park on the Brazilian side in generally you can skip concerning the park itself (because with neary 30Euros entry fee pretty expensive), although the the overall view on the entire waterfall front was a jaw-dropping moment.

Better choice stopping at the Itaipu Power plant near to the Cuidad de Este in Paraguay instead. After China this is the 2nd largest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world in the frontier of Paraguay and Brazil. Because of it's dimension the over 7km long Dam was elected in 1994 as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. But the other side of the coin lies in the social impact that approximately 10,000 families living beside the Paraná River were displaced and in this more than 10years construction period several hundred of people died due to a lacking occupational safety. But of course, the promotional documental they should in the plant tells you anything about that.

But I have never seen in my life such big sluices draining an immense amount of water with such a power that create a huge cloud of condensing water in front of your eyes.

Read more

Sao Paulo

My memories are like a good old wine...as longer I let them mature as better they get :). So, I guess nearly 2 month after staying in Sao Paulo and visiting the incredibles waterfalls of Iguazu at the boarder of Argentina Brazil and Paraguay I think it's time now to remember the best moments.

Coming out of the deepest Amazonas at the end of January, surving the city jungle of Sao Paulo was my easiest task.Only difficulty for me was to get there - and since I had to catch a flight at night and lot's of you know that I am famous for my sleepiness -  so, the probability was quite high that less sleep in the night before I fly might occur some obstacles on my trip. And so it came...After my farewell dinner at my last night in Manaus with my 3 jungle travel mates Ikumi, Maeri and Steven  I arrived at night at 1 a.m. punctual at the airport to get my flight to Sao Paulo at 3 a.m.. I did the Check-In, walked a bit around, read a bit in my book and abruptely 20min before boarding I got incredibly sleepy I hardly could  keep my eyes open. So, clever me, I set my alarm clock, as always, for making a quick power naps, but according to Murphy's law, I don't know how, I set my alarm wrong and woke up just in the same moment when my flight ought to departure. My first view went on the montitor showing "Last call" and a sudden andrenaline rush made me run to my gate - only my legs didn't stimulus to move, so they stayed asleep and I falled on a older man's lap just 2 metres in front of me..the others around had a good laugh and I felt a bit sheepish..Ooops! I jumped the queue to get to my plane and luckily the stewardesses were still waiting for me ... ufff, what a relief!...Again, I love the brazilian easygoing lifestyle..."Leaving 10mins earlier or later, who cares!".

Sao Paulo (SP) was a huge surprise for me. Since every backpacker was telling me Sao Paulo is not worth to see I prepared myself for the worst - dirty huge city with about 20million! inhabitants, filled up with favelas, lot's of traffic and everything coloured in a grey layer. But then I got positively surprised. The mayority of the city is pretty modern, f.e. strolling down the Avenida Paulista, the business district of  the town, a large avenue surrounded by high skyscrapers. But somehow this modernity match really well with the old old buildings in town ...architecturally a really refreshing mixture of styles. So the 4-5 days I stayed in town I used for cultural sightseeing since it was raining every day...I visit one of the best art museums in Brazil, the MACBI and the PINACOTECA for Contemporary Art, furthermore a museum for Portugese language where you could attend in an interactive session about Portuguese poetry - but the little downer hereby was -  although you understand the worlds of the poems the real meaning their emotional and metaphoric meaning you can't capture with only medium language skills ;(. And since SP is the Bussiness centre of Brazil a visit of it's stock-market incl. a lecture of it's communication director why should I invest in Brazilian companies to strenghen the economy and therefore ensure my own working place, of course, was another "Must-Be" for me. Unfornutately in time of digitalization there aren't any crowds of brokers anymore screaming and fighting for the best bid...boring!!!

In SP I did again Couchsurfing in the house of Andre and his family. Andre I got know 2 month before only  at one of my first stops in Brazil in Porto Seguro...we had a short chat in the hostal because I had to leave, but for apparently long enough for inviting me to his city when I would pass by on my trip - So I did and after days of sleeping in the hammock in the jungle it was a true luxury for me having my own room again in his house surrounded by his nice family.

SP is also famous for his nightlife and outstanding gastronomy , so a obligation for me to try it out as well. So, I enjoyed the possibility meet me up again with people I got to know during my trip. So, Ale (with whose family I spent last Christmas in Porto de Galhinas) and his friends took me out for dinner to a Terimaki place - this is a kind a portuguese-japanese fusion of super Sushi bag in a form of a cone stuffed with watever you like like salom and almonds etc. Let's say it's a kind of elaborated sushi burger, but healthy, which you won't find in any place in Japan. This reminds me also at the chocolate pizza (a pizza dough covered with a thick chocolate layer sprinkled with cashew nuts and banana for example) - another Brazilian invention you wiill never find in Italy. With over 2 millions Japanese people in Brazil (the biggest japanese community outside of Japan) and many Chinese as well, the Asians also mounted their own "China Town" in SP - the best place in Brazil to eat very cheap sushi. But in general the Brasilians like to mix up every food and drinks . So have you ever drunken a "Saquerinha" with red fruits?...Delicious! 

Another night I went with Marlene (my hostal roomate from Jericoacoara) to a birthday party of a friend of her in a posh pub where you could order a mix of beer and red wine....that was also too strange for me. And finally I also joined a Couchsurfing RODIZIO - a kind of All-you-can-eat MEAT buffet, where you pay a fixed price before and aside from a huge buffet they offer a waiter pass continiously your table which huge sticks of differents roasted meat where you can choose from. "Picanha" (the best cut of the beef) is said to be the most tasty and also expensive one, which they normally bring more to the end when everyone is already filled up with food.

Another proof for that Brazil never sleep I got on a Wednesday night when we went to a bit shappy but really comfy Indie club, calles "Milos", with cool rock music which got filled up not before 2 a.m.. the backyard walls were covered by graffities and lots of "tags" and Ale wanted to blanch me that a Brazilian invention as well....I am doubting...still pending for approval ;)!! This place was nice contrast to see some "normal" people who are not dressed up and having simply fun, in comparison to the Avenida Paulista Style with it's white collar guys and black umbrellas where you might get a trace of complexes having the impression that everyone looks strangely at you becauce you are wearing an inappropiate Beach-Flip-Flops-Style. In this sense I got a first feeling that the rich South of Brazil will be different from the north given that the Brazil's industrial centre is situated here and many Europeans immigrated in this area in former times. Suddenly you get the feeling you are back in Europe ...well dressed people, also with blond hair and blue eyes.

Unfortunately my camera got broken during my stay in SP, so little pictures ;(...but SP ...was a love on the first sight...I hope we see us again on day!

Read more

Into the jungle

Welcome into the jungle! After nearly 2 months of travelling trough Brazil starting from Rio de Janeiro, I arrived on the 20th Jan 2010 finally in Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas..the hub for backpackers to start from here jungle tours. This you also get noticed in the hostal there, which were stuffed by Backpackers from all over the world...since I got bot that often in contact with the spcies as originally thought, I enjoyed it really much exchange travel experiences with the others. Biggest surprise were that there was also a guy from Magdeburg, my hometown in Germany which only counts about 240.000 inhabitants, so without knowing this guy before he huged me telling me that I am his best birthday present. So, dinner and birthday cake were already assured for me the first night ;)...since we Magdeburger are famous for our hospitality!

Manaus, as city it self, unfortunately can´t convince any tourist to stay longer, although it has a really interesting history, as a wealthy European style city within the jungle caused by the rubber boom in the last century...proofed by there impressive Opera House in Italian Renaissance Style. Nowadays Manaus it´s also cold "the Hong Kong of Amazonas". With it´s over 1 million inhabitants and it´s Free Trade Zone many Brazilians come here to shop especially Electronics since in Brazil  huge importation taxes are charged and on one good several taxes can be added. They don´t have s.th. like a VAT (value added taxes) but in general you can add nearly 50% taxes on a product. So overall, one day is sufficient to get know the hectic city centre of Manaus.

Another whole day you have to get along with the dozen´s of different tour operators in town who want to convince you that there jungle trip package is the best one you can get. But after talking to 2-3 different companies you quickly realize that actually everyone want´s to sell you exactly the same package, only the region were you go into the jungle differs slightly.Finally we based our decision on the reputation of these agencies by calling the their umbrella organization asking if they already had any complaints from tourists.

So, finally my 2 japanese friends, Meri and Ikumi, and Steve from England who we met in the hostal joined together a 4days hike to the Juma Region. Steve had also an interesting travel history: He came from Europe to Central America by boat..kind of hitchhiking...21 days crossing the Atlantic ocean on a sailing boat...he offered  his manpower and paid an extra for foof to get a lift. I heard that before from someone and would really like to try that as well one time...will see...perhaps later in India on my way back to Europe in the footprints of Vasco de Gama ;), When I think of that event, it also makes sense why people in Goa speaks portguese (at least I read that in the Museum of Portugues language in Sao Paulo, but that´s another story again). Meri and Ikumi lived the States for some years. Both are deaf and Meri already travelled for half a year through South America and Ikuma joined hore for 1month in Brazil.


On the 22th Jan we started our trip with really heavy rain in the morning. We took a 3hours ride with our Guinean guide, Demion - "the devil",  via car, boat, minibus and boat again to our lodge at the Juma Lake.
The lodge was new builded and the owner´s family awaited us with a delicious homemade lunch. After a small rest first point on our agenda was "piranha" fishing. Easy task if you have a wooden stick, some cord and chicken as lure since the river is full of them. Also it can get very disappointing for you when you always noticed how these clever devils eat up the lure from the hook but you can´t get to catch them ... but better ask the others others because Neptun was on my side ;).

Later we bathed in the river, hoping to catch a dolphin´s fin and swim with them together. But no luck! We saw some rare some those days but when they noticed us they normally dived down. Concerning that you alos noticed that the river sides in the Amazonas are quite civilized already. Jungle lodges and the houses frome the natives pass your way, therefore there is a lot of boat traffic on the river and really silence to get the chance to hear the bird or monkeys you only get in the dawn or you have to enter more deeply to find untouched places.

At nights after dinner and some Caipi for digestion we went twice for "aligator watching" and our guide with his animal instincts found and catched also al small for us who we could also take in our hand. The 2nd and 3rd night we slept in a jungle camp always next to river in case s.th. might happen. But as already proven in before in the Chapa Diamantina, the most dangerous place normally is at home ;). So the first night I bumped my head on a rusty nail in the bath room of our lodge again..same case like the first, the generator wasn´t switched one, so there were no light in the bathroom. But this time luckily no blood only a nerve get slightly damaged for some days, so when I touched this part of my forehead I had the feeling someone was pulling my hair...autsch!

But sleeping in the jungle as it is was a really cool experience...sleeping in hammocks covered with a got mosquito net - not only to save us against the mosquitos because actually there weren´t so many since the rain season was still at the beginning. But there were lot´s of other little flies, bugs, spiders and ants. Every evening we searched some wood to make a fire and our guide magically prepared really delicious plates out of fish and chicken and meanwhile we got prepared our stomachs with a Caipi for the coming food while sitting around the fire.

The daily program for the 2nd day were a jungle hike about 2hrs. Our guide showed us flora and fauna, like the huge ants nests you saw hanging in the trees which looked like a big mud lump. But since my brain is like a swiss cheese we saw a quarter hour such a lump again in the shape of a face with a joint in the nouth. I found that so funny, of course wanted to have a photo with me of that lump...so I leaned me with my left arm super relaxed against it, waiting for my guide making a foto of me, but instead of that he started laughing out loud until I realized that all the ants came out their house starting to invade my body. But better than having a tarantula on my arm which we got know later...a really big and furry one who lived under the roots of a tree.

There were also an interesting tree..his trunk was covered with millions of thin long spikes, looked like  toothpicks. Next morning I should still get know these spikes better. After a night of heavy rain again I went in the morning with my flip-flops a bit further in the forest to go on toilet...well, still half sleepy, of course, I slipped on the muddy ground, and the only reachable something to hold me back from falling was this funny toothpick tree.....Arrrghhh...what a pain! Thanks to Ikumi long nails she gently operated 6-7 spikes out of my hand over the day....and my "devilish" guide was laughing again about me.




On the 3rd day we visited some natives, called "caboclos" who showed us there way of living by explaining us how they live. We had lunch together with them, swam with their kids in the river again and in order to get adopted I also made siesta with my new family in a hammock ... we lied in the hammocks and they were really curios to get to know more of life in Europe...and I also got to know that the kids of the jungle lodge next by also call Diego  and Victoria ;). In the evening for sunset we sent out for birdwatching...we entered with our boat in some awesome natural spots...trying to paddle without making any noises....so the air was full of different bird sounds ...and the deep bawling of the howler monkeys from far away sounded scary!

So alltogether of course being in the Amazonas one time was an unique experience. Seeing THE virgin forest. But summarising I also have to commit it was not that wild life as I expected. To get really in contact with the untouched nature far away from any civilization...at least you need a whole week taking a private guide to enter more deep into the jungle. But although I only spent 4days there I got a nice first impression of the Amazonas.

But since I am so loved by animals the jungle didn´t let me leave without giving me a farewell present...a "Mucuim" a small insect who goes under your skin, leaves a poison there which spreads over the blood circulation slowly into your body in form like an allergic reaction on your skin. Lucky me, that I am not such an sensitive person, as the doctor said, so I felt instead of pain only a light itchy sensation on my skin. But actually it wasn´t really he who found out what it was, rather the mom of my Brazilian family with whom I spent Christmas...Ale, tell your mom many thanks again! But nevertheless I went to the doctor this time, spending 100Euros, to make sure that it´s nothing serious, because Darren, my traval mate from Jericoacoara also got a nasty bug there into his feed and got a numb feet because of that and had to stop traveling for while.

 But at the end in his case lucky things didn´t turn out worse, so he decided against going to the Inca trail at the Machu Picchu in Peru where some days later mudslides destroyed the way caused by heavy rainfalls the weeks before and thousands of tourists were caught there for several days (read more about that here).

So, guys, relax...I am still alive and pretty well, lying at a nice beach again somewhere in Brazil and recover me from my adventures ;)!

Read more

Amanzonas by boat

On the 13th of January my big adventure started...a trip into the Amazonas -into the largest forest in the world. The only "MUST DO" on my list when I planned my Brazil trip. And it had to be total authentic by boat, and even more sleeping there in a hammock. I don´t know from where I got it but I had this romantized idea of going slowly some 5-6 days on the Amazonas River in a wooden riverboat to the Amazonas` capital Manaus, little 1713 km away from Belem.

First of all there didn't exist wooden vessels anymore at least on the first part of the Amazonas trip from Belem to Sanatarem. Given to the proximity to the ocean, the Amazonas river is still strongly influenced by the tides near the Delta, so during the night a kind of storm and waves comes up which made the ship pretty shaky. Three months ago a wooden riverboat got sunk again whereby many people died caused by that and also lots of big trunks who are swimming in the river and can spring a leak in the boat, so they forbid using wood  vessels on this tranche.

But when I arrived at midday to my vessel I realized that I can´t expect for 84 Euros for 5 nights a trip on a luxury cruiser....will say the boat were CROWDED by people, one hammock really sticked next to the other and the floor where covered with all kinds of boxed and luggage, so happy when I got into my hammock with some acrobatic raffinesse, I was worried how to get ou again and fighting throw tthe crowds when there comes the need to get on the toilet later...my final thought before leaving the port at 6p.m. from Belem with strong rain only was: "Gosh, from whom you got this stupid idea that this could be fun...don´t know how to survive these days here."

Luckily I met 2 really nice japanese girls on the boat, Ikumi and Meri, which I already met in the hostel in Sao Luis, so we hang up our hammocks next to each other on the upper deck, which is always preferable because on the lower one the machine room is located which makes incredibly lots of noise. Since we made a stopover at the half of our trip and changed afterwards to another boat, unfortunately I also had to make the experience to live 2,5 days one the lower deck since we were the last who arived on that boat. So I praised the small sticky pink coloured earplugs, a detailed and how it turned out so essential present from Steffi....maaaany thanks again for that!!!

So, how you can imagine such a life - 5,5 days on a boat? Well, the day started with the breakfast from 7-8a.m. Normally I skipped that since I am blessed with a healthy sleep and don't get disturb by daylight nor people's talk. I made me friends with the kitchen crew, so I could pick up my cafe later which is esstiantial for me to turn from sulky, tight-lipped German to the talk-active, happy more brazilian Vicci ;). Shower and toilet were combined in one tiny half-squaremetres spot, simple, always wet but clean. Teeth brushing with view over the guardrail on the river amazonas and the jungle turns your mouth to a direct smile in the morming making yourself conscious by this unique experience you are having in that moment. Til midday at 1p.m. people chatting with each other, kids are playing, won the omen ar knitting, making their manicure, men have their first beer on the bar at the deck or playing domino.

On the way you pass by the houses of the "cablocos" (that's how the people called who live in the jungle, but not to mistake them for Indians). Their women and children are waiting in small wooden boats for vessels on the river in the hope they throw anything useful stuff to them, like clothes or food, since there are a bit disconected from the civilisation. And surprisingly lot's of people on the people were prepared for that and threw lots of plastic bags out. When we stopped at a river city from time to time hawkers entered the ship selling shrimps, cheese, fruits, savories. Big parts of the day I also used to finally find some time to read a good book - hard to imagine but normally there doesn't remain lots of free time to read for me on my trip. But again I noticed that reading books is not that common in Brazil...books and newspapers are quiet expensive and therefore more acessible for the middle and upper social class. The average Brazilian entertains himself with TV- especially telenovelas - and not only women as supposed.  So after dinner at night on a flatscreen on deck the people watched their beloved telenovelas. By the way food - lunch and dinner wasn't that bad as warned in the guide, it was cheap, 2,5Euro for a meal, only a bit monotonous to eat the same food twice a day - rice, pasta, farofa, beans, meat & chicken and a bit salat.

Also not that common for Brazilian is to know there near surrounding. I met several people from Belem who did the trip to Manaus the first time in their life, the same I noticed in the natural park of Chapada Diamantina or later in M5 of the anaus that only a little porcentage of the inhabitants know the nature sites near their hometown. Since 70-80 porcent of the Brazilian population lives next to coast, which they adore, it seems they have no relation to something else than beach.In contrary to that we Germans have a certain fame here to be nature lovers which like to discover unknown nature sites.

What I also really liked on the boat that you quickly got know everyone and already after a day a kind of familiar atmosphere arrouse. Since my 2 japanese girls and I were the only foreign people there, everyone was really interested to get us know. For example a retired policeman who works as a dancing teacher now & started to be a "famous" artist in this region  by making pictures out of melted glass...as a proof he showed me an atricle of a gazette of Belem which reported of him.

Also most Brazilian are such a pleasant company, but there are also single example who can get on your nerves...in my case a young guy on the boat, but since I normally forget unpleseant events easily, my memory also get already of his name. He said he's a tourist guide from a city in the Amazonas and he also spoke a good English and some bits of German. He was very keen to get foreign friends to practice his language skills - so far no prob, same as me who wants to get in contact with the Brazilian culture as often as possible. But in his behaviour we was too intrusive. Both the japanese girls and me had the immediately the same impression of him. He was like a "mosquito", you don't noticed it but it's always there, lurking to get a chance to speak to you. In this case bad to be on a ship, you can't escape. 

I had to look busy all the time, reading my book, chatting with other people or find shelter in my hammock...if not it always sounded from far away: "Victoria, you have to see this, you have to make a photo of that, can you make a photo of us, look at my selection of photos of cruisers I have here, how is your email adress to keep in contact, can I be your guide in Sanaterem"--Puuh, what a pain!!! But on the other hand side I felt really sorry for him because he had a bad eyes and tried desperately to be kind to us, so I posed the challenge to train my low degree of pacience to stay nice and friendly all the time, which isn't my biggest strength ;).


After 3 days we finally got rid of him - making a Stopover in Alto do Chao - aso called the Caribean within the Amazonas. And truly spoken, I really relaxing small village to stretch your's legs for 2 days. The special thing there it had a small island with fine white sand and small bars surounded by green water...a laid-back beach resort within the jungle to have a swim, a dance, a capirinha and very good fish dishes from local fishes - a perfect places to get stuck for weeks.
And to close my small anecdote for today, when we were on the way back to the habour to get our ship to Manaus, we met an Australian girl at the bus station who Meri and Ikumi already got known on their trip before. She told us that she met an annoying tourist guide when she arrived by ship in Santarem who she couldn't get rid of him since 2 days. He comes since 2days to Alto do Chao (which is 45min away by bus) and wants to help her all the time. His eye is a bit strange and he told her 3 good friends of him, a German and 2 Japanese girls also stay there...Puuuh, so lucky devils we are not to cross our ways again with him.

Read more

Sao Luis & Belem

 
I know you all will laugh but the life of a globetrotter is really busy. You are continously traveling  - sometimes 1000km in a day, sitting in a bus, sleeping, reading & going on toilet. The day you arrive you normally are exhausted, you have to find a place were to stay, what to see and check out the place. Later you have to socialize with other people, telling where you come from & where you will go & last but not least the reason why you are travelling, making excursions and culture studies in every respect - culinary, partying, etc. - so you nearly found any time to public regularly posts but at least I want to fullfil my monthly's plegde of 2 posts and process my yesteryear.

Traveling more and more from the east to the west of North Brazil I also stopped on the 11th Jan for 2 days in Sao Luis. Sao Luis is the capital of the state Maranhao, has about a million inhabitants but despite of that number the city centre kept an enjoyable small-town atmosphere. The hostel was situated in a historical colonial building in the historical part of the town which strongly reminds me to Pelourinho, Salvador de Bahia's historical centre. Since I didn't made in Salvador any fotos of that you cn get an idea from my fotos from Sao Luis how it's look like. But unfortunetly I stepped in the Sunday trap again...I arrived there at midday; the city were totally empty again.

When I went out on the street at about 2 p.m. to stroll a bit around, a staff member from the hostel ran after me shouting I should take care. I hate that when people create fear in me. It was a sunny day...I can't stay the whole day inside only because it's sunday and the streets are empty. Everyone went to the beach, so the only person I met on the street were a pregnant prostitute.So I said, better to be with her than alone...so the probability decrease that I will get robbed. also I had time so I shouted a drink for her and she told me that her "platonic" Dutch friend will take her in to the Netherlands in short time - so "finger's crossed" he will rememeber her.

Luckily my night was the total different of lonesomeness. I met up with Isabel, a really girl from Sao Luis with who I spend New Year's Eve in Praia da Pipa in one room, and we went to a Reggea Party at the beach. Sao Luis is the heart of Reggea in Brazil. She asked if I know how to dance reggea, I looked a bit mazed at her what she was talking about because in my imagination dancing reggea there aren't any special dancng steps needed. But apparently I was wrong. Reggea here you dance in couple, slowly, closely together but furthermore there are some steps which I couldn't catch up. So at latest after 2 dances with me my dance partners were very thirsty and went off. So, next thing on my to do list: LEARNING REGGEA DANCING! But apart from that we had really fun, drinking lot's of ice cold beers (slowly I get used to it, it's less strong than in Germany, so Isabel drove me pretty fine at home after how many litres?) and I was impressed, how crowded a place can be on a Sunday night.

Next day at night I took a overnight to the 800km far city Belem, the capital of the state Para and access to the Amazonas. Surprisigly I arrived exactly on the day of Belem's 394.anniversary where several interesting events were going on in town. After a long nap in the bus and a fresh shower at 7 a.m. in my hostal I war really excited to discover the city since my guide tald me there are planty stuff to see. The guy of the hostel seemed really kind. After I told him that I am interested in booking a boat trip into the Amazonas, which he sells to hostel tourists as a kind of a secret business without knowing by the hostel, he offered me a free braekfast in the hostel which they would charge normally apart. As a budget traveller quiet hungry the early morning, of course, I didn't reject his offer and tried from everything - the fresh juice, the scrambled eggs, the fruits and cheese and went to the town afterwards. First and last sightseeing point was the theatre place where a several metres long cake was placed which the mayor of Belem personally cut. So another tick on my famous Brazilian person list I met ;). Every one was gearing for cake, it was so crowded and slowly my stomach made strange noises. Back to the hostel I start vomiting and got squitts and stomach cramps, so my day was done and for me no Sambadromo at night watching at national Samba stars...KOTZ, but in the truest sense of the word...I think it was the "fresh" Cupuacu-juice =(.

After so much time in bed I waked up the following morning already at 3 a.m., felt better again and so went to Belem's famous fish and meat market "Ver-o-Peso". The ships arrive in the habour at 4 a.m. and the fishermen start to sell there stuff. It's really busy atmosphere, people shouting and you can "see the weight" of meat you buy. Than I made a mini-sightseeing throw the town but since not every day a boat to Santarem in the Amazonas where leaving I had to catch one at the same day and used the rest of the day to buy my survival pack for 3 days ship trip into the Amazonas...basically a Hammock (I choos a Nylon one since it's very small and light for travelling), a closable tupperware bow for eating musli, etc., and of course some crackers, biscuits, juice mix, noodle snacks and soaps nad most important fruits. My guide warned me about the foot of the ship, so I got better prepared. But my Boat trip is an own stroy and will be told in the next blog...stay tuned!

Read more