• Laos,  Human Encounters

    Jeep Adventure with Coffee and Bombs

    When I started to write down this story I wasn’t quite sure, what exactly it was going to be about. I just knew it wanted to be told. Would it be: Lao country-boy from war-ridden village turns into successful coffee baron and tour guide? Unsuspecting German tourists coming cheek by jowl with Southern Lao countryside – dust, coffee, bombs and all! Or: How the CIA transformed into a powerful paramilitary force through its “Secret War” in Laos. And, as often happens, the story somehow shaped itself. Into a tale about one man who has been setting off fervently to not only build his own future, but to take…

  • Thailand,  Human Encounters

    In Search for the Maple Leaf

    He came all the way by bus from Bangkok to see the dark red maple leaf in Phu Kradueng Nationalpark. “When I was a student, a boy”, he says with deep sincerity, “I was playing this computer game called ‘Maple Leaf’. That’s about ten years ago and ever since I wanted to see one for real.” He is 23 now and sweetly deliberate in all his explanations. Phu Kradueng is indeed famous for having maple trees to start with, but then also for the maple tree losing its leaves at this time of the year, is what I learn. The red maple leaf being nothing less than the…

  • Thailand,  Human Encounters

    Instant tailoring

    The other day the backside of my hiking trousers exploded. It started off with a small tear, potentially caused by a stubborn struggle of mine with a group of rattan and other spiky jungle greenery. The signpost insisted I need to turn right. So why would I give up my plan to finish hike #5, just because the path was overgrown wildly? After bush bashing my way through the thicket I come out rather scratched on the other side. Only to discover that a bit further down the “wrong” way (aka hike #4) people had already created a little bypass. A detour, but nice and easy. Well, I’ve…

  • Indien,  Human Encounters

    Climbing the Fence

    Hanuman

    It’s 6 o’clock in the morning and the receptionist of the Indian beach resort promises to get the gate towards the waterfront opened upon my apparently unusual request for beach access at that time of day. Now? Now. Like we discussed yesterday already. Some of my guests want to enjoy the early morning hour by the sea observing the fishermen coming back with their catch. While I’m strolling the couple minutes which are needed to cover the distance between reception and beach I figure the guard located directly beachside might have done his job by the time I get there. But something tells me, that he and I…

  • Vietnam,  Human Encounters

    Captain of Lan Ha Bay

    This is captain Te. Captain Te lives on a junk in Lan Ha and Halong bay, Vietnam. 20 years now that he is steering ships with tourists through the calm waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. His family lives somewhere on the mainland near Haiphong. Usually he gets one day off per month to visit them and send some money. One day per month. The remainder of the time he is literally laid back on his bridge with the inevitable thermos of extra strong Vietnamese green tea and a good measure of soap operas and movies running on his smartphone while he is navigating the ship with his…

  • Vietnam,  Human Encounters

    Northern Vietnamese Romance

    On our hike today we ended up being the guests of an older couple of the ethnic Thai in the hilly region of Mai Chau, Vietnam. They had moved out of their house in the village to leave it to their son and his family. It would be bad luck for the house if someone died in there, the lively 64-year old man explained to us while he was moving around in his humble hut in the remote forest like a teen. Next he pulled out his flute enchanting us with some simple song, saying that for full moon he would enjoy playing for his wife in front…