My journey is over after 489 days…
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 /

I must apologize; it’s already the 15th of November 2011, but I just could not finish this blog earlier. With ten-month delay, the last post:

I would like to thank everybody, who help me with this journey – especially my parents at home with all the paper work. I’m glad to be home again to see my friends and to be back in Hamburg, but I have to admit, that the world with all the different cultures, landscapes, countries and varieties is one big friend in my life now. I will definitely visit a few countries again and of course there are a few places, where I don’t have to go again – nevertheless I’m very happy being there once.
I started to make a list in the beginning, counting what kind of transport I was using. Unfortunately I never finished this list, so I can only say that I’ve flewn with 27 airplanes, visited 17 countries and I guess I’ve used more than a 100 buses and around 30 ferries/boats. I bought a old motorbike (thank’s Vince for convincing me) and an even older 4×4 Landcruiser. I could list up everything, but you should read my articles!
It doesn’t matter what and how I count, but it was the best time of my life. There is no day I want to change,  there is nobody I wouldn’t like to met again and of course there are a few people out there with who I would love to catch up again.

I hope you had a good time reading my stories and enjoying the photos I’ve taken. In the end it’s more than 30.000 shots I’ve saved and a lot more I’ve already deleted right away. I thought it would be a good idea to make a short movie with every country I’ve visited. Needless to say that I’ve forgot to film at some important places and a few people will ask their self why there is only one movie in a night-train from Thailand, where I’ve been more than two months in total?
hmmmm, just grab a few things and go out… travel and just spend a lot time on the road and you’ll will get this flow, you don’t care about time and you’ll enjoy every second. The bad thing, you can’t believe how time flies.

 

Probably the last time that I tell you enjoy …not the photos, but the little movie!

PS:  A special thank you to everyone who helped me during filming.

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Hongkong
Saturday, January 15th, 2011 /

A huge Asian city, with a lot good vibe – just had two days here filled with shopping, eating, walking… went out with Jeremy, who we’ve met on Fiji. Thanks for showing us around and the delicious food, hope to see you again.

Off to Beijing, stopover…

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Fiji – heaven on earth
Friday, January 14th, 2011 /

What can I say?
I had a lovely time together with Mone, my girlfriend, who flew over from Germany on christmas – what a present! We booked a small, beautiful eco lodge on Kadavu Island, the Matava Resort. The staff was so charming and nice to us, the food was gorgeous and the diving amazing – finally Manta rays!!!  :)

Up to 16 guests, a lot of privacy, no continues electricity, drums for breakfast, lunch and dinner and always a cold beer or a delicious Pina Colada with fresh coconut and pineapple. Our New Years Party (staff & guests) was, what can I say? It was perfect – food, drinks, culture, people…. We can highly recommend this place on earth and I guess we will be back soon.

On our departure day we missed the flight, which took off before time -  a bit annoying, but we received a complementary night at our resort. The day after, the plane was delayed a few hours.. mhmmm it’s Fiji time :)

We stayed at the Mango Bay Resort for a few days, with a lot of rain and moved on to the Beqa Lagoon Resort, which a guest couple from the Matava recommended us. It’s completely different -  bigger & newer, like the normal 5-star-resorts! Excellent food, nice staff and really good massages at the spa. Furthermore we dived a few times and really enjoyed our last dive at night directly in front of the resort: 78 minutes, max depth of 16m and really cool creatures. We planned to join a shark dive, which this operator organizes, but we’ve been too late for the first date (on our arrival day) and couldn’t join the second one, because our flight was the next day. Too bad, because these dives seems to be incredible! (“On The Shark Dive you will be able to experience the breathtaking sight of up to eight species of Sharks:  Blacktip Reef Sharks, Whitetip Reef Sharks, Grey Reef Sharks, Silvertip Sharks, Tawny Nurse Sharks, Sicklefin Lemon Sharks, Bull Sharks and the occasional Tiger Shark.”) So, if you get to Fiji, do a Shark Dive at Beqa Adventure Dives! We definitely will, when we come back! Another night in Nadi and then off to Hongkong, my last destination on this trip ;-/

 

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Happy New Year
Friday, December 31st, 2010 /

This is our view from our bure on Kadavu (Fiji). Our resort,  is so remote. No electricity, only accessible by boat , a little bit of solar power – perfect place to relax, dive and eat … that’s it !

I wish everybody a Happy New Year and all the best!
…. see you in a few weeks :)

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Last days in NZ – Meri Kirihimete!
Saturday, December 25th, 2010 /

23.12: A long bus ride (over 550km through mostly less spectacular scenery) from Queenstown to Christchurch was waiting for me. Looking out of the window for an hour, followed by a good movie (forgot the name! The one with Denzel Washington and the prison break…), then a couple of hours sleeping and finally empty the battery of my Ipod. Arrived in the third largest city in NZ I just stored my luggage in the base hostel and went out for a walk through the streets. Five minutes later I found a nice park at a river and lay down for two hours, soaking up the sun and watching the ducks playing around. Another ten minute walk and I arrived in front of the cathedral. I grabbed a coffee from Starbucks (hmmm, long time ago and so delicious!) and went in. The local Kiwi-Christchurch-Chorus were practising their songs and I was just listening them for an hour or so. Apart from hundreds of Asian tourists, walking around and taking photos, it was a really peaceful atmosphere. Later on I took the bus to the airport and met my Swedish and American friends again. We all slept at the airport, because our flights were in the early morning. I arrived at 0820am in Auckland and went straight to bed – I didn’t received enough sleep on the freezing ground.

Oh, it’s the 24th of December. Christmas or as we say, ‘Heiligabend’. We (again the Sweds, Anna & Mariell) went to an Spanish tapas restaurant, drank some wine from the most southern vineyards in the world, which I’ve mentioned a few days ago, and talked about the last couple of weeks, Christmas at home and all the different tasty dishes we are missing. Starbucks carrot cake for Mariell, a gingerbread-latte for Anna and a McSundae chocolate for me – desert on a tight budget :-P

This morning, still Christmas, my alarm clock beeps loudly, it is 0530am and I have to get up. Today is the return day – yeaaah! I am flying back on the globe, heading up northeast to the Fiji Islands. Departure time is 0915 and I should be welcomed with 34 degrees, a few showers and strong winds. That’s the forecast said for Nadi.

I wish everybody a Merry Christmas with your families at home, with your new friends on your travels or perhaps with some other strangers on an airplane, like me! :-)

A special though is going to Diana, my auntie in England. Hope you feel better soon and I guess you’re happy to be home with all your boys and girls around. Be strong and make the best out of every day. Looking forward to see in March! Take care, all the best for you!

I am not a big Christmas person and everybody knows that, but I really miss you all – my mom & dad, my granny, my sister and my little nephew (hope you’re enjoying your time in Mexico), my best mate Markus, my homogeneous friends in Hamburg and of course all of my good friends all over the place. Even some people, who I met on my travels and I just, know them for a couple of days or weeks. Please don’t be angry that I haven’t mentioned you here, but I’m thinking of you!

A lot of people asked me if I ever come back from this trip and sometimes I wasn’t sure. It’s such a pleasure to travel around and see the world, but it feels also really nice to tell you now, that I’m coming back in January 2011 for a couple of days, then off to Norway (as you’ve already seen above) and after that, I am back in Germany for a let’s undefined length of time. That’s my Christmas present for everybody out there, who’s looking forward to see me again!

marc

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