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Merry Goes Round
Merry Goes Round

Merry Goes Round

traveled in 16 countries Read more
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  • Merry goes places
    1

    Crossing the 4000m mark

    November 29, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Of course there's not an actual mark, but I knew we'd get to 4000 just before our tea house, which is at 4070 ;-) I can tell the altitude a bit as I'm going slower than usual, especially steep inclines take more time than they would otherwise. But we're in no rush and got to our destination around 3pm.

    We had a fantastic day! So many beautiful views, some even of Mount Everest (picture 4). Picture 5 shows you the last 40 minutes of our hike to our little tea house, which is the last building on the hilltop, where I'm chilling and writing this as you can see in picture 6 :-)    Read more

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    In the land of suspension bridges :)

    November 28, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    After waking up to a 5.2 earthquake (no injuries or damages) at 5:20 in the morning, we had an early start and left the tea house around 7.

    It was the day of suspension bridges - going back and forth over the Dhudh Kosi river, we crossed about 10 of them! Oh, and the day of poor views, as it was foggy all day.

    We got to Namche, at 3440 meters, in the early afternoon and have decided to hike to Everest base camp instead of the initially planned route to Renjo La Pass. Firstly, because it might snow and if it does, base camp will be easier. Secondly, because we've been hiking almost twice the planned distance per day. Finally, training in Norway is paying off ;-) We will take it easy though for the next 2 days, as I will need to get used to the altitude. But I'm very excited and am loving being back in the mountains.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Eat, hike, sleep. Repeat.

    November 27, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I've been seriously enjoying the long days of hiking, good local food and lots and lots of sleep. And that have been pretty much my days so far :)

    Today we only hiked til 2pm as we got to Lukla half a day early. We're now at 2800m, getting ready for 3000+ soon. From here, I'll have to take it slowly to avoid any issues with the altitude.

    Fun fact: Lukla has one the most dangerous airports in the world, with a runway only a tenth (460m) of the standard length. Luckily on my way back, I will only be flying out of here, which is the less dangerous option ;-)    Read more

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    Up, up, up

    November 26, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    What a fantastic day! I'm completely beat from some of the steepest trails I've ever been on. Always hiking right on the edge of the mountain, the views were incredible. I'm now in villages that are solely accessible by foot or helicopter. And many porters and mules crossed out path again.

    Most beautiful moment of the day: I made jokes with three extremely shy Nepali kids and ended up sharing my breakfast with them, opening up and laughing together :)

    Here's a 360° view of a tea house kitchen where we shared lunch with a local family http://bit.ly/2gyTDl0 unfortunately they moved so you can't really see them but you get a sense for the inside of the local houses    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Life on foot

    November 25, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    I'm quite fascinated by the life in these small mountain villages of Nepal. Life is simple, family oriented and happens mostly on foot. While most villages are somewhat accessible by jeeps, you do not see vehicles here, but plenty of mules, porters and people walking from one village to another. There are small shops in every other village, and items are mostly carried in by porters. There was a guy on this remote trail, carrying a satellite dish to bring home. The kid from yesterday, Solam, walks 1.5 hours to school every morning and then back home again in the afternoon!

    But before you get this romantic image of remote life in the mountains here - I'm sitting in a guest house, waiting for dinner and on a little TV they're watching an American women's wrestling show, followed by a Manchester United soccer game.

    PS: Picture 4 shows a boy we met who showed us these vines to swing from. We each took a turn :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    One jeep, twelve people

    November 24, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    I think today was the craziest and most exciting drive of my life. At 5 in the morning, my guide Ganesh and I began our 12-hour odyssey through the Nepalese countryside. It was out of an adventure book: 12 people in a 8-person vehicle, all our backpacks tired up on the top rack, bumpy roads that lead you directly through rivers and right along steep, steep mountains. Only missing were 12 chickens on our laps to make the picture complete ;-)

    The landscape is absolutely beautiful - mountains, windy roads and small villages on the slopes wherever you look.

    We got to Salleri in the late afternoon and hiked for one short hour to a charming little tea house and family home, where we will stay tonight. Before dinner, I got to do some reading and math homework with my new friend Soman.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Back on track in Nepal

    November 23, 2016 in Nepal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After a three week detour to be with my family in Germany, I made it to Kathmandu. Knowing my loved ones well back home, I'm now beyond excited to explore the Himalayans.

    First stop: one day in Kathmandu. I love exploring places on a scooter, it makes you part of the busy city life rather than just an observer from a taxi. My guide Ganesh had never ridden one, and so I became his personal driver for the day :)

    Kathmandu is big, busy, dusty, surrounded by mountains and full of culture and history. Hindus and Buddhists live side by side here, about which I'm eager to learn more on the following days!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    To be continued...

    October 31, 2016 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Life doesn't always go according to plans. Lately for me, it doesn't most of the time. But that's OK, I'll just take it one day at a time and make adjustments as I go.

    One of the most important people in my life is in the hospital back home with a severe condition and I've decided to fly home to be there for him and the rest of my family.

    I'll be back and continue my planned travels, to trek Renjo La in the Himalayans and visit Sri Lanka. For now, other things matter more. I'll be back to blogging soon!    Read more

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    Paradise found

    October 30, 2016 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    So glad I did this little detour through Thailand. It's basically the same archipelago where I was in Myanmar, just a little further south. I saw a few more animals on the island (lemurs, bats, monkeys and a waran)
    and we were brought to 3 more snorkeling sites. I've been trying to book kayaking through the mangroves but it never worked out, so I was extra happy our local guide showed us a short hike through the mangroves in the morning :)

    In the late afternoon, I went back to the mainland with a large guided group of 60 French tourists. Reminded me of how happy I am to be traveling by myself :-p

    Now I'm on a night bus to Bangkok, where I will work one day and then head north for Nepal. I cannot wait to be hiking in the mountains again!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Schnockelling :)

    October 29, 2016 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Booking a snorkeling trip over the phone, a heavy Thai accent on the other end, can be quite entertaining. Yaaaa, wui can organize Schnockelling for juh! So from now, I will call it Schnockelling :) The service was outstanding though and I joined a fun small group of 6 others for the first day.

    Just 90 minutes off the shore are the remote Surin Islands, a Thai national park since 1981, with several great spots where I got to see a turtle, langoustes, clown fish, large trigger fish, a ray, a 2 meter moraine and many other fish in all the colors of the rainbow. Mostly free diving up to 10 meters, we got to see some big, beautiful fish and swim right amongst the swarms as well.

    The main island has 2 campgrounds and we slept in tents right on the beach. The highlight of the day was swimming at night in florescent plankton, glowing in the dark all around me. What a day!!! Can't wait to spend more time in the water tomorrow.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Let's go to Thailand?!

    October 28, 2016 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After working most day today, I got the bad news of yet another snorkeling trip cancelled on me. This was the 4th time in one week and it's unfortunately because they don't have enough people signing up. This place is so beautiful, but still mostly unexplored by tourists...

    So in the late afternoon, I decided to go to Thailand, which is only a 20 minute boat ride from here, and make my way south to the Surin islands for 2 days of snorkeling. So off I went. And on the boat I had a few silent minutes to process and celebrate all i got to experience in Myanmar! Such a unique place, I will be back for sure!

    Just a few hours in Thailand so far, but it's quite different - highly developed infrastructure, modern shops and stellar cellphone reception. And of course the amazing food here will surely make for a few nice days.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Work work work :)

    October 27, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I usually bring in some adventure even on the days I'm working, but today was almost all work. I enjoy what I do and the people I work with, and it allows me to make some money while I'm traveling, so I have no complaints.

    One little lovely adventure: I went for dinner in town and ended up at a small birthday celebration by the water in this little, cozy fishing town of Kawthaung. Beers, young new friends playing the guitar and kids playing soccer in the park. Sorry, forgot to take pictures :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Myanmar's beautiful waterworld

    October 26, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    What a day! I joined a snorkeling trip to three islands off the Myanmar cost, where I spent most time under the surface in awe of the beauty of the fantastic fish and the coral reefs. Corals (some of which is damaged unfortunately), small and big fish in all colors of the rainbow, sea snakes, and crabs live here, ready to be observed by snorkelers like me :)

    Actually, part of the beauty is the fact that the islands are mostly unexplored. Only 3 of the 800 islands are inhabited and very few tourists make their way to this yet un-commercialized pearl in the Andaman Sea (/Indian Ocean).

    The funnest was an area where a new friend from France and I dove 5-6 meters deep beside a cliff full of corals and fantastic fish, exploring the wildlife from above and below. After so much swimming and diving, I'm off to bed early. Work is awaiting me all day tomorrow :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    A short visit to Myeik

    October 25, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    This day went unexpected for me, but very good in the end!

    I got up at 4am to make it to the airport in Yangon and arrived at Myeik in the south at 9am in the morning. By 11:30, I had checked into my hostel, walked through town a bit and was sitting in the local travel agency to book snorkelinging and sea kayaking trips, but due to a storm, everything had been cancelled. Gathering alternatives, I quickly decided to go to Kawthoung, a 30 minute flight south of here. I got to the airport just in time for the daily flight, and around 2pm, I was in the tropical, charming town at the very southern tip of Myanmar.

    Awesome: here you take motorbike taxis - even with a huge backpack on, the town is surrounded by lush jungle and palm trees, there are hundreds of small islands off the shore - three of which I will explore tomorrow!

    Today's pictures are of the harbor city Myeik and it's tiny airport :)    Read more

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    A little scavenger hunt

    October 24, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today, I took it easy to catch up on sleep, work and skype time with my loved ones.

    I did have one little adventure though: the charging cable for my phone broke and it's a type of cable which is not easily found just anywhere. So I went on a scavenger hunt of calling electronics shops, asking around, going to 2 shopping malls. I learned a lot about this city of 7 million people (which a taxi driver called a small city :) ), language barriers and wonderful, kind people. I ended up finding the cable at a little mobile shop on the side of the street and was so happy, the sales guy didn't know what was happening :-)

    The most fascinating thing to me are all the little street grocery places, that set up shop in the morning on the curb side and sell veggies, meat, nuts or fish, like in the one picture I took all day ;-)    Read more

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    One last adventure together

    October 23, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We spent our last day together in Bagan, visiting a view point on top of a small mountain range, a jungle hike and a visit to a local market. It was a really beautiful time, although it got so hot we were all melting away. At the viewpoint, Merten was the main attraction for locals, who were taking pictures with him (pic 2). At the market, we talked to a lot of very kind locals. Once they found out it was going to be my birthday tomorrow (after Merten sang happy birthday for me with half the people at the market :-D ), I was given a handmade bamboo bowl, a Jade bead to make into a bracelet, and Tanaka, the traditional Myanmar sunscreen.

    Then we took a short flight to Yangon with the most oldschool airline - they separated the different flights by color coded stickers on the passengers and the boarding passes were hand written! We had a lovely dinner in the city and then cake at a tea house at midnight. We shared the giant cake with everyone there and enjoyed the company of new friends.

    What a good way to end 3 adventurous weeks together! I will miss the company but am looking excited towards the next weeks on my own.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Templemania

    October 22, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Our second day in Bagan was another fun day of riding scooters through the ancient temples, racing on the gravel roads and playing with the kids that try to sell postcards by the touristy areas.

    Since we wouldn't buy anything from the kids, as they should be in school, we just hang out, play games, talk or buy them food. They taught Merten a local song and Bibi, a 6 year old boy, gave me a pen tattoo (=drew a joker on my arm) :)

    For dinner, we brought some of the food ourselves and had the restaurant prepare an appetizer with the vegetables I had picked on my hike. They were a bit surprised but loved our story and made delicious fresh vegetables tempura!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    The city of a thousand temples

    October 21, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Bagan is a mind blowing place! Founded in the 9th century, the ancient city left behind over 2000 temples, small and big, shiny and simple, there are more temples than you could ever visit.

    To explore, we rented electro scooters and are driving from one temple to the next. People here, as pretty much all people we've meet in Myanmar so far, are extremely friendly. The temples are beautiful, ancient adult playgrounds and I'm having such a good time. When we got on top of a few temples with roofs to give a good view, I just couldn't believe my eyes!!!

    Another highlight of the day was meeting little Charlie (pic 4) and his siblings. I fell in love instantly and now can't help thinking I should take him with me on my travels :)    Read more

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    Trekking Kalaw to Inle Lake III

    October 20, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Today was the final day of my three day hike as I reached Inle Lake. If it were up to me, I'd have kept going for a few more days! The simple life here has been very inspiring and I loved meeting new friends and learning about customs and nature.

    The tour guide Momo has been fantastic! He grew up in one of the towns we passed through and knows plants, animals and of course the people here better than anyone. With all the things we got to eat off the trees and fields, freshly picked, I collected a little vegetable basket for the others who missed the trekking. Will be awesome to share it with them along with many stories!

    Crazy to say, but I will miss bucket showers, sleeping on the floor, eating simple meals of rice and vegetables, getting up at 6, and hiking in strong heat all day, sweating like a pig ;-)    Read more

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    Trekking Kalaw to Inle Lake II

    October 19, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Waterbuffalos have been a big theme of this trip! Back in California, I sing the waterbuffalo song with my friends Logan and Aria (5 and 7 years old :) ) all the time. In Cambodia, we saw many and here in Myanmar, there are even more waterbuffalos. Yesterday I saw so many, I asked our guide Momo if I could ride one. He said yes, but only a friendly one with its owner. So obviously, that was my prayer when I went to bed ;)

    I woke up at 6am and in front of our guest house was an extra friendly huge water buffalo, and the owner laughed at me - but let me ride it anyways. Yippee, what a moment!!!

    The hike today was absolutely beautiful! I picked pees, chilies, egg plant, ginger, citronella, tomatoes and elderflower on the side of the road. I'm also adopting to the culture and bought a bamboo rice picker's hat and tried their famous chewing tabacco, chili and a sauce rolled up in a betel leaf (which I spit out after 3 seconds, but at least I tried).    Read more

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    Trekking Kalaw to Inle Lake I

    October 18, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After 10 hours in an amazingly comfortable night bus and at least 5 hours of sleep, I found my trekking group at Sam's Trekking Services with our guide Momo. Momo was born in the area and knows the places, plants, history and best trails by heart. He showed us all the plants being grown here, visits the local tribes and farmers on the way and interprets with the locals. We saw and trief green tea, papayas, tumeric, ginger, herbs and rice that the tribes grow here.

    The group is an interesting mix of French, Spanish and Israeli fellow hikers and we get along perfectly!

    After a short night and 24km of hiking, I'm in bed (=a blanket on the wooden floor of a family house) already before 9pm today ;)    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Express Sightseeing

    October 18, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We had a short day to see Yangon today, so we chose to see Shwedagon Pagoda and a park nearby. The Pagoda is a giant, 2600 year old golden temple (but you cannot walk into it), surrounded by many other temples and shrines for the locals and Buddhist monks to come and offer fruit, flowers, etc. and to pray.

    The boys were all wearing shorts, which is not allowed in the temples, so the bought Logis, traditional skirts that the men wear.

    In the park, Merten once again turned into an attraction for the locals and we took selfies with them.

    I left in the afternoon to catch a 10 hour night bus to Kalaw, where I will be hiking for 3 days. The rest of the group is taking their own adventurers and we'll meet again in a few days :)    Read more

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    Yangon by night

    October 16, 2016 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today was transit day, as our 10 days in Cambodia came to an end and we headed to Myanmar.

    We were lucky enough to arrive the evening of the annual full moon festival in Yangon, Myanmar's capital. It was basically a huge street fest with food stands, live bands and rides like this fascinating, unmotorized ferris wheel https://goo.gl/photos/wYrScTfvA9fmUrRr6. So we took advantage and met super welcoming locals, danced with Myanmar's rock music fans at a concert, and ended the night with a long walk through town to the huge Buddhist temple Shwedagon Pagoda.

    The country has given a great, authentic and un-touristy impression. It's friendly, chaotic, dirty, and absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to explore it further.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Working girl

    October 15, 2016 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today, I took a break to get a bunch of work done. I had been working in the evenings frequently, but needed a full day, so I stayed behind and the 4 others went on more adventures. It was very good to have a quiet day and to feel productive!

    In the evening, we went into the city to grab dinner and walked through town afterwards. We found a place that offered foot skin therapy - if you could bare the tickle!!! Terrible and really fun at the same time ;)    Read more

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    My friend the tree

    October 14, 2016 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Still overwhelmed by the beauty of Ta Prohm, we woke up at 4am to see sunrise over Angkor. Even though it was terribly early, and over 27 degrees C even before 5am, we were not the only ones here. We felt like pilgrims, moving towards the temple in huge crowds of people.

    After sunrise, we had some time to kill before an appointment at a zip line park at 9. We watched a kid monk on his way to work (pic 2) and explored more adventurous temples in the middle of the jungle. And everywhere we went, we tried to meet locals and learn about their life. For example, we meet two 2 year old kids, playing outside: holding two machetes, longer than their arms, and cutting off willow brakes for fun. Safety first is not a thing in Cambodia, it seems ;-)

    The zip line park was great fun! Up to 30 meters in the air, we slid from one tree to the next. On the way back, we were taught which ants can be eaten, but I was too scared to try one ;) We then spent the rest of the day exploring smaller temples, visiting the ones grown over by trees and surrounded by thick jungle, and falling in love with the place more minute by minute.

    In the afternoon, we started a new game (and of course made it into a challenge ;) ): who can photo bomb more selfies in a certain amount of time! We ended up playing it for over an hour and put smiles on many faces, once they realized we had walked into their selfies, smiling and with a thumbs up right beside them! Especially Asians laughed and often wanted more pictures with us :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Angkor Hot

    October 13, 2016 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    The day had finally come - for over 2 years now, Merten and I had been dreaming of seeing the temples around Angkor Wat. The world's most likable Tuktuk driver So took us around the major sites. Even in the early morning, it was already 40 degrees and just kept getting hotter with no rain in sight. So we renamed the temples Angkor Hot!

    We first explored the big temple, which is impressive and fun, but we felt like something was missing, like it wasn't quite what we had looked for. Still, it was amazing to see. Second, we went to Angkor Thom and really enjoyed it. The many towers with faces in the stone and it's more ruined and raw character made it feel like a giant adult playground, which of course we loved :) Third, we went to Ta Prohm, our absolute favorite of all the temples. Such a unique place, with giant trees growing out of ancient buildings, taking over and claiming back a once highly developed place. The best part was that we were all by ourselves here. I've never seen anything like it and the tree in picture 4 just caught my attention right away. I stood there for a few minutes, just in awe of the ruins, the tree with roots as big as regular trees and little green parrots in its top, singing with all the other jungle noises.
    This picture I took gives you a good idea of the temple: https://goo.gl/photos/MgPSpxALnNAaAmAu8

    When the sun set and we headed back into town, we couldn't believe the day wet just had. Unforgettable!    Read more

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