…living in and dreaming of…

mornings at the train station after a relaxing night in the sleeper class. first i wanted to apply for the vietnam visa in kunming but i considered the time i have to wait or the money i’d had to spend for the express service and decided to go to laos instead where i can get [...]

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after a great ride towards leibo… and along the mahu lake… i stopped for a cool drink and while looking at the map i realized that at my current speed and with me not always taking the most direct route i would not make it to the border in time before my visa expires. nevermind, what [...]

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i grew fond of the chinese food quickly. i have a sheet of paper with me explaining that i am a vegetarian, if my pronunciation failes me once again, and most of the times it turns out right. sometimes i even get invited if people want to show respect for me traveling by cycle or if i [...]

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after i lost my rose from the flower movement (or it was stolen, the case is not closed yet) i was given this real one by passing school kids.    it is always wonderful to see how they fight their shyness until one of them waves or says something and soon you are surrounded by the [...]

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the scenery is amazing so far. low hanging clouds and the mist are creating a special atmosphere that makes for a feeling of being at a mystical place. especially one time where the main road just ended in a construction site. just some two wheelers and myself used the road for the next 20 miles and it [...]

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120km south of chengdu lies the city of leshan. part of the mount emei scenic spot is the giant buddha site. and here it is. 71 meters in height and its feet big enough to host a family for picknick. the buddha has a wonderful background story. it was built to ease the rivers for safe passage [...]

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after more than half a year on the road, morgan and battista found their way back to switzerland. here are two posts where at the very end you can see our reunion in kathmandu as i was just arriving from pokhara and they were coming back from a month of trekking: http://cyclemasala.ch/fr/post445.html and at dinner, [...]

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i had this post coming for some time but never got around to finish it. today it was brought back to my attention as i left kunming without my music player. after a long days ride i was sitting in a restaurant considering the option to go back by bus, which would have been a 5 hour [...]

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when i arrived in chengdu i realized how difficult it would be here concerning the language barrier. as some widely used words like “railway station”, “water” or ”left” and “right” were understood in most countries so far, it was different once i walked out of the railway station and faced a city of 12 million with only [...]

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the highest railway on this planet. a 50 hour ride through wonderful scenery. and i have to repeat myself, i like trains. the only major drawback was the budget option “hard seat”. the need to lay down was growing during the night and finally i pulled out my camping gear and found a space between the water [...]

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