http://captainchris.multiply.com/ On these pages you can find my travel blog and photographs of my journey through South America, Australia, and Asia. Have a look around.<br><br>You can find even more picture sets on the <b><a href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos">photo pages</a></b>.<br><br><b>La vida es hermosa si no se le tiene miedo.</b><br><br><div align="center"><b><img src="http://c3.amazingcounters.com/counter.php?i=665296&amp;c=1996201" alt="Counter" border="0"></b></div> Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:29:52 -0000 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:07:07 -0000 http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/logo http://captainchris.multiply.com/ 100 100 I had a faboulus time in the National Park. And the weather was most un-patagonian. Sunshine all the time! Very little wind... http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/93/93 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:07:07 -0000 Not much news. I managed to go straight through to El Chaltén on Thursday, avoiding having to stay a night in El Calafate. Since then, the weather has been spectacular almost all the time - few clouds and lots of sun. And most amazing - very little wind! Besides a little day trip on Friday I have been perfectly lazy, though, reading my book and chatting to the climbers which mostly populate the hostel I am staying at. They all get excited about the next 'window' of good and (hopefully) stable weather just opening up after what now is a day of mixed weather. According to the climbers, some of which are here since months, the last time the weather has been that good was at some stage in November. Even Cerro Torre has been without a cloud for several days now, which is a very rare event.<br><br>I might head out into the mountains myself tomorrow or the day after, so don't be surprised if you don't hear much from me for some days.<br> http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/87/87 Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:18:00 -0000 "Es difícil, dijo, no ser feliz en Buenos Aires, que es la mezcla perfecta de París y Berlín." When I came across this sentence I knew I had to buy the book... (It's by Roberto Bolaño and contains some really good short stories). That was when I spent the afternoon hanging out in that book shop con cafe in Palermo, chatting with Nestor, the owner, and John, the young American working there. We talked about a lot - literature, life, cities... as you would on a lazy afternoon. I guess Nestor had adopted John, who was working for him for a few months, to give him the opportunity to read a lot, to think about what he wants in life and what to do next. And that was, what John was doing. I only got to know them through Mattheo, the guy who now lives in "my" room at Veronicas, who had taken me to the book shop to meet his friends there.<br>Hard to believe I had only 24 hours in Buenos Aires. And hard to believe how much I felt at home immediately again! I even bumped into acquaintances in Pale... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/85/85 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:10:00 -0000 A great "tourist day" together with Siall, Clare, Natalie, and Robin. The Reichstag dome was a highlight... (Had to play around with my 'new' 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.) http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/92/Sightseeing_in_Berlin Wed, 29 Aug 2007 10:23:25 -0000 Hey, after writing so much about all my travel adventures, I thought it would be high time to at least give all those of you I am not in touch with frequently a little update. Maybe hard to believe for some of you - but I got "serious" again! Within half a year I have finally mutated from "work-less bum" into full-fleged "business consultant". You might know I had decided to work freelance beginning of the year, despite some other interesting job offers.<br><br>In fact, I am extremely happy with this decision, since I have been very lucky to find some truly interesting projects quickly. Keep in mind I am a physicist - what sort of freelance jobs do you imagine for a physicist?! But since a couple of weeks, I have several great projects that will keep me busy and fed probably well into the next year! Imagine a very broad smile on my face!!! I even thought about posting a "consultant Kapteyn" picture - dark suit, tie etc., but I leave that to your imagination.<br><br>For some of the projects I even have... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/84/June_27_07_Back_to_work_again Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:50:00 -0000 A little walk around Berlin / Mitte today - a few impressions from where I live. P.S.: I just realize you must think I am living in the most grungy place... Next time I will put up a few more pictures of all the swanky stuff right next to all the junk around! That's actually what I love about Berlin - the weird mix. http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/91/Berlin_Mitte_2007-04-07 Sat, 7 Apr 2007 15:02:17 -0000 <a href="/photos/hi-res/upload/RagjbgoKCq8AAApcJrw1"><img class="alignleft" src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RagjbgoKCq8AAApcJrw1/flyer.jpg?et=iLvOXqqujom5z275w4pJ2w" border="0"></a>We had a huge party before I left (see <a href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/6">here</a>, if you like), and now we have an even bigger party as I am back home! Matthias and Holger invited me to join their party with you guys - and that's what we do! I decided to give the party its own virtual home - <a href="http://270grad.multiply.com">270grad.multiply.com</a>. This is where you can find the pictures etc. once available. See you there, I hope?! http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/83/Jan_13_07_Back_to_Berlin_-_the_party Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:01:00 -0000 <a href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/RYUMpQoKCq8AAGXtDcw1"> </a><a href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/RYUNEwoKCq8AAGZEEcI1"><img class="alignleft" src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RYUNEwoKCq8AAGZEEcI1/DSC_6719.JPG?et=1OQqhBjiJL7rlJSKPbOOnQ" border="0"></a>15 months of travelling are over now. I am sitting in the plane home, trying to look back on all that time. These months have passed so very quickly, I can still not believe a more ‘normal’ life is just around the corner. What is it, I have found on my journey? A lot. Hard to describe what – but I will try. <p align="justify">I have met so many people I would have never got to know otherwise, made many new friends. I think they are the most valuable bit of the journey. I have also learned a new language, Spanish, and thereby found a new facet of my personality which I am very grateful for. I have also had the time to pursue a hobby, photography, semi-seriously, which has left me now with several ten thousand images to go through (ouch!)…. Buenos Aires is a gem I have encountered. I would have never believed a city could so much capture me. But again, this has probably all to do with the people I have met there, be it in the language school or outside – Argentineans and others.</p> <p align="justify">Then, I have... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/82/Dec_19_06_The_end_of_a_long_journey Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:00:00 -0000 Three days in the marvelous temple ruins of Angkor Wat. The pictures fail to capture the magic, I feel.<br><br>And sorry, no time to write captions!<br><br> http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/90/Angkor_Wat Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:27:50 -0000 <P align=justify><A href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/RYUIoAoKCq8AABdJDj81"><IMG class=alignright src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RYUIoAoKCq8AABdJDj81/DSC_6730.JPG?et=57%2BKBudUhhgy3IaAY4sXaA" border=0></A>Travelling to Thailand without seeing at least one of the famous beaches? Impossible! So I had to squeeze in two days on an island... I chose Koh Samed, mainly because you can reach the island in about half a day from Bangkok. Beautiful white sand, nice bungalows just on the beach, relaxed bars for the odd drink and chilled restaurants to serve delicious food, fresh coconuts and fruit. All that while you let the gentle surf play with your toes...</P> <P align=justify>A shame I had&nbsp;only two days to hang out! Next time. Also a&nbsp;good holiday destination for a few relaxing weeks - for when real life strikes again.</P> http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/80/Dec_16_06_Beach_Paradise_-_Koh_Samed Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:04:00 -0000 <P align=justify><A href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/90/20"><IMG class=alignleft src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/5/photos/90/300x300/20/DSC_6431.JPG?et=oQW2WBG6wr+iMUNZ,KlamA" border=0></A>I am so glad I went over to Cambodia to see this! After having spent three full days from before sunrise to after sunset (i.e. about 15 hours every day) in the many incredible temples, I feel I could easily use an other week to just wander around, discover, and spend more time in these wonderful places. There is so much to see! Literally many dozens of huge temple complexes in ruins, many of them already impressive due to their incredible size. The grandest of them, the temple of Angkor Wat itself, is of dimensions that are simply mind-blowing! And then everything is covered in most delicate stone-carvings... After their re-discovery, the ruins have been cut out of the jungle, in some parts trees remain where their roots went through the stone walls. It is very hard to capture the magic of these places in pictures; I feel I have entirely failed to do so, at least.</P> <P align=justify>My favourite temple is probably Bayon where the huge faces of&nbsp; <FONT size=-1>Jayavarman VII</FONT> are smirkingly looking at you from ever... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/81/Dec_14_06_Wonders_of_Angkor_Wat Thu, 14 Dec 2006 09:12:00 -0000 The second capital of Thailand. Yet more temples and ruins...<br><br>And then the grand "light and sound" show in the ancient temple ruins! Including fireworks, half a dozen elephants on stage, and hundreds of actors. All to illustrate the history of Ayuthaya, very colourful and entertaining. There even was a real casualty when one of the elephant riders fell during a battle scene and had to be carried away. Very dramatic indeed.<br><br> http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/88/Ayuthaya Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:51:29 -0000 <A href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/90/1"><IMG class=alignright src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/5/photos/90/300x300/1/DSC_6113.JPG?et=G7q,mc6L36e3yjyr,YCyaw" border=0></A>So I wanted some adventure... And I got it! I had decided not to take the tourist bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap, the town next to Angkor Wat, but to go it on my own on local buses.<BR><BR>But first I had to get up quite early, at 5.20 am in Ayuthaya. I was on the bus to Bangkok at 6 am. Then arrived in Bangkok at 7.30 am, but the bus to Aranya Prathet would not leave before 9.30 am. Bummer, I could have slept two more hours! At 9.45 still no bus but an announcement that the bus had broken down and a replacement bus was on the way - so we finally left from Bangkok at 10 am. While waiting I had a chat with a nice lady who asked me if I was not scared of going to Cambodia. I said I wasn't. Maybe I should have been...<BR><BR>The bus finally arrived at the Thai border town of Aranya Prathet at about 3pm and I was already quite tired. I had just decided to call it a day and postpone the border crossing adventure and the infamous five-hour bus journey to Siam Reap to the next day, when a friendly elderly lad... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/79/Dec_10_06_Shocking_Cambodia Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:55:00 -0000 http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/87/Sukothai_Historical_Park Fri, 8 Dec 2006 12:01:35 -0000 <p align="justify"><a href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/87/9"><img class="alignleft" src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/7/photos/87/300x300/9/DSC_5725.JPG?et=3MZznH4Mf9SBWfiukAEDjA" border="0"></a>After a sightseeing day and one day just enjoying the city treats in Chiang Mai, I decided to head back south to see the ruins of Sukothai, the first capital of Siam. This time I took a common local bus, not one of the special charter variety for tourists which had brought me up to Chiang Mai. It was similarly battered as the first bus I had been traveling on, and I was not surprised when the bus broke down after a few hours. That seems to be a fixed part of any bus journey in Thailand. This time, however, the bus driver managed to repair the bus within about half an hour and we continued our journey to Sukothai.</p> <p align="justify">When I arrived there in the afternoon, I booked myself a tiny bungalow in a pleasant guest house and rented the asian equivalent of a vespa. Having never driven any type of motorbike with gears before, I struggled a little in the beginning but soon everything went smoothly and I was happily cruising along in the admittedly chaotic but not at all aggressive tra... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/78/Dec_7_06_Ruins_of_Sukothai Fri, 8 Dec 2006 11:59:00 -0000 http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/86/Chiang_Mai_Temples Fri, 8 Dec 2006 11:47:42 -0000 <P align=justify><A href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/86/5"><IMG class=alignright src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/7/photos/86/300x300/5/DSC_5623.JPG?et=nFG5vahyJUdvQhp+JTZtKA" border=0></A>Enough suffering in the heat of Bangkok! So I decided to head up to the 'cool' north... I had booked a 12h 'VIP' bus for the overnight journey. I would be picked up from the hostel, how convenient! This turned out to be true, but slightly different from what I had expected. A little while after the scheduled departure time, a young girl on a vespa turned up and signaled me to hop on with my two backpacks. OK, I thought, whatever, as long as I would not have to spend all of the twelve hours on that vespa.</P> <P align=justify>And off we went through the narrow sois near the hostel (small alleyways packed with all imaginable sorts of food stalls and other shops, not to speak of the crowds). A few surprised foreigners jumped out of our way while we continued to race through the maze of tiny side-streets until we reached a big avenue. There we went straight onto the sidewalk in order to avoid the traffic. More scared and unbelieving foreigners rushing to get out of our way... When we reached the bus, simply p... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/77/Dec_5_06_Beautiful_Chiang_Mai Tue, 5 Dec 2006 21:00:00 -0000 Admittedly a somewhat temple-focused view on Bangkok...<br> http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/85/Bangkok_Impressions Mon, 4 Dec 2006 04:06:21 -0000 <p align="justify"><a href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/RXEuTwoKCq8AAE3FXyg1"><img class="alignright" src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RXEuTwoKCq8AAE3FXyg1/DSC_5190.JPG?et=Cgsjk3erCjZQBRaCLMifiA" border="0"></a>So this is Bangkok! I find it quite a lot as so many other travellers had described it to me - very noisy, lots of smog, very humid and hot (still 35 degrees at night!). And this is the "cool" dry season... Ouch. My body has still to adjust to this ordeal and I keep sweating away, but I already know that this only takes about two days. So I grant myself a little bit to arrive here.</p> <p align="justify">Last night the plane to Bangkok was about an hour late, so I only came in at about 9pm. Initially I wondered if I was pushing my luck possibly a bit too far, since I do not speak a word of Thai to begin with, had no idea how to get into town (the airport is about 25 km away from the city center), and had no accommodation booked... But all worked out beautifully - as always. I even managed to arrange a taxi significantly cheaper than the official airport taxis and immediately found space in the place I had wanted to. Although the ride into town took more than an hour due to infinite traffic jams, I ... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/76/Dec_2_06_Hello_Bangkok Sat, 2 Dec 2006 00:40:00 -0000 <a href="/photos/hi-res/83/4"><img style="width: 257px; height: 181px;" class="alignright" src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/4/photos/83/300x300/4/DSC_4944.JPG?et=D+tR0zYsE7ODU7NBFAg+8g" border="0"></a>Time is flying... My last 24 hours in Australia have already begun! I really enjoyed my time in Australia, but I am also truly looking forward to getting to do some 'real' traveling again! And from all I hear and read, Thailand will be great.<br><br>The last weeks (not actually doing overly much) were very enjoyable. I have been working on my photographs and website (have a look if you want: <a href="http://www.ck-images.com">www.ck-images.com</a>), but still the majority of my South America pictures are not yet online... (This will be some serious work for after Christmas!) And then there are always many nice things on hereabouts; photo and art exhibitions, cinema, gorgeous coastal walks, sculptures by the sea, beaches, boat trips, the odd bar... Besides all that, indulging in bohemian city life was great, especially here in Manly where the beach is around the corner.<br><br>My time in Australia, despite some travelling, feels much more like a break from my journey which was very welcome. I had a great time. This has been mainly due... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/75/Nov_30_06_Good-bye_Sydney Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:13:00 -0000 One of the strangest cities I have seen so far... So many trees!!! Below just a few pics from the parliament house (and a big green Water Dragon from the Botanical Gardens)<br> http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/84/Canberra_Impressions Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:16:21 -0000 And yet a few more Sydney impressions... http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/83/Sydney_Impressions_3 Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:01:08 -0000 Have to catch up a little. Where to start? Oh yes. I had the pleasure of a few swanky boat rides through the bays in and around Sydney the last weeks. First, friends of my step-mother Barbara and my dads here in Sydney invited me to join them all on a three-day ride through Pittwater. Then, the next day, Jamie invited me out on his boat for a cruise through the huge Sydney Harbour Bay together with a bunch of his Argentinean friends here in Sydney. Fabulous! It looks like we are going to repeat this the coming weekend...<br><br>Last Sunday - Australian Dance Awards in the Opera House. My friend Clare from Sydney was shortlisted in two categories and had hence to come down to the ceremony, and thus we could catch up for a drink in the Opera Bar just before the event. It was great seeing her again and getting to know her mum and brother. And lots of very arty dance people... Just before the show started, someone showed up (in fact, the woman who runs Australian Dance Victoria,... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/74/Nov_24_06_Sydney_again_and_still Fri, 24 Nov 2006 00:36:00 -0000 Yet more of the same theme... I know the subjects are rather repetitive, and yet this is such a great view! These ones were taken last Sunday when Jamie invited me and a few of his Argentinean friends to a little trip in his boat. We had a fabulous day out cruising the whole harbour bay! Jamie even spiced things up by letting us run out of fuel on the way back just a hundred meters before the mooring... Very exciting.<br><br> http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/album/82/Sydney_Harbour Mon, 13 Nov 2006 23:45:20 -0000 I am still amazed. Or yet again. Everybody is so incredibly sociable hereabouts! You meet someone you have never met before through a friend in a bar and get invited to their dinner party the next night. People are delighted if you turn up surprisingly at their barbecue or birthday party without knowing anybody just because someone else decided to take you along. People I barely got to know offer me their spare bedroom for a week or two, should I need a place to stay... Just like that. All very natural. Has all happened several times to me.<br><br>I just came home from a party of a friend of a friend where repeatedly some drunk strangers from the party in the apartment above (an underwear-party) would walk in (in full clothes, though). The immediate reaction of the hosts: "Hello, how are you? What's your name. Good to meet you. Would you like a beer?" And then they would of course introduce Mike or Tim or Whatshisname to everybody at the party.<br><br>Also someone at the party strongly suggested I s... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/73/Nov_5_06_Social_Sydney Sat, 4 Nov 2006 13:17:00 -0000 <p align="justify"><a href="http://captainchris.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/RUVfYgoKCjgAAFZhUWk1"><img class="alignleft" src="http://images.captainchris.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/RUVfYgoKCjgAAFZhUWk1/DSC_4437.JPG?et=1KGb%2BMOEH2SXIYmEKI8ZPw" border="0" height="174" width="251"></a>Darwin is a strange place. I can tell. I have been here for a week. It is fully tropical, it is hot, it is humid. Palm trees and flowers everywhere, mango trees line the streets and parks, flocks of screaming cockatoos, noisy parrots... Nice beaches, but nobody would consider a dip in the crystal clear sea, aggressive salt-water crocodiles and deadly box-jellyfish are far too common. So if you do have to leave the air-conditioned interior of buildings during the day, you try to spend as much time as possible in the pool.</p> <p align="justify">Life starts around sunset. Not only is this the time when the locals leave work, but it is also the moment when the travelling crowd has sufficiently sobered up from last-nights excessive drinking and partying and has digested the 3pm breakfast. Time for a drink. Or two. If you do not move too quickly then the humid 30+ degrees can be almost pleasant (at night, that is, during the day it is alwyas above 35!). The average traveller hereabouts is 19 years old. Only ve... http://captainchris.multiply.com/journal/item/72/Oct_30_06_Leaving_Darwin Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:44:00 -0000