Oriental Portal by Glenn Casaer

Great Profile pictures

2012-02-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

Star allures in Hong Kong

Curious children in Mount Abu, India

Hosts at the Aqautic Center in Beijing, China

Dressed up for a parade in Chinag Mai, Thailand

Korean monk at Tongdosa tempel Gyeongju, South-Korea

Photomodel at the Kiyumizudera in Kyoto, Japan

My first Taiwanese interview

2012-02-16T04:34:00.000-08:00

During the International Travel Fair in Brussels from 2-6 February I promoted different trips for my company. A new trip that I was in charge of developing is a combination tour of Taiwan and South-Korea.

The first day of the fair a lot of international media were present especially for Indonesia, the host country this year at the fair. But some Taiwanese media were interested as well in or product and so I gave 2 interviews for Taiwanese reporters. One of these interviews was done for CNA Video News and a piece of this interview in integrated in their broadcast, you can find me on halfway the video.

Winter Pics Belgium 2012

2012-02-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

Indian children mascara

2012-01-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

Young children in India are often seen, wearing a dark patch of mascara around the eyes.
Mothers will apply a dark cosmetic eye liner, called kohl, which is made by grinding lead sulfide and mix it up with sandalwood, castor oil and some more ingredients.
Children with this mascara are believed to be protected and will get an improved eyesight.

An Indian legends tells of a witch stealing the most beautiful children of every village. In order to protect their children from the witch, the mothers will apply some make-up to make their children ugly, but by doing this they also say that their child is the most beautiful than any other one!

Year of Dragon

2012-01-22T03:30:00.000-08:00

One of the most auspicious Chinese signs will be celebrated today, today is Chinese New Year!

May the Dragon bring you strength, good healthy, good fortune and may all your wishes come true.

Thai pickpocket

2011-12-28T04:41:00.000-08:00

My 2011 in 12 Pics

2011-12-23T05:23:00.000-08:00

January - Historical City of Brugge - Belgium

February - A Sunbird on my neighbour's roof - Thailand

March - Monument of Love Taj Mahal - India

April - New SMAK museum in Antwerp - Belgium

May - Citytrip to Roma - Italy

June - Jogyesa temple Seoul - South-Korea

July - view on Sun Moon Lake from Lalu hotel - Taiwan

August - Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang - China

September - Night view of main casinos - Maca

October - Daibutsu in Todaiji in Nara - Japan

November - Loy Krathong festival in Chiang Mai - Thailand

December - Mural Paintings in Wat Pho in Bangkok - Thailand

Foxface - Curious Japanese fruit

2011-12-18T02:19:00.000-08:00

This fall I noticed different Ikebana pieces in Japanese hotels which were included a strange yellowish kind of fruit. Japanese people told me it was called "Kitsune gao", meaning Foxface.
Searching a bit further on the net it was revealed that "Foxface" was also commonly used in English. Other names for this strange fruit are: Nipplefruit, Titty fruit, Cow's Udder, Five fingered eggplant or 'Apple of Sodom".
Foxface would be family of eggplants and tomatoes, and bears fruit in fall.
The fruit is not edible and even poisonous, but it is used for decoration. And it is perfect to fit in ikebana pieces as it doesn't require water and will last for two months.

By the way a person called "Kitsune gao", fox face person in Japan, would be considered a person with feigned ignorance.

Taipei city - Personal pictures

2011-12-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

Chiang Kai-shek memorial

Taipei 101

Night view of Taipei 101

Old Chinese quarters

Laundry in old town

Relaxing near the Dragon temple

Bus in motion

Worshippers at a temple

Most expensive crash ever

2011-12-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend an extraordinary accident happened on the Chugoku expressway in Japan.

The crash included 8 Ferraris, 3 Mercedes. a Lamborghini. a Skyline and a Prius.

This would be the most expensive crash ever.

Pictures of floods in Ayutthaya and Bangkok

2011-11-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

Thailand is suffering its worst flooding in the last years. During a trip in Thailand it was clear the situation got better in most part of the country. But the rice fields in the Central are still submerged. Ayutthaya on the other hand is almost cleaned up and soon back fro business.

Mosque in Ayutthaya

Driving on the highway

Protecting Wat Arun in Bangkok

House in Bangkok Noi

Cleaning up action in Ayutthaya

Wat Mahathat, clearly visible where the water stood

Volunteers clean up

Festival of light - Loy Krathong

2011-11-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

On 10 December the full moon will fill up the nightly sky. For Thai people this will be the sign to celebrate their cherished festival of Loy Krathong, also know as the festival of light.

Here are some pics for the festival last year.

Some birds of India

2011-10-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Seychelles' Love trees

2011-10-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

According to local legends on a night lit by a full moon in the archipelago of the Seychelles a thick mist is covering the jungle. In this thick sweet mist lovers are mating, interlocked in a mystic dance. These lovers are no humans but the old endemic palm trees on the Seychelles. At the climax of the mating dance palm leaves are intertwined and sweet flowers bloom in the air. This ritual will bring ensure the coming generations of the forest.

The palm tree mentioned in this legend is de "Coco de mer" or "Lodoicea Maldivica". The later name is a Latinised for of Louis, referring to King Louis XV. This palm tree is an endemic sort of the Seychelles and the coco de mer palm tree has separated male and female trees. Seeing the shape of the enormous female coconut and the male catkin, which can grow up to 1 meter in length, it is not difficult to imagine numerous love myths being created about this tree.
The erotic curves of the fruit and flowers of the Coco de mer was enough to let general Charles George Gordon proclaim the Seychelles as the real Garden of Eden in the 19th century.

Nowadays most of the Seychelles are declared a UNESCO World Heritage and are well protected.

The Porsche street vendor

2011-10-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

In Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, a street vendor selling fashionable sneakers arrived in his white Porsche and started to unload his wares from his car's trunk. China is doing economically well and it shows!

Japanese Beggar monks

2011-10-19T01:42:00.000-07:00

Japanese beggar monks are not begging for alms as would be custom in Theravada Buddhism countries. But are begging for money in exchange for a small prayer or a blessing. They can mainly be found near places where lost of people are gathering. It can be a historical old temple, a touristic sightseeing spot, the subway station or even a shopping mall.

The outfit of a beggar monk consists of a long white robe covered by a black cape. The monk is holding a bowl and a small sistrum. On his head is a big pointy straw hat that covers his face. Because of this last attribute, in ancient times spies disguised themselves as begging monks to be able to survey a specific building or area.

Belgian chocolate mooncake

2011-09-11T04:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Chinese festival of Mid-Autumn festival. Traditionally people from Chinese origin will watch the full moon and will remember the legend of Houyi and Chang'e while eating mooncakes. These mooncakes have become favourite family and business gifts months before the full moon of the festival. So it's not unusual to see different companies create their own mooncake, packed in a nice box. So do the Belgian chocolate companies Leonidas and Godiva. Clever marketing move!

Lotus flowers

2011-09-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

Last month the Lotus flowers were blooming some wonderfully. So I uploaded some shots taken @ Yuanmingyuan in Beijing, China and @ Anapji pond, Gyeongju, Soutjh-Korea.

Female businesscards

2011-08-24T20:23:00.000-07:00

Chinese hotels are always a big adventure. Is my booking made?, Will I get the room I booked?, Will there be a person speaking some English?, ...

Upper-class hotels (4 or 5 stars) will not have a lot of problems as the management is competent and the staff is well-trained. But staying in a 3-star Chinese hotel might give you some surprises. For example you are woken at night by the telephone and when you pick up some sweet voice asks you if you would like a massage. This is common procedure in those hotels as the staff tries to make some extra money and sells the information to which rooms single man are spending the night. Quite annoying if you came to a hotel to actually get some sleep.

In those hotels you will also find a lot of female business cards shoved under your door, for the same purpose as well. I took some pictures of them and I really wonder what does "Massge temnder care lighting your booy"?

Top 5 most annoying things on airplane

2011-08-24T04:28:00.000-07:00

As I fly quite often for work I like to get to the next destination as quickly as possible. Listening to music, reading, sleeping all help to let time pass faster. But some things, especially fellow travellers can be so annoying that it almost ruins your flight. Here is my personal top 5 of annoying things during flights:

1. Reclining chairs
I completely understand that people want to relax on airplanes, but when space is already limited and people are reclining the chairs at full stretch it can really get me angry. When food is served there is almost no space to manoeuvre your cutlery. When watching TV, the screen is so close that you can only see your own reflection. I try to never recline my own seat as I know how annoying this can be, but if the dude in front of me finds it necessary to click it all the way I have no option than to do this myself too. Of course in business class you wouldn't have this problem. but not everyone can afford this. So when I flew Ryanair a few months ago I was happily surprised that the airplane chairs could not move! Why can't it be possible for all flights.

2. Armrest wrestler
Again this is a concern about the limited space in airplanes. So when you are sitting by yourself, especially in the middle seat, and the person next to you clearly shows his territory by occupying the full length of the armrest it makes your blood pressure rise. So you start a psychological battle of pushing bit by bit and occupying the armrest yourself when this person leave his chair. Annoying to have to spend time like this in the air.

3. Kids screaming , kicking
Sitting for several hours on a plane with a kid or baby crying for the full length of the flight is another very irritating thing. I do understand that kids are tired and that sitting still on a flight can be a big challenge for them. But is it so difficult for the parents to ask your kid not to kick the chair in front of you or can't the parents try to hold the child until it stops crying. Anyway trying to sleep is out of question and you might get of the plane with a major migraine if you didn't provide some earplugs.

4. Never-ending storytelling
It seems like some people are telling their whole life to each other on the plane. When those people are sitting right next to you are behind you and you would like to get some rest during the long flight, it can be a real burden to suppress your feeling to tell them to shut up.

5. Toilet blocker
When you are sitting in the middle or window seat you might want to wake up the people next to you when you need to go to the toilet. Some people or in such a steady sleep it's not easy to wake them up and of course you will get some angry stares. It's also annoying if that person doesn't get up to let you trough but just bend his knees. On the other hand if you have a aisle seat and the person next to you needs to get out all the time, that is a pain in the ass as well.

8 immortals - a Chinese opera piece in Taipei

2011-07-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Chinese Communist posters

2011-07-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

Over the years The Communist Party of China has showed their love for the patriotic posters.

Here are some of my favourites, you can find some more on Chineseposters.

Advance victoriously while following Chairman Mao's revolutionary line in literature and the arts, 1968

Chairman Hua is our intimate friend, 1978

Building the People's Republic, 1953

Defeat Japanese imperialism, 1937

In celebration of the successful opening of the Qinghai & Xizang railway, 2006

Chairman Mao goes to Anyuan, 1968

Everybody must take precautions against epidemics to smash the germ warfare of American imperialism!, 1952

Long live the great unity of all the peoples of the whole nation, 1957

The commune is like a gigantic dragon, production is noticeable awe-inspiring, 1959

Party oh party, beloved party, 1991

Korean Mud festival

2011-07-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Summertime is festivaltime! Towers of beer, cool rockbands and thunderstorms transforming the plains in huge mudbaths. Well remove the cool rockbands and imagine a whole lot of mud, mud slides, muds swimming pools, mud wrestling, ... and you will get one of the most popular festivals in Korea: The Boryeong Mud festival!

It is an amazing international festival organised in summer, 16 to 24 July for 2011, which finds its origin in promoting cosmetic products. Who said you had to suffer to be beautiful?

My modeling Career

2011-06-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Generally people think that when working in tourism you get a lot of advantages like free hotel rooms and flight tickets. Actually these benefits are almost non-existing, although you might get some reductions on hotel rooms. But the great thing in tourism is that you get to meet a bunch of people from all over the world.

Chinese people, especially those who haven't seen a lot of foreigners, are very curious about our different lifestyle. Mouth-dropped starring is quite common, especially if you would be tall and blond.

This Chinese curiousness can be very annoying, as when you get stalked to see where you're heading. Or as people check the groceries you bought in your supermarket trolley.
On other occasions it can be very charming in interesting. Being a foreigner in China can bring you to stardom in this Communist country.

So far I have acted on local TV and did two commercials.
A few years back I got a teacher's job in Hong'An county, Hubei province. For the annual Christmas show in the local TV studio I was one of the three TV hosts. This was broad casted in Hong'An TV.

One day I needed some call credit for my Chinese telephone. At that time I was guiding in Chengdu, Hebei province. I couldn't get any prepaid card at several kiosks. So I decided to go to the local China telecom shop. Upon entering the shop on man was acting very exited. After I got my credit he tried to explain me they had a promotion period for a new phone and he wanted my help for this promotion. I had to hold the phone and smile while he was taking some pictures. I guess he made some posters out of it, foreign models are very sought after in China, so he immediately saw an opportunity.

I played model one more time, advertising a new hotel. For my guiding job I was inspecting some hotels in Shanghai. After visiting some fancy places the Millenium Hongqiao hotel was next. This hotel held its "soft" opening, which means the hotel receives guests and tries to invite travel agencies for inspection, but is not 100 % operational yet. I was very well received and got the whole tour, including spa, swimming pool, all type of rooms and restaurants. In the lovely restaurant one of the assistant managers and I were having lunch, when suddenly she got a phone call. She ended the call and asked me if I had time to come back in the evening. That day the Millenium hotel held the photo shoot for its website and catalogue, but their international model had just cancelled. The high-payed British photographer could not be cancelled and I was asked if I could help out. Of course, no problem. So I got back in the evening. I dressed up in a neat seat and got my instructions. I had to stand at the front desk, pretending to check in and keep looking in the eyes of the girls at the desk. Standing there half an hour, gibbering with those girls, wasn't an easy task.
The Millenium Hongqiao hotel used following picture for nearly 2 years on there website, but nowadays new pictures have replaced my glorious picture. So my modeling career is silently getting to an end.

Maybe I will encounter some new opportunities in China!

Sunrise-Sunset

2011-05-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Kopi Luwak - expensive coffee

2011-03-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. The Kopi Luwak is mainly produced in the Indonesian archipelago. A cup of Kopi Luwak can be sold for around $50 around the world.
A special animal called the Asian Palm Civet is needed to obtain this pricey coffee. This is animal gives the strange name to this coffee. Kopi is the Indonesia name for coffee and Luwak is the local name of the Asian Palm Civet.

So what is so special about this coffee? First of all the process to collect the beans is quite extraordinary.
The coffee beans, which are cultivated on fields, get eaten by the Luwak. The fruit pulp gets digested by the Luwak, but the seeds pass by the stomach and are defecated. Inside the Luwak's stomach and intestine the seeds get some time to ferment and give the special taste to the coffee. The dung of this animal is collected. The seeds are washed and sun dried. After this process the seeds are slightly roasted as to keep their special taste.

So how does it taste? A bit difficult to describe. As i tried this coffee, I felt it didn't taste bitter as most coffees do. It had a mild and even fruity taste.
But damn it's expensive for a cup!

Faces of Rajasthan

2011-03-29T02:00:00.000-07:00

In the future some more reports of India will follow. To celebrate this, a first post about portraits of Rajasthan people:

Invisible man from China

2011-03-02T20:45:00.000-08:00

Liu Bolin is a Chinese Photographer-artist. He specialised himself in the art of invisibility and is now famous for his special art form. He will study a place and then paint himself so as to melt away in the picture. Every pictures takes him more than 10 hours of work.
Some of his works have a political undertone and in 2005 the Chinese government closed down his art studio. This didn't stop him and he now has a International reputation.

He work is sometimes compared to the children books "Where's Waldo?"

Snow festival

2011-02-08T03:54:00.000-08:00

The Yearly Sapporo Snow festival is back!
This year from 7 February to 13 February the most important matsuri (festival) of Hokkaido will take place.
About 2 million visitors will gather to Sapporo to participate in the 62st edition of the festival.
Snow was brought from 600 trucks and 250 different images and structures are made.

Beijing Building views - Pictures

2010-12-03T02:19:00.000-08:00

Soho

Forbidden City

Sanlitun Village

2nd Ring Road electricity box

Temple of Heaven

The Egg - National center for the performing arts

Watercube, sun playing with the molecular structure

The Great Wall

The Opposite house - Luxury hotel

Chinese actresses

2010-11-27T00:55:00.000-08:00

Chinese cinema is a billion-yuan booming industry. Some great Chinese movies make it outside the Middle Kingdom as well. Some beautiful and talented actresses are emerging from China and make it in the West. Here is my personal top 5:

1. Zhang Ziyi (章子怡, 9 February 1979, Beijing)

Movies: The road Home - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Rush Hour 2, TMNT, Memoirs of a Geisha, Horsemen, ...

2. Ling Bai (白灵, 10 October 1966, Chengdu)

Movies: The Crow, Nixon, Wild wild west, Anna and the King, Shaolin soccer, Taxi3, Crank: High Voltage, Magic Man, ...

http://ling-bai.blogspot.com/

3. Zhou Xun (周迅, 18 October 1976, Quzhou)

Movies: Suzhou River, Balzac and the little Chinese Seamstress, Perhaps Love, The Banquet, The equation of love and death, The message, Confucius, ...

4. Wei Zhao (赵薇, 12 March 1976, Wuhu)

Movies: Shaolin Soccer, Chinese Odyssey 2002, Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Red Cliff 1, Red Cliff 2, Mulan, ...

5. Fan Bingbing (范冰冰, 16 September 1981, Qingdao)

Movies: A battle of wits, Shinjuku incident, Sophie's revenge, Bodyguards and Assassins, Shaolin, ...

P.s. Hong Kong and American born actresses are not counted in. No Lucy Liu, Maggie Cheung or Michelle Yeoh.

Kiekeboe - Tienduizend dagen

2010-11-23T22:18:00.000-08:00

Kiekeboe is the best-selling Belgian (Dutch language) comic book. Mr Mehro, the designer of Kiekeboe went last year to Japan. I accompanied him for 2 weeks and give him some advice about Japan. I also helped translating some simple phrases in Japanese for his comic book.
As a result I am mentioned in Mr Mehro's new comic book as "adviser". 'Tienduizend dagen portraits the family Kiekeboe on an adventure through Japan. The encounter, geisha's, sumo's and the vicious yakuza.

It seems I even have my own page on "Stripinfo", a website dedicated to Belgian comic books!
Talking about web pollution.

Pictures

2010-11-20T22:55:00.000-08:00

Sleeping Panda, Sichuan province, China

Tokyo Tower, Tokyo, Japan

Wat Chedi Luang, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Dew, Potatsu National Park, Yuannan province, China

Sunset, Koh Samui, Thailand

Maiko latern, Kyoto, Japan

Belgium designer in Hong Kong

2010-11-20T00:09:00.000-08:00

Middle September upon strolling on Hong Kong island near Central, I spotted these adds for the Belgium designer Dries Van Noten:

My father is Li Gang! - 我爸是李刚

2010-11-19T00:07:00.000-08:00

"Wo Ba Shi Li Gang" (My father is Li Gang), has recently become a new catchphrase in China. It is is used to shirk responsibility without any punishment. The saying was born out of terrible tragedy a month ago.

On 18 October 2 college girls were playing on the Hubei university grounds when a VW car hit them at full speed. The security guards saw the accident and tried to stop the intoxicated 22-year-old driver. He screamed at them "My father is Li Gang" was intercepted at the exit gate.

Ms Chen one of the girls didn't make it.

This kind of socio-drama happens daily in China. Privileged law offenders can escape the common law thanks to their "Guanxi" (Influential people they know). In this case

Li Qiming is the son of Li Gang, deputy police chief of the district police.

Most cases are not even know to the public due to censorship of the Chinese government.

The local school's news channel run a news bulletin, eventually it was picked up by the local media, but those stayed quit.

The death of Ms Chen became nationally know thanks to the Internet. Even Chinese authorities can control the news coverage, they can not control the millions of Chinese forums. And Chinese know they are dependant on these Internet forums for news-sharing outside the official channels, so it is commonly used among young and middle-aged Chinese. The Internet helped to built up this story to a nationwide hot issue. In this case the National Chinese TV couldn't stay silent any longer and they started to cover this story, partly though.

Li Qiming remains in prison and his father, Li Gang, has officially apologised for his son's behaviour.

Meanwhile the "normal" Chinese fights an unfair battle against corrupt government and favoured personnel.

Humour always helps to soften the unacceptable and Catchphrases as "My father is Li Gang" do this with a pinch of sarcasm.

Some pigs are more equal than others!

An art installation in Chongqing with the caption "Wo ba shi Li Gang!"

Funeral in style

2010-11-17T00:41:00.000-08:00

In Sout-East Asia Buddhism and Chinese beliefs dominate the religious thinking. So when "Nirvana Memorial" planned to build a luxury columbarium in Singapore, they did it in style.
According to Chinese traditions a deceased should be buried in one piece and commemorating ceremonies should be held at least twice a year. Singapore has a limited land space so cremations are generally performed.
In the brand new Nirvana Memorial Garden columbarium, called a "6 star" columbarium, everything is possible.
The urn of the deceased are placed in golden platted walls. Ceremonies are held without the presence of monks but with light- and sound shows and speaking Buddha statues.
Gloomy, dark and depressing funeral places for your beloved ones are the past, this is the future.

But it comes with a price tag;
A Royal double niche would be price around 22.000 $ and Family suite (32 urns) comes for 93.000 $. The "economy" class niche starts at 2.200$.

Freerice

2010-11-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

Freerice.com is a great website.By playing a fun and educational game you can help the needy in this world.
Addictive and making you feel involved.

Taiji dolphin massacre

2010-10-07T02:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched the Oscar winning documentary "The Cove". The movie portraits the killing of whales and especially dolphins by a group of Japanese fisherman in Taiji, Japan. Although the movie isn't over-emotional it is difficult to stay untouched after watching it.

The cinematography is impeccable and the movie builds up perfectly to the terrible climax. Emotionally and humorous at the same time.

Going often to Japan, I see it as my duty now to promote this documentary with Japanese people. The Japanese population can change the attitude and politics in their own country. But most Japanese are not aware of the tragedy of Taiji, that starting every September. My mission is to raise this awareness!

A must see, and hopefully a movie to a better planet.

Belgium explained

2010-09-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

It finally makes sense!

Shanghai Expo 2010 - Pavilions

2010-09-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

Snail haircut

2010-09-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

A person familiar with Buddhist iconography can perfectly distinguish which Buddha or Bodhisattva is portrayed. Studying the facial characteristics or even the robes and jewelry can be enough to place a Buddha statue in place and period.

People don't need such an extensive knowledge to recognise a Buddhist statue. The serene expression of South-East Asian Buddhas, the Chinese Happy Buddha's belly, the fierce looks of Tibetan guardian gods, ...

According to the Buddha legend, upon his birth 32 marks and 80 lesser marks of a great man were discovered. There also exists a list of 108 characteristics. Some of these features, being noted in one of these list, are visible and different Buddha figures. Others like a fragrant smell and a golden radiant body are difficult to represent.

Buddha would have had : long and slender fingers and toes (sometimes all fingers and toes have the same length), webbed toes and fingers, a small knob on his forehead symbolizing knowledge, long ears for long life, a flame/halo of enlightenment, ...

Not all of these characteristics are literally from the 32 marks revealed after his birth. During the centuries Buddha images have been depicted in different ways but with a certain consistency.

For 300 years after Buddha's death there were no images made of him. In Buddhism no god is venerated, Buddhism is a way of living a philosophy. This thinking changed and as humans always tend to be in need of more practical ways for beliefs and religions, images of Buddha were being created. The first statues made of Buddha have a clear Greek influence.

Alexander The Great had a Great Empire in the 3 Century BC. He fought his Persian wars and even had some campaigns in the Indian subcontinent. Now India is of course the home of Buddhism and when the first Buddha statues were sculpted, the Hellenistic influence was clearly visible. These prime Buddhist images (Gandhara period) had strong torsos, almost Greek style clothes, moustaches and Curly Greek hair.

In Buddhist tradition the hairstyle of the Buddha is called referred to as the snail or shell hairstyle. In Sri Lanka the Buddhist tradition tells a story where Buddha was in meditation. In order to protect the Buddha from sun strokes and rain a few hundred snails crawled up on top the his head and protected him. In the end the snails died and Buddha kept his hairstyle like this, respecting the rescuing animals.

Of course this is just a story and according to several scientists, this type of hair style was a development out of the Greek hair style:

1) Apollo Belvedere, 350 BC

2) Buddha (Gandhara period), 1st Century BC

3) Leshan Buddha , 8Th Century AD

Green hat

2010-09-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

Chinese is a difficult language to master. It has it's own writing in characters, almost no grammar and short pronunciations according to tones. These tones are for foreigners probably the most difficult part.

Chinese always make jokes about how "long noses" foreigners make mistakes concerning the right tone.

In Mandarin there are 4 tones and in Cantonese even up to 8 so if you don't have a musical ear it's kind of difficult to grasp.

A few years ago I made a mistake that I still remember very clearly.I was looking for an Internet bar in Beijing. And asked a lady in the street, as I asked it she frowned on me, but understood my mistake and told me where I could find an Internet shop.

Later I asked a friend of mine what mistake I made.

In Chinese Internet bar/shop is pronounced "Wang ba" 网吧 wǎngba, pronounced in a bit of a singing tone going up and down.

Now there is a word very similar this this: "Wang ba" 王八 wángbā , which is pronounced with a slightly different tone. The meaning is different as well. In Chinese it means tortoise, but it has a very negative connotation to it. The tortoise can refer to a man whose wife is cheating in him. But he is as slow as a tortoise and doesn't realise it.

So luckily I asked a women where I could find a "Wang ba" and not a man. Asking a man could have got me into problems if he would have taken it the wrong way, because this is one of the worst insults in China.

Just as a tortoise refers to a man whose spouse is cheating on him. There is also an item referring to this. A green hat! You will never find any green coloured hats in China, because of this bad reference. If you are visiting a Chinese friend, please don't offer him a green, it would be a great insult to him.

Cultural differences are just so interesting, aren't they!

Paint it white!

2010-09-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

This year was a disastrous summer for most Asian countries. As it becomes a yearly habit, heavy rains translate in killer floods and landslides. More than 2000 people were killed in Pakistan and millions of people were left homeless after the 2010 floods. China suffered from floods ans landslides.
I was in China during August 2010 and it was daily news to read that there had been a deadly landslide somewhere in the PRC. End of July Chengdu International airport had to be closed because of heavy rains. Landslides in Yunnan and Sichuan killed several people. But it wasn't until 8 August when about 1500 were killed at night because of a deadly landslide.
It seems that every year during the rainy season China and other Asian countries get hit harder and harder.
Of course the reason is clear to most of us. We have a lot of environmental problems. Watching the news or reading any newspaper/magazine will get you quite depressed on this topic. I guess the people's opinion towards environmentalism has dramatically changed over the last decade. We are aware of our problems and this generation has to face this tremendous task.

By now we should all know that global warming and pollution are ruining our planets. Overpopulation is probably according to me the biggest issue.
The disasters during the monsoon season can be explained. Farmers destroyed forest to cultivate crops and the water-absoring quality of the soil, deprived of trees, diminishes. Mountainsides or hill slopes are very sensible to this. Building cities on marshes and swaps, or transforming these natural wetlands into farmer's land will again reduce the water containing capacities of the earth. So basically the water has no place to escape and can not get in the ground.

An article form Newsweek magazine (7 June) has an interesting article concerning the Himalayas. Three major parts of our planet are covered with eternal snow. The Artic, Antarctic and the Himalayas.
The eternal snow from the Himalayas and its lower parts provides the primary rivers of Asia; Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, Amu Darya and Tarim.
The temperature in this vast Mountain range has risen to 0,74 degrees C over the last century, next century it will rise, according to scientists, with another 5 to 6 degrees C.
The rise of temperature is the main reason why more of the eternal snow has evaporated and poundered down on Asia during monsoon season.
Temperature changes have occurred thanks to global warming but also thanks to the main power resource of India and China: burning of wood and coal. 80% of China's emerging economy is powered by coal. Even the brand new solar panels fabricated in China and sold to the rest of the world are produces by factories using coal as their power source. Heating and cooking systems in rural China are composed of coal fires.
The dust and soot particles generated by these stoves and the combination with of combustion of diesel and fuel (China will have 200 million cars by 2020) turns the Himalayas into a heat absorbing area. Dark particles of dust and coal attract more heat and the more snow melt the worse it gets. When the white snow melt ans evaporates, more rain will be formed. But the surface of the Himalayas will be robbed of its white snow and the rock surface, which has a black rock colour, will protrude. Absorbing even more heat.

Mr Eduardo Gold of Peru won the 2009 "100 ideas to save the planet" competition. His idea was simple, but very pragmatic. With the $200.000 he won he is currently painting the Peruvian Andes white! His idea is that if the Andes rock peaks are painted white, the will reflect sun and heat and the Andes tops would become cold again and produce snow again.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10333304

Quite brilliant! I would even go an absurd step further. Paint your house white and especially the roofs. Throw away your black clothes and dress in white, paint the roads white, ... THINK WHITE, PAINT IT WHITE! Keep our planet COOL.

For anyone interested in environmentalism a must read book:
"Collapse" By Jared Diamond

Pictures

2010-07-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Botanical garden of Phuping Palace, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Himeiji castle, Japan

Mao-ist statues around his mausoleum, Beijing, China

Cold wintersun, East-Flanders, Belgium

Wedding tray, Thailand

Older geishas, Kyoto, Japan

Chiang Mai zoo

2010-06-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to visit Chiang mai zoo. The zoo isn't very special, but it has some special attractions.

Recently a new Aquarium building has opened. It's a bit overpriced, according to Thai standards. They have some basins with different species and at the end even constructed a tunnel, so you have the impression you're walking between the fish. Ok not too bad.

The zoo has some fine collection of "Cats", the white tiger being my favourite.

The main attraction of the Chiang Mai zoo is its baby panda. Lin Bing is about 1 year and 1 month old now. This little cutie is the star of the zoo. Unfortunately upon our visit he was asleep.

Only a few zoo's around the world can boast to have a panda among them ranks so for Chiang Mai to have one is quite special.

A whole new hall, with a panda playground, is accommodated for the baby panda and his parents Among Thai people Lin Bing is so popular that during the morning news on some TV channels reports are broadcasted about this panda.

Lin Bing Sleeping.

Mommy eating.

Daddy digesting.

Lin Bing's playground.

Rice paddies

2010-06-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

The rainy season is hitting Asia and the rice that has been sown is maturing into the green rice plants. In some parts of Japan, amazing art has been created in those rice fields. The following designs in the rice paddies develop naturally as the planted rice plants have different colours.

Buddhist bread

2010-03-29T00:26:00.001-07:00

In this post I want to report about a special bakery in Ratchaburi, Thailand.
This bakery is specialised in making a very horrific looking kind of bread! No this is not one of those cheeky Thai horror movies.
The whole concept of this "human flesh'' bread can be found in the Buddhist teachings.
The lesson would be something like: "Everything you eat, is just to keep you alive." & "What you see is not the real world."

Enjoy your meal!

Best National Geographics Pictures 2009‏

2009-12-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

Pink eggs

2009-12-14T23:41:00.000-08:00

Strolling on a local market in Asia you might find some strange and exotic things. One of them would be the Pink eggs.
No they don't come from pink chickens. They are specially know by Chinese who see those eggs as a delicatessen, they are more expensive then normal eggs.

Pink for an egg is of course a strange colour, but you really should buy one open it. You will be surprised that the egg is black inside!
These eggs are know as "Century eggs", "hundred-year eggs" or even "thousand-year eggs".
Before there were any fridges the Chinese developed and refined a way to preserve eggs. These eggs can be kept several weeks and even a few months, depending on the quality of the preservation process. Eggs are coated with a paste of clay, tea, quicklime, salt and wood ashes.
The eggs are then put in a jar, filled with rice chaff. 3 months are needed for the mud like coat to harden into the crust and at that time eggs are ready for consumption, mmmm tasty!\

Some say the eggs are preserved in horse urine. This is a myth but can be understood. The eggs have a strong ammonia smell, because the PH level of the eggs have slightly changed through the fermentation process. So this give them a smell similar to horse urine.

Many Chinese restaurants offer these eggs in different plate combinations. They are seen as delicatessen and Chinese just love them!
Personally it is not my favourite kind of egg, but I tried it many times. The eggs tastes like and egg but got a rather strong after taste.

Enjoy!

Congratulations China

2009-10-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

1 October 2009 it might be remembered as a sad day in most places of Asia. Some earthquakes shook up Samoa and an extra earthquake surged next to the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Those quakes provoked some major currents and tsunamis, who hit several countries, including Vietnam.

But other Asian countries will not be that sad today.

On 1 October Japan has a special day called : Koromogae. On this day Japanese have to change their summer clothes for winter clothes. An extra layer will help to survive winter. As this year is quite warm for the time being, it just means businessman have to start to wear their tie again. More formal dresses are the trend for the winter.

Meanwhile Chinese people are proud to celebrate 60 years of People's Republic of China. I got some warm hearted messages today form Chinese friends telling me to watch television, so I can be amazed by the military parade next to Tienanmen.

Some pictures:

Shanghai crash

2009-06-28T02:28:00.000-07:00

A 13-floor apartment building under construction collapses in Minhang district, Shanghai Saturday morning June 27, 2009, killing one worker.
The construction fever hasn't stopped in China and new buildings are built every month in most major cities. Because of the high demand top materials and top workers are not always available. So the crash of this massive building is probably caused by bad materials and construction errors.

Japanese cars

2009-06-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

Japan is the number 1 car producer in the world. Everybody knows the big car brands like Toyota, Honda, Mazda,... These car companies have special models for Asia and specific models for Japan. As the Japanese are quite rich they also like to spend some money on their cars. That's why in Japan you can see a collection of different Japanese models and expensive foreign cars.

Do you know the ones in the pictures?

P.S. BMW and Mercedes are often associated with the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia), so normally Japanese people will not buy one.

Capsulehotel

2009-06-12T03:34:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago I decided to spend a night in a capsulehotel. These kinds of hotels are typical for big business cities like Tokyo and Osaka. As the land prices in Japan have sky rocked out of proportions, a night in a hotel room is quite expensive. But capsulehotels are not really meant for tourist who want to look for cheap accommodations. The rooms are too small and impractical for this purpose.
Businessman in major cities in Japan have a hard and tense life, so they like to relax with colleagues after work. But when relaxing and having fun, time is sometimes forgotten. If you miss your last train, around 00.30. You might have several options. Take a taxi for about 10.000 ¥ and go sleep home or stay in a cheap accomodation, such as a capsulehotel (3000-4000¥ a night). So most capsulehotels are found near train stations in the middle of the city.

I spend the night at a caspulehotel in Shimbashi. Before getting in I had to pay for the night and found a small locker room next to the reception. In the locker room the shoes had to be taken off and slippers would replace them. Accessing the elevator brings me to the second floor, where I find a corridor with 20 capsule rooms. I open mine and sigh in relief, it is bigger than I thought. I was thinking of sleeping in a space as big as those drawers where they put the corpses in hospital. Mind you I can not stand up in the capsule, just sit and bent my head. In a side room of the corridor I find 3 toilets and 2 sinks and 1 shower. As I am the second guest, one person is already watching TV in his capsule, I can notice from the slippers in front of his capsule. So I change clothes to a pyjama, similar to a hospital's gown, provided by the hotel. Inside I have a small control panel where I can switch off the light and can control the radio and TV. I turn on the radio to find out there are 12 channels. 1 channel has English movies and 2 channels provide Japanese (block)porn. Nothing interesting so I decide to get a sleep as it is still quiet.
In the middle of the night different people get in between midnight and 2 am. The corridor fills up with an awful booze smell and my half-sleep gets totally disrupted. The air con is not working well and I don't want to open up the sliding door.
In the morning I wake up around 7.00 and decided to get up and take a shower. When I climb out of my capsule I see more than a dozen pair of slippers, all the capsules got filled up in the night. The snoring and alcohol smell fills up the room and I hurry to get take a shower, pack my stuff, take my shoes, return the key and get out.
Good experience but a terrible night, I suppose you have to be drunk to be able to sleep in a capsule hotel.

Chiang Mai Baby Panda

2009-05-28T05:41:00.001-07:00

Exciting news from Chiang Mai, Thailand:

After the first successful artificial insemination of a panda by a Thai veterinarian team a cub has been born to Lin Hui, a 7 year old Panda, on a 10 year loan from China, in Chiang Mai Zoo, northern Thailand. The birth came as a complete surprise to zoo staff who did not know Lin Hui was pregnant. The success follows the 2nd attempt at artificial insemination.The 1st attempt in 2007 failed. Previously, zoo staff had tried everything to try to get the pandas in the right mood, even showing the two Pandas a Panda Sex Movie to try to get them feeling romantic.

There is some concern that Lin Hui may not be able to take care of the baby herself as it is her first. A team of Chinese experts has arrived today to give advice on how to raise the cub. The Chinese experts say that the baby Panda is a female. Officials say the cub is feeding from its mother’s breasts and both are doing well. The Public will be allowed to see the new baby Panda cub in about a month.

Mount Fuji

2009-04-29T00:45:00.000-07:00

Mount Fuji or Fuji-san (富士山) is the highest mountain in Japan. With its 3776 it stands lonely on a plain, just 100 km from Tokyo. Mount Fuji is an active volcano that last erupted in 1707, leaving Tokyo at that time full of ashes.
Mount Fuji is also considered a Kami (God) in Shintoism and is often depicted in paintings and literature.
As it is rare to see mount Fuji very clearly it took me about 2 years of travelling to make a collection of nice views of Mount Fuji. For most Japanese people Mount Fuji is considered as shy as a lady. But when you see her, she blows your mind.

Cherry Blossom festival

2009-04-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last month the Hanami (花見) festival was officially opened upon reporting the first cherry blossoms in Tokyo. This TV report is a nationwide sign to start travelling and looking for the hot spots with the most beautiful blossoms. The cherry blossoms or Sakura are considered the greatest of all blossoms. This Hanami festival takes about 1 months the period that all the blossoms over Japan have perished. But this is a month in which Japanese go crazy about Sakura. Special food is sold like sakura tofu and sakura ice cream, both are pink coloured of course. It is a time of crowds visiting sakura spot, resulting in traffic jams.
As beautiful as the flowers are so are the people visiting the flowers. People feel relaxed and open-hearted just like the blooming of a flower. Special tea ceremonies will be held and some people will put on their best traditional clothes for viewing these blossoms. No the girls are no geisha's! Just woman dressing in their spring kimono to enjoy the Hanami festival.

Kawaii!

2009-03-15T02:55:00.000-07:00

Tokyo has appointed 3 special ambassadors to represent Japan a few days ago. In a bid to raise the international popularity, 3 young women were appointed as representatives of their country.Eye-catching is of course their outfits. A combination of "anime", "manga" and popular Japanese youth culture can be observed on these young women.

The whole ambassador campaign is focused on the Japanese word "Kawaii", meaning "cute".

With the promotion of Japanese cuteness, Tokyo wants to influence young people in Asia and Europe.

Japan has been making efforts to boost its "soft power", a strategy that analysts see as important. "America has a lot of soft power, because people like American culture."

Voice of the airport

2009-02-26T03:29:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post you could already read that I had some strange experiences at Chinese airports.
Last year I had a special group travelling with me through China. This group consisted of older couples and a few singles from the same Christian organisation. The group started their trip from Shanghai and had to continue to Xi'an after a couple of days sightseeing in Shanghai.
I didn't know the group very well yet the day we had to take the flight to Xi'an as we were only 2 days together.
We arrived well on time at Shanghai International Airport to grab our flight but the flight was delayed. Which is normal in China, a flight arriving on time must be a miracle. After checking in the suitcases and receiving the boarding passes we passed the security check and headed for the boarding gate to discover that the plane had some delay. The ground staff assured me it would only be delayed for 1 hour. So I gather everyone around and told them they could leave their hand luggage near the gate. I would watch the bags while they could have a walk around and look at the shops at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I also instructed them to be back on time (1 hour later).
As promised 1 hour later the plane arrived and we could proceed to board the aircraft. Everyone from the group picked up their luggage and got in the plane. I saw that one backpack was left behind and according to the luggage tag it belonged to Miss X, a single lady in the group.
I asked the group where Miss X could be and they revealed that she had a drinking problem and probably was sitting in a bar.
I got a bit worried as we had to board the plane immediately and asked the ground staff if I could call for her through the microphone system of the airport. They allowed it and I prepared my best voice to announce solemnly that Miss X was asked at the gate quite urgently. The whole of Pudong Airport heard this Dutch announcement.
I waited for 10 minutes and Miss X didn't show up. The ground staff urged me to hurry up as they wanted to close the gate in a few minutes. I gambled and took a choice and ran through the enormous hall of the airport looking in all the restaurants and bars around. I finally found Miss x sitting in one bar drinking a beer and looking at me as she was from another planet. I explained her the situation and finally got to her. She looked as she waked up from her trance and started to panic. We both ran to the boarding gate, where the staff was waiting for us. We got on the plane and entered the plane as the last passengers.
So that was a close call.
From then on I knew Miss X's problem and watched her carefully.
She didn't disturb the trip any more but we had to organise some "toilet stops" quite frequently for her.

Business card

2009-02-02T01:35:00.000-08:00

Japan is in our mind the land of the business man. And this image is quite correct for the big cities as Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, ...
The most important tool for a business man is his business card. If you don't own a huge map full of other people's cards you are a nobody in Japan. The business card is synonymous for the person himself. So you have to treat a business card with the same respect as for the person itself.
Upon receiving a business card make a slight bow and stretch out both arms. You will take the small card with both hands and make a quick nod with the head. Examine the card and then put it away respectfully. NEVER FOLD a card, because this could be seen as a sign of folding the person himself. Don't put the little piece of paper in your trousers but place it respectfully in a card holder or in the pocket of your jacket.

So a little card can make quite a fuzz. Upon walking in the streets in Tokyo I saw some men giving their business cards away (still with 2 hands and a little bow) on corners of the streets. It seemed only females were targeted in this random give-away game. I decided to ask my guide why these men were giving away these precious little papers.
Because Japanese get more relaxed after work and after some beers I decided to take my guide to a beer bar and question him. The bar was located in Ginza area, which is a good and expensive, but mobster-directed district of Tokyo. Only a couple of streets away from my hotel, but on the way I made another amazing discovery. In front of a classy building in one of the streets I saw a lot of pretty ladies all dressed up in wedding dresses. So I thought "What a nice huge wedding took place here!". But anyway it might be something to ask my guide for.
So after a couple of Belgium beers the tongue gets loose and that's when I find out that Japanese are refined in their ways of offering sexual services.
The men giving away them business cards are generally working men (sometimes married) who offer their services after their working hours. It seems a big percentage of the male population in Tokyo is handling business cards in the streets as to find some payed (or not payed) sexual activity!
The wedding girls didn't come from a highly fashionable party. They are the most exclusive prostitutes. How fancier the clothes, how more expensive the lady, that's the Japanese rule. And I didn't get to know the exact price, but it seems such a high class girl will demand as much as a half month's salary (Japanese salary).
Amazing what information you can get with a couple of strong Belgium beers!

Winterlandscape Belgium 2009

2009-01-18T12:35:00.001-08:00

Santa Panda

2008-12-27T01:43:00.000-08:00

A giant panda wearing a Christmas hat enjoys Christmas Day in a panda garden in Changzhou of East China's Jiangsu Province.

Smiling moon

2008-12-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

Last night on 1 December 2008 the moon gave us a special smile. In Thailand and most Asian countries it would have been a smile and in the other part of the globe (USA) it would have been a frown. The phenomenon happened because Jupiter and Venus are 2 degree from each other. Although these 2 planets are hundreds of million miles away from each other but last they showed as if so close to one another.
2 pictures taken from my apartment.

Bell boys

2008-11-27T23:12:00.000-08:00

My work bring me in contact with a lot of different people and situations. Most professional meetings are smooth and enjoyable. Countries like Thailand have a long tradition in receiving foreign tourists. Japan is so organised that, even though few foreign tourist visit this country, every step goes very smoothly.
China of course is a different story. As the country is experiencing a long lasting economic boom (but for how long) tourism is also developing very fast.
Most hotels are new or got a face-lift, new Chinese buses are touring the roads, different scenic spots have been accommodated for foreign tourists, ...
So everything looks perfect except that no service is offered, because the staff didn't get a proper training. Evolution goes so fast than anyone with some competence is allowed to work in the tourism business. So working with guides, who just do their job and want to make as much money as possible, is not as easy as it looks. Don't be surprised if you encounter bell boys in the hotels who only bring your luggage after you pay them the tip!

A few months ago I spoke with a manager of a new 5-star hotel in the Chinese capital. As I know the standard procedures for such a new hotel I was amazed to meet some front desk staff who didn't speak English at all. The manager explained me that they had to hire staff, as the hotel had to open just before the Olympic Games, and speaking English or any experience in hotellery was not needed. During the Olympic Games this is the hotel (Westin Beijing) where former American President George Bush stayed overnight.

Another example.
About a year ago I stayed in the Novotel in Beijing, which would be considered as a quite decent hotel with international management. As I got out of my room I heard the screaming of the fire alarm. I didn't notice any activity in the corridor and as I was on my way out I decided to drop by the reception to tell them about the noise.
So I started to explain in my best Asian English to one of the receptionists that there might be a fire alarm ringing near my room. She looked at me in a puzzled way and asked me in I wanted to check-out. My next trick was to imitate the sound of the fire alarm. The girl facing me could not help to laugh and look even more confused. So in my final attempt to explain what was wrong I try to speak in Chinese. I said "Fire near room". Now she looked even more astounded and asked one of her co-workers to help. So I started to explain again, but to no use, I still didn't want to check-out or pay for the minibar. I was thinking of leaving the counter and let the hotel burn down to the ground when a Chinese customer next to me helped. He clearly had understood what all my babbling and waving was about. When the receptionists finally grasped the meaning of it all the immediately asked for my room number and were very busy communicating on their interphone.
So I finally got out to go get my well earned coffee, thinking that maybe I saved this hotel from the flames. Can you imagine a real fire would have ignited?

The most problems I encounter is not with guides or receptionists but is with lazy bell boys. The only work these guys have to fulfill is bring the luggage of the clients as quick as possible to the rooms. Now this would happen in an ideal world but not in China.
Like I said before sometimes these bell boys ask for their tip before working and if it's not enough, according to them, the will work very slowly.
In a hotel in Xi'an I got so angry with the working speed of these porters, that I loaded all the luggage of my clients on the chariots of the hotel, took the service elevator and started to deliver it by myself room by room. After this incident I demanded, still red-faced by fury, to speak to the duty manager. She had to hear all about and was stunned by my allegations. She assured me it would never happen again. So I calmed went to my room and enjoyed my dinner later on. Next day a beautiful picture book was positioned in my room with a sorry note next to it.

The worst encounter I had in China with the porters was in Shanghai. This hotel, which I will not name but which is very very badly managed and is property of the Novotel group, has one or two bell boys working in a suit. Being a bell boy and wearing a suit has some disadvantages especially when carrying luggage. So their work is a bit slow. These worst thing is that these porters only work form 8 am until 8 pm. So next morning when we want to leave the hotel to go to the airport no porters are available!? First time I didn't know this fact so I ordered at the reception that the porters should pick up the luggage at 7.30 Am so we could leave on time to go to the airport. Fine they said and wrote down my request. My surprise was great when, next morning, at 8 AM still no luggage were brought down in the lobby and I asked reception when it would happen. So I got the answer that I could do it myself as the bell boys, who were already there, were only starting work at 8 AM. Unbelievable.

Engrish 2

2008-11-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

Bamboo car

2008-11-14T19:17:00.000-08:00

"Bamgoo", an electric car with a body made out of bamboo, is displayed in Kyoto, western Japan November 14, 2008. The sixty-kilogram single-seater ecologically friendly concept car, which measures 270 centimeters in length, 130 centimeters in width and 165 centimeters in height, is developed by Kyoto University Venture Business Laboratory, featuring bamboo articles in the Kyoto area. The car can run for 50 kilometers on a single charge.

Sumo Training

2008-11-11T23:01:00.000-08:00

Sumo (相撲) has a tradition of over 2000 years. For Japanese it is more than a sport it's a contest between semi-gods. Sumo is intermingled in Japanese culture, especially with the Shinto religion. Shinto is the Japanese native religion, where Kami (nature gods) are honoured.

In the Sumo sport different Shinto traditions have been kept alive. The ring is covered by a huge roof, representing a rice barn, the ring has to be purified by salt and sake is offered by the referee to the Kami.

Only in the late '80 Sumo wrestling opened up. Some prefixed matches gave the sport a bad label and changes were made. The first foreign wrestlers were allowed. Nowadays the Nr 1 wrestler of Japan has the Mongolian identity.

Last month I was allowed to visit a Sumo training in a typical Heya (Sumo house). I gained enormous respect for these colossuses. The concentrate all their strength on one exact moment where they have to push the opponent out of the ring. There are 3 ways to win a Sumo camp.

1 The opponent surrenders

2 You push the opponent out of the ring

3 The opponent touches the grand with an other part of the body than the feet

I was imagining a wrestler would push me with all his might. I would probably end up flat against the wall!

Even some of them have a lot of muscles and fat, they still are very flexible, as you can see on the pictures.

Seeing them in action was an amazing experience!

The Sumo wrestlers on the pictures are from different rank. The ones with the white belt have the highest rank. One of them is even top 5 of Japan. All of the wrestlers on the pictures are Japanese, except one, he is Brazilian.

Arrested in China

2008-10-11T03:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I updated my blog. I will start to compile different stories about what strange experience i had with my job.

In July 2008 I had to take a flight from Kunming to Guilin in China. This is one month before the Olympic Games so security was pretty tight. Another thing about flying in China is that planes are almost never on time and strange things happen all the time.
I took care of a group of 20 people. Because the tickets for us are issued by name, not every couple is sitting next to each other. But we still get all seats in one block. So I developed a system to redistribute the tickets after everyone passed the security check and are standing in front of the boarding gate (The name is never checked at the boarding gate in China). So everybody had a boarding pass with a different name, but could sit next to their companion.
This system backfired on me in July 2008, I was taken away by the airport security.

The airplane to Guilin had about 30 minutes delay and finally we could get on the plane. I redistributed the tickets again so everybody could sit on the plane next to their companion with a boarding pass with a different name.
After the delay we entered the plane and were greeted by the stewardesses. The hand luggage was stored and we were all ready to take off.
But we had to wait about 20 minutes in the plane, because their seemed to be some kind of maintenance problem. So people got a bit uneasy and afraid. Actually nothing to get afraid of as China could not afford to have an international scandal by an air crash. So the stewardesses ask us to get off the plane again. We took our hand luggage out and walked the same hallway back to the waiting hall for the boarding gates.
We had to wait until a new plane was provided, but as I checked we needed our original boarding pass. And now unfortunately 1 girl forgot her boarding pass in the plane. No problem she could get a new one with her name if she would go to the check-in counter again and show the original booking. So I went with her all the way to the start of the checking counters to show the original list and with her passport she obtained a new boarding card. Until then everything went quite smoothly.
We had to pass the security check again. She showed her passport and boarding card and could rejoin the group. Not same story for me. I had my passport, but my boarding card had a different name. So I started to explain (In my best English-Chinese) at the security gate that I switched it in the group and that someone else in the group must have my boarding pass with my name. After some minutes that security guy started to understand what I was saying and accompanied me to my group, which was still waiting at the boarding gates, to show my boarding pass with my name. So when I arrived and asked my group to check if my name was on their boarding pass, they picked up their boarding pass and checked. No my name was on none of them!
I started to panic a bit, as the security man was maybe thinking I was a terrorist (not tourist). I started to argue with him that my boarding pass must have been the one the girl forgot in the plane. As more and more Chinese spectators gathered around us he didn't want to listen to me and took me away to his office.
I was getting quite nervous and angry because maybe the new plane was going to leave soon and my group would be worried. So I started to slam the table and told him to listen very well. That strategy didn't work as I expected and he called his chief, while I was still sitting on a chair like a prisoner in an interrogation session. I experienced some scary minutes, not really knowing what would happen to me. So the chief came in and he started to talk with the security man. He was also looking fiercely at me and I tried to explain to whole story again.
My last remedy was to call my local Chinese agent and to tell him the whole story so he could tell it in clear Chinese to them. After a few minutes of discussion, the security man finally let me free and accompanied me to the check-in counter, where I finally got a new boarding pass. I thanked him, he throw me an awkward look and I headed straight for the security check. This time no problem and I could finally rejoin my group.

A new plane was provided and we landed 2 hours later than planned in Guilin.
The security staff in Kunming airport will surely remember me next time. I still think I should revise my ticket system.

Bond in Bangkok

2008-09-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Very funny commercial featuring the old mister Bond Pierce Brosnan and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. This whole advertisment is filmed in Bangkok and the main actionmachine is the famous Tuk-Tuk!
Enjoy!

Spiderman helps

2008-09-03T04:02:00.000-07:00

A few days ago the city of Hangzhou, which is the capital of Zhejiang province and is located a bit south of Shanghai, launched a particular project.
The city has a major problem with its sewer system. The covers of the manholes, which give access tot the sewers, get stolen in order to sell the metal. Citizens of Hangzhou keep in falling in those manholes, renamed as "deathtraps".
So the city developed a plan of installing spiderwebs which can cover the hole and can hold the weight of an adult person.
Hope it works!

Italy 2 - Belgium 3

2008-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Sat Aug 16

18:00
Men's Q/Final - Match 26 - D1 vs C2 Italy vs Belgium

Workers' Stadium

Ready for Olympics

2008-07-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

Everybody asks themselves is Beijing ready to host the biggest Sports event of the year?

This is a very tough question. I would have to answer yes and no.

Yes because every major infrastructure is of course completed. Beijing even opened 4 new subway lines and 20 new bus lines in one month. It's really unbelievable how fast the shape of Beijing changed. I went to Beijing in May to witness a major change in July. New hotels, new communication buildings, new subway stations in just a period of 2 months. That's really crazy, but that's China's strength. So on this part China will really amaze the world.

Starting from 21 July the government stopped all construction activities and all factories around Beijing for 2 months! Also cars were only allowed to enter Beijing on even or uneven days according to the number plates. This is a way to reduce the air pollution that's poltergheisting the Chinese capital. One of the 3 traffic lines on Beijing's highways is exclusively reserved for Olympic use.

Only one electable party makes it of course easy to control the whole country. If you combine this with the group-thinking any Chinese citizen herited from the time of Confucius, you can start to understand how such preparations are possible.

No because China stays China and people are not really used to foreigners.

I took some taxis in Beijing last month and was a bit disappointed as I heard that most taxi drivers will possess a GPS system to help the foreign guests, but none was available. In every taxi I saw I never noticed a GPS system. Although every taxi driver could follow a free course of Basic English, it is still very hard to converse with them without any knowledge of Chinese. So the obligatory business cards or a Chinese friend's phone number will still be needed.

And that my friends is of course only the taxi drivers. I can already imagine a few chaotic and funny situations in restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, ...

Oh by the way the officially promoted restaurants for the Olympics were forbidden to serve dog meat. All the other restaurants in Beijing were kindly asked to do the same.

Another thing that bothers me is China's attitude towards foreign residents; Most of Beijing's foreign residents were kicked out of Beijing because their visa was not extended. I suppose the Chinese government wants to limit the troublemakers, and troublemakers in Chinese's minds are always outsiders.

Even getting through the security check at the airports is for a foreigner a braver mission than for a Chinese citizen. Any unidentifiable item (so no Chinese on it) will find it's way to the nearest garbage bin.

So my conclusion can be that what you will see on TV will be perfect (I guess if anything happens the Chinese will just cut off all transmission). But all around Beijing a lot of problems will occur for every non-speaking traveler. So better take a guide, gives me more work haha.

Please don't miss the opening ceremony on 8/8/08 at 8 minutes past 8. It's by famous director Zhang Yi Mou.

Pictures taken near the Olympic Green :

Apartments for the athletes. They will become luxurious apartments once the Games end.

Whole set of apartments. The top of the tower symbolizes the Olympic Flame.

Famous new icon of Beijing, the Bird's nest.

View on the Olympic Green. The tower in the middle will support the Olympic Flame.

Watercube, venue for all swimming contests. After the Games it will become a public swimming pool.

Penthouse party

2008-07-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

At the end of June Nok and I were invited to a special party in Bangkok.

One of Nok's close friends is working for the Thai edition of the famous magazine PENTHOUSE.

So we arrived at the party a bit after 19.00 (as in Thailand discotheques have to close at 01.00).

The party was held at Inch discotheque on Ratchadaphiset.

We arrived in the pouring and dried ourselves at the free bar while enjoying some drinks.

The attending crowd was mainly male. And coinsidence or not they all were armed with a big camera, I suppose most of them were professional photographers.

But of course we should speak about the ladies. 12 Thai beauties were parading the whole night in different acts and in different outfits. Some games were organized on stage. Putting condoms over bananas is a classic one, which I brilliantly won!

The crowd got some penthouse stickers and as the ladies walked by, every person could choose to put a sticker on. At the end of the night the lady with the most stickers won.

Better include some pictures!

New Olympic Sport?

2008-06-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Pole Dancing schools are the newest fashion in China.

As I reviewed in an earlier post, young women love to show off their new moves when going out. But joining a pole dancing school is also a way of daily training and some even do it to excell and to be able to work in night clubs for a good salary.

The pictures here are taken in Hefei, Anhui province in a dance school which opened 2 months ago.

Concubines

2008-06-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

The Concubines in the Imperial society of China were the woman of the emperor, high ranking officials or rich merchants.

Upon a visit of the Forbidden City in Beijing two parts can be seen. The first part is the Palace area where state affairs were handled. The second part is the living quarters and those quarters have a major part consecrated to the concubines.

Life was hard for these girls as there were many and a lot of jealousy. The concubines were graded in 9 ranks going from “beauty” to “imperial concubine”.

Every part of the court life was regulated and written down. The eunuch were the only (half) man allowed to stay in the Forbidden City. The eunuchs had to serve and advise the emperor and they had to make sure the emperor would follow the court rules. So a normal emperor would have 121 concubines. But of course some emperors enjoyed their God status and didn’t listen to their eunuchs. An emperor of that sort would have 400 to 4000 concubines. But an emperor with so many concubines wouldn’t have time to control his country as he had other preoccupations and so went in history as a bad emperor.

A concubine was selected between the ages of 12 to 14 as this is the age when she was considered the most female. A selection was made in the different provinces. The girl must be a local beauty and still virgin. Then when she passed the different tests she would be brought to the eunuchs, who made further selection and in the end the emperor could select his concubines.

The goal of a concubine was to be able to sleep with the emperor and to please him, so she could be promoted and she and her family would get more fame and richness. But a group of 400 to 4000 women fighting for one man gave a lot of quarrels and more.

So why did the emperor need all these concubines, shouldn’t he be a good housefather and take care of his empress?

Well as every little detail was controlled at the court (and a good emperor would follow these regulations), the emperor had designated times, according to the moon calendar, where he could sleep with his empress and try to conceive an heir to the throne. Those were very select days and the chance of having a child, and especially a boy, was quite small. So when the emperor had a boy with a concubine, this concubine would receive a higher grade and in the end could become the mother of the next emperor.

Because the emperor could only sleep with his wife on these designated days he had to sleep with his concubines. Here we find the concept of Yin and Yang.

Yang is “good”, “sunlight”, “heaven”, “male”, …

Yin is “bad”, “darkness”, “earth”, “female”, …

They represent all the duality around us. And because the emperor was “The son of Heaven” he was absolutely Yang, but everything should be in balance, so he needs more Yin.

He could get this Yin be special food and exercises, but the most efficient way was his concubines. By having intercourse with them he received Yin and especially if the concubine had an orgasm she would release more Yin. The eunuchs developed a way to improve the chance of an orgasm. The used the eyelid of a sheep and that was placed on the penis of the emperor.

In the writing it was also regulated how many ejaculations (losing the Yang) the emperor could enjoy. In spring he could have an ejaculation every 3 days, in summer and autumn only twice a month and in winter, as this is the coldest and darkest (Yin) month, he could have none!

To select a concubine was a tricky business. In the beginning the emperor could choose who he wanted to sleep with, but this custom was abolished by the eunuch as it is not fair to all the concubines (except for the emperor’s favorites). So different systems were tried out. A cart with a goat was set up in front of the courtyards of the concubines. Where the goat would stop the concubine could get in and was brought to the emperor. Concubines weren’t stupid women as they were also selected on their artistic and mental skills. Soon vegetable baskets were put outside some houses and the same concubines kept coming up on the cart, so this system was also terminated.

A tube of bamboo was kept by the head eunuch and inside the names of all concubines was written on separate bamboo sticks. So every day a stick was picked at random. This system was kept for a longer time, as it seemed quite successful in keeping everybody happy.

When a concubine was selected she was washed and perfumed by the eunuchs. Her naked was enrolled in a silk gown and she was brought like that to the emperor. No clothes so no possibility to hide a weapon to murder the emperor.

The emperor was given one hour to gain more Yin. While the emperor was in his bedroom with the concubine, a eunuch would stand outside. He controlled the time after one hour he would hit his big metal staff on the floor, indicating that the emperor only had 5 more minutes left.

Of course “bad” emperors would indulge more on those worldly pleasures and order their eunuch to go away or they just picked another concubine after the first session was finished.

When a concubine died she would be given a funeral according to their rank. An imperial concubine would even be buried not far from the grave of her emperor.

When an emperor would die all his concubines would go to the next emperor. But he never used them as concubines, but as advisers. The new emperor would get a new set of concubines. The old concubines would live in palaces outside the Forbidden City, except for the imperial concubines, who would normally stay close to the new emperor.

Pictures

2008-06-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Picturetime!

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Lijiang, Yunnan province, China

Maesa Elephant Camp

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Matsumoto Castle

Matsumoto, Japan

Reed Flute Cave

Guilin, Gunagxi Zhuang province, China

Krabi

Krabi, Thailand

View from the Peak

Hong Kong

So cute - children

2008-06-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Thailand, Mae Hong Son
Children got presents on local children's day.

China, Guanxi province
Little Zhuang boy staring at the foreign visitors.

Thailand, Chiang Rai
Akha baby trying to sell some souvenirs.

China, Guangxi province
Yao lady showing her offspring.

Thailand, Chiang Rai
Girl collecting bugs.

Thailand, Mae Sot
Girl holding a vedgetable as it was her baby.

Japan, Tokyo
Waiting for the subway.

Thailand, Umphang
Do children grow in trees?

Japanese toilet

2008-05-27T04:44:00.000-07:00

In Japan everything is modern but small. Japanese love their little gadgets on mobile phones, cars, clothes and even toilets!

What a difference of course with the "common" toilets found in most Asian countries, referred to as French or Turkish toilets. Japanese toilets have everything you need and don't need. But first of all you have to get in that tiny bathroom of course.

Most Japanese toilets will have a button to keep the seat heated, so on your next visit your cheeks don't catch a cold.

You will find 2 others buttons, which will activate the spray. One spray for the front and one for the back and the strength of the spray can be adjusted! But don't worry toilet paper is also provided.

Found this hilarious sign in a public toilet!

Fino Yamaha

2008-05-25T04:40:00.000-07:00

This month we had to buy a new motorbike. So we got charmed by the cute Fino Yamaha.

Yamaha Fino scooter 115cc 4-stroke engine with manual transmission.

Sakura

2008-05-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

Watching the cherry blossoms, it's a particular and busy activity in Japan. Japanese even got a word for it Hanami (花見). As the blossoming starts in January and ends near April, I was quite lucky to still witness some. In the coastal, flatter parts of Japan most blossoms were gone, but in the higher, mountainious regions some trees were still in full bloom.
Evenn you saw 50 sakura trees already you still feel the same amasment as with your first tree. And of course you are not the only tourist snapping away at those splendid trees, so just go with the flow and let your camera click away Japanese style!

First Impressions

2008-04-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

Last two weeks I've been on a roundtrip around Japan. Of course a tourist trip is good enough to start to learn a country. So I mainly gathered some impressions about Japan.

Cellphones are useless in Japan

As soon as I landed on the island I was looking for a SIM-card to insert in my phone. The system with SIM-cards is used almost all over the world, except in Japan of course. As the information counter at the airport didn't understand my question I just moved on and hoped to buy a SIM-card in a shop in the city of Osaka. No use I didn't find it. Only after observing the Japanese cell phone shops and getting some Japanese explanation did I understand the truth.

In Japan you get a contract with your telephone provider and you get a number and a cell phone. So you basically get a free phone. If you want a more fancy one you can pay for it. It is even possible to get a special contract with the telephone company so that you change phone every 2 0r 3 months, so you always get a brand new one.

The Japanese phones don't use a SIM-card and you can not insert one in them. So Japanese phones are useless in a foreign country.

This whole strange thing is a regulation imposed by the Japanese authority to protect the economy. People will by Japanese phones with a Japanese provider. Even the Japanese phones all look the same, there isn't a lot of diversity.

So what can you do as a foreigner? Well you can rent a phone at the airport or sign a contract (if you are a resident) with a telephone company.

Japanese are not interested in foreigners

Upon arrival in Japan and during the 2 weeks spend over there I felt like an alien. Not because everyone was looking at me, no just because no one was looking. As I spend some time in Thailand or China I am quite used to the fact that people will stare at me or want to practice some English.

But in Japan nobody even glanced and I was never talk to in a spontaneous way. So that felt q bit awkward.

I'm still trying to figure out if it is because Japanese people are shy and don't dare to look or because they feel superior and don't feel the need to look.

Japanese are obsessed by sex

In every hotel we went you could always go buy a card to access the pay channels. And upon looking at the guide book, they have a lot of sex channels.

When walking in Tokyo we saw businessmen handing their cards to women on the streets. We asked our guide what was happening and he answered that those men are 'host'. So they are the male call service. There must be about 500.000 men in Tokyo who offer that service.

Later on the streets (around 10.30), we encountered young ladies in wedding dresses. We thought that they just came from a party but no according to our guide they are the female 'hosts' and these were the expensive ones. The ladies in the wedding dresses earn a good business, they can ask up to 300.00 yen (2000 euro!!!) a night.

Japan is expensive

For a holiday destination Japan is an expensive choice. Almost every product can be purchased from a vending machine so prices are controlled. A can of coke will always be the same price, which is 120 yen (almost 1 euro), which is a reasonable price, but for a small bottle of water you will also pay 120 yen. And clothes, especially in Tokyo are bloody expensive. So are hotel rooms by the way.

Chinese Minorities

2008-04-09T02:01:00.000-07:00

China has a population of 1.3 billion people. 56 nationalities are represented.

The Chinese, called Han Chinese are the biggest group and count for 92% of the total population of China. But those other 55 nationalities are not Chinese and have sometimes very different habits and cultural aspects.

The word minority always gets a bit of a negative connotation, but not really in China. Yes sometimes those minorities are considered as less developed, but is that so bad? I could even say most minority people get a better life than their Chinese neighbours.

As a lot of minorities live in an autonomous region, such as Guangxi, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia or Xijiang, they are allowed to spend government money on their own projects. They get a certain degree of autonomy.

Minority people only count 120 million in population, which is of course much less than the majority of Han Chinese. That's why the minorities are not subject to the one-child policy in China. They can and mostly have more than one child. This is a policy decided by China to make sure none of those minorities will disappear in the near future.

When participating in school exams minority children will make a better chance to pass. As the education system should be accessible to anyone, China uses a system that isn't really enhancing equality. Minority children will get on their national exams (quoted on 100) 20 points more than Chinese children. This system guarantees that some Minority children become involved in higher studies.

So being part of a minority isn't that bad at all in China, and a lot of Chinese man try to marry a minority girl, as to get more offspring.

Now recently Tibet, that is one of those autonomous provinces of China, has been overexposed in the news. The history of this conflict is a quite long and complicated. The complexity is comparable with the conflict about North-Ireland. Tibet has been a self-ruling country, but was also often included in the Chinese empire. Tibetan kings regularly asked the help of Chinese armies to help against attacks of Mongols or Nepalese or even to suppress civil war.

Personally I understand what the Tibetans are fighting for and they choose the right moment for international media attention. It is just sad that the media give a very "Black and white" story. Every time China is used as an item in the international news it is often demonized or misjudged.

Sani girl dressed up for photo.

The Sani are a branch of the Yi minority. These Sani live in the Stone Forest in Kunming and are responsible for the whole management of this Unesco place. So when the women are not busy working on their broidery, they will guide the tourists around.

Young Sani girls are dressed very colourful and have 2 little triangles on their hats. When a man touches the triangles it means he wants to marry the girl. Normally the man will go work 3 years in the household of family of the girl, to prove he is worth it. After 3 years the girl will decide if she wants to marry this man.

Yao showing their long hair.

The Yao are a widespread minority and can be found in most southern provinces of China as well as on Thailand and Vietnam.

The Yao women of Guangxi (as on the picture) are recognized by the Guinness World Record book as having the longest hair in the world,

They only cut their hair when they become adults. When they loosen the hair you clearly see it is composed of different pieces. They attach two different pieces of hair to their long hair. One is the hair collected before they became adults and the other bunch of hair is the hairs that fell off while brushing it and sometimes they also attach the hair of their deceased mom.

Zhuang excersising the bamboo dance

The Zhuang minority is the biggest minority in China. The have a population of 18 million people. They live mostly in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous province.

Zhuang are famous for the cultivation of rice on different terraces.

Naxi lady transporting hay

The Naxi are manly living in Lijiang, Yunnan.

This city is recognised by Unesco as a World heritage site. Mainly because of the beautiful location between eternal Snow mountains.

Naxi ladies are quite bossy and in Naxi culture the bloodline is carried on by the girl. Men are supposed to compose music or to play cards with friends, while women are working. But watch out everything is decided by the girls and men have to watch their words here!

Me and my Tibetan guide in Zhongdian

Tibetans can be categorised in many different groups. The group living in Yunnan province is mostly Khamba Tibetans. They have a good understanding with their Chinese cousins as for several centuries they had to defend themselves together against the attacks of roving Tibetan bandits.

Bai girl thinking about her boyfriend

The Bai live mainly in Dali, where they used to have their own Nanzhao kingdom, unfortunately destroyed by Genghis Khan.

The women were a hat which symbolizes wind, snow, flowers and the moon, all the enjoyable aspects of Dali.

On the day of wedding the bride will get pinched by friends, as a way of wishing her good luck.

China Lamborghini Crash

2008-04-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

This one for is for the car lovers, but such a terrible waste.
They really shouldn't drive after drinking tea!

A yellow Lamborghini LP640 was severely damaged after crashing into a roadside flower bed in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan Province early Wednesday. The sports car, priced at about 4.6 million yuan (more than US$655,000), is reportedly the only Lamborghini in the city. The driver is uninjured in the accident.

Food for 1 week

2008-03-27T01:14:00.000-07:00

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina (Sure hope most American families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk food than this family.) Food expenditure for one week $341.98

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

Thai investment

2008-03-20T01:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I found 2 interesting articles in the local Thai news paper. One article complained about the increasing living cost in Thailand as everywhere in the world, and especially the price of rice going up, which is food no. 1 of course in Asia. But that was generally speaking not so bad for Thailand as rice is the first export product and it’s Thailand’s second source of income. 80 % of rice cultivated in Thailand is exported intercontinental. Thailand is the first exporter of rice in the world followed by Vietnam. Of course a country like China produces more rice, but needs this rice to feed its own population.
So the increasing prices for rice are quite good for the Thai export economy. This makes more income for the farmers and enough is kept for consumption in Thailand. This rice is then exported to Europe and America but now new markets are opening up in Asia. Rice is now exported to China and countries around Thailand to keep the rising rice prices down. Techniques to get more rice crops a year are being developed and meanwhile this export product is in high demand, keeping the Thai farmers happy.

As rice is only the second source of income it is tourism that occupies the first spot. After the Tsunami in the South tourism has totally recovered and as new parts of the world are discovering Thailand, it is tourism season all year round. Nowadays a lot of People from Eastern Europe (Russia, Poland, Tsech Republic …) and China are visiting Thailand.
Of course money is needed to constantly develop tourism. This year 4.9 billion Baht (1 euro = 47 baht) will be spend to improve some less tourist areas.

The government has 5 mega projects it wants to accommodate for tourist needs.

-Civilisation tourism route
40 Million baht will be used this year to improve the Thai-Burma route, including better highways and easier access to Burma. Next year 225 million will be invested in this project.

-Ecotourism
Environment is a hot issue in Thailand too and about 900 Million will be spend for ecotourism.

-Thailand Riviera
Everyone knows Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui, Krabi … But those are only a few spots on the widespread beaches of Thailand, so the Riviera project is inspired by the Spanish coastline. More beaches will be used for tourism development and this will cost 260 million this year with an additional input of 500 million next year.

-Mekong river
One of the biggest rivers of the world (4200 km) passes through Thailand, but only a few resorts can be found around it. This project, which will cost 130 million this year and 420 million next year, will elevate the Mekong river to a new tourist attraction.

-Thai – Khmer route
The ancient Khmer, with Angkor Wat as capital has left a deep print on Thai culture and landscape especially in the poor North-East part of Isan. This region will get 500 million baht for development. Better roads and hotels are surely needed here.

To sit or not to sit

2008-02-18T08:36:00.001-08:00

Coming soon - Japan

2008-02-11T03:13:00.000-08:00

Soon the tourist season will start again and I can wake up from my winter sleep.
This year I will mainly work in China. I also got the possibility, which I grabbed with both hands, to accompany groups in Japan. This is quite thrilling news as Japan is a very expensive countries and not many tourist go visit this country.

So I am very excited, but I know I will have to refresh a lot of my old knowledge and study some more. But that's what this winter sleep is all about.

So soon (well my first tour would be in April) more news and pictures about Japan!