Last gate to pass...

before I'm heading across the Persian Gulf and over Iran to Tehran. It is very early in the morning and I have been awake now since 2:17 am. From my hotel here at the airport in Dubai, I had to embark on a true endeavour to find my way around this truly huge airport. It took more than one hour to get from A to B.well, now I'm here, so let's see how long time Air Dubai will let us wait before boarding.

An awesome trip starts with?

For many years I've had a wish to go to visit Iran. 

Now it is Easter holiday and finally I've taken the necessary step and done something about it. I've booked myself on a flight to Dubai and tomorrow morning from Dubai to Tehran..

I have a nice - but in a way also a bit uneasy - feeling about it all, and not sure what to expect other than adventure. 

All on my own. 

Kind of. That means, at some point I will be picked up by some kind and nice people in Theran and will get a man introduction to Iranian life by being invited to their house for a couple of days. But before that I'll have to settle in for two days in a Tehran hotel, somewhere in that huge city of 9 million.

Japanese breakfast.

Japan breakfast. So good. The stuff in the  square white box in the corner is called "Nato" and is old fermented beans.

You mix it with that liquid in the wee plastic bag on the left, some soy sauce and then add it to your rice. It should make your stomach flora healthy and natural. It smells really bad, it drags longs sticky strands like melted cheese from the chopsticks when you eat it. And I haven't even mentioned the taste?????

Okinawa February 2016

Chinese New Year holiday and we've been back to Okinawa for s week of relaxing and fresh air and good food.

Springtime has arrived here, probably some time yet until it will happen in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Yet again we enjoyed the solitude of the Kerama Islands a two hour ferry ride outside Naha city. Amazing and worth the while. 

Beautiful landscapes will fill your mind as you can walk around the island of Zamami in about 2 hours. You can, if you are lucky, see breaching humpback whales from the shore.Whale sightings around the Kerama islands on Wednesday the 10th of February.

Revisit the famous Marylin of Zamami. If you do not know that story, read it here:

Puppy love

Scotland picture of the Day.

A nice warm sun beam hit Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven.

99 months later!

Sunday the 12 of July. At the folk music festival in Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Went for a nice walk up to Dunnottar Castle from our wee B&B on the picturesque harbour.

99 months ago on the day, we were also on this exat spot just outside the town. It was the 12th of April 2007, and we just got married in Peterculter and we drove to the castle and this spot to have our pictures taken. We took the opportunity to do some reshooting.

Best thing, we even had our best man along with us. He had come all the way from Tolouse in France.

Scottish picture of the day!

It was on the shore just out side the Ardgour Inn at Loch Linnhe, an old ship wreck under the typical Scottish summer sky.

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New hippie wheels in the mountains.

Have got a new pair of hippie wheels. Somehow the colour theme fits my outfit.

Today's concept tour to the blue went south out of Luang Prabang. So, because I have no clue where to go really or what to see, I've started developing some rules and concepts for the road trips I do.

Today's concept was to drive along until two PM. Stop, take picture, turn around, go same way back, as there is no other road that I know of I should say, and my map isn't that detailed.

This is where I was at exactly 2 PM today. No, it doesn't seem like anything, but that isn't the point. The point is the concept, and that was to stop at 2 PM.

Distraction. Don't know if it's only me and my thoughts, but I do get somehow distracted by the name of the network provider in the upper left corner of the screen. Who else than me can sees d gets some other thoughts when seeing that odd word on the pic above?

Back on track. Cliche. Beep beep. Got ya. Tracktor at the front and the ba

The other day I rode alongside a river to the north east. Today's scenery has been mountainous, and I am somewhere in between Luang Prabang and Vien Viang, on the road to Vientiane.

Keep thinking I recognise some of the views from 5 years ago when tai tai and I -good rimy one, right?- took the horror bus trip this way over these mountains and beyond. However I can be wrong. I mean how can you remember one mountain and a green valley from another, when you just seem them from inside a bus?

One thing is sure, it is much nicer to ride this road on a bike than in a bus.

Love the small rural villages spread around along the road.

Just after turning around bs starting the long winding road back towards what has been home for the last week, a little rest was needed. Found this rest in one of the bigger mountain villages. Could resemble a kind of trucker stop along the European motorways. Road folk stopped here and both man and machine could "tank".

Both the hippie wheels and myself needed some spirit after coming all the way back down from those hazy heights. In this town just south of Luang Prabang we found it. No food though, well not quite true, the sign explained the dong as a "Grill Duck" -whatever that is?- however I am quite sure I wouldn't have the stomach for it.

The road as entertainment.

Day 3. Or morning 3. Breakfast was good today and gone like the wind. Fried chicken rice with a fried egg on top. The manager has left with the key to the safe and I cannot get my devices. Well not the biggest catastrophe, is it now. No, not really. I have my phone to play with and write silliness on, in, at, for or what ever?

Day 3 is gonna be another one on a bike. Yesterday it went East, today I will continue to the West, towards the cave.

On the road I have come up with this headline for a blog post for today.

"The Road as Entertainment". That was my feeling today as I was riding along towards no obvious goal, other than the trip it self. Had no clue what to expect or what to find. Just kept on going onwards through strange foreign landscapes and small villages.

At one point I started to get bored. Like " what is the point of this" kind of bored. 

Normally a road trip will bring you from A to B, to places you have planned to see or stay at as they are on the way between A & B. In this case there is no real purpose of going from A and out, as I do not know what to find, or if there is anything to be found at all? A is Luang Prabang, B is mainly the direction to go. Just like it has been these two first days, directions away from this town that has some sight like a Waterfall or a cave. However I don't really want to see these as these sights pretty much are the only things that tourists can see and do around here, so these places are -though beautiful, then also- overexposed and down trodden, by too many visitors.

So I'm heading out on the road, and the road itself is the attraction and there are not too many roads and not that many on them anyway.

A fourth night in Laos ahead.

Easter break. Yes, how great. Waiting to board a plane to Hanoi and then later to Luang Pranang in the Republic of Laos. 12 days of rest and adventures on a motorbike to look forwards to.

Good morning Tokashiki.

And then there was breakfast.

In Japanese. A beautiful bento box with all kind of different stuff your body needs. One of the best bits of this breakfast isn't in fact a bit but a soup; the fabulous Miso soup!

Otherwise it is from top left: soft tofu, a poached egg, pork & a seaweed stew, Miso soup.

Bottom left: brown rice & and pieces of cooked local fish with some seaweed. Great start to another day.

Sushi Tower.

Mortensen's sushi tower. Actually some more got added after this picture was captured. And 3 beers. And it was great. The costs? Around 450ish HKD. Which isn't too bad for 21 some plates and beers. Guess Hong Kong is the same or just slightly cheaper. Though the yen is low so it's cheaper for us here now.

It's Valentines Day and also it's my b B-day means you are allowed to chose what for dinner, and as we happen to be on Japan, what else to chose than Sushi.

53.

Good morning. This is where we are now. The clock had just passed 6:47 in the morning. We are at gate 44 at HK international airport, waiting to board HX692 to
Okinawa. The holiday can start. Boarding in the next minutes. Then two something hours airborne, taxi, sit, boat, van, welcome to Kerama Terrace, pop open Prosecco, eat nice food, sleep. Done.

Last day of 2014.

Well back from Cambodian adventure and then going on another. Have decided to head to Macau for the afternoon and evening. Crazy but true.

Maybe you will hear about it in early 2015.

Two for one!

It's always good to see a sign Ellington happy hour and two for one. Buy it and get in mood. Unless it means two for one in the way that they give two drinks with the amount of one in them. I think we've got tricked to that way of the two for one this afternoon.

The setting was flawless allthough and we would come back for food here later, but not for two in one.

Boxing Day at Rabbit Island.

This is rabbit island, one of Cambodia's two or three islands in the gulf of Thailand. There is no roads, cars or hotels there, only some small guys on the beach you can rent for a night or two. We are going there on Boxing Day and staying in the dark for one night.

Three years ago on our last visit to Kampot and Kep, we stayed for a day on the island. Remember leaving it in the late afternoon

and wishing we could have stayed. Now the time have come & I'm so excited.