When travelling the Kingdom of Bhutan, then the country appears everything but being R-rated, as countless penis drawings hail from houses and walls. That phallus cult and its traditional depictions shall scare away the evil and promise fertility. Bhutan’s willy cult originally goes back to Guru Drukpa Kunley, the Divine Madman.…
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The mask culture of Buddhism and Tibet is something absolutely unique. Through masks and dances the most different legends, myths, characters, but also the fight of good against evil are being told. In particular in the Kingdom of Bhutan that culture is pretty much alive and most colourful. Its strongest form of expression is Tshechu, the mask festival.…
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In the middle of the island kingdom of Indonesia, a prehistoric lizard species has survived that literally eclipses all other species: the giant Komodo Dragon. The Komodo dragon can be up to 3 meters long and 70 kg heavy. On the Island of Rinca it is easiest to observe the dragons, and I was even allowed to use the drone…
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In the East of Kathmandu, where the entry lane of the airport meets the large Boudhe East-West road, one of the largest Buddhist places of worship rises up: the Boudhanath Stupa Jarung Khashor. Its vibe becomes literally tactile in particular in dusk as well as dawn hours, when pilgrims celebrate the Kora, the clockwise circumnavigation…
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Nepal’s Mardi Himal Trek takes hikers to the feet of the staggering Annapurna massif and up to an altitude of almost 4.500 metres. The air becomes literally thin where firmament and clouds shake hands and rocks break through the sky creating staggering mountain panoramas as well as the simply stunning backdrop for stars and an unbelievable night sky.…
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The Tiger’s Nest monastery is the Kingdom of Bhutan’s number one cultural icon. It is located remote, among rocks and clouds high in the sky at 3100 metres and can be reached only by foot. The monastery is dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava, who first introduced Buddhism to Bhutan. It is said he was meditating for 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days and 3 hours in a cave underneath today’s Tiger’s Nest monastery…
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The sublime view of majestic Tengger caldera volcanoes peeping through the morning mist already excited me back in 2009. Already in those days I noticed the mob that’s harrowing itself up to Penanjakan peak in the middle of the night to watch the sunrise at volcanoes Bromo and Semeru. Almost 10 years after I return, this time with a drone and to observe, that touristic bustle has intensified but also changed…
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Who doesn’t remember the adverts for creamed spinach? The thick and smooth one. In Indonesia our planet has dished up something “similar”, as cream-like sludge bubbles emerge from the underground near Kuwu village. Its mud volcano Bledug Kuwu measures 40 metres in diameter and produces up to 10 metres large bloats of salt sludge.…
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In the Far East of Indonesia, where cinnamon and nutmeg shake hands, are the Moluccan Island; the myth-enshrouded Spice Islands. That’s where the journey leads to, to Ibu volcano on the island of Halmahera. Its steep crater and continuously Strombolian erupting lava dome are the product of Sunda plate rubbing with the Philippines…
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Singapore sits at the seam of Southeast Asian mainland and the island world of Indonesia. With 5.5 million people living on ~700km² it is not only one of the smallest but also most densely populated city states in the world. Since ever the metropolis was a point of commerce, known to Arabs, Indians, Chinese and of course Malayans.…
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