One Night in Bangkok

... yes we moved a couple of days ago to Bangkok to spend the new years eve in a big city and return to Sri Lanka again early 2013. Its the same thing like on any big airport. To get a transport to the city to a approbriate price. If you pass the passport control a lot of people offer you the service to transport you to the city - and most people choose one of them - not knowing, that they charge you three times. Go down to the second level and get on of the public taxi to carry you downtown.

After arriving at our hotel we're not amused to recognize that next door a hotel is completly renovated. After serveral diskussions with the manager we could change the room the other day. And after changing the room we are much more satisfied now.

The first afternoon/evening we drifted to local areas around. We found a nice spot to see the sun getting down behind the impressive skyline of upper Bangkok. After a couple of sundowners we are getting hungry and decided to go to the japanese restaurant close to our place. It was very traditional as we know from our visit in Japan four years ago. There are four pillows arround a very low table seperated from each other with some wooden walls. We ordered some small food and drunk the famous sake. It's a liqour made out of rice and it is really tasty (no headache the other day). So finally we had a good start in Bangkok.

The next day we took some sightseeing to show our friend the best places around. Although that he's a buddhist we as very impressed about What Poo. In the evening time we decided to go to Cowboy Soi. This is a very small road with all the bars where young girls dance on the tables. Watching them dance is horrible. No one of them is able to move her hips. It seems to me as they were all stoned. It is nice to see but not to stay for longer times. But we could bear it, watching the premier league live on telly.

So now the year is nearly over and I wish you all a very good start into 2013. May be the best what happened to you this year may be the worst in 2013.

This is one of my favourite tunes from Talk Talk. For me it is a very emotional version from Bon Iver (I think it is live in Glasgow)

Bon Iver - I believe in you (Talk Talk Cover)

The other one is also a favourite of mine. Back in the very early 80s to a sound that's called Pub Rock. Classical handmade music.

Mickey Jupp - Another Guy

Unavoidable

are the three-wheelers most known as Tuc Tuc. On all main- and backstreets you can see them riding around. In no place you are save from the crackling noise of that litte mortorcycles dfriven by a two-stroke engine. Everyone takes them for short distances and you can them often overloadet (as europeans would like to think).

These vehicles are very well known in Thailand and also in India but established in Sri Lanka only 25 years ago. It's easy to take a ride because you don't need air conditioning because most of them are open on both sides. It's the cheapest way to take shorter distances. For longer distances I'll prefer a tax or a bus.

But anyway to travel on the road takes a lot of time. There is only one highway that connects the capitol to the south. And if you take the regular streets you have to be careful about the other things on the street: the busses, trucks, cars,tuc tucs, dogs, cows, bicycles, pedestrians and sometimes deep hole in the street.

Have a good time and enjoy the rest of the year.


Belle and Sebastian - The State I Am In

Merrry Christmas to you all

Hope everything is done now for christmas and you can enjoy the time with your family and friends. There's nothing more to say right now. I follow the Drew's words:

eat, drink and merry


Young Marble Giants - Wurlitzer Jukebox

Buses and baksheesh

We decided to stay at new years eve in Bangkok. Because we wanted to invite a clos friend to usto join we had to move to Colombo. If a local resident wants to travel he has to fulfill a lot of requierments. Passport and so on is not the real problem - the main problem is that the government wants to be shure, that this person will return to his home country. To run the application process sucessful it take normal a couple of weeks - even when its close to christmas. So what to do? It is like all over the world: we got information about a friend, who knows someone that knows someone woh might be abble to fix the application process in a short time. And therefore he took a little cash in his pockets.

Our local stay is in the very south of Sri Lanke and we startet our trip with a local bus, crowded with a lot of locaal people. After a 40 minute ride we arrived Galle, where we could chance to a long distance bus to Colombo. This one was more comfortable, air-conditioned and with tv. The whole ride they played videos from mostly local bands and also inevitable PSY with his gangnam style. After a couple of songs I grabbed y headphones out of my bag and listend to my kind of music.

After we finished our baksheesh deal and booking our flights we stayed for some more hours in Colombo in a very nice outdoor-pub and take afterwords the train back to our local stay. We asked some guys the time the train will leave so we can acdording our drinks to this time. We arrived the train exactly but what we didn't aksed how long the travel will take until we arrive. To our bad luck we catched a train that stops in every small village along the way. After three hours we arrived in Galle again to wait for the next bus to take us home. Finally we arrived at 1:00 a.m. and fell in our beds quickly.

The next day was reserved to recreate again.


Sneaker Pimps - Six Underground


The Mekons - Cockermouth





beds

The last post ... if we believe the words

Everybody's talking nowadays about the forecoming end of our planets. Even the local papers edit a eight side extra in their dayly newspaper about what would happen or not. We also discussed about it and what different websites will tell us. I think it is another hype - remember what they told us at the end of the last century. And what happend - nothing. The only things that happend, was that my team won the german championship in football and played in the Champions leage. Also positive was, that the new century brougt us some real good music and opend my ears to new sounds.

So people - what ever will happen: it is a good reason to have a party to watch the forecoming day.
Have fun, enjoy some drinks - I'll go to the beach, get us some drinks and listen to some music I burned while I wrote this post. Cheers

Sons and Daughters - Dance me in
Joe Strummer - Get down Moses

PS: Could this be the soundtrack for the end of the world as we know it?

I'm four and a half hour ahead - I let you know, when something happens

Recreation: The Singha style

Recreation for working people means getting a couple of days off from work. Here it is normally that you work for six days to have one day free to do things of your own pleasure. Also a lot of people work in places that was located a long distance from their hometown. So it could happen that one friend you know from former days appears suddenly to your place and you decide to spent some time with him talking, drinking and eating. Whilst they talk and drink they decide to phone to some other friends to join them.

That's what happend to us last sunday. I got a call from a good friend to join their party a we went off to get a TukTuk to ride us to the next town to join them. As we arrived, allready six people where sitting on the porch - each of them a glass of arrack with lime infront. Arrack is a local liqour and you can compare it to a brandy. It's very tasty and you won't have headache the next day.

If one bottle is empty they call a TukTuk-driver to get the next bottle, some cigaretts and some litte food (grilled fish, coconut-pieces and some sweet stuff). Sometimes it takes a longer time untill the driver brings the next round because he hadn't so much money with, so that he just had to find someone who borrows him some money. And this game goes on and on and on until they decide that it's time to finish.

We had a very funny afternoon there. We were treated like we know them all for a long time. It's still amazing to have people around who are allways open hearted. Sure: they are also proud to have us around. By the way I recognized, that this men's thing - all femals were in the background, telling no words until the party is over. I guess this will never happen in western hemisphere.

This one is from the lovely Maria McKee.In the eighties she did the lead vocals in a band called The Lone Justice. They did a raw mixture of Country, Rock and Punk called CowPunk. It was an american band, but her roots are irish and at the age of 19 she wrote the song Feargal Sharkey made famous - a good heart.

Enjoy and have a good time


Maria McKee - Drinking In My Sunday Dress

It's Cricket-time

Now we arrived at least. I allways need one or two days in a new country to sort myself, to have a first look what's going on, where are fixed places to remember and so on. After a relaxing day at the beach and swimming in the sea we were invited by a local family for lunch.

I am everytime impressed how hospitable these people are. Beeing poor and inviting some foreigners for dinner makes me thinking about these in my country. It will be not the same than here. People at my place wouldn't be that warm, open hearted and friendly as these people are.

After lunch our friend Rins took us to a local cricket tournament. I know that this game is very popular in Southern Asia and in Australia. But I had never got the chance to watch a whole game or play it by myseve. In this case Rins told my the main rules of the game. He also told me what's a wicket, a batsman and a bowler are. That's made it easier to watch the game. We watched several innings until the team of Rins has to play in the tournament. I dont't know the reasons, but they had a very bad day and sucked. None of them was angry about losing the tournament - maybe because it is their nature to play just for fun. I don't know  - the main thing is, that we had an interesting afternoon.

Here's a song from a band I love for several years. Only guitars and the drum machine - songs they are so raw and pure. Essential if you stick to Rock 'n' Roll.

The Kills - Fried your little brains

After a long journey

This is my second day here in Sri Lanka and now I've time to hang out for aa while. Our journey started with a lot of complications on the airport. First we had to wait for 90 minutes on the runway to pick up some passengers from other flight. This was the reason why we missed the connection flight. So we had to stay five more hours in Doha with nothing else to do than wait. Finally we arrived in Colombo mor than seven hours later as planed.

The best thing traveling on a plane nowaday is, that you can choose from a lot of actual movies. I took three of them an most I was impressed by Abraham Lincoln Vampire hunter. It is such a crazy story about the reason of strating the civil war in USA. The story tells us, that the southern states are occupied by vampires and that they tried to rule whole America. And therfore Abe Lincoln started to fight against them - killing most of them with his silvered axe. It is a long time ago since a watched a vampire movie - and I have to say it made fun at this time and location.

Our friend was already waiting to pick us up and carry us to our destination down south to Mirissa. After visiting his family and checking in to our guesthouse we went out for something to drink. After a couple of beers we decited to visit our friends brother in law at his boat in the harbour. It was his last day off before he goes out fishing again. What meas, that he'll be away for three or four weeks fishing near the Adaman sea. Therefore a bunch of fisherman sat on the boat having a party. They invited us to join their party. The only drinks you could get there was brandy with lemonade. What the hell - they drank so fast I can't believe and I did my best to survive. After all it was a funny evening and we got a couple of new friends.

 After a day of relaxing I am able now to get on the blog again and see what is new. Now I prepair to go to the beach and check out the waves in the sea.

So have a good weekend people

Spiritualized - Rated X

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go

Yes it's true - no more going to work for this year. Tomorrow we will start our journey to Sri Lanka. Expecting nothing than visiting our friends there, having a good time and relax, reading some novels and also watching the sundown with a cold beer by my side.

I've visited this country in January this year and was so impressed of the people and the country itself. Now all words are spoken right now. I will keep my blog alive while I am in Sri Lanka.

So I thought, the right song to start the holiday is an old one from the eighties

Enjoy time and have fun


Orange Juice - Rip it up

Back on the blog

I took myself a break from posting and following my favorite blogs, because I was busy at office and preparing my vacation. Next Tuesday me and Christiane will leave for Sri Lanka. We'll stay there for nearly four weeks - maybe we take a short trip to Thailand from there. I am so glad to get away from cold, rain and snow. The next days will be also filled with little things to do until we leave an visit some people to say good bye and wishing them a merry Christmas a good start into the next year.

Even if I am a long way from home, I try to keep this blog alive.

As I wrote the title of this post I wanted to publish a song by the great Quincey Jones called 'Back on the block' but I decided to give you a song that impressed me yesterday while I was taking the train to my job. It's a song by Sinnead O'Conner I took from a collection of her rare tracks. Just the lady and her voice telling us another story of a love gone waste.

Enjoy and have a good weekend my dears


Sinnead O'Conner - Song with no name