MiRee
MiRee Abrahamsen Joined: February 20th 2007
Logged in: August 30th 2009
Logged in: August 30th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
Driving south
Going into the jungle with a George W. Bush hippie-clone, avoiding getting killed by a murder- coconut on a Robinson Crusoe kind of island, and drinking beer in a David Lynchish kind of karaoke-bar full of “sad young men”, are some of the experiences I had in south-Cambodia, but also here old ghosts from the Khmer Rouge, ruins of burned down villas, standing up like skeletons in the landscape. I just spend a few days here, but the impression of all the good people I met along the way, are everlasting ones. Driving out of Phnom Pehn felt like a relief. Next to me sat a young man. - Do you speak English? I asked. - Just a little. The usual Asian modesty, I’d say. Later on it turned out his English was probably much ... read more
local friend, nanning
In February, I bought a book. “Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos”. During the whole semester, it has been fighting for place in between of the fat, uninspiring Chinese grammar books. The original plan was to make use of this book in March. But somehow, I felt so happy about being back in China after my work-holiday in Norway - why go anywhere? I dislike tropical landscapes. Or maybe not really dislike. But I find them less intriguing than the vast steppes of Siberia, the crisp, shivering air in the Central Asian mountain ranges, the calm softness of the Mongolian grasslands, the dense, cool taiga or the slim, gracious birches in Russia; Silence. Melancholy. The introversy of the landscape. That’s my thing. So what am I going to Cambodia and Laos for? Mindwork: From procrastination to action ... read more
Tuol Sleng
Sometimes death stares at you with eyes wide open. Sometimes it’s just a sleeping child Crap aside. Let’s talk real life. You know what a school is? A huge building full of happy children. Or with the creativity of cruelty; a prison infamous for torture beyond your imagination Tuol Sleng prison where the Pol Pot-regime had its’ go at real human beings, makes everything else seem insignificant and ridiculous. This was my first stop in Cambodia - a country with this kind of a recent history deserves to be understood with these facts fresh in mind. Even just to visit this site, to read the testimonies and see the photos, is an unbearable experience. Phnom Pehn. There is the Silver-Pagoda, there is the Royal Palace, the riverbanks to stroll along, and the national museum. And ... read more
(h2)Om mani padme hum - or; bring me a shotgun!(/h2) In February, I bought a book. “Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos”. During the whole semester, it has been fighting for place in between of the fat, uninspiring Chinese grammar books. The original plan was to make use of this book in March. But somehow, I felt so happy about being back in China after my work-holiday in Norway - why go anywhere? I dislike tropical landscapes. Or maybe not really dislike. But I find them less intriguing than the vast steppes of Siberia, the crisp, shivering air in the Central Asian mountain ranges, the calm softness of the Mongolian grasslands, the dense, cool taiga or the slim, gracious birches in Russia; Silence. Melancholy. The introversy of the landscape. That’s my thing. So what am I going ... read more
PART VII: MONGOLIA The art of satisfying Gods… . . . or listening in to the silence 2006. It is the right year to arrive in Mongolia. 800 years ago, in 1206, the great Dzhingis Khan founded the state of Mongolia, and soon the fellows from the steppes had gathered the largest empire the world had ever seen. Eventually it fell into decline because: Although the Mongols were good at conquering - they could shoot from their horses, sleep as they rode, they had no provisions that the enemy could destroy (they fed on bread and horseblood, if they were exhausted) - they were poor administrators. The Mongols who were nomads, had no skills of social organizing. Usually they managed best in the places were the locals were governing for them. The Mongols caused so much ... read more
strongPART V: SOUTH KOREA Where tigers and foxes marry I arrived in Busan on a very rainy day. It kept pouring down for a week. All the rain I was spared for in Japan, was to be found here. In fact, it seemed that all the rain in the whole world came down in this coastal town of South Korea. I checked in to a love-hotel, an invention for couples who need a hideaway for a few hours. But these love-hotels hold quite high standards, so I don’t mind staying there. The only difference from a normal hotel, is that you can check in for a few hours, and they have all the “needed supplies” in the bathroom. Right behind the hotel was a huge international market, and lots of Russian pivny bars - and also ... read more
The three drunkards and the scotch-experience Taking the train to Russia was a bit of an experience! Most of the Russians come in groups by bus, so the ones travelling by train, are the poorest, most hardcore ones. At seven in the morning, there were about fifty, sixty of them, with maybe ten HUGE bags each, filled with goods to sell back home. A good deal of them had already had their dose of morning-vodka, and I somehow happened to attract the drunkest of them. At the train one man with a strange nose, that sort of hung down at one side, sat down beside me. He had tattoos everywhere (which in Russia is a sort of cast-mark that you have been to prison), while his comrade, who had only half an ear on the right ... read more
Ever tried miming your menu or home address? Ever had your eyelashes curled while having supper, or your back made into a huge mushroom pattern? Well, China is the place! „Bei” means “northern”. “Jing” is “Capital”. “Bei-jing”. “The northern capital”. (In early days the capital was in Xinyang - under the rule of Qin Shi Huang - who actually united China to one single empire, close to Xi’an, not far from the incredible terracotta army was found by farmers who stumbled across the heritage by chance back in 1974). This is a City that is growing out of its traditional forms, with the demolishing of hutongs and old-fashioned houses, and now ploughing its way into the new century with high, shining buildings in steel and glass, looking pretty much the same as one can find anywhere ... read more
PART IV: JAPAN With a license to shout A cry from Japan . . . This letter will be about contemporary Japan, rather than to retell the history, because truly - this is a country if contrasts and sometimes very weird organisation. Leaving Vladivostok, was not easy. I had got used to watch the trains on the way to cross the whole transsiberian line from my window. I loved that place! But from Vladivostok I went by ferry to Fushiki. Of course the departure was delayed with 6 hours, and only thanks to my friend Dima, I did not collapse of boredom. The actually trip, was a very pleasant surprise. Food was abundant, and it was an interesting social experience as well. There were only a handful of Japanese, and most of the passengers were Russians ... read more
A prophets report I tried to finish this letter already two months ago. So I have had to make a lot of changes here. It is there (again) - a bit messy…. But I think you will manage…. I finished my lessons a few weeks ago, and I have been studying on my own, socialising (a lot) and done a few trips. However, we still wear hats, gloves and wintergear here, so its not very tempting to travel for a longer period. The other day I went with six girls to an island outside of Vladivostok. It was so hardcore cold; the cold, the rain and the useless campsite (light only two hour at night, no heating, no washing facilities, swamp everywhere, no bedclothes. In fact nothing at all!) and it was only due to the ... read more
