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Hot News January 2007   (Denpasar/Bali / Indonesia, January 18, 2007)

 
Website statistics: In December, we were able to welcome on our website 31'691 visitors who did 633'408 hits.
                                           (November = 30'324 visitors ??? countries* 694'657 hits)
                                Record days since 12/17/1998 - the birthday of our website: 3/20/2006, 1'474 visitors; 8/29/2006, 47'038 hits
                      (*= the country counter, which stopped working March 23, 2006, has still not been repaired by the
                              ISP Goldnet - frustrating! - usually there were monthly between 100 and 118 different countries!)
                   
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We were happy – also if it is "only" with a used differential – to continue on December 17th, 2006, in a repaired car
our Indonesia trip and leave the "hellish city" of Jakarta in direction East. To live in such a polluted, noisy and over-
populated place would be a punishment for us, although the Indonesians are always surprisingly nice and obliging.
Driving through interesting regions like Bogor (President Bush was recently there on a state visit), Borobudur (a
Buddhist monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site), Yogyakarta (with the Merapi Volcano, which threatened
to erupt a few months ago), Solo (hometown of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir – said to be involved in the Bali bombings)
and the Volcano Bromo (a unique beauty of nature – experienced during a storm) we finally reached the car ferry to
Bali.
 
Regarding storm and ferries: While we ended the year 2006 in a violent storm on a rim of a volcano, the sister ship
of the same ferry company "Prima Vista", with which we shipped on November 21st, 2006, sank between Borneo
and Java – allegedly due to open doors; result: Some hundred people drowned. Also in our voyage, the mentioned
doors stayed open, but back then, we experienced calm weather and close to no swell. This was our luck, because
only now and then some seawater entered the hull through the openings, which lie only about three feet above the
water's surface, spilling between the unsecured vehicles. Looking back, we still get goose skin! But also the vessel
running between Java and Bali did not make a very reliable impression.
 
Arriving in Bali is like entering a new country: Instead of mosques, temples are spread everywhere – the predominant
religion formed by Hinduism, Buddhism and Animism of the Balinese people has replaced the Islam from Java; there
is no muezzin calling in the morning anymore. On the other hand, more tourists stroll around, although the numbers of
visitors is said to be at an absolute low due to the fear of new terror attacks. The "few" guests of today are
now predominantly originating from Southeast Asia, Far East and Russia.
 
 
Sanur/Bali/Indonesia: One of the many 'house temples' in Bali
 
Soon, our 'Bali time' will  come to an end. We had a wonderful time exploring and encountered beautiful landscapes
along the coast as well as in the mountains. And the Balinese spirit is still present everywhere. Our journey will continue
further East to the region of Nusa Tenggara towards the islands of Lombok,
Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores and Timor – each island hopping requiring another "adventurous" ferry crossing.
Therefore, please check from time to time the progress of our "Indonesia-Trip" on our pictured site!
 

New Reports/Pictures

SOUTHEASTASIA:                                      mouse over picture shows comments
                     click a picture to see details

 

 
Sarawak/East-Malaysia
(Island of Borneo), Part 2
(Nov. 2006)
 
Kuching/Sarawak/East-Malaysia (Borneo): Proboscis monkey in Bako National Park
Sabah/East-Malaysia
(Island of Borneo)
(Oct. 2006)

Mount Kinabalu/Sabah/East-Malaysia (Borneo): Early Morning View

Brunei
(Sept. 2006)
 
Brunei (Borneo): ’The 'Ali Saifuddien'-Mosque at sunset in Bandar Seri Begawan
Sarawak/East-Malaysia
(Island of Borneo), Part 1
(June - Aug. 2006)

Miri/Sarawak/East-Malaysia (Borneo): Traditional stilt houses reflecting in the water of the Miri River

Myanmar
(May 2006)
 
Myanmar: Waiting for customers in Kawthoung
Thailand
Temples, Pagodas, Shrines 

Thailand
People, Beaches, Nature

(Nov. 1993 - Jan. 1994)
(Nov. - Dec. 2005)
(Febr. - April 2006)
Thailand: Ho Phra I-Suan Temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Laos

(February 2006)

Laos: The ’Patuxai’, the Laotian replica of the French ’Arc de Triomphe’ in Paris

Vietnam

(January 2006)
Vietnam: Two women cultivating a rice field

Cambodia

(December 2005)

Cambodia: The main temple of Angkor Wat with its five towers viewed from the hill of the ’Phnom Bakheng’ - Temple

Malaysia

(Oct. - Nov. 2005)
Malaysia: The four minarets of the ’Sultan Salahuddin’ State Mosque in Shah Alam are visible already from far

Singapore

(September 2005)

Singapore: High-rise buildings pop up everywhere - here behind the Parliament House

Macao

(September 2005)

Macao: The ’St. Paul’ ruin is an inspiring sight also at night

Hong Kong

(September 2005)

 

Hong Kong:From ’Hong Kong Peak’ we get an excellent view of the ’skyscraper jungle’
+ our Indonesia Trip

Sumatra, Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara – Dez. 2006 -.......

+ our Borneo Trip

Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, Kalimantan – Sept.-Nov. 2006

+ our LandCruiser on a "Rejuvenation Cure"

in Miri/Sarawak - the East Malaysian province on Borneo June-Aug. 2006

+ added from a earlier visit to the USA:

Las Vegas    (Millennium change)

+ added from our Arabian Peninsula round trip:

Pictures from Yemen (May-June 1996)

+ Flashbacks of our Worldrecordtour:

Pictures from "all the continents" (Oct. 1984 - April 1997)

+ Follow-ups about Toyota-Experiences:
Encounters resp. "Ups + Downs" with
Toyota Companies since 1982
On July 7th, 2005, we were able to celebrate after a journey through 150 countries the car's
600'000th Kilometer - very prosaic in front of the post office in Cayenne/French Guiana.
Are you interested into the LandCruiser History, prepared by Toyota Motor Sales USA and taken over by
Toyota Motor United Kingdom? (after some loading-time please klick "IN LEGEND" and afterwards "HAIR TO MAGELLAN
- and you will see that we already belong to it too!)

 

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