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News March 2009   (Suva/Fiji, March 30, 2009)

 
Website statistics: In February we were able to welcome on our website 34'107 visitors who did 1'163'251 hits.
                                           (January = 36'359 visitors 1'226'591 hits)
                                The visitors are coming from about 132 different countries!
                                Record day since 12/17/1998 - the birthday of our website: 11/5/2007 = 13'407 visitors and 787'456 hits
 
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Our stay on Viti Levu draws slowly to a close – tomorrow we shall fly with Air Pacific in the middle of the night to Samoa
and are gaining a day in crossing the actual dateline. This 180º meridian parts the earth into "where a new day begins" and
"where everyday ends". Due to various reasons, some deviations from this longitude are allowed, firstly that the whole of a
country is to "experience" the same day and secondly also as a catchphrase to be the first in a New Year!
 
Our LandCruiser leaves already today in its 15th container for a sea voyage on the "Tropical Islander" of the shipping line
"Greater Bali Hai" to Apia in Samoa, where it should arrive after three days. But before that, we visited with the Fiji car-
ferry "Spirit of Fiji Islands" – called short "SOFI" – in a free ride of the "Consort Shipping Line" also the two bigger Fiji
islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. While the first one leaves an incredible tropical impression, the second gives the feeling
of a peaceful and laid-back place.
 
To allow us to visit the former Western Samoa, a Cabinet decision in Apia was necessary. This authorization procedure
remembers us totally to the Caribbean six years ago, but the two regions cannot be compared at all. Thus the Caribbean
offers many more possibilities to public beach access than the Pacific, where often the best places have been taken by the
big and costly resorts. If this isn't the case, these areas belong to the locals living there who also administer them.
Moreover, the distances between the islands in the Pacific are much bigger. It's possible that this is one of the reasons why
there are nearly no private small boats plying the islands doing a brisk trade, which leaves us the only remaining solution of
using the huge and expensive container lines that in turn have to call at the high priced commercial harbors.
 
 
                                                              Waiyevo/Taveuni/Fiji: On the imaginary Dateline - the 180° Meridian (the actual dateline bypasses Fiji in the East)
 
 
Closing our stay in Fiji means also to leave behind the most Eastern country in Melanesia. Entering our 163rd country of
Samoa means meeting Polynesia – where another but similar culture starts. While the people of Melanesia (consisting of
Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji) are rather of dark color, the Polynesians
(Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Hawaii, the two French territories of Polynesia and Wallis & Futuna, as well as the three New
Zealand regions of Niue, Cook Islands and Tokelau) look more light-skinned.
 

New Reports/Pictures
 
SOUTHEAST ASIA + PACIFIC:                                  mouse over picture shows comments
               click a picture to see details

 

Samoa
Picture Gallery
 
(April-.... 2009)
Island of Upolu
Apia/Samoa: Coat of Arms of Samoa in front of the Government Office Building
Fiji
3 Picture Galleries
 
(Jan.-March 2009)
 
Suva/Fiji: Guard at the Parliament House
1st part: Island of Viti Levu (Jan.+Febr. 2009)
 
2nd part: Island of Vanua Levu (March 2009)
 
3rd part: Island of Taveuni (March 2009)
Vanuatu
2 Picture Galleries
 
(1st visit: July 2008)
(2nd visit: Dec. 2008-Jan. 2009)
Vanuatu 1st visit (without car)
 
Vanuatu 2nd visit (with car)
Vanuatu: Boeing 737-800 of Air Vanuatu at the airport of Port Vila
New Caledonia
3 Picture Galleries
 
(Aug.-Oct. 2008)
 
New Caledonia: Nouméa and the St. Joseph Cathedral
1st part: Grand Terre: Nouméa + South (Aug. 2008)
 
2nd part: Grand Terre: North #1 (Aug.+Sept. 2008)
 
3rd part: Grand Terre: North #2 (Sept.+Oct. 2008)
New Zealand
6 Picture Galleries
 
(South Island: Febr.-May 2008)
(North Island: May-July 2008)
1st part: South Island (Febr.+March 2008)
2nd part: South Island (March 2008)
3rd part: South Island (April 2008)
4th part: South to North Island (May 2008)
5th part: North Island (May+June 2008)
6th part: North Island (June+July 2008)
New Zealand: South Island - typically
Philippines
Picture Gallery
 
(Febr. 2008)

Philippines: Ricefields near Sagada/Mountain Province/Northern Luzon

Taiwan
3 Picture Galleries
 
(Oct.- Nov. 2007)
 
1st part: Kaohsiung-Kenting-Taitung
2nd part: Taitung-Southern Cross-
Island Hwy-Siraya NSA (Zengwun Reservoir)-Alishan-Sun Moon Lake -Taroko-Suao-Hualien Hwy-Taipei
3rd part: Taipei-Taitung-Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung/Taiwan: God of War at Lotus Pond
Timor-Leste (East Timor)
2 Reports
 
(May 2007)

Oecussi/Timor-Leste: Landscape East of Oecussi-'Town'

 
 
Exclave of Oecussi
 
Mainland
Indonesia
1 Report + 6 Picture Galleries
(Sumatra-Java: Sept.-Dec. 2006)
(Bali: Jan.-March 2007)
(Lombok, Sumabawa, Flores: April 2007)
(Sumba, West Timor: May+June 2007)
(Sulawesi:June+July 2007)
(Tana Toraja (-Land): June+July 2007)
(Kalimantan: July 2007)
 
Sumatra-Java    (= Report)
Bali
Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores
Sumba, West Timor
Sulawesi
Tana Toraja (Toraja-Land)
Kalimantan
Ke'te Kesu near Rantepao/Sulawesi/Indonesia: Traditional Toraja village
Brunei
Report
 
(Sept. 2006)
Brunei (Borneo): ’The 'Ali Saifuddien'-Mosque at sunset in Bandar Seri Begawan
 
Borneo
3 Reports:
(Sarawak: 1st visit: June-Aug. 2006)
(Sabah: Oct. 2006)
(Sarawak: 2nd visit: Nov. 2006)
Picture Gallery:
(Borneo-Trip: Sept.-Nov. 2006)
 
Sarawak part 1 Northeast (Miri)
Sabah
Sarawak part 2 South (Kuching)
Borneo (Sabah, Brunei, Sarawak, Kalimantan)
Sepilok near Sandakan/Sabah/East-Malaysia (Borneo): Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center
Rejuvenation
Report
 
(Engine/Body: June-Aug. 2006)
(Transmission: Sept. 2007)

Miri/Sarawak/East-Malaysia (Borneo): Overhaul of our LandCruiser in 'Full Swing'

 
Report of the first overhaul of 
our LandCruiser in Miri/Sarawak
- the East Malaysian province
on the island of Borneo
Myanmar  (South)
Report
 
(May 2006)
 
Myanmar: Waiting for customers in Kawthoung
 
Thailand
2 Picture Galleries:
 
(1st visit: Nov. 1993 - Jan. 1994)
(2nd visit: Nov. - Dec. 2005)
(3rd visit: Febr. - April 2006)
Thailand: Ho Phra I-Suan Temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Temples, Pagodas, Shrines

People, Beaches, Nature

Laos
Report
 
(February 2006)

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

Vietnam
Report
 
(January 2006)
Vietnam: Two women cultivating a rice field
Cambodia
Report
 
(December 2005)

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

Malaysia (West)
Report
 
(Oct. - Nov. 2005)
(May 2006)
Malaysia: The four minarets of the ’Sultan Salahuddin’ State Mosque in Shah Alam are visible already from far
Singapore
Picture Gallery
 
(September 2005)

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

Macao   (without car)
Picture Gallery
 
(September 2005)

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

 
 
 
 
Hong Kong
2 Picture Galleries:
 
(1st visit: September 2005)
(2nd visit: Dec. 2007-Jan. 2008)

 

 
 
Hong Kong 1st visit (without car)
 
Hong Kong 2nd visit (with car)
Hong Kong: From ’Hong Kong Peak’ we get an excellent view of the ’skyscraper jungle’
The visit of 5 Pacific Islands with our LandCruiser

Pacific   February 2008 -

The visit of 13 Caribbean Islands with our LandCruiser

Caribbean   June 2003-Dec. 2004

+ added from the United Arab Emirates:

Fairytale Wedding in Dubai   (March 1999)

+ 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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