Topic: Asia

A monk on a rooftop in the Himalayans. Copyright: Marco Roth

Bhutan and Nepal: Mountains, Monks and Tigers

15.02.2016

A guest post by Marko Roth

We succumbed to the fascination of Buddhism and Hinduism and eavesdropped on monks praying in Bhutan temples. We admired indigenous people performing spiritual dances in colourful fortresses, traversed the valley of Paro on horseback and cooled down while rafting in Chitwan.

 We lived with the indigenous tribes of Taro, were allured by rhinos and tigers on a safari through Chitwan National Park and took a bath with elephants in Barauli Rivers. We crossed mountain chains at 3,000 meters above sea level, fought with bumpy winding roads, watched the cloudless skies of the Himalayans and Mount Everest and marvelled at crazy Kathmandu streets.
And now, we are back!

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A Camel Train: OBO-Thomas-expedition, Kingdom of Bahrain

Oman: Crossing the Empty Quarter revisited

16.11.2015

Responsibility, self-dependence and endurance are the magic keywords: the example the Sultanate of Oman is setting this December is of a practical but none-the-less spectacular nature. Predominantly addressed to young nationals, an adventure of Crossing the Empty Quarter previously undertaken in 1930, will now be reenacted to detail. The intended benefit: to symbolically illustrate to the young generation how to adopt the requirements of a rapidly changing world and to pursue their goals with ambition.

The most astonishing lesson for adolescents to be learnt may perhaps be, that survival is actually possible without an almighty digital device glued to one’s cheek. In all likelihood, internet reachability is limited in a quarter as empty as the one named Rub al Khali.

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Statue of a Buddha in China + preservation of heritage

Saving China’s Heritage

5.10.2015

Preservation and Technology

A guest post by Brian Yin

Throughout China, with the massive increase in tourist traffic both international and domestic, there are artifacts and sacred sites that are being damaged, often irreparably so by the sheer numbers of visitors. There is always a balancing act between access and preservation: If access is too limited, sites lose their draw card, but if it is too open, then there will be a finite lifespan to them. The Terracotta Warriors in X’ian are an example of how this problem was approached decades ago – when China was just opening up. When the excavated warriors were exposed to the environment, the paint rapidly deteriorated, leaving the clay soldiers “plain earth” as we see them today. The response was to re-bury the majority of the army, to preserve it for future generations.

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Traditional Dhows in Musandam/Oman. 12 days in Oman

Twelve days in Oman – a short film

19.08.2015

Marko Roth and his friends Lucas, Dominik and Vivi were looking for a cheap random flight to anywhere on the map and ended up in Oman, a destination they had not even heard of before. Their 12-day adventure took them crisscross through the scenic Sultanate located at the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula that shares its shores between the Strait of Hormuz and the Indian Ocean. They devoured every inch of the country’s beauty, climbed mountains, dove into crystal-clear waters, and conquered the hustle-bustle of Muscat, Salalah, and Musandam streets and souks.

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Huge links of heavy iron chains: Minds cannot be enchained.

TED Talk. Suki Kim: This is what it’s like to teach in North Korea

7.07.2015

To be able to write her book from an insider’s point of view, South Korean-born Suki Kim took the risk of going undercover in North Korea. For half a year, Kim worked as an English teacher at an elite school honing the country’s future leaders. While sensitising her students through concepts based on “seeking the truth” and “critical thinking“, massive doubts arose on her part at the same time: Was she putting them to peril by merely exposing them to usually unspeakable topics? “Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite,” is the memoir of Kim’s stay in Pyongyang during Kim Jong-Il’s final six months. Her work offers unprecedented insights into the psychology of North Korea’s ruling class.

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