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Eiskristalle am Fenster kurz nach Sonnenaufgang über Sumatra

Die Sonne, Wolken, das Meer und ein paar Schiffe kurz vor Singapur.

These nurses just came into my room at the Vibharam Laemchabang Hospital with a movable radiation unit and took a photo of my chest after I found positive this morning on the mandatory second pcr Covid-19 test you have to take these days when you travel into Thailand. I developed some symptoms over the night and thankfully they take it very seriously.

Blaues Dach mit weißen Badelatschen. Blick vom Quarantäne-Hotel gestern Abend.

First day of Christmas. View from hospital window this morning

“Do you want to eat cake?”

Kommunikation hier auf der Isolierstation in Sri Racha findet über WhatsApp statt.

Das lange, über verschiedene Hotlines eingerichtete Gespräch gestern mit der Auslandsreisekrankenversicherung (sic) ging nur sauteuer über offiziell bei mir Vodafone. Als ich fragte, ob diese in den nächsten Tagen auch noch fortzusetzende Kommunikation für den Kunden - also mich - nicht wesentlich weniger kostenaufwändig gestaltet werden könne, über das Netz, Face-Time, Skype oder von mir auch aus über WhatsApp, sagte der freundliche Mann auf der anderen Seite, leider nicht. Er vermutete dahinter Datenschutz. Ich vermute dahinter good old konservative administrative laziness. Im Sinne von, wo kämen wir denn hin, wenn wir auf jeden neumodischen Scheiss gleich aufspringen würden!

Take care of what you take pictures of

The empty billboards I was collecting on the highways near Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Airport three days before I now can take as a metaphor - or better: writing on the wall - for the bleak ten days waited for me for the healing of my unforeseen covid-19 infection at the admittedly nice isolation station of the Vibharam Hospital in Laemchabang.

But what is it about the lonely 🥕?

View out of my hospital window this morning, second day of Christmas, about an hour after sunrise

View out of the hospital window, this morning, shortly after sunrise, third day of Christmas, fourth day of quarantine, a new sky, feeling great, infection quite over, six more days and I‘ll be free.

The beautiful cloud we passed on Thursday morning when slowly coming down from 36.000 ft for the transit at Singapore Airport now reminds me of a kind of spherical ghost who tried to send me a friendly warning for the next things to come.
https://youtu.be/_0rzIrs0lis

Dez. 27, 2021 3:29:15am aktualisiert

This night, shortly after sunset, view from window, fourth day of Christmas, fifth day of hospitalization, everything is well, my sleep rhythm is funny and strange, it‘s four in the morning here now, five more days to go.

Variation on the look out of the window of my hospital isolation room, suburbs of Bangkok Metro Area, early morning light, sunrise, 5th day of Christmas, 6th day of healing, feeling well and strong, 4 more days to go.

Hey man, happy Birthday!

Variations of the view, leaning out of the window (somehow I managed to open it), to the East and to the West, Laem Chabang Hospital, early morning, ninety minutes after sunrise, sixth day of Christmas, seventh day of quarantine, feeling great and detoxed, symptoms gone for four days now, three more days to go.

Have a beautiful birthday, Ulla!

Nurse Kim

Early morning, another view, looking north, the only one I have, the reds in the clouds reflections from the sunrise on the right, the east. Laem Chabang Hospital, Covid-19-isolation-ward, seventh day of Christmas, eight day of quarantine, feeling great, two more days to go, can‘t wait to be set fee.

Ghost
Another one. Night view from the window of my temporary exile in the covid-19-isolation-ward of Laem Chabang Hospital in the metro area of Bangkok. The building, the residential high rise in the center, seems to be empty or not rented on most floors. A ghost tower. Only occasionally a window is lit.
Bangkok is known for it‘s abandoned ambitious skyscraper projects from the tiger-states-boom-years in the ninetys, but I didn‘t know that you can find these ghost-towers even in the industrial wastelands so far from the city.

Will there be firecrackers to hear or rockets to see in the sky in 4 hours time?

View this morning from my window, new skies and a new year. Laem Chabang Hospital, covid-19-isolation ward, first day of new year, last day of quarantine, tomorrow free, everything is great.
Have a beautiful 2022 everyone!

Hey Beck, happy late Birthday und ein beautiful 2022!

Freedom Day

The place I was a resident of for ten days

Emotion/Glow

The girl who takes care for the urinals at a petrol station outside of Rayong, Thailand.

On the ferry

Massage, Laundry, Motorbike for rent

The not so lonely Lonely Beach

ferryboat #2

#kohchang

Laem Ngop, Thailand

Man watching a fire

Hey Federica, have a beautiful Birthday today!

Hey Valeska, have a beautiful late Birthday!

Die zehn Tage Isolation in Laem Chabang stecken mir immer noch in den Knochen, merke ich gerade. Einmal schlich ich mich nachts heimlich in den gerade leeren, identischen Raum gegenüber auf der anderen Seite des Flures und fotografierte den Blick aus dem Fenster dort. Wenn ich das jetzt anschaue, denke ich, wäre meine Erfahrung dort in diesem Raum eine wesentlich andere gewesen. Wobei ich nicht sagen könnte, ob ich mich dort weniger, oder sogar mehr abgeschlossen von der Welt gefühlt hätte. Aber ich hätte einen weiten Blick in eine suburbane Stadtlandschaft gehabt, hätte die Schwestern und Pfleger des Krankenhauses kommen und gehen gesehen, und Silvester hätte ich vermutlich das Feuerwerk 20 km entfernt in Pattaya beobachten können. Die Sonne hätte den Vormittag über in meinen Raum geschienen. Alles das gab es auf meiner Seite nicht. Ich mochte den Blick bei mir nach Norden auch sehr, die Veränderungen des Lichts waren zu jeder Tageszeit subtil und interessant, aber es war im Vergleich schon ein ziemlicher Minimalismus, dem ich ausgesetzt war.

Night view from my temporary hut in the jungle

The moon is upside down

Things I bought in the morning before I went to the island

Mein Ort für die nächsten Wochen in Bailan, im Süden der Insel. Ein altes Thai-Holzhaus, instandgesetzt von Jacques, einem französischen Tischler (und Koch), der sich mit mir in einem lupenreinen Elsässer Deutsch unterhält. Jacques ist seit 15 Jahren zusammen mit Ben, die unten am Strand von Klong Koi Massagen macht - auf diese Weise hatten sie sich damals auch kennen gelernt. An dem Haus mag ich alles, sogar das verdammt kitschige Bild (mit angeklebten Glitzertränen) in der offenen Wohnveranda vorne, für die Jacques einen glamourösen Theatervorhang installiert hat, um sie gelegentlich dem Blick zu entziehen. Es duftet innen nach Holz und Wachs.

Einer von den Jungs, die die grossartigen Gebinde an den südostasiatischen Telefonmasten herstellen.

This friendly dog is always on exactly this spot on the frequented road between Bailan and Bang Bao. Sometimes even more to the middle. I have to pass it every time when I go to the 7/11 to buy things. I am not sure if the dog is suicidal or if it only wants attention of human beings, wants to make friends with them. There is some Werner Herzog aspect in it. I wish him a long life.

The pool bar of the deserted Mercure Hideaway Hotel on Koh Chang, Thailand

Monkey

Vor einer Stunde etwa, mit dem Motorrad auf dem Weg durch die Nacht zurück von meinem Lieblingsrestaurant unten am Strand von Klong Koi nach Bailan, musste ich voll auf die Bremse gehen. Eine dicke Pythonschlange, vielleicht vier Meter lang, hatte es sich quer über die Strasse liegend dort bequem gemacht. Hier ist sie, nach einem minutenlangen Blickfight im Licht des Motorradscheinwerfers, auf dem Weg zurück in den Dschungel. Es dauerte noch eine Weile, bis mein Herz wieder zurück in seinen normalen Rhythmus fand.

From its downhearted reaction to the passing car I am convinced right now the eternal dog on the road to Bang Bao is nothing more than craving for more attention from human beings. I will bring him a sausage the next time I go to the 7/11.

Gang of Monkeys

On the ferry

On the ferry

On the ferry

On the ferry

Staff

Attention grabbing tree

Night view of my rented house in Bailan

Stage, Tiger Hut Resort, Koh Chang

On the ferry

On the ferry

On the ferry

On the ferry

my street in the dusk

Flags/Planets

Rainy day at Ban Khlong Son

boat

Lonely Beach

Hey Carmen, have a beautiful Birthday today!

Beach Hut

The colors in the sky 15 minutes after sunset

Bailan, Koh Chang, Thailand

Bailan, Koh Chang, Thailand

Nr 10

Somehow this one from John Ford’s THE SEARCHERS always comes to my mind when I look at the ones I took out of some ancient beach huts here on Koh Chang some days before. I even stumbled a bit I remember like John Wayne when I left them (because the ankle of my left foot was swollen from a minor motorcycle accident).

Spirit House

Koh Chang, Thailand

The beach of Klong Koi

the beach under the trees

…

My private Chinese Diskokugel

The mysteries of Bang Bao

Coast of Trat Province, Gulf of Thailand

Elephant

Klong Koi, Koh Chang, Thailand

rooms/night

Happy Birthday!

leaving the island

#kohchang #thesea #blue #ferryboat #thailand

Lost Books

Eine überraschend grosse Anzahl von Mervebänden in den Regalen mit deutschsprachiger Literatur im “The Lost Book Store” in Chiang Mai im Norden Thailands, an den Expats aus vielen Ländern der nördlichen Hemisphäre ihre gelesenen Bücher verkaufen und sich mit neuen versorgen. Sie leben hier, weil es sich in Thailand grundsätzlich gut leben lässt, auch mit weniger Geld, und besonders hier im Norden wegen des auch im Sommer weniger heissen Klimas. Der grosse Buchladen hat über etliche Räume eine ziemlich interessante Auswahl. Sogar einen Teil der Brecht Gesamtausgabe aus dem Suhrkamp-Verlag entdecke in den oberen Regaletagen.

Ich stöbere noch ein wenig herum, finde einiges, und dann fällt mir ein, dass Peter Gente, zusammen mit Heidi Paris Herausheber des Merve Verlags, hier, in einem Apartment in der 20. Etage des des Hotels Royal Lanna die letzten Jahre gelebt hat, nachdem er das Verlagsarchiv von Merve 2007 für €100.000 an das ZKM in Karlsruhe verkauft hatte. Bis 2020 etwa würde das Geld reichen, hatte er sich ausgerechnet, wie Sabine Vogel, die ihn hier besucht hatte, mir mal erzählte.

„Das war immer einer seiner Träume gewesen.“ schreibt Sie in ihrem schönen Nachruf in der Berliner Zeitung 2014 (es wurde am Ende also doch nicht knapp). „Ein Apartment voller Bücher und CDs von Cage bis Lou Reed und eine weite Aussicht in alle Himmelsrichtungen. Das Rauchen versuchte er sich permanent abzugewöhnen, er ging jeden Morgen ins Fitnesstudio, er hatte 20 Kilo abgenommen, am Abend ging er manchmal in die Bars um die Ecke. Der intellektuelle Austausch fehlte dem Ex-Pat dort etwas, Internet war nichts für ihn, und die abonnierten französischen Zeitungen kamen nur unregelmäßig an.“

Ich einigen der Bücher finde ich Widmungen, offenbar ist damals ein grosser Teil der Bibliothek Peter Gentes aus dem Royal Lanna hier in den Lost Book Store gebracht worden.

Ich laufe nachher mal rüber zum Hotel, fahre hoch in den 20. und hänge einen der weissen, duftenden Blütenketten, die sie hier vor den buddhistischen Tempeln verkaufen, irgendwohin, vielleicht über die kleine Box mit dem Feueralarm als Ersatz für ein Spirit House. Und dann in eine der Bars um die Ecke.

German Romanticism in Chiang Mai, Thailand

White house in the night, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Some of the faux Picassos (I suppose, but who knows 😏) in the beautiful rooms of the guesthouse in the old city of Chiang Mai I am in at the moment.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

night

Hannes Boehringer im Merkur über Peter Gente vom Merve Verlag, der hier in Chiang Mai, wohin er für die letzten Jahre seines Lebens ausgewandert war, ziemlich genau vor acht Jahren im Februar 2014 starb. Er sprang, anders als optional von ihm angekündigt, nicht vom Balkon seines Apartments in der 20. Etage des Royal Lanna Hotels, wie @[100022889437037:2048:Sabine Vogel] dankeswerter Weise aufklärte. https://www.merkur-zeitschrift.de/2015/02/23/deine-listen-lieber-peter/

Feb. 11, 2022 5:15:14am aktualisiert

Chiang Mai, Thailand #chiangmai #color #interior #thailand

Loi Kroh Boxing Stadium

Chiang Mai, Thailand #chiangmai #thailand #kickboxing #scooter #color #wallpainting

Happy Birthday from the jungle, Ekkhard!

Chiang Mai, Thailand

In the mountains at Wat Pha Lat

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Den Pragmatismus und das Improvisationstalent der Thais bewundere ich sehr.

Der Vorabend des dritten Vollmonds des Jahres, Makha Bucha, dem Tag an dem Buddha zum ersten mal 1250 seiner Anhänger in einem Bambushain empfangen haben soll, im chinesischen Stadtteil von Chiang Mai. Die Geschäfte sind schon seit 17 Uhr geschlossen, nur Restaurants und Blumengeschäfte haben noch geöffnet.

Weil heute Makha Bucha ist, der dritte Vollmond des Jahres, werde ich mich am Nachmittag mit dem Motorrad auf in die Berge machen und dann dort, in Pa Pae, ein paar Tage in einem buddhistischen Kloster verbringen (gibt aber, trotz des Tigers, keinen Grund, sich Sorgen zu machen 😉).

Hey Ramon, have a beautiful day today!

Exhausted dogs resting in front of their cars

… für die Geburtstagsgrüsse und -wünsche gestern! Es war sehr schön, das alles zu bekommen 🥰

No idea what poor Berlin did do wrong again 🥲

(but he seems to have done it on purpose)

Mueang Paeng, Thailand

Three women who sold me two scarves one hour before in Mae Hong Son

from the exhausted dogs series

In einem Nudelsuppenrestaurant in Ban Jabo

Maps with the attractions of Mae Hong Son, made by the owner of my guesthouse, Mr. Boondee.

Nach der Fahrt mit dem Scooter durch die Berge hinüber von Pai.
Für eine Weile am späten Nachmittag war ich der einzige Besucher an diesem schönen Pool einer heissen Mineralwasserquelle inmitten von Reisfeldern in der Umgebung von Mae Hong Son.

Statt im buddhistischen Retreat: Meditation auf dem Moped für ein paar Tage auf dem Mae-Hong-Son-Loop durch die Berglandschaft und die Regenwälder im Norden Thailands.

A lot of sceneries in Thailand, especially in the night, have the character of stages.

In einem Schönheitssalon in Chiang Mai

The owner of a small restaurant in Chiang Mai taking a nap between the tables during the quiet hours in the afternoon.

There seems to be not a precise demarcation here between the private and the public like in Germany and other western societies. Most of the places can be both.

Manifestation this morning on the other side of the road in Mae Sariang

Soldiers of the Thai Army on their free day at the beach near Hua Hin

Handgeschnitzte Waffen zum Verschiessen von Gummibändern auf einem Nachtmarkt in Hua Hin, Thailand

Lazy afternoon at the beach.

The beloved former King Bhomibol Rama IX on a painting at a tea shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
He was an enthusiast for photography (and Jazz) and used to carry a camera on a strap around his neck on every occasion possible.

The pool boy of Baan Evelina, one of many residential enclosures in the surroundings of Hua Hin, Thailand.

This innocent looking monkey, together with a gang of others, tried to pull out and take away the keys of my scooter yesterday while I was some steps away to look around. Luckily for me I left it in a locked position and the monkeys, as ambitious they tried, were not smart enough to turn it around to set it free.

Have a beautiful Birthday!

Have a beautiful Birthday!

Hua Hin, Thailand

Scooters / Man fighting a shark

Some dogs in the night

Die verwaiste russisch-orthodoxe Kirche in den outskirts von Hua Hin. Russische Staatsbürger sind schon seit Beginn von Covid-19 in Thailand kaum noch anzutreffen. Eine kleine Kolonie von russischen Ehefrauen gäbe es hier irgendwo, sagte man mir, die longstay, oft zusammen mit ihren Kindern, hier in der Wärme überwintern; von Sibirien aus ist es ja auch nicht weit. Während ihre Ehemänner in der Kälte das Geld ranschaffen - oder seit kurzem Krieg führen.

Night ferry from Koh Tao to Surat Thani, Thailand

Noch ein paar Bilder aus dem Inneren der T.Sandeemanethup, der alten, hölzernen Nachtfähre zwischen Surat Thani und Koh Tao im Golf von Thailand, die mich gestern Abend so sehr beeindruckt hat. An das Pilgerschiff aus Joseph Conrads LORD JIM musste ich denken - und an die schöne deutsche Metapher des Seelenverkäufers. Hoffentlich jinxe ich nichts damit, denn am Wochenende will ich mich mit ihr auf den Weg zum Festland machen.

Oh shit, ich hätte eigentlich der erste sein sollen, bei der time zone, in der ich mich gerade befinde… nun bin ich der letzte 🙄
Happy late Birthday, Rembert!

Sollte ich lieber noch eine Zeit lang in Thailand bleiben?

In Thailand you cannot take your gun to a karaoke bar for some reason. When I saw this I tried to imagine the events that possibly had happened in karaoke bars in the past and finally led to this smart decision.

Yesterday I had an encounter of of a surprising and uncommon kind I haven’t had since I was a seven years old boy. I was bitten by a big bulldog when I was on my way to a remote place on my motorbike.

I was only passing along with low speed on the road when out of nothing the dog appeared behind me and started to catch up. I wasn’t expecting anything bad for since the beginning of the travels in this country I was friends with all the dogs of Thailand, even identified with them for a while and bought sausages for some of them who seemed to need some attention. So you can imagine my surprise when the dog appeared to be upset about something, snapped after me and suddenly put his teeth deep into the flesh of the calf of my left leg.

I shouted „wow, go away, what‘s wrong with you?“ and tried to speed up. But the jaw of the dog was so deep into the muscle, that he couldn’t let go and I dragged him for some meters until he finally let go. Blood was streaming from my leg, but only around the next corner happened to be the Police Headquarters of Koh Tao. I stopped my bike and went up the steps to the entrance, letting a significant trace of blood behind me.

The police station seemed to be deserted, reminded me of the one from John Carpenters „Assault on Precinct 13“, I called for someone to help, went through the empty halls and floors, and after a while an officer, who seemingly had taken a mid-day nap somewhere showed up.

He looked at my leg, asked what had happened and when I told him I was bitten by a bulldog at the road not far away, he nodded as if he knew, asked me to wait a moment and disappeared for a minute before he came back with some saline solution and some medical textile to clean the wounds. While he was taking care of my leg he told me he knows the dog, he is famous on the island because he belongs to one of the high government officials of Koh Tao, the name of the dog was Cupon - and it would not have been the first time that he had bitten someone.

We have to go to the hospital, he said and he would accompany me on his motorbike if I was able to take my own. Sure I was. His name was Officer Best. During that time some other officers showed up from somewhere, seemingly being alarmed that something bad had happened with the dog of that high government official.

At the hospital 10 minutes away they took care of the wounds, after I filled out the formalities, cleaned the wounds meticulously, one of them 2 cm deep, gave me injections against rabies and some antibiotics injections close to the wounds that were quite painful. And some antibiotics and painkillers to take home.

While I was away from the emergency room for some minutes to buy these things at the pharmacy of the hospital the head nurse, Boo, showed up and told me I shouldn‘t worry about the expenses, she would take care of them. She was called by the owner of the dog, who happened to be a friend of her. She as well knew Cupon, the dog, and said he had not bitten someone for a long time now, and it might be the heat on that day, that had made him mad.

For the next days I should not go to the hospital to clean and take care of the injuries, but come to her own, private hospital she was running in the evenings after she finished her duties at the public hospital. We connected on the Line-Messenger, which is more popular in Thailand than WhatsApp.

Before that Officer Best had asked me to come back to the police station after the treatment of my wounds and make an official complaint about the assault of the dog. But Nurse Boo suggested not to do it, the owner of the dog, her friend, being deeply concerned about this, and asked her to take care of me, he would pay every expenses that could occure.

So later I returned to the police station and talked to three officers I hadn’t met before, one of them the head of the police department, who seemed to have come to the place only for this. I asked them what would be the right thing to do, official complaint, or not. But they only looked at me for a while and shrugged. I had the impression if they could they would have begged me not to make it official, since all were friends with the owner of the dog, and the dog, so I did not. When I left they seemed to be relieved.

The night was a bit painful, but today the wounds seem to be on a good way to heal. I make me on the way to see Nurse Boo now.

fire

On the other side of the world

Early evening at Mae Haad Pier, or:
how not to teach skateboarding

Koh Tao, Thailand

Hatari

on the other side of the world

Mae Haad Pier, Koh Tao, Thailand
preparations for a wedding party #2

on the other side of the world

Mae Haad Pier, Koh Tao, Thailand
preparations for a wedding party #1

beach

Night view of the place I am @ at the moment, waiting for my wounds to heal.

on the other side of the world

Music from the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul

März 19, 2022 4:15:37am aktualisiert

on the other side of the world

Late afternoon, Mae Haad, Koh Tao, Thailand

Koh Tao, Thailand

accidental heroic selfie

I am far away for some while now, on the other side of the world in a way - and nobody here in this populace of expats, backpackers, digital nomads and holidaymakers in Thailand seems to talk or even bother about this distant war, or wants to - but I read a lot and try to get a complete picture here in this surrealistic and artificial surrounding. Which is not easy.
Only talking to myself I speculated about and hoped for other options, but now, having read this, for the first time I have the wish we, the world, would intervene immediately and stop this massacre with force. Whatever that means.
The poor people of Mariupol. The poor people of Ukraine.

The Russians were hunting us down: the war on journalism in Mariupol

März 22, 2022 9:08:33am aktualisiert

on the other side of the world

two fires

Have a beautiful day today, Claudia!

Have a beautiful day today!

When I left Berlin shortly before Christmas the Omicron variant of Covid-19 began to spread and was, besides the start of the newly elected government, the main topic of the public discurse (and, not wanting to be excluded, maybe as a solidarity move as well, I even managed to take a souvenir of it to Thailand).

I started to work on my writing project and soon I immersed and the days here seemed to be without end.

But that was not the case. For a while now, looking at it from the far distance of a place like this, reading everything, any narration and analysis I can get hold of about what is going on in Ukraine, diving into the social networks in some nightly desperation, I got the impression, Berlin already changed into a part of the war zone. And quite a few of my friends, if not in panic mode because of the possibility of nuclear warfare, transformed into warriors, or mercenaries, at least in their writings and posts.

That surprised me quite a bit. Would I have been part of this? It was a good thing not to be asked about it.

As soon as I decided to skip my return flight for another one 10 days later, I was assaulted by this killer dog, which is some kind of ironic because until that moment I had some affection with all the dogs of Thailand, even bought sausages for some of them - and wrote about this in the „Der demokratische Wald“ column for the new CARGO.

But again, like the dogs in that narration, Coupong, the American Pitbull, celebrity lapdog of the Head of Administration here on Koh Tao, gave me plausible reason to be at this place out of the world because the wounds his attack had afflicted to the wade of my left leg had to be treated for some while by the beautiful staff of the local hospital.

The healing has made good progress, so on Saturday night I will leave the island on a night boat to Surat Thani on the mainland, cross the peninsula and go to Phuket by bus in the morning. To visit a place I always skipped before in my travels because of suggested over-tourism - but this time seems a good opportunity to look at this. At least for some days.

On Thursday evening from that place I will enter a plane to Singapore and two hours later a direct, 13 hours long nightflight to Berlin. Will be in the city early Friday morning.

So one week time for the bloody and stupid war in Ukraine to find an end.

It will be springtime in Berlin. How much will the city have changed?

Koh Tao, Thailand

early morning, Surat Thani, Thailand

The night boat from Koh Tao approaching Surat Thani, Thailand.

Liebe Heike, have a beautiful Birthday today!

Hey, happy late Birthday today, Jörg-Uwe!

Patong, Phuket, Thailand

on the other side of the world

night falls over Patong

First drop of a beginning thunderstorm in the morning of the last day in the tropics.

@ big buddha

On the beach at night

home again