Dear Friends,

Feels like I was sending the last Xmas mail just some days ago. And that this one here is the 3rd in a row from the road abroad makes me stunning too.  Neither that I planned to be away for so long, nor that I feel this journey will end soon.
The last 12 month were incredibly intense and emotional touching.
It all started with finding myself chained to bed recovering from a severe pneumonia in Lhasa on the Tibetan high plateau. A region that left such a deep impression on me with its beautiful nature, high mountain ranges, pure emptiness and cultural tragedy, that I got the urge going back there soon. Having had the chance of several trekking experiences just intensified it. And the outlook of cycling with my brother Boris in Eastern Tibet soon was quite exciting. But the unexpected Lhasa riots in March forced us to come up with a complete new plan and so we ended up meeting in the city jungle of Beijing instead.
What a contrast: but necessary in order to prepare for the next month of cycling in Mongolia and Russia. New equipment had to be bought, visa arrangements to be made and passport issues to be resolved.
Looking back we made the right choice. Especially Mongolia was so rewarding and more than just a suitable substitute for nature, open spaces and remoteness, the things we were looking for once to experience in Eastern Tibet. And the relaxed attitude of the Mongolians in the countryside always added a joyful surprise to many of already stunning days. Although I love my bicycle, I must admit that horses are the best mean of transport there, no doubt.
Russia by contrast made us feel the closest to home ever on the whole trip. With its European touch of culture, orientation was easier than in many other countries. Talking food it was a culinary trip back in time and our grandma’s dishes (she was born in today’s Moldavia) revived regularly. Always loaded with fresh bread, sausages, pickles and smoked fish my tent turned into a kitchen every night and we spent ages preparing a decent feast! With my lessons learned in Tibet I had no problem to justify the huge intake of calories and get prepared for the cold time to come soon. The start of winter with its bone shaking temperatures in Siberia and the Far East is the beginning of a new season, when frozen rivers turn into highways and boosting truck traffic is rushing to remote places far out there, accessible only by helicopter in the warm season due to impassable mud roads. And every story from truck drivers or people living out there left a strong and increasing desire to come back in winter one day. But for us it marked the end of our Russian experience: not fully equipped for these conditions and at the end of our visa we left Vladivostok to indulge ourselves in a new culture.
South Korea received us with a warm, relaxed and friendly atmosphere, a real contrast after the harsh Russian world and a welcoming change. But with a blink of an eye our last two weeks rushed by and I soon found myself at Incheon’s international airport saying goodbye to Boris. I suddenly realized this will be the end of our common travel and the end of my travel period too (and the early return into temporary working mode). How can 7 month of common travel end so quickly?
A lot of impressions from the last two years are waiting in my mind to be digested. And some discussions with people I met in the last time triggered me emotionally too. In addition I recently was informed that my former employer in a last minute action didn’t approve my position in Shanghai due to a global hiring stop, a new challenging position in Engineering I was about to start soon and keen to face. So a crash landing into reality took over and all this together made me facing the void very quickly.
Since then I’m sailing in rough waters sorting things out and slowly getting ready to prepare for a new round of job applications and possible interim jobs in teaching to ease my travel budget. These are really not the things I expected to happen but also part of my journey thus part of the experience.
I had to smile when my sister recently sent me a short text translated from Sanskrit, ever true but also a good reminder during this period of my life:

Look to the day
For yesterday is already a dream
And tomorrow only a vision.

But today well lived
Makes every yesterday
A dream of happiness
And every tomorrow
A vision of hope. (from Sanskrit)

I wish all of you a joyful Xmas time and a successful start into 2009!

Bambitee

PS: as promised since a long time the homepage is updated (statistics etc.) and the latest pics are published. Sorry it took so long, but I also managed to crash the whole database that required a rebuild from scratch

• Mongolia … 03 Ulaanbaatar to Border Russia)
• Russia (01 Border Mongolia to Lake Baikal, 02 Lake Baikal, 03 Lake Baikal to Vladivostok)
• South Korea (01 Arriving in Sokcho, 02 Seoul - ‘Soul of Asia’, 03 Jirisan National Park)