The big cities or tourist attractions are not our priority but the people and nature. In my opinion, the attractions of our world can only be discovered by talking to the locals and trying to understand their culture and way of life. That can happen at a youth hostel, in the campsite, in the launderette, in the restaurant or somewhere else. If one only opens the eyes a bit wider, one can see so much more than all the other tourists. The other human senses should be used to discover foreign countries too, e.g. strange sound or totally different flavours and aromas.

At this point I always remember the Indonesian island 'Bali'. If one believe the high-gloss brochures of the travel agents one expects beautiful beaches, hotels, parties everywhere. The truth is different. All the promised things only exist on a small peninsula, that was constructed for the tourists and which has nothing in common with the rest of the island. The real Bali is totally different. You have to forget all the expectations and to start at the very beginning to look for the attractions of the area.

Of course, I am not a travel agent and I am not interested in sending anybody to a special place. On the next pages I just want to tell you some stories about the great adventures Claudia and I had during our journeys. Perhaps, you feel like going to one or the other on your next holiday.