NEW YORK It's been a year since we have landed in New York. Last stop. I've been taking my time, this entry is almost 365 days overdue. By now I'm back to my comfortably numb life of 9 to 5, free weekends, salary every month, own bed, place to call home and all the wasteful convenience of western life. I'm not even sure I can write about NYC after a year, so I'll let the photos talk instead. What I remember is that I had mixed feeling. Travel blues was kicking in, but on the

SAN FRANCISCO Another destination that I knew so well... From the movies. For that reason it turned out to be quite surreal to see the Bay Area with my own eyes and it didn't go down without surprises. Biggest of them all is the weather. Both of us were expecting a heatwave, it was middle of the summer after all. Instead we were greeted by a cool morning. As we have found out later this weather pattern is normal around here. Cold nights, cool evenings and fresh mornings all t

AUCKLAND 'Well, this is a big village!', was my first thought and possibly the first words too when we've arrived in the suburbs of this New Zealand metropolis. Truth to be said I've Airbeeandbeed us a room quite far off the city centre, but they could have turned some street lights on! The thrill turned nightmarish when our autumn evening stroll has been interrupted by rain and we have arrived on our hosts door step soaking wet. Must have been quite a sight. Auckland looked

SYDNEY It was a difficult but quick goodbye from our hippie. Both of us enjoyed the somewhat gypsy lifestyle a bit too much, but we have arrived to our next destination, Sydney. I'm looking forward to stroll around in a city and Majka is looking forward to a civilised bathroom. We are renting a room in an apartment just a few minutes walk from Coogee or Bondi Beach in an apartment with ocean views. Pretty cool if you're asking me! Our first visit the next morning took us stra

SINGAPORE The city state was not on the list and our visit is an accident rather than careful planning. We are entering Singapore on a Malaysian bus, which I must say are the most spacious and comfortable I have ever come across. Crossing the border is Visa free, officers are helpful and friendly, only the too frequent red signs reading something along 'Drug trafficking is punished by death penalty' seem a bit hostile. On the other hand the city state is famous for the strict

Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 1.October is the Chinese National Day. First day of seven when 1.5 billion souls of People’s Republic of China gets off from work and our first day in Xi’an. We have decided to sit out this crazy week here, so we can rest and enjoy less touristy attractions around the city. Arriving at the central station located in the north part of the ancient city wall proved to be less confusing than our previous arrivals in previous destinations. Maybe we are gett

XINING, Qinghai Province Looking out the train window I've realised that there is not an inch of a land that hasn't been moved or somehow altered. Only the bold, rocky mountains of the region seem to be getting away with the 'change'. That is until they come into the way of progress. Then they are moved and levelled to the ground, drilled for tunnels and exploited for minerals or simply planted with neat rows of trees... It's like in their eyes everything needs improving and