Wandering Fractal

My itinerary. Starting from Bali, I stopped using airplanes. After nine month of travel I am finally home in Switzerland. I left February 9th 2018 and came back November 2nd 2018 . I found my apartment like I left it. A thin layer of dust had settled down on the floor. A few shops had changed in my city of Bienne, but like every winter the mist was already here. I was happy to see my family and friends again. Now is time for me to put away my backpack and search for a new job. Before I leave this blog, here are some numbers that might be interesting if somebody wants to do a similar trip. While I wanted to go from New Zealand to Switzerland without airplanes, in the end I decided to use airplanes between New Zealand - Australia - Indonesia. There was 3 boat options: 1. taking a cruise, but it was out of my budget, 2. boarding a cargo ship, but it was also expensive and would have taken a few more months to cross Oceania, 3. find a private ship owner that let you work for t...

Bus and ferry trip from Jakarta to Sungai Penuh in the Kerinci valley. Moving around the island of Sumatra without a plane was pretty challenging. The southern half of Sumatra has fewer attraction than the north so I decided to go directly to the Kerinci valley. I started by a bus from Jakarta to Bandar Lampung. The bus itself goes on the ferry to cross from Java to Sumatra. It costs 155'000 Indonesian Rupiah to go from Jakarta Gambir Train Station to Bandar Lampung city center with the company Damri (~8 hours). Bandar Lampung is a provincial city. It's a good hub if you want to go to the Way Kambas or Bukit Barisan Selatan National parks, but the city itself has not much attractions. I stayed one night in the Gesthouse Palapa. The next day, I went to the Terminal Bus Rajabasa in the outskirt of the city to find a bus to go north. At the bus station you have several company with bus going everywhere on the island, all the way to Aceh (a few days of ride). People t...

The path we took and the place we visited. It's more than 1'800 km of train and boat. in 3 weeks Fortunately we had the Japan Rail Pass which made the trip affordable. After 5 weeks in Japan it's time to say goodbye. I left just at the start of the cherry blossoms period. The plum trees started to lose their flowers and let the cherry trees steal the show. Next stop: New Zealand. Plum blossoms. Cherry blossoms.

Kegon waterfall near Nikko. After the thrill of the big city, we moved to the quiet mountains. We went north of Tokyo to the small village of Nikko. There we enjoyed walks in the snowy forest and hot bathes in Onsen. Walk in the snowy forest near Nikko. After Nikko we went to the west coast with a one day stop in Matsumoto to visit the castle. On the coast, we stayed in the city of Kanazawa. There lies one of the most beautiful garden of Japan, the Kenroku-en. It was still half covered in snow, but it didn't lose of its magnificence. Kenroku-en in Kanazawa. From Kanazawa, we made a one day trip to the Shirakawa-go village. There the villager perpetuates the tradition of thatched houses famous in the region. Traditional thatched house in Shirakawa-go. Shirakawa-go. Trout living in the canals of the Shirakawa-go village. Roughly the path we took from Tokyo.

Yoyogi park seen from the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Capital of Japan and most populous city with its 13.6 millions inhabitants (38 millions if you count the metropolitan area). It's there that I met up with my 3 friends. Together we spent the next 3 weeks touring the country. I arrived in Tokyo the 22 February 2018 with the Shinkansen (high speed train) from Fukuoka. It took 6 hours and 30 minutes to cover the ~1000 km with one train change in Shin-Osaka. Of course when I got out in the Tokyo station I got lost, but who wouldn't in this maze where local, high-speed, subway and airport special trains are crisscrossing. Trains and subway of Tokyo. The next day I went to pick up JB from the Narita international airport. The day after we went together to pick up Chloé and Yanouk, but their plane had to go back to Zürich after 3 hours of flight. A passenger had to be transported to a hospital. They had to take a plane the next day. So ...

First stop in south Japan, Koga ( 古賀市 ). Koga is a city near Fukuoka on the Kyushu island. Before enjoying my vacation, I need to help my mother clean the old family house. The place is full of stuff accumulated throughout the years by my aunt. It's a lot of work but it's also nostalgic to see old memories from my childhood summer vacations. It's still winter in south Japan with temperatures between 0 and 15 degrees Celsius. It was even snowing ! Since most of the houses and apartments in Japan have poor insulation it can be as cold inside as outside (sometimes even colder inside). To stay warm, we all gather in the living room where we have a heather. But spring is coming ! The first cherry blossoms are already blooming. First cherry blossom. Miyajidake shrine (宮地嶽神社 )

Rough idea of the path I want to take. I decided to quit my job. Before starting a new one I will travel for a few months. I will fly from Switzerland to New Zealand (with a stop in Japan to see my mother and visit the country with some friends). From the land of the kiwis I will try to go home without using the plane. Why ? Because I want to take my time and appreciate the places I am visiting. The slow pace of the terrestrial and maritime transport is perfect for this kind of trip. Plus I love to see the landscape change when you're on a train, bus or boat. The biggest challenges will be: Finding a boat to cross from New Zealand to Australia. Finding a boat to cross from Australia to Asia (Indonesia). Obtaining a Chinese visa. Obtaining a Russian visa.