Nicaragua - After about half an hour, Belisario turns off the main road, and the bus drives into the parking lot of Masaya National Park. The gate is still closed. It turns out the staff is in a meeting, so we have to wait. The Masaya volcano is one of the most active ...

Chile - At the bus station, the luggage is loaded into a minibus. We then walk about ten minutes to the hotel in the center. San Pedro de Atacama is already a very nice and busy village early in the morning. It seems like time has stood still here. The hotel ...

Tibet - At the turnoff to Ganden Monastery, everyone is awake again. From the valley at around 3,600 meters, the bus ascends via hairpin turns to Ganden Monastery at 4,500 meters. As we climb higher, the view over the valley becomes increasingly beautiful, and ...

Denmark - The statue of the Little Mermaid is a world-famous statue in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It represents the main character in the fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The mermaid statue was made by Edvard Eriksen (1876–1959), ...

Iran - Back in Yazd, we get dropped off at Amir Chakhmaq Square. The Amir Chakhmaq façade takes a dominant place on the square. The building was erected in memory of Imam Hossein. Behind the façade begins the bazaar. Just before the entrance stands a wooden ...

Singapore - The Sri Mariamman Temple is Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple. Built in the Dravidian architectural style, the temple is located at 244 South Bridge Road in the heart of the Chinatown district. It primarily serves South Indian Tamil Hindu Singaporeans. ...

Germany - The Bed and Breakfast is located right in the center of Monschau. Everywhere stand the typical half-timbered houses. It feels as if time has stood still here. We wander through the streets. The old center of Monschau isn’t very large, but every street ...

Tunisia - Djerba is a Tunisian island located east of the mainland in the Gulf of Gabès in the Mediterranean Sea. The island’s capital is Houmt Souk, situated on the northern coast. Djerba is the largest island of Tunisia and is connected to the mainland by ...

Hong Kong - The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery is a unique and fascinating Buddhist attraction located in Sha Tin, in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Despite its name, it is not an official functioning monastery, as no monks live there. It’s a temple complex ...

Lesotho - While the teacher explains about the school, I take a photo of the children. They crowd around to look at the photo afterwards. At the end of the tour, the children come into the classroom and sing a song for us. They probably sing this for other groups ...

Fiji - We head into the mountains. The asphalt on the road is surprisingly good. Everywhere we had read warnings about poor unpaved roads in the mountains. This morning, the staff were still unsure if we could take the inland route to Nadi because of the poor ...

Macau - Macau, also known as Macao, is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in Southeast Asia, similar to Hong Kong. It is located about 70 kilometres southwest of Hong Kong and 145 kilometres from Guangzhou. Macau originally consisted ...

Turkey - Around 1:30 PM, we enter the modern part of Safranbolu. In a restaurant, a man shows us çig köfte. We are allowed to taste it first. It tastes excellent, and the dish is served in a wrap. We only wonder if it contains raw meat when we eat the wrap. ...

Algeria - Ghardaïa is a Berber oasis town and forms the heart of the M’Zab Valley. The fortified sister towns of Melika, Beni Isguen, Bounoura, and El Atteuf are also located here. We first visit the oldest of the five towns: El Atteuf, founded in 1012. Over ...

Spain - Seville Cathedral is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world and the impressive religious heart of Seville. The cathedral was built on the site of a former large mosque from the Moorish period. After the Christian reconquest of Seville in 1248, ...

Oman - Walkhim is not with us today; Aymen is. Another driver takes us in about an hour to the Grand Sultan Qaboos Mosque. This impressive mosque was built between 1995 and 2001. The structure features a great deal of marble. Aymen guides us inside. The women ...

Poland - Before heading to Kraków, we first visit the Wieliczka salt mines. The salt mine complex is located just past Kraków. Since we had already booked tickets in advance for the English-language tour, we don’t have to queue at the ticket counter. We are ...

Peru - The city tour takes us to the center of Lima. At Plaza San Martin, we visit the Gran Hotel Bolívar, an 80-year-old luxury hotel that now shows some signs of faded glory. The city tour continues toward the main square, Plaza de Armas. There, we take a ...

Turkmenistan - It is barely six o’clock in the morning when I am already on the bus. Bachtiar is our guide today. He has taken over from Maksat. He is a cheerful man. Unfortunately, he speaks German, which is not my preferred language. Today, I am on my way to Uzbekistan. ...

Ecuador - Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an ancient Inca city. The city lies at an altitude of 2,850 meters. Despite the severe earthquake in 1917, the city has been well preserved, especially the historic center. ...

Wales - After breakfast, I walk back to Cardiff Castle. The castle was built in 1091 on the remains of an old fort. Over the centuries, it was expanded. One of the most notable transformations occurred in 1868, when the Marquess of Bute commissioned a neo-Gothic ...

San Marino - San Marino is one of the smallest countries in Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. The country originated atop a rocky outcrop at an elevation of 700 meters. From its three defensive towers, one could oversee the surrounding area. It is an enclave ...

Morocco - In Sidi Ifni, the hotel sits atop a rocky cliff with a beautiful view over the town and the Atlantic Ocean. Sidi Ifni was long an enclave of the Spanish, and Spanish influences are still very present in the town center. We walk through the center and ...

Greece - At the entrance to Olympia, I meet Saskia. She is guiding our travel group through the old city today. Saskia used to be a tour guide but met a Greek man. She has now lived in Greece for 23 years. In Olympia, the ancient sanctuary of the god Zeus, games ...

South Africa - Graaff Reinet was once South Africa’s fourth-largest town. It began as an administrative outpost of Cape Town to govern the interior. Not surprisingly, many houses are built in the same old Dutch style as Cape Town. Our lodge is on the city’s edge ...