Finally back in good old Austria after almost one year on the road. Looking back to countless hours and kilometers of travelling by car, train, bus, boat, motorcycle, foot and plane. Furthermore to a multitude of great people, magic encounters, warm hearted hospitality, epic climbs, delicious food, stunning moments in the nature and all the other kind of experience I made. Thanks to all of you who walked, climbed, shared, cooked, laughed and danced parts of that journey together with me. Also thanks to all your support and positive vibes I enjoyed on my way plus to everyone who followed this blog!

I took my flight to London and thought why not meet some friends on the way home. So I traveled to France and visited Nico in Briancon.

In tartiflet we trust!

La vie est belle et sauvage. Ceüse - one of those places.

I stopped in Switzerland and got the chance to climb with Elias once more.

Yeahaa! Granit again. The line is pretty obvious.

I f.....g love the alps!

finally heading home ...

Bouldering in Manali is a bit like searching for easter eggs. Finally found a great crowd and enjoyed discovering, cleaning and pinching the rough granite.

In the woods. Ben pulling hard towards the sunlight.

On the way to Rohtang Pass which was not open yet due road work after the winter. I´ll come back an other time ...

I went south in the beautiful Parvati valley and hiked to the hotsprings in Khir Ganga where Shiva is said to have meditated for 3000 years.

Solar power after a spring storm.

I left Parvati during strong rain and made my way back down Dheli through the ineffable madness of indian traffic a last time. Ready for europe?

This nasty bastard and his friends attacked me on the hanging bridge over the ganga. No way to defense myself with a bag of fruits in the one hand and popcorn in the other.

Indian cuisine. It´s all about dal.

A Sadhu smoking the chillum in Haridwar ... all day loong.

Cruis´n. Himachal Pradesh provides surprisingly less traffic and occasionally good roads.

Finally real mountains again. Manali is the gate to the Himalayas and a hub for all kind of outdoor adventures as well.

Locals washing their laundry and themselves at the hotsprings in Vashist.

Since I figured out that the guys from Yeti Adventures provide decent equipment I went on a backcountry skiing trip together with Kai, Sarah, Tim & Emily. It´s probably been the most luxurious winter camping I´ve ever done.

I did´nt expect myself skiing in this season at all, specially not in India. Thus descending Kothi Peak by ski was a delayed birthday present for me. Pure pleasure, thanks.

What a funky start in India. I got cheated in Dheli by a very sophisticated beguiler network. They took advantage of my tiredness, my lack of knowledge, made me believe that Dheli was restricted for foreigners and convienced me to pay for a 6 hour taxi to Jaipur which was way overpriced. The drive was magnificent though. I might be a bit naif but I´m not stupid and I have friends. So finaly I got my money back + extra charges. Don´t fuck around with austrian´s we fight back!!

Lucky to have the opportunity of travelling by motorcycle in India. It took some time to familiarize though, since traffic is mad here. One has to expect everything (which basically means elephants, pedestrians, monkeys, huge potholes, accidents, wrong-way drivers and of course cows) anytime. Good horn, good brakes and good luck are required!

I made my way up to Rishikesh which is the yoga capital of India. Already the Beatles came here to meditate and write their white album in the maharishi ashram. Since that spiritual seekers from all over the world pilgrimage to this place to find enlightment.

In the foothills of the himalayas where the ganga river is still nice and clean. Indian hindi´s come to Rishikesh for a nine day fasting ritual. This man only eats sand from the river during that time.

A new world to discover for me. This country is a firework of colours, smells, taste and experience.

Daily routine of a mendicant in the streets of lakshman jhula.

The plethora of spiritual activity in Rishikesh made me curious. Thus I stayed in an ashram for eight days, did yoga and meditation myself -"om shanti shanti shanti"- If I got enlightened? Well, I really don´t think that there is enlightment at all. But as a life hacker I proofed what I already knew. Life is good! Just don´t take it to serious and listen to your heart.

 

Entering Vietnam made me become a millionaire out of the blue. Thanks uncle Ho!

Like Mao in China, Ho Chi Minh is still a national hero in Vietnam. In honor of his merits for the country his mortal remains are heavily guarded in his mausoleum in Hanoi. I lined up with thousands of other visitors to confront his countenance. No chance to shake a hand though.

It was raining for my entire stay in Hanoi. Locals are prepared and know how to deal with bad conditions. Me too - I left.

Lao was different then. Heat, less traffic and a relaxed attitude. Here the Mekong River at dusk.

First they were chasing me, but finally we got friends.

Amazing tufa pulling in Thakhek even though the temperatures have been far beyond decent climbing conditions. Start missing the remote north faces in the alps!

On the road in Lao. After about 115 hours of travelling by train and bus in the last couple of weeks it was brilliant riding a motorbike independly.

This guy knows exactly how to deal with the heat. Khao San Bangkok.

Travelling in China can be hard sometimes. Luckily I always found somebody to translate helpful notes for me.

Although, obviously it is difficult on the other side as well. Lost in translation.

There is a wide variety of food in China. The choice is way bigger than the spring rolls and the chicken sweet&sour we know from chinese restaurants in other parts of the world.

Chinese culture is a big enigma to me. What I understand so far: there is different ethics. Seems like one could do almost anything he wants as long as he don´t offends the system.

I met Mr. Tom, a swiss climber, in Dali. Sunny side up and good times at the cliffs in Shuanglang. See you up!

In Kunming I discoverd a street where all the police and security men buy there uniforms. I made friends and got the chance to buy an original security shirt. Austrian men power on chinese demand. Another job opportunity?

On my way south I had a brief stop in Yuanglang to explore the famous rice terraces. Heaps of heavy armed photographers occupy the viewing plattforms to catch a shot of the impressive sunrise over Duoyishu so as me.

Abstract patterns. A photographers obsession indeed. Vast mountainous areas have been cultivated into terraced rice paddies for the last 1300 years by the Hani minority.

Besides the landscape myself (as the only westerner) became an object of desire. Shooting back was my only defence ... no kidding.

I took the sleeper bus from Shenzen to Yangshuo in the Guangxi Province. Definitely an experience traveling horizontally in a bed made for chinese size standards. Even I was barely fitting in it´s been a quiet comfortable trip.

Yangshou. A vibrant city embeded in hundreds of karst mountains. Misty views from top of the television tower.

Yangshuo is internationally known as the sport climbing mecca Chinas. According to the chinese stereotyp the crags are accessed by bicycle, so as fixing bikes becomes a daily routine.

The limestone arch of moon hill, tourist hotspot and climbers obsession. Air pollution and weather patterns did´nt provide enough light for bright photos, but fabulous climbing though.

Anyways we have been very lucky to catch a periode of decent climbing conditions this time in the year. Another onsight sending day for Jon at white mountain. Watch out this guy is definitly killing it.

A hard work out day is over.

Besides world class rock climbing epic bike rides through magnificent landscapes will remain as remarkable memories.

Karst is dominating the place all over.

And: yes it is true... they eat dogs in China.