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Category Archives: Travels
Study visit to Potsdam
Last week I spent a few days in Potsdam, on a study visit with members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences‘ class V, which is the class for Geosciences. Our first stop was at GFZ, where we got an … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged climate change, earth sciences, polar research
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Stepperiders revisted
It is seven years ago that I spent a month at Stepperiders in Mongolia, where I had a really fantastic time. I documented my stay in my blog after I had come back home again, because internet access was not … Continue reading
Posted in Mongolia 2012, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged horseback riding, memories, Mongolia, Stepperiders, volunteering
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Grey versus black hair
When in Asia I always feel really really old. Why? Because there is almost no one with grey hair, except maybe some really really old people. I am often basically the only one who has (pretty many) streaks of grey … Continue reading
Posted in Singapore sabbatical, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Singapore, Stockholm University, Sweden
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Hokkaido cup cake making
Campus Recreation and Wellness (CReW) here at NTU regularly organizes events and activities for staff members and their families, in the new Club House. Unfortunately several of the courses had already started when I arrived and it was thus not … Continue reading
Compact living
It always strikes me how extremely densely populated parts of SE Asia are and how many millions of people live here. Bangkok’s population is for example estimated at 8.5 million people and all of Thailand has 67 million inhabitants. The … Continue reading
Posted in Singapore sabbatical, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Singapore, Stockholm University, Sweden
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NTU Campus for foodies
Before I came to NTU, I thought I would cook my own food in the evenings and when I had arrived I was a bit disappointed to not find a real stove in the kitchen, but just a heating plate, … Continue reading
Reading up on Myanmar (Burma)
Asia Books is a chain of bookstores in Thailand with a good selection of books on Asian topics, books that are often difficult to find in Europe (even when searching on Amazon). I always look forward to browsing through the … Continue reading
Posted in Bangkok sabbatical, Myanmar, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Andrew Marshall, Bertil Lintner, Burma, Emma Larkin, Myanmar
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Thailand for foodies
Most people love Thai food, although tourists generally want a milder, less spicy version of these delicious dishes. This often means that restaurants aimed for tourists only rarely serve good and authentic Thai food. Eating is an important part of … Continue reading
More Thailand favorites
Bangkok is a huge city with a population equaling that of whole Sweden. Many parts of the city are dominated by high apartment buildings, which almost reach the sky. But there are also still parts of the city with lower … Continue reading
Some of my Thailand favorites
I have probably spent almost 9 months in Thailand during the past seven years. Our road trips took us from north to south and from west to east, and apart from all the lakes we have visited, we also managed … Continue reading
Posted in Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Chiang Mai, dinosaurs, Doi Inthanon, eating, Fern Resort, Kho Phratong, Kho Tarutao, Koh Jum, Kumphawapi, salt, Sukhothai, sun set, Sweden, Thailand, Thailand beaches, Thailand islands, trekking, walking, water lillies
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Rain, rain, rain
After three months, I see the very first raindrops! Finally – how I waited to see and feel the heavy rain, and to experience something that is close to the rainy summer monsoon season. It did actually rain heavily in … Continue reading
Posted in Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Bangkok, monsoon, rain, Sweden, Thailand
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Mosquitoes versus sand flies
My weekend retreat started out really nice. Fresh air, acceptable temperatures, few tourists, an almost empty beach, friendly people, lovely sun rises and sun sets and good food. What could be better! I went for long walks along the beach, … Continue reading
Posted in Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Sam Roi Yod, sand flies, Sweden, Thailand, tiger balm
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Yoga on the beach
Submitted my research proposal, finished up a manuscript, and can feel the toll on my back after hours of just sitting and writing and thinking. Bangkok’s heat is also just too much for me. Although I really like warmer temperatures, … Continue reading
Posted in Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Baanaroka, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Sam Roi Yod, Sweden, Thailand, train ride, Yoga
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My daily walk to the subway
I have written about my (almost) daily walk to the metro station before, but I never documented this arduous enterprise with some pictures. It is arduous (at least for me) because there really is no space for walking, and if … Continue reading
Not my choice of place
Phuket Island and Phuket town are not places that are high on my must-see wish list, but there is a lake, and a promising one actually that even contains sediments. This is a rarity, since many lakes in Thailand have … Continue reading
Posted in Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Sweden, Thailand
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Sunrise over Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat, this legendary temple and city or state of the Khmer Empire has been part of our discussions for the last two years. The Khmer Empire existed between 800 and 1430 AD. The Khmer kings built wonderful temples and … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Travels
Tagged Angkor Wat, Cambodia, drought, Pa Kho, paleoclimate, sun rise
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Money, money, money
Living in Bangkok is not very expensive, at least not when trying to live the way most Thai live. A short ride on a taxi motorbike costs 15 THB*, the trip with the underground to the university costs 25 THB, … Continue reading
Posted in Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Sweden, Thailand
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Expats versus immigrants
Last week was a German Film Festival week here in Bangkok. Moo, who speaks fluently German and has her connections to the Goethe Institute and the German Embassy, got a few free movie tickets. The first film to be screened … Continue reading
Posted in Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Sweden, Thailand
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Bangkok transport
Bangkok’s traffic jams are well known and the best way to avoid them is to use the subway (MRT) or the Skytrain (BTS). Both are easy to use, quick, clean, air conditioned, comparably cheap and really well organized. So much … Continue reading
Yellow mangoes
Now the season starts for the delicious and sweet yellow mangoes, which are only available between March and June, since mango trees bear fruits only once a year. Many different types of mangoes actually exist, but the yellow mango tastes … Continue reading
Posted in Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Sweden, Thailand, Yellow mango
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Mosquitoes – no thank you
It is almost 2 months now since I arrived in Bangkok. Looking through my WordPress posts I realize that I have not written very much about all my adventures and travels, about my meetings and impressions. I only managed to … Continue reading
My little pet
I don’t seem to be alone in my small apartment in the middle of Sukhumvit in Bangkok. Last evening I heard a loud noise typical for the small, almost translucent geckos, which are common everywhere. You hardly see them, but … Continue reading
A day in the jungle of northern Thailand
The Bangkok heat and traffic (speak pollution) is sometimes really too much and spending a weekend in cooler northern Thailand seems to be the perfect escape. A place I had wanted to see for a long time is the small … Continue reading
Lakes and wetlands tell an important story
A few days ago, I gave a lecture to undergraduate students in geology at Chulalongkorn University. I chose the title ‘Lakes and wetlands tell an important story’ since the focus of our Asian monsoon project is on lakes and wetlands … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Bangkok sabbatical, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, Chulalongkorn University, crater lakes, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, monsoon history, natural science, sabbatical, science, sediments, Stockholm University, Students, Sweden, Thailand
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Countryside weekend
To escape the Bangkok chaos, pollution, and heat, I moved out into the countryside for the weekend, more specifically to The Thai House in Nonthaburi, which is some 22 km northwest of Bangkok. It takes about one hour to drive … Continue reading
Making choices
What always strikes me when traveling abroad is that there are so many different ways of looking at things. Nothing is black and white, but everything comes in numerous shades of grey and depends on what kind of baseline one … Continue reading
Studying abroad
It is almost a week now since I arrived in busy Bangkok. The culture shock has subsided and I am adjusting, although it is still difficult to get used to the heat, the traffic and above all – the heavy … Continue reading
Same same, but different
So here I am, back in Bangkok and back at the lovely and friendly Sasa guesthouse – my favourite place here. After 9000 km or 9 hours of travel I am in a part of the world where I will … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Bangkok sabbatical, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Asian monsoon, geology, sabbatical, Stockholm University
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Au revoir Vallée de la Vézère
Back in France, in the Périgord, and in the beautiful Vézère valley, where the very last excursion of the course on human evolution is taking place. Having taught this course now for more than eight years, and after probably a … Continue reading
Posted in Les Eyzies, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Chez Jugie, Cougnac, Department of Geological Sciences, Font de Gaume, Geological Sciences, geology, Human evolution, Le Moustier, Les Eyzies, Musée de la Préhistoire, Neanderthals, Pech Merle, Rouffignac cave, Stockholm University, Students
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Not lazy, just too busy!
I know that I should have reported more from this year’s EGU meeting in Vienna, which for us was a really successful meeting, with many posters and a talk, and many people interested in our research! Camilla, Moo and Kweku … Continue reading
A few days in France
One of the many tasks of being a researcher is being a member of PhD thesis committees. It is already the second time this year that I am part of a committee to evaluate a PhD thesis. This means reading … Continue reading
Bike as fast as you can
Have you ever biked to create the necessary energy to charge your phone or computer? I just did, at a recently installed charging station at Paris’ Charles De Gaulle airport. Charging took time since the biking did not create very … Continue reading
Monsoon film gets attention
Great to see that our latest film Under the Eyes of the Buddha – in White Coats now is a news item on Stockholm University’s Science Faculty’s homepage. Hopefully this will help spreading the film to a wider audience. I … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Science and media, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, Chulalongkorn University, Communicating research, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, monsoon history, natural science, science, science career, sediments, Stockholm University, Students, Sweden, Thailand, university
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Under the Eyes of the Buddha – In White Coats
Finally, finally our latest video about the Asian Monsoon Project is finished! This film really took time to finish! But then it is also different from the earlier films. It involves many more people, a specially designed animation, and specially … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Science and media, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, Chulalongkorn University, Communicating research, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, media, monsoon history, natural science, Plastic Buddha, science, science communication, scientists, sediments, Stockholm University, Students, Sweden, Thailand
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Asien monsoon research at the Bolin centre
Next week we will host a small workshop dealing with the Southeast Asian monsoon, past, present and future. Three invited speakers will present their research next Thursday, Kevin Anchukaitis and Jessica Tierney from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Hans Linderholm … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Thailand fieldwork and travels, Thoughts and Tales
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, monsoon history, natural science, Stockholm University, Sweden
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Media communication and earth sciences
Two days in Hong Kong and two days in Singapore for our university visits seemed like a tight schedule, but we easily managed one university each day: Hong Kong’s City University and the University of Hong Kong; the National University … Continue reading
Reflections
Is it my jetlagged self or is it real that Hong Kong awakens much more slowly than the places I have recently visited in Thailand and Myanmar? Or maybe it is because I am watching from afar and from my … Continue reading
Posted in Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged natural science, science, science career, SE Asia, Stockholm University, Student exchange, Students
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First time in Hong Kong
Here I am on the 16th floor of a hotel overlooking Victoria Harbour, ships going back and forth, a maze of highways, and hidden behind high apartment buildings I can even spot mountains! If it had not been raining now, … Continue reading
Stranded in Helsinki
This trip to SE Asia is not going as smooth as silk. Maybe because we chose FinnAir and not Thai Airways (just joking, because the slogan for Thai Airways is smooth as silk). The problem is that the flight from … Continue reading
Busy days in Singapore
Tropical heat, tropical humidity, tropical thunderstorms and tropical rains – that’s how Singapore presented itself to me. Finally I managed to get an experience of heavy monsoon rains! Singapore is well adapted to this type of climate. Air-conditioning is on … Continue reading
Escaping the lowland heat
Chiang Mai and its surrounding hills and mountains are so much different from the noise, pollution, heavy traffic and heat of Bangkok. The sky is blue here, the sun is visible, the mountain slopes and hillsides are covered with lush … Continue reading
160 kg plus 55 kg
After a three-hour drive we were back in Mandalay, the holy and magical city with its many temples, monasteries and myriad of people, cars and motorbikes. We had a couple of hours before our flight left and used the time … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Myanmar, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, crater lakes, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, Mandalay, Mandalay hill, Monywa, Myanmar, natural science, sediments, Stockholm University, Sweden
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Bye-bye Monywa
How shall we manage to get all our samples out of the country and into Thailand? This question has been on my mind for several days now. My first worry, some days ago, was about the equipment and the permission … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Myanmar, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, crater lakes, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, monsoon history, Monywa, natural science, sediment core, sediments, Stockholm University, Sweden, Thailand
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Many helping hands
Everyday two or three master students join our little expedition. They help carry the equipment, join us out on the lakes for coring, filter the water samples, assist in sub-sampling and help packing everything up again. The students are so … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Myanmar, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, crater lakes, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, Monywa, Myanmar, natural science, science, sediments, Stockholm University, Sweden
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The sounds of Myanmar
During the past two days and nights we have been surrounded by a constant singing or preaching from loudspeakers. Small pickup trucks drive all around the town and the larger villages with loudspeakers mounted on the back. Along the streets … Continue reading
No secrets revealed in Shinme Chauk
The sediments of ‘Banana Lake’ or Lake Shinme Chauk, which is located close to the Bronze Age cemetery of Nyanggan, were the last on our to do list. The lake is very shallow, and partly overgrown, but according to the … Continue reading
Early morning in Monywa
Another of these early mornings! Getting up at 6 am, leaving at 6:30, and eating breakfast in one of the street restaurants on our way to the lakes. The hotels where we had stayed before served breakfast, but our current … Continue reading
Movie time in Leshe village
Both of our teams have been really successful during the last days. We were able to obtain several nice sediment sequences from Leshe Lake, and a number of gravity cores from the deeper crater lakes. The other day Nut, Lin … Continue reading
China phones
What surprises me most, is that almost everyone has a cell phone. Not just a simple one, but smart phones with all kinds of different apps. If we want the man with the bullock cart to come and get us, … Continue reading
Another day in the surroundings of Monywa
One group with Nut, Lin Thu Aung, and Thomas completed coring at Leshe Lake today, and the other group with Sheri, Rienk, Zaw Win and another student drove to one of the three deeper crater lakes to obtain a gravity … Continue reading
What a different world
It is fun talking to the students about life in Myanmar. One of my questions was of course if there were any female geology students, because we have only met men so far. The students told us that only 10% … Continue reading
All these friendly people
I am really overwhelmed by all the friendly people we meet everyday and everywhere: the staff at the different hotels we are staying in, the village chief and the villagers, people in the market, on the street, and in restaurants … Continue reading
And the cores keep coming
No driving down the steep sandy slopes to the crater lake today. I think the drivers got a bit worried yesterday, given frequent meetings with bullock carts, the narrow paths, the steep slope, the deep tracks and the huge hollows, … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Myanmar, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, bullock carts, crater lake, crater lakes, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, Lake Kumphawapi, lake sediments, Leshe Lake, Monywa, Myanmar, natural science, sediments, Stockholm University, Students, Sweden, Upper Myanmar, water lilies
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What a lucky day!
What an amazing day we had today! Accompanied by three MSc students and two officials from the Ministry of Forestry and Environmental Conservation we headed towards our first lake, Leshe Lake. I had never imagined that the two huge 4WDs … Continue reading
Posted in Asian monsoon, Myanmar, Thoughts and Tales, Travels
Tagged Asian monsoon, Asian monsoon project, crater lakes, Department of Geological Sciences, Geological Sciences, geology, lake sediments, monsoon history, Monywa, Myanmar, natural science, paleoclimate, sediments, Stockholm University, Sweden
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Equipment arrived, permission received!
Lin Thu arrived this evening from Yangon after a 10 hour-long drive. He had with him the equipment and the permissions to core all the five lakes! What more could we wish for! Tonight I passed by the temple and … Continue reading
No connection to the outer world
Our hotel has wireless Internet on all its seven floors. The only problem is that the connection only works sporadically. This is obviously not only the hotel’s problem. We tried at several other spots where Wi-Fi is offered, but it … Continue reading
Sunset over the Chindwin Plain
Sunset viewed from the Pho Win Hills, about one hour’s drive southwest of Monywa, had been recommended to us by the receptionist at our hotel. This site is also described as containing South East Asia’s richest collection of Buddhist mural … Continue reading
Barbara Wohlfarth 