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From there, we wanted to head towards the Indian Ocean to St. Lucia
Wetlands, then driving with our first rental car to Durban, jump on a
plane to PE (Port Elizabeth), and pick up our second rental to continue to
Capetown along the coast, passing the Drakensberge, the Garden Route,
and the famous wineyards around Stellenbosch and finally Capetown,
and of course the Cape of Good Hope itself, the most southern point of
Africa.
The first couple of pictures are from our first day, which we used just to
pick up our rental in Jo'burg and drive out of town, east towards Kruger.
We passed very nice landscapes, and in particular the spectacular God's
Window in the Blyde River Canyon area, the "Three Rondavels" (the
three round rocks, couple of hundred meters vertically above a smooth
green and red valley with a huge view), and the Bourke's Luck Pot holes.
The day was misty, and, all of a sudden, cloudy foggy so we couldn't see
ten meters, and God's Window was unfortunately "closed". The nature
here above the plains of the Kruger were real rough, pure and fresh, a
real headstart into South Africa.
We stayed overnight in the Blyde River Canyon, and continued the next
morning to Kruger, entered and started our safari in our own car (don't
step out the car!). Breathtaking!
2001 was my first year with an airconditioned
christmas celebration. Actually 2001 was for me a
tremendously happy, event-packed, colorful and
contrasting year, and in its final moments, suddenly
i had time to review and judge this particular 2001
for myself. Following my godfather, i want to try for
the first time to put some lines together to
formulate some important ideas for me on that last
year - and in that way let you guys participate in my-
our life a little bit more than i did during my
frequently lazy email replies.
So, we got married. Not once, but three times
we had time to celebrate, and the plans for our
honeymoon to Japan for the Sakura (cherry
blossom) in April are practically finalized (we are
looking forward to see Gouda-San and Mount Fuji
and we will have our one-year wedding celebration
there, trustfully). When we understood in November
2000, that there may not happen anything better to
us than living together, and when the occasion
arose fittingly, just a few more hours flight from
Frankfurt to Bangkok and back for preparations
separated us from finally being together. After some
ultimate arrangements, right on time although
without contract i reached Bkk on April 1st 2001.
Chonmasri (Macy) and me got married on April 12th
in Bangkok, colorful exotic thai style, facing nine
buddhist monks and Macy's assembled family. My
parents and my brother Martin and sister Gabi were
there as well, we won't forget. Macy and me got
married on July 6 in Wörth, Germany, german
style with english translation facing my family and
friends, and german officials representing the law.
John, my former boss, then best man and always a
friend, made us understand in english to fulfil our
duty of not only sharing the good times but also the
pain and sufferings laying ahead of us. Following the
next day our celebration in "palatina" style, lively
and joyfully, i believe. We are grateful that quite a
few of you guys could be there with us. We had
more time to celebrate our wedding on September
15th, Macy's birthday, in Bangkok with some of our
friends here.
Getting married means to become a different
person. Love is joined by responsibility, and two
people suddenly create new disciplines. One
discovers new common interests - like cultivating a
three-square-meter balcony-jungle, one emphasizes
new intimacies - when fighting for dominance in the
kitchen and who makes the better curry or
separating the fat from a delicious, sun-dried italian
ham, one celebrates new trust and tolerance - like
forgiving a painful defeat in card games, one sets
new priorities - like sharing a good bottle of red
wine. This is close to happiness, i believe. Re-reading
this it sounds like a playful time itself, and this is
what this year was about for us, and obviously
important interesting questions are waiting ahead
of us.
I am proud that my family and friends do love
us. I am proud that Chonmasri's family and friends
do love us. This is important to emphasize because
it is unusual, partly unexpected and definitely very
important for both of us. To put it in a poetic way,
like a ship needs the harbour, so does a wanderer
need a shady tree (ok, i admit, i won't become a
poet anyday soon). Macy and myself will have a long
path ahead with many decisions, hinderances and
possibilities. We do not know where we will be the
next five years. This is our choice and we will be on
the way.
My family is important to me and the distance
does hurt sometimes. Unfortunately i could not be
there for Lilly's, my god-daughter to be, birthday.
Unfortunately i do not know well enough, how
Gereon, my god-son, and Tom grow and evolve so
fast. Luckily i know that my Grandmother is doing
fine, that Sabine has a little sister, and that most
things go their divine way, the eternal cycle, so to
say. To our delight, my parents came to visit us in
december and we had time to refresh all stories.
Yes, and then i was admitted to a new family as well,
the Patcharapimon family. Although i still hardly
speak thai, Macy's father and myself go along very
well, he is a partyman and philosopher as i wish to
be, sometimes. Macy and myself started to take
some responsibilities for Macy's youngest brother,
Natapon, who studies chemical engineering in
Bangkok. Macy's oldest brother, Sitichai, married on
December 8th in Nakhon Pathom, and my parents
were there as special guests from overseas. Macy's
cousin May stayed with us in November looking for
a job position in Bkk, but finally found work in her
hometown Chiang Mai.
My friends are important to me, and as usual
during my past fifteen or so years, living here and
there, all distant friends get from me but "silence".
As usual i am thinking of being here and there and
trustfully hoping that when together the common
understanding is always alive. Anyhow meeting here
and there on this seemingly small planet is great
and last year Jochen and Markus showed up here in
Bkk, and before moving to Thailand some of us met
in Tuebingen and Duesseldorf. Please remember
that Thailand is a beautiful country and if tempted
you are greatly welcome anytime!
My job is important to me and what seemed to
be an unknown challenge in the beginning is
developing into an opportunity right now. It may be
that my luck, my intuition and my carefreeness
combine once more and still to the better, as it has
been so often in my life so far. Ok, i have been 12
times in Manila since May this year, but sooner or
later also this has been finished. Principally i am still
working in the spacy niche between product
development and customisation requirements,
between project management and consultancy,
between computers and people, between tools and
processes, between making profit and making
customers happy, playing around and gaining
experience. Something of everything and nothing in
to much detail, as i like it. Being at the frontlines it is
true that working life seems even more uncertain
than in good old-fashioned R&D, and worrying
about the security of the job in the immediate
future did consume some of my energy earlier in
the year. But yes, being at the frontlines the learning
experience is real big, and one is learning new
things all the times, it is even definitely fun.
My holiday is important to me and this whole
year was holidays for me in the sense of holiday
being travelling, visiting, meeting and understanding
new countries and new people. I love thinking back
of the Great China Wall that i saw in June, the coral
gardens of Philippines and Thailand, the wonderful
seafood all over the place, parks, temples and
palaces, the Thai water festival Songkran in April
and the moon festival Loy Kratong in October, the
various big fish and aquarium fish ponds, cactus
and orchid farms of the Patcharapimon family.