OLIVER JOEST

Tag: Original content

  • DPRK: Why did I go?

    DPRK: Why did I go?

    It was a long-cherished dream to go to the DPRK. Partly out of curiosity for a secluded place, partly out of the wish to educate myself about the reality of life in a separated country. I missed the chance to visit GDR before the collapse of the political system in socialist Germany. And of course…

  • Throwback: Photography trip to DPRK

    Throwback: Photography trip to DPRK

    It has been almost a week since I came back from my trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The time has passed and I was in a constant state of confusion and despair. On my hard drive sits an archive of well around 500 images that preserve many of the memories that I’ve…

  • Strolling around Beijing

    Strolling around Beijing

    The city is very quiet. There is very little noise in the streets. Most bikes and scooters are electrical. This adds to the serenity of the wide boulevards and the hidden alleyways called hutongs. I can’t possibly describe how the calmness of this place appears to me. After the last weeks of busy cities and…

  • From Ban Ho to Ta Phin to Sapa

    From Ban Ho to Ta Phin to Sapa

    The trek ended in a Red Dzao Homestay in Ta Phin where we were able to get a prime herbal bath. The tribe people would collect the herbs in the rain forest surrounding the property and cook it in a giant copper bowl over an open fire for hours. The extract would then be poured…

  • From Ta Van to Bang Ho

    From Ta Van to Bang Ho

    Our route went from Sapa to Ta Van for the first night. From there we continued the route along the mountains to Ban Ho where we’d stay another night. The trek was ambitious without being overwhelming. The daily walking of 6 hours and around 15 Kilometers were a nice contrast to the last weeks in…

  • 4 days and 3 nights in Sapa

    4 days and 3 nights in Sapa

    The bus from Hanoi was a weird experience. No real two level bus, not a real sleeper, something in between. We left Hanoi very early to reach Sapa the basecamp for many trekkers in northern Vietnam around lunch time. The town in the north close to the Chinese border overwhelmed us with the different weather,…

  • Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

    Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

    The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum holds the enshrined body of the communist revolutionary leader. Unfortunately we missed the opening hours in the morning so we didn’t get the full experience. The place feels distant and one can imagine how much more estranged the places in Pyongyang must look like. I should definitely investigate those socialist…