AndreSTGT's VirtualTourist Home Page

Life makes no sense, being in love is just an illusion, and no, i'm not depressed. I don't feel like it's necessary to find a big meaning, a masterplan. It's those small sensations, these short moments of pure happiness that make life worth living. I collect them and hold them dear! When i travel the frequency of these moments multiplies...

"No serious-minded, hard-working man has the time, the spare energy or the inclination to abandon himself to passion. Passion can only flourish among the well-fed unemployed"
(A. Huxley)

Back from eight months in Australia, Fiji and South East Asia. Had the time of my life! Thanks to all the great people i met along the way!!!

Some Highlights :
-going mental in King's Cross, Sydney

-existing without thinking on the beautiful coral island of Caqelai, Fiji

-spending christmas and NYE in Perth, 38 degrees, sunshine and cold beer

-seeing R.E.M. live in Hongkong

"Money brings no satisfaction if one has to work for it; for if one works for it one has no time to spend it" (Those barren leaves)

I think taste and preferences say a lot about people, so i'll do this in the old fashioned "my favorite..." way.

Favorite films (comedy) : Monty Python's Meaning of life and Life of Brian, Austin Powers1 (the sequels are ***e), What's new pussycat?, old 007 movies, I Heart Huckabees

Favorite films (drama) :Dangerous Liaisons, Before Sunrise/Sunset, L'amant, Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei (The Edukators)

Favorite actors : John Cusack, Kevin Kline, Alain Delon, Moritz Bleibtreu, Daniel Bruehl

Favorite actresses :Romy Schneider, Emmanuelle Beart, Kate Winslet

Favorite books : "Women in love" (D.H. Lawrence), "1984" (Orwell), "High Fidelity" (Hornby), "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (Kundera) and many more... Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir, Marukami, Hesse, Kafka, Dostoievski, Marquez, Wilde....

Favorite bands :alltime favorites are the Beatles, Pulp and R.E.M, at the moment Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, Babyshambles, Morrissey and The Smiths,The Raconteurs, Elliott Smith, Garbage, Maximo Park, Death Cab For Cutie, The Long Blondes, Muse, Flaming Lips, The Libertines, Fratellis, Radiohead and classics such as The Doors, The Kinks... I also enjoy listening to French chansons (Gainsbourg, Aznavour...); i love the title song of Emmanuelle and generally the soundtracks of cheesy 70s French softporn films (did i say that out loud?) und dann bin natürlich auch Fan von der besten Band der Welt aus Berlin (aus Berlin!!!!!!!)

Favorite food : i'm a food lover and i love to sample local food in the countries i visit.
I love Dim Sum, Sushi, Thai curries, Foie gras, King prawns, Moroccan Pastilla... and Fusion food in general

Favorite drinks :Caipirinha and good red wine (Rosemount Shiraz being my fav)

Favorite languages :i speak German and English fluently, as well as decent Spanish and French, but i guess my favorite language is French

My bigger trips in the last couple of years :

1995 : Malaysia (Borneo), Thailand
1996 : Malaysia, Thailand
1997 : Thailand
1998 : Tour de France (Cycling)
1999 : Malaysia, Thailand
2000 : Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Spain, USA
2001 : India, Pakistan, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Venezuela, Colombia, Madeira
2002 : Andalucia, Thailand, Laos, Eastern Europe road trip, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Gran Canaria
2003 : Burma, Thailand, Menorca, Germany road trip, Denmark, Cambodia, Rome
2004 : Paris, Prague, Poland, Southern Italy, Sicily, Slovenia, Croatia, Basque Country, Southern France, Corsica,The Baltics, Thailand, Australia, Fiji
2005 : Tasmania, Macau, Hongkong, Thailand, Cambodia, Sardegna, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, UK, Belgium
2006 : Italy, Switzerland, Cycling Indochina, a few visits to Ingerland, Morocco
2007 : Malaysia, Thailand, Iran, Cycling Germany and GB

When someone asks me about my favorite city, country etc... i always find it very hard if not impossible to answer. I have so far enjoyed every country i visited, for different reasons obviously, but i simply cannot say : this is the place i love the most.
I really tried to compile a list of my favorite places, most memorable moments and fascinating experiences on my homepage, but it turned out to be impossible. There are too many!!!

...and never intended to ask!

Whom did you vote for in the last elections?
-the Green party (=smallest evil), i don't think i'm going to participate in the next elections, though, i kind of lost my faith in "democracy"

Are you a pacifist?
-yes, but only to a certain extent. I hate guns, violence and the military, but i realize that not all conflicts can be solved without pressure.

Are you religious?
-no, i reject all forms of organised religions, i do believe, however, that human beings are more than just the sum of physical laws and chemical reactions, this higher power can be called God, or whatever, but in order to have faith and be spiritual, one does not need dogmas and folklore. ---hmmm, not so sure about this anymore, isn't it man's biggest hybris to believe that we, or at least something , should make sense? at the moment i tend to believe in here and now, ridiulous as life is or may seem, you have it, so take it and make the best out of it. False hope is futile and vain

Are you a communist?
-no, communism was a good idea in order to overcome the worst type of Manchester capitalism and exploitation, but it will never work as a politcal and social system... though, oh how i wish it would

Are you a capitalist?
-no, i enjoy the advantages of capitalism with a bad conscience cos i was born at the right time in the right place, but i'm well aware that the system is flawed and inhumane. I guess i'm torn. I hate the idea of being ruled by corporations.

Are you proud to be German?
- no, why should i? place of birth is pure coincidence. I often wonder how people can be proud of something they haven't achieved themselves. If you look at it from a rational point of view this sentiment called 'patriotism' is a rather strange one.

What is your favorite vice?
-cigarettes

What is the silliest thing you've ever done?
-drinking one big bottle of vodka within 30min because of a stupid bet

And we dance and drink and screw because there's nothing else to do.