Elephant Chris: The adventures of the emperor and his elephants: A Year's Review / How to win delicious Thai coffee

How to:

Click on the pictures to enlarge them. Many of them are really worth it.
Click on the links below some of the pictures for more cool stories. Sorry that many of them are in German.
Scroll down to the very bottom if you only want to receive free coffee. ;)

Dear all,

So sorry that I didn’t update my blog lately. Well, to be honest, I think it’s a great thing, as life kept me busy. And a wise man once told me you shouldn’t let experiences wait but embrace every single one of them as soon as they arrive – one never knows if they might come back. And in 10 years' time we'll only regret what we have not done.

I would have regretted it so badly coming back after only 6 months!

Anyway. Phuket is still awesome. Seems like I finally found a life here. Work. Thai classes. Soccer (including league matches). Lots of visiting friends. And then – travel.

Management Meeting in Khao Sok. Breakfast comes first.

Filming "Wild elephants" with Discover Channel. Haha.

Soccer match while the sun sets... want to join?

Little HaHa. Still one happy little bugger. But growing big!

But at least she still knows me and enjoys cuddling. :)

Remember that lady in the picture? (If not - link is at the very bottom.)

My new work permit! Everything legal here. Proud Mr. Chris.

Office work is a drag, I learned. That was before living in Thailand.

A floating Luxury Tented Camp. Who came up with that idea?
Must have been a genius...

It's not Halong Bay. That comes further down.
This is Cheow Larn Lake in Southern Thailand.

New wall decoration in my apartment.

BBQ Thai style. Well - and Russian-Danish-Dutch-German-Style.

This year alone, I will explore 5 different continents. Not all of them for the first time. Only one single journey (the “Julez & Micha trip”) will I have to pay by myself. The others are paid for by Elephant Hills. How cool is that?

Some travels are over already. March saw me traveling most of German speaking Europe following ITB in Berlin. Germany, Switzerland and Vienna were explored.

Glorious victory of the Konstanzer Lakers in Berlin. Ole!

Lake Zurich. With snow-capped mountains in the back. Snow!

Berne. Little touch of Freiburg.

One thing Thais can't do yet: Swiss Cheese Fondue! *yamm*

Thun. Probably the most picturesque football field I've ever seen.

But hey - relaxing in Thailand by the beach ain't that bad either.

Besides all those business meetings and lunches I indeed found time to catch up with loads of old friends – good you guys are still around and all going strong!

Jay meets Jon. Good to have some spare time at trade fairs.

Timmey! Wir haben nicht mal ein ordentliches Bild hinbekommen!

Jane goes Berlin. Sees Chris.

Sophie now lives in Frankfurt. No reason not to have brunch.

Visiting grandma Herlinde, aunt Mone & cousin Mattes in Baden-Baden.
Eating cake.

Receiving the honor to lunch with Meike. Drink something.

Meeting this beautiful couple in Zurich. Long live the love!

The Stromberg Office Race. Germans know what I'm talking about.

Being student is so old school.
Sauna and pool are a must these days for Mr. La Riche.

Family Reunion. Only the youngest one is missing.
Guess she has grown up?
Good to have met you in Wittenberg, Clary!

Oncele de la Carlo rocking up at Karlsruhe HBF. Nice move.

The Freiburg crew reunited in Stuttgart. So amazing!
Spent a lot of time sitting on the sofa, drinking water, watching movies.
You know how it is...

Find out how we met. (Sorry it's in German...)

Illegal BBQ action in Stuttgart city. Escaping Jehova's witnesses.

And then my cousin Biene came to visit.

Biene. Remember this?

Salsa Queen Michaela en Tailandia. Great.

The promised Songkran picture. Wet, wild, wet. Oh and: Wet.

Full story: Click here.

Yes. Everybody participates. If voluntarily or not is not the question.

May was Indaba time, plus extra days to explore Thula Thula Game Reserve, Chobe National Park & Hwange National Park. Stunning Luxury Tented Camps, they have, highly interesting wildlife… and those Victoria waterfalls are just one of a kind!

Working hard at Indaba. Every customer counts!

Marvelous Sunset in Durban after a successful trade fair.

Being chased by a wild elephant bull in musth.
Fun.
As long as it ends well.

Wildlife sightings in the early early morning. Nice dekor.

Two wild rhinos! What a blessing to see them.
Not sure how much longer they will be around...

Twiga. Mama Ursula would be one happy kid now.

Remember which day you left for Australia, Mum?

And then even more! Mum, stop bouncing around! :P

Hippo. One of the deadliest animals on this planet.
Btw.: Do you know the deadliest animal (way after humans themselves) living on Earth?

Victoria Falls. Pictures do not do this spectacle justice.

Yes, there is some canvas. But can you call this a tent?
Bath tub in the back, outside shower, enough space for a family.
All for myself.

No clue what this dude is called, but it's a nice photo, isn't it?

Lions! One step closer to seeing the Big 5! (Ended up with 4.)

Ostrich. The world's largest bird. Can't fly. Poor guy.

Herd of gnus. Just strolling around, grazing.

Why do people always go so close to wild animals?
They are wild, people! And look the same from 20m distance.

But yes, in real life this looks like on postcards...

Cebola Antilopes. Rare. Beautiful. Hunted. Valuable.

Zebra crossing.
*hahaha*
Get it?

Young animals are always cute. Prove me wrong!

Lila-breasted roller bird. Do you know how many
empty-blue-sky-shots it takes to capture a picture like this?

Upon return, my Julez and Micha were waiting for me already, eager to explore Northern Thailand. Mae Hong Son Loop by bike – spectacular!

But before heading off - enjoy 5* Luxury in Phuket.
Card game, dice and a good friend. All you need.

Great to have a guy to explore the whole world with.

Mai Khao Beach. JW Marriott Phuket. Yes, it was all ours.

Off we go guys! This direction! I'm sure!

Yeah, well, luckily we found motorbikes.
And enough gas stations along the way.

May all of you to experience this sensational feeling one day!

Mae Hong Son. Picturesque city off the beaten track.

Enjoying the views.

Quick office break (means for me: a break from traveling by spending time in the office ^^), and off we went: From Saigon along the Coast up to Ha Noi. Unbeaten highlights are certainly Phong Nga National Park, diving in Da Nang, getting new clothes tailor-made in Hoi An, watching Germany’s first World Cup 2014 soccer match against Portugal open-air by night on a huge screen placed in front of breathtakingly beautiful Halong Bay limestone karst kackdrop and finally exploring this very Halong Bay by boat (overnight on Monkey Island – terrific!).

This is what Da Nang looks like from the hotel room.

And this is what you get when you take a closer look...

Hot, hotter, the hottest. Who's who?

Waiting is an important part of traveling in Vietnam as well.

Spectacular caves to be found in Phong Nga National Park.

Rope Swinging. Because growing up is not for everyone.

Just a regular sunset while cruising home on your motorbike.

Halong Bay. Everyone should have seen it at least once.

Exploring the less touristy party of Halong Bay City.

I must admit I have enjoyed less beautiful views in my life.

YES! Four - Zero!
Who could have known we were
abou to win the World Cup 2014?

Monkey Island. 300m beach. Nothing else.
Beachvolleyball, soccer, ping pong, basketball, ocean - it's all there!

Best way to enjoy a sunset. Dad calls it sundowner.

A farewell BBQ. (Can't find a noodle soup picture.
Farewell Phö would sound so much cooler... ^^)

I must say: Despite the Vietnamese unfortunately being sometimes a bit pushy or even rude in touristy areas when trying to sell you stuff, the landscapes are marvelous. And local people off the beaten track are soooo wonderful! However, unfortunately not too many travelers meet them – which is probably why Vietnam has a return-visitor rate of only 5%!

And even I am turning my back to Vietnam... ;)

After Vietnam it was time to say goodbye: To Julez and Micha. To Sofie, our marketing intern. And to Debbie and Charly, who had helped out in the camp for almost a year. And to many other people. Time passes. The world keeps turning. It never stops. Ever. Such is life. Miss you guys! Come back soon!

Charly & Debbie & the Scandinavian Siam Safari Team.
Everyone's gone home.

Pascal to the left left as well. At least Mathieu stayed.

True. Micha and Julez had just arrived here.
But now they're gone already as well.

Bye, bye, Charly & Debbie! Elephant Hills will miss you.

Julia and Marie, friends from Barcelona times, came. And left.

Even Mark left. Luckily only temporarily. I hope.

None of this guys is still living in Phuket. Maybe soon again?

Guests leave all the time as well. Must be fashion to leave places.

To keep me entertained, Jon came up with the idea to send me down under. Returning after 8 years. To keep himself entertained, he decided to join. 10 days for Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Wow. Slightly too rushed for me, but quite an impressive work trip.

The good, old vegemite. I tried again. It does get better.

Beautiful Perth seen from King's Park. Love this city!

Great weather, nice people, good food. What else do you need?

Last time in Perth interesting things happened.

I even found the time to visit Freo. What a chilled-out place.

Oh, and: Yes, we did go to work as well.

Melbourne. 18h stop-over. Guess we were afraid of rain.

Once upon a time we explored the city by bike.

The Opera House is still standing. And still stunning.

Darling Harbour. I finally went on a Harbour Cruise to Manly!

Brisbane. Terrific city. Incredibly relaxed...

Enjoying brekkie with Bodo and Robyn (taking the picture) in 2007.

Find out what else happened that day...

And meeting them for dinner in 2014. Times change?

At some point I mentioned that I occasionally get bored in Phuket, so I’d love to study again. Part-time. Two days later, Jon offered to send me all across North America for 2-3 weeks in September. I can’t recall protesting too loud against this… ^^

May I present you Elephant Hills?

October will see us flying back to Europe, visiting more agents and the World Travel Market (WTM). Once Jon heads home, I’ll set off on my own. Current plans include Spiez, Frankfurt, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Enschede, Bochum, Wittenberg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Life could be worse. ;)

Voila. And now finally the reason why you all read this – here’s how to win some delicious organic Thai coffee: Everyone who sends me a postcard, letter or any other form of snail mail stating the correct amount of countries I will be visiting (in case above-mentioned plans work out) in all of 2014 and a valid postal mail address, will receive some fantastically fine coffee! How cool is that?

Oh, and: As you are all about to start sending me packages now – guess you remember it’s my birthday next month, right? ;)

Experience shows mail best reaches me when addressed to the following:

Elephant Hills Co., Ltd

Attn. Chris Kaiser

45 Moo 10 Chalong, Mueang

Phuket, 83130

THAILAND

Also, experience shows that mail takes quite a long time to reach this place. So better post stuff now. ;) Your coffee will reach you probably around Christmas time, I’d believe – but what’s better than a terrific cup of hot Thai coffee when it’s cold outside?