The latest Journal Entries from Michael at Footstops.com en-us Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:23:01 -0700 Copyright 2008, Bryan Rite @ Footstops.com Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:23:01 -0700 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 240 http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/ On my way home from Copenhagen in first class on the train. It pays booking two months in advance, the ticket was only 20 euro round trip in first class! It was a good trip, I had lots of time to write on my guide over Uppsala on the w... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5663/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5663/ Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:31:58 -0700    The major reason for choosing North America as the next destination after Southeast Asia was to visit Tom. My american friend I met during my exchange year in Lausanne 2005-2006. But I ended up making so many new... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5650/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5650/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:33:45 -0700 Quebec was a beautiful european city in Canada. It celebrated 400 years since the french founded it so there were a lot of celebrations the weekend I was there. I started out by making the tour of the wall surrounding the old town, it rem... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5435/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5435/ Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:18:44 -0700   Here in Montreal I check out the jazz festival everyday. Apparently it is one of the biggest in the world, and most of it is free! Otherwise it's a really cool town, with a lot of people and always something going on. People are friend... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5281/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5281/ Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:27:50 -0700 I havent had any time to write diaries, so I just want to update the map =) But in Ottawa it was very beautiful, its the capital of Canada and they speak english and french there. Or actually they speak french in Gatineau and english in Otta... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5280/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5280/ Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:17:58 -0700 I'm really far away from home, but the culture doesn't seem be very different. All the streets are straight and the houses are divided into squares. And this makes Vancouver spread out over a large area, like a big labyrinth. easy ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5168/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5168/ Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:18:00 -0700   I've arrived in Glasgow and my hosts are wonderful, making breakfast, my own room with sheets/towel/map prepared and everything. I hope I can be as good host as them when I go back to Sweden. Today I've been wandering around here ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5106/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5106/ Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:10:16 -0700   While listening to Pulp through my mp3-player I surf the web at a sidewalk express at the capitals train station. The chair is really comfortable, and infact I've never felt this at home at this sometimes urin-stenched train station. F... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5097/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/5097/ Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:24:22 -0700 Like kent sing in a song "no one else can you be as lonely as just right here". The freedom I had while travelling is slowely turning into loneliness here back home. While travelling I was excited by being alone and being able ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4815/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4815/ Sat, 17 May 2008 16:46:11 -0700 Now I've been here almost a week and I feel somehow accustomed to Uppsala now. Asia seems far away and travelling even further away. I didn't know when I flew in to Europe if I had would have any work. But I did know that I really need m... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4772/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4772/ Tue, 13 May 2008 07:38:25 -0700 It was a really long flight over the deserts in China and Russia but I finally arrived at Dusseldorf. A growing feeling of excitement and happiness of being home met the fresh air when I left the plane. Never before have I enjoyed the simple thing... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4747/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4747/ Thu, 08 May 2008 02:52:20 -0700 4 months in Asia. Sometimes it feels like it's too long.  But I know for sure it's not enough.  Next time I have to go to Russia, Mongolia, Tibet, the big muslim area in northwest of China, South Korea, Japan. But that tri... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4682/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4682/ Tue, 06 May 2008 20:07:20 -0700 A Couchsurfing-friend invite me to a massage place my first night in China. I was a bit nervous about going leaving my south-east Asia and go to China. Would anyone speak english? Would I get squeezed into the buses and metros so I can't get ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4676/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4676/ Thu, 01 May 2008 03:34:23 -0700 So it is 15 degrees and sunny in Sweden... That's great! Here it's always between 30-40 degrees and it is really too hot sometimes.. especially with the massive traffic everywhere, it feels that it makes it even hotter.   But ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4598/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4598/ Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:45:05 -0700 Oh I don't know where to begin. Maybe with that the 5 days on a really quite beach far away from the full moon party was really relaxing. Snorkelling, lying in hammock, sunbathing, swimming, eating, reading. And only that, every day. So now I... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4521/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4521/ Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:04:32 -0700 Now I'm at the border (but writing this one week later) to Thailand in Malaysia. At first I wasn't going to take this route, because I read about all the terrorism bombings in the border town. And also because of the civil war in the reg... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4501/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4501/ Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:52:01 -0700 Ok, I'm just trying to update the map. Melakka was a nice place with lots of thing to see, but very hot! I went to a nice chinese night market and ate lots of good stuff. And also saw 100 chinese dancing salsa in the chinese style,... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4465/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4465/ Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:38:59 -0700 Hi everybody! I have a cold and just spend the day in internet cafe.. Should I feel guilty I'm not out there sightseeing? Hmm... maybe, since I'm in a exciting place I dont know much about.. But, I have holidays, so... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4330/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4330/ Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:34:13 -0700 Go to http://picasaweb.google.com/michael.berggren82 to see the pollution in Jakarta ( among the first ten photos you see the view over jakarta, a brown layer covering the city), my walk around the old port and dutch quarter, chinatown. But especi... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4233/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4233/ Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:43:58 -0700 Yesterday I crossed the equator by flying from Singapore to Indonesia. It's really a simple and abstract thing, but I enjoy just the fact that I am on the southern hetmisphere (right spelling?) of the world. I am on the other side of the... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4209/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4209/ Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:39:32 -0700 I'm writing this diary a week afterwards and somehow in wrong order, but I'm not travelling around that logical anymore, since I visited Singapore twice this week, but this island stay were in between. And I just applied for my courses  at u... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4187/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4187/ Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:32:05 -0700 I went to Tioman in MAlaysia, couple of hours from Singapore to dive and relax. But I got a flu from all the air conditioning in Singapore so I just lay in my room the whole second day with the fan working hard to cool me off. But it was too hot s... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4188/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4188/ Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:41:09 -0700 I was somehow dragged along by a friend traveller to take the divnig course. And I was so nervous I think I would die. And constantly thinking of dragging myself out of the course. Just when I learnt how to ski a couple of years ago. It felt like ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4073/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4073/ Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:03:08 -0700 So now I'm at Kota Kinabalu on Borneo in Malaysia. This big island that is shared by Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia is a wild place with a lot of jungle and paradise beaches.    And tomorrow starts my diving course. It was only 150 USD for... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4032/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4032/ Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:55:11 -0700 When I look at people, I have no idea if they are chinese, malaysian, indian or a foreigner. After staying in Vietnam where everybody looked at me cause everyone else were vietnamese it's somehow of a relief to enter this multi culture city. I fee... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4019/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4019/ Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:01:19 -0700 The last weekend in Vietnam I spent in Hanoi visiting weddings. Saturday morning I was waken up by loud music from the street at 6am. Then my host family came up to take me down to the wedding. The ceremony was"picking up of the bride" and th... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4018/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/4018/ Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:52:03 -0700 I have escaped the noise of Hanoi this time to Ninh Binh. A three hour train ride south of Hanoi. I got a hotel room just at the train station for 4 USD (26 SEK) a night which is quite nice. In one hour from now I will take the train back to Hanoi... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3990/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3990/ Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:54:10 -0700 I took a night train to Sapa to escape the noisy Hanoi and entered the cold town of Sapa. Constantly covered in clouds at the time I was there it was very humid and cold. My favourite thing was to get close up to a fireplace and just let the time ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3987/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3987/ Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:29:42 -0700 I took a 2 day tour to Halong Bay from Hanoi. And it was very beautiful. We got onto a boat with sunchairs on the top which were nice to use and just let time pass in the sun. It is hard to describe in words, but Halong Bay is like mountains ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3988/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3988/ Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:35:27 -0800 What to write about Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam? - Noisy - Very Noisy - Motorbikes - Pollution But a great place to experience the real vietnamese culture. I'm staying with a vietnamese family 10 km outside ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3984/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3984/ Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:09:13 -0800  Just to summerize Hue. It  is a nice town with a lot of things to see. Tombs, temples, citadel. Hm.. maybe I will write more later, but now I'm gonna take the night train to Hanoi. There i will stay with a person from couchsurfing an... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3890/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3890/ Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:04:38 -0800 Today I've been looking for a place to surf internet. At my hotel I have free internet but it works very badly so I went to search for a internet cafe. And here in Nha Trang they have internet cafe everywhere. But the first I went to wer... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3802/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3802/ Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:50:26 -0800 Jacuzzi, hot water, urinoar (!), toilet, 2 big beds, tv, balcony, free internet, huge breakfast in a cozy kitchen in the morning with fresh mango, papaya, dragon fruit ( I think), pineapple, vietnamese fantastic coffee etc.  How did I stay ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3789/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3789/ Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:11:45 -0800  After the Mekong Delta I went back to Ho Chi Minh to say goodbye to all my new found friends. I met many people in Saigon through couchsurfing.com, vietnamese, american, french. Interesting combination by the way =) Saigon is a very develo... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3788/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3788/ Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:04:09 -0800 The Mekong Delta trip I took with Michael, american and Kiet, vietnamese was a great trip. Cheap tour, 20 dollars, and a very fine hotel with air-con. Lots of boat trips on the mekong and it was quite interesting.  But somehow I had expected... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3787/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3787/ Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:57:46 -0800 Just a small update. I will write more later. Just want to tell everybody that I arrived in Vietnam and that it's great. I'm using couchsurfing to meet a lot of people and it's really nice to meet people who lives here. It makes me feel a part of ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3709/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3709/ Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:26:31 -0800 I visited a french centre for garbage dump children today with a french guy. We took a tour at this wonderful place, it's a big school for these poor children. With a restaurant, hair saloon, massage and much more where they can study "touris... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3673/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3673/ Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:44:51 -0800 It is difficult to be happy when kids run around in the streets begging for your money. When you go to see a beautiful temple and you meet orphans-children without parents begging or selling water and postcards.   When 50 moto drivers meet... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3644/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3644/ Tue, 12 Feb 2008 02:34:58 -0800 Well I'm in the capital of Cambodia. Pnomh Penh. And the first day I got sick in the stomach.  But now a couple of days later I feel better. When I'm alright again I will continue to Angkor Wat, to see maybe the biggest temples in the world.... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3624/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3624/ Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:25:01 -0800 I really liked my time in Kampot, a smaller town in the south of Cambodia.   The first night I went around with a german friend in town and there was a carneval. Lots of people and everyone looked us like we were aliens. When we sat down in... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3576/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3576/ Mon, 04 Feb 2008 07:53:42 -0800 At the end it worked out really well, spending one night in Trat, then took the bus very early in the morning to Sihanoukville in Cambodia.    The bus trip was really amazing. We started out in a sangthaew, which is like a jeep where you s... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3504/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3504/ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 04:27:19 -0800 Now I'm Trat, hesitating about where to go. Cambodia or Bangkok. I really would like to go back to Bangkok. But deeper inside I would like to explore Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. And it would be easiet to just go there from here, I'm so close.... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3494/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3494/ Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:01:13 -0800 I went to Ko Chang but then regretted myself and went to Trat!... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3492/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3492/ Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:48:08 -0800   I've always been a bit afraid of insects. I have never liked ants, spiders, bees, mosquitos or anything like that. But since I'm gonna travel around south east asia I'm really going to have to learn to cope with that. In Bangkok I was afraid of... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3464/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3464/ Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:26:00 -0800 10 minutes for writing this diary... Here in Bangkok I just have been looking for mosquito net for 2 days. I became desperat to find one because I need it for the islands to I'm going to, Ko Samet and Ko Chang. And I realised that the mosqui... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3444/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3444/ Tue, 22 Jan 2008 07:10:47 -0800 Well I'm staying at this place called Nat 2 Guest House very close to the famous backpacker road Khao San. I got a really basic room, and it really looks like something from the movie "The Beach". With a fan in the ceiling.. I only pay 150 baht, w... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3411/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3411/ Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:08:23 -0800 Macau, a part of Europe in China. It is an ex portuguese colony 1 hour boat ride west from Hong Kong. My first impression of this island is that it is too much traffic, big roads and difficult to find paths to walk, noisy and lots of people. A bit... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3386/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3386/ Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:50:34 -0800 Just an update. I'm still in Hong Kong. I've moved to my third host here in Hong Kong. She lives in Yuen Long, quite far from town but I like to see other places than just central Hong Kong so it is nice. She has a beautiful house too. Maybe I sho... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3350/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3350/ Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:28:10 -0800 I really should sleep, am getting up early tomorrow. But when I have internet access there are so many things I want to do online. What did I do today? Is started to take a breakfast in town, and they had an english menu and the... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3314/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3314/ Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:41:10 -0800 5 degrees raining 20h10 Monday 25 degrees humid 16h00 Tuesday and there was only 11 hours between those two for me. high buildings chinese people everywhere packed into these high buildings ,which in their turn is eve... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3309/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3309/ Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:05:24 -0800 Well I just wanted to tell everyone that I have arrived in London. If someone has found my travel diary here =)   It was no problem finding my way to where I'm staying, even though the connection from Stansted was expensive. Now I miss the ... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3244/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3244/ Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:42:14 -0800 So now work has come to an end. Thank you to Dressmann and Barnens Hus for this time! I've learnt a lot of working this half a year. And it has really be intense, especially at the rush before christmas. And now I look forward to sleeping la... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3208/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3208/ Sun, 30 Dec 2007 15:16:04 -0800 Today I started off the last "8 days-in-a-row" at work. I'ts going to be a tough week with lots of customers at the toy store buying christmas gifts. Well one days is already over, so it's just 7 days left... Well I think the plan is to trav... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3030/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3030/ Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:23:30 -0800 In Hoi An I went to a taylor and had lots of clothes made for me. Suits, shirts and a pair of trousers good for travelling. I was supposed to be taylor made for me, but still I found that lots of the clothes didn't fit too well. Often too big in e... Read More at Footstops.com http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3881/ http://www.footstops.com/michael_berggren/blog/3881/ Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 -0800