We arrived some hours ago at the Saudi-Arabian border. Because of the recent events the Saudi’s (or anyway their customs) didn’t really want to let us in. Finally they agreed to let us pass, we had to bribe them; a clear example of the prevailing mentality.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/791936.stm

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country in the Middle East with a population of 26.2 million. Other religions are not allowed (they are extremely radical on this matter).

Geographically, Saudi Arabia is bordering Yemen and Oman (south) also Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (east), Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan (north). All of these countries except Jordan and Iraq make the Arabian Peninsula.

It is a Kingdom ruled by the Saudi royal family, also called the House of Saud.

Like I told before, a big part of the world’s crude oil supply comes from Saudi Arabia, that emerged from being an underdeveloped desert kingdom to become one of the wealthiest nations in the region thanks to the vast oil resources.  What happens to profits made by the oil business?!

Everything goes integral to the royal family which becomes wealthier and wealthier. This results in poor families getting even poorer.

Saudi Arabia has cities that are important to the Muslim religion (Mecca and Medina). Many Muslims from around the world visit Mecca. One time in their lifetime Muslims have to undertake a pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is one of the pillars of the Islam. They call it the “Hajj” in the Arabic language. If you aren’t a Muslim you’re not allowed to enter Mecca.

Next to this holy sanctuary, Saudi Arabia is home to the largest mass of sand on earth. This desert carries the name: “Rubal Khali desert”. It speaks for itself that temperatures are extremely hot.

Most people speak the Arabic language and this country employs a lot of people from other countries.

What about Saudi Arabia and today’s situation?!

·      Saudi Arabia is one of the main players in the Arab and Muslim world.

·      Its rulers face the delicate task of responding to pressure for reformations while having to combat against a growing problem of extremist violence.

·      The Al Saud dynasty holds a monopoly of power; political parties are banned and the opposition is organized from abroad.

·      Rapidly growing unemployment is a major challenge.

With this I end my blog. I’m exhausted and maybe I bit tired off foreign habits. I can no longer imagine how it feels to sleep in my own bed.

In a couple of hours I’m heading back home, back to Belgium, land of opportunities.

See you around fellow bloggers.

Signed,

Louis

01-05-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Louis BMA1  

After a rather turbulent flight (Pakistan airlines) I arrived at 4pm. in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.

I didn’t know what to expect from this trip throughout Pakistan because of the recent liquidation of Osama Bin Laden.

I noticed a lot of commotion in and out Islamabad definitely due to the worlds’ most shocking news.

Before going deeper into this matter I want you (fellow bloggers) to know something more about Pakistan and its population. It hasn’t been easy for the Pakistani.

Pakistan used to be much bigger and was originally divided in two parts being east - & west wing (with India in between).

·      The east wing (now Bangladesh) is on the Bay of Bengal bordering India and Burma.

·      The west wing (now Pakistan) stretches from the Himalayas down to the Arabian Sea.

The break-up of the two wings came in 1971 when the east wing (Bangladesh) seceded with help from India. Pakistan has been at war with India the last few decades, like I told before.

These (civil) wars have been the major raison why civilian politics in Pakistan has been tarnished by corruption, inefficiency and confrontations. Ever since, Pakistan  has not reached a renewed political stability (Taliban, Al Qaida, Military government,...)

They even came under military ruling in October 1999 (as their government lost public support). The coup leader, General Pervez Musharraf, pledged to revive the country’s fortune, but faced the same problems as the earlier ‘democratic’ government. He faced economic challenges as well as an increasing polarisation between Islamist militancy and the modernising secular wing of Pakistani Politics.

Under growing pressure to reintroduce democratic rules, Musharraf resigned in August 2008.

Pakistan’s place on the world stage shifted tragically after the horrible 11 September 2001 attacks in the US. They became a key ally of Washington against terrorism. The country dropped all former support for the Taliban regime and Osama’s Al Qaida.

Since 2009, the government has been waging a military campaign to flush the militants out of the tribal areas along the Afghan border, were numerous Taliban-linked militants are staying.

I can only hope that the recent assassination of Al Qaida‘s leader Osama Bin Laden can make Pakistan’s population again revive. Hopefully this is the end of this horrific decade of pain and disaster due to Muslim extremists.

Because in the end nobody really realizes Pakistan is a country with an estimated population of 184.7 million inhabitants. How many of them would actually be happy?!

After months of intensive research America finally received a trustworthy tip-off about the potential hiding spot of Al-Qaida’s leader. Under Obama’s reign team six (America’s top finest navy seals) got authorized to go in.

Every living person, I think, has seen America’s revenge on terrorism. Hopefully countries are undertaking enough measures to protect themselves from those destroyers of mankind.

I hope this can be a new beginning for Pakistan and its population because I’ve been treated perfectly. I can’t complain about their hospitality because I’ve been staying with a local farmer for a week and everything has been shared like families do.

Tomorrow my last flight takes me to the worlds’ richest oil country.

Saudi Arabia here I come.

Signed

Louis Dessein

14-04-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Louis BMA1  

This morning (05-04-2011) I arrived in Calcutta one of the largest cities of this enormous country.

Due to problems in Thailand and Myanmar I just wanted to skip these countries, because I didn’t want to run into a too troubled situation.

It got way too much on my back. I can only hope India and its inhabitants give me a more “pleasant” time. With pleasant I mean: I hope I won’t be confronted with too much devastation and misery. Let’s hope we’ll have an interesting trip.

Me and my crew, we rented a car. (I couldn’t believe how cheap it was: only a couple of Indian Rupee.

On the airplane I had read some articles about India and I found out that India is the world’s largest democracy and second most populous country. India emerged as a major power in the 90’s. It is militarily strong, has major cultural influence and a fast-growing and powerful economy.

However, India is still tackling huge social, economic and environmental problems.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1154019.stm

Next to those huge social, economic and environmental problems India is an enormous country with 1,210,193,422 citizens reported in 2011. The name India comes from the river Indus which is the well know river that crosses its landscape.

India's culture is marked by a high degree of pluralism. Indian religions form one of the most defining aspects of Indian culture. Major religions which were founded in India include Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, with Hinduism being the most influential.

India's economy is the fourth largest in the world and India is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world. However, India's per capita income is only US$1,000.

Until 1991, all Indian governments followed protectionist policies that were influenced by socialist economics which caused the Indian economy to be largely closed to the outside world. Since 1991, as said before, India became one of the fastest growing economies.

But there still is a major problem that needs to be taken care of. The returning problems in India are caused by their civil war against Pakistan. This war is going on since 1947. There have been three wars between India and its arch-rival Pakistan two of them over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Due to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden I rescheduled my trip. Instead of staying some more days here back in India, the land of the holy cow, I decided to go immediately to Pakistan.

Osama has terrorized western society for way too long. I want to find out what Pakistan and all Islamic countries are really thinking of his Al Qaida network. Maybe this isn’t one of my smartest ideas but in the end it will be worth it.

Pakistan here I come.

Signed

Louis

05-04-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Louis BMA1  

Cambodia aka Kingdom of Cambodia

Yesterday I crossed the Indonesian border to arrive in Cambodia.

Like I told you (fellow bloggers) before, there hasn’t been much time for me to really experience Indonesian culture and their way to approach certain matters.

And as my agency planned a meeting in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh I had a deadline to keep.

I arrived on time for the meeting. I was properly prepared so there couldn’t rise any problems due to impoliteness or ignorance.

A meeting was scheduled with a local man, named Pan Tong (lives in Phnom Penh) who knows a lot off Cambodia’s nation.

We talked about culture, religion, economy, politics…

The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with King Norodom Sihamoni as head of state and with Prime Minister Hun Sen as head of government.

On October 1, 2004, King Norodom Sihamoni was selected after the abdication of King Norodom Sihanouk a week prior. Prime Minister Hun Sen endorsed Sihamoni’s selection. The new king was enthroned in Phnom Penh on October 29, 2004.

He told me there were several parties but only two really make the difference. The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is the major ruling party in Cambodia. They control the lower and upper chambers of parliament. The opposition Sam Rainsy Party is the second largest party in Cambodia.

(source: paper Metro)

During our meeting, all hell broke lose. Cambodia and Thailand are caught up in a guerilla war. Near the border both countries started fighting again.

We could hear army troupes shooting at each other. Today one Cambodian died which makes in total already 17 army men who have died due to this civil war.

Last Tuesday, both commanders agreed to have a cease fire that already got violated the day after.

Both countries are accusing each other to have been the first to pick up their weapons. Agony all began in 2008 when both Thailand and Cambodia claimed the centuries-old Enesco temple complexes.

Since the beginning of this brutal war already 85.000 people flew across national borders.

I was about to do the same. The situation became too dangerous and we will have to be particularly vigilant the upcoming days. 

What did I further learn about Cambodia?

Theravada Buddhism is the official religion of Cambodia which is practiced by around 96% of the Cambodian population.

Agriculture has long been the most important sector to the Cambodian economy, with around 57.6 % of the population relying on agriculture for their living and rice being the principal crop.

Last decade Cambodia has seen rapid economical and industrial growth.

Oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters. Commercial extraction began in 2011 (now). The oil revenues could (will) profoundly affect Cambodia's economy.

This could be a massive step forward.

Due to this tension I’ll have to skip several countries. It’s not worth to get in this type of dangerous trouble over an article. Tomorrow I’ll take the plain from Cambodia to India.

In India I will scrutinize poverty, demographics and the potential new world power.

See you next week

Signed,

Louis

29-03-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Louis BMA1  

INDONESIA   

Capital: Jakarta

After my rather eye opening – not to say life changing - experience in East-Timor in which I realized there has to be done a huge effort to upgrade the general well-being of East –Timor, I can only hope I don’t have to notice the same poverty and economical recession again in Indonesia.

I hope you (fellow bloggers) and I can stimulate their political leaders and president Jose Ramos-Horta to create a positive environment where people can actively participate.

How can we help to achieve this goal?

• ·          Write letters to syndic authorities (who actually can make a change)

o   United states

o   Human rights authorities

o   …

• ·       Fundraisers
• ·       Upgrade the “know-how” of the local entrepreneurs
• ·       …

In the end it’s their population who will need to fix their general problems which are holding back evolution in al its forms.

Several hours ago I crossed the East-Timor land border and walked straight into Indonesia that with its 238 million people becomes the world's fourth most populous country.

If we’re continuing this journey together you (fellow bloggers) need to know a certain background about this fascinating country which shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and like you already know East Timor. (Indonesia%20background)

Indonesian history has been influenced by many foreign powers because of its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity what has resulted in wars forced by religion. After those horrific wars Indonesian people had to endure three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism.

It doesn’t stop and ever since Indonesia's history has been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a cumbersome democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

Eventually the current nation of Indonesia became a unitary presidential republic

 In recent years Indonesian’ population faced (BBC%20facts)

• ·       The Asian financial crisis,
• ·       The fall of President Suharto after 32 years in office,
• ·       The first free elections since the 1960s,
• ·       The loss of East Timor,
• ·       Independence demands from restive provinces,
• ·       Bloody ethnic and religious conflict 
• ·       Devastating tsunami.

In December 2004 (a part of) Indonesia got literally flushed away.

7 years later Indonesia still remembers the devastating tsunami that struck the coastlines across Asia, more than 160,000 Indonesian's died and it was so forceful, that in many places, the landscape has been altered forever.  

Still today many houses remain empty and hundreds of families are awaiting permanent resettlement.

Many foreign powers are already in progress to help the people of Indonesia. But I think that instead of going and actually building their houses and try to change their cultural and political habits we should rather compensate and give funds (in several sectors) to the RIGHT PEOPLE to let them rebuild their “own” society.

The key thing is for the government and donors to provide advice on earthquake-resistant houses.

Unfortunately there hasn’t been much time for me to really experience Indonesian’ culture and their way to approach certain matters.

I had a deadline to keep. My agency planned a meeting in Cambodia’s capital  Phnom Penh to talk about the nations culture, religion, economy,…

Date of meeting: 23-03-2011

Signed,

Louis

Ps: If you are still interested in learning more about this magnificent compilation of Islands (Indonesia) this is a link with some practical numbers about Indonesia.

(Practical%20number%20about%20Indonesia)

18-03-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Louis BMA1  

First day of my trip across Asia.

My first stop on the planned route is Dili (Díli in Portuguese)

Dili is the capital and largest city of East Timor. It lies on the northern coast of Timor island. East Timor is a small country in Southeast Asia.

I choose to arrive in Dili because it is the chief port and commercial centre for East Timor, and has approximately 150,000 inhabitants.

There is also an airport in Comoro but this airport is less used, all popular flights depart from East Timor airport which is located in Dili. This is the best known and major airport of Timor. (http://mapsof.net/east_timor/static-maps/jpg/timor-oriental-dili/full-size) (Map Dili)

While checking in, I had some major difficulties with passport control and papers. The airport personnel was extremely nervous and made me feel very uneasy. Their communication skills weren’t that appropriate.

I noticed a disturbing feeling of chaos.

After 3 exhausting hours they finally let me go. I was starving and in need for a refreshing beverage and a local delicacy.

I went to Bali Sunrise which was – in the end - a cozy place situated in the east region of Dili (near the airport). The Restaurant had a nice upstairs open air area where the master chef prepared some of the most mouthwatering traditional, Indonesian and Chinese Food. Just what I needed at the time. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Food_Sundanese_Restaurant,_Jakarta.jpg)

It was time to leave Dili and to head out for the Indonesian border.

I assumed it would take one week to get there (according to internet information, ‘highway’ signs, local people…).

Soon I noticed that behind those famous white, beautiful, sunny, deserted beaches – there is a world we have no idea off. A world of:

• ·       Poverty
• ·       Scrap of several civil wars
• ·       Deserted areas
• ·       Almost no accommodations (except for the wealthy tourists)
• ·       …

This is definitely the result of decades of occupation.

East-Timor has always been under colonial reign. If you re-read their troubling history and you know their political tensions, it is easy to understand why this country is in need of help. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_East_Timor)

The first inhabitants are thought to be descendant of Australasian and Melanesian people. The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor in the early 16th century and colonized it in mid-century.

Imperial Japan occupied East Timor from 1942 to 1945, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II.

East Timor declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975.

However 9 days later East-Timor got invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces . Between 1974 and 1999, there were an estimated 102,800 conflict-related deaths (killings and deaths from hunger and illness)

The Indonesian army is reported to have trained and supplied militias imported from Indonesia to terrorize the population.

So on 30 August 1999, in a UN-sponsored referendum, an overwhelming majority of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia.

 Since the 21^st century the United Nations supports East-Timor.

Thanks to their cooperation with the United Nations they are ever since developing their economy. A major factor in the development process is education. There are 3 international schools which help out the education of the inhabitants.

As quoted earlier: poverty, political tension, civil wars… are common in East-Timor.

For the moment East-Timor is THE poorest country in Asia.

Maybe this situation will and can change, but a big effort will have to be made.

This effort should not only come forth from the government and Timor inhabitants but also from big global forces who neglected their existence for way to many years.

First man for the job: (who can really start making a change?)

Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Jose Ramos-Horta. He won the presidential elections in 2007 with nearly 70% of the votes. Through media like radio, television and press he might put some spirit back into this country.

Another important factor to help East-Timor economically can be a more professional exploitation of gas and oil found in Timor .

For myself I can conclude East-Timor is quietly getting better and I hope the UN and other global forces unite to help them out of their “misery”.

Meanwhile I can see the Indonesian border. Hopefully this country tells me something more than gang violence and poverty.

Signed,

Louis

07-03-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Louis BMA1  

Hello

As I (Louis) have finally been granted permission to undertake my road trip, I finally can start my weekly blog (depending on destination).

I'll tend to keep a certain focus on the purpose of this exhausting trip.

I choose those destinations (village, country, etc.) because there is a lot to do around their economy, their market within a political unstable system.

I hope to present you a realistic view of the part of the world I'm in.

 My first destination is East-Timor. 

Future destinations are Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Irak and final destination is Saudi-Arabia.

 Due to political tensions I'll might be urged to take impulsive decisions (skip a country, alternative route, ...).

However, this shouldn't be much of a problem.

Signed,

Louis

Ps: when I will have finished my trip, I'm planning to undertake a speaking tour across Belgium and France.




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01-03-2011 om 00:00 geschreven door Louis BMA1