Sunday, January 6, 2013 - The first day of shooting after our Christmas break leads us to "Green Heaven", an organic fruit farm located 50 kilometres from Bangkok. The two organic farmers Somporn and Anurug are two modern downshifters who each turned their backs on successful business lives in Bangkok. With their organic farm, they not only want to live a life in touch with nature, but also want to promote organic agriculture. So the organic movement not only exists in Germany, it is a global idea.

We were back at "Green Heaven" today. Our two farmers, Somporn and Anurug, showed us their cultivated fields and their very innovative marketing strategy: They are "i-farmers", because all business is made over iPhone and Facebook. Personal contact to their customers takes place directly on the field. All ripe products are directly photographed and put on the net, where they can be ordered immediately.

The indie-pop band "Zodapop" temporarily accepts the "Sandmann" as a stand-in
We have our first shooting with the girl band "Zodapop" in Bangkok in the afternoon. Five high-spirited musicians produce really fine indie pop. They really hit it off in their rehearsal room at the "Soundgood Studios". A poster on the wall shows the King of Thailand playing saxophone. We will meet up with the "Zodapops" again on Wednesday, when they perform on the famous Khaosan Road. Exhausted from the never-ending heat and from all the wonderful impressions, we arrive at our hotel in downtown Bangkok in the evening. We are really looking forward to the megacity.

Monday, January 7, 2013 - The first day in Bangkok begins with formalities. We need a work permit and the last OKs from the Embassy of Vietnam for our trip there the week after the next. Then we are off to meet Li. She is one of the many Kathoeys in Thailand known as "Ladyboys", a bit of a negative expression for young transsexual people.

What often characterizes Kathoeys: They fit the female beauty standards perfectly thanks to cosmetics and modern surgery. It is a bit different with Li, since, as a Muslima, she refuses all surgery.
She still wants to live as a woman, nevertheless, and be accepted as one.

Even though the tradition of the "third gender" goes back a long way in Thailand, the Kathoeys still must fight for equal rights within society. Many of them end up as prostitutes in the red light districts of Bangkok and present themselves as women to Western tourists. But Li has chosen a different path. She knows that the only way of escaping social exclusion is with a proper education, so she is studying political science at the University of Bangkok. It takes us two hours to get to the campus and back. Bangkok does not have a traffic jam - Bangkok IS one giant traffic jam! Thank Buddha we finally have all the necessary takes, and we truly earned our after work beer. We are looking forward to seeing Li again tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013 - Today we immediately dive into the daily traffic chaos of Bangkok. At the famous Erawan Shrine we meet up with Li, the woman in the body of a man.
The Erawan Shrine is a small Buddhist temple directly on the corner of a huge intersection. Even though Li is Muslim, she places flowers on the shrine, some incense sticks and a candle. With this Trinity, anybody can optimize their Karma. Li lives on the other side of the big river that runs right through Bangkok. We glide a bit down the river on a long-tail boat. In the evening, we shoot in the red light districts of Bangkok. Kathoeys, or "Ladyboys", as they are often called, are also frequently found here. We get a first impression of how the Southeast Asian sex tourism works. Thousands of men and women prostitute themselves, many of them seeing that as the only chance of survival for themselves and their families.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 - Today we meet the girl band "Zodapop" again. We start by meeting the lead singer, Jing, at the University of Bangkok. Our first encounter with the 22 year-old is during her singing lessons. With a traditional song of the Thais she enchants us with her voice. The 1, 52 metre tall woman has a lot of soul. But to go to the University means to learn and study hard.

The University education is also very scholastic, and they all have to wear school uniforms. We accompany Jing to a lecture. Then the complete opposite in the afternoon: without uniform, dressed very colourfully, she heads to the Khaosan Road. It is THE worldwide icon for backpacker tourists; small hostels, coffee shops, music bars and travel agencies for trips to the beaches and islands all are part of the unique flair of this street. Jing and her band will perform in a club directly at Backpacker's Paradise in the evening. "Zodapop" plays an amazing gig, a completely different kind of women's power here in Bangkok that impresses us.

Friday, January 11, 2013 - In the morning, before entering Cambodia, we shoot at the gigantic "Friendship-Market" directly at the border. The social disparities between here and beyond the border guarantee proper sale proceeds. The number one trade goods are textiles, produced cheaply in Cambodia, Vietnam and China. Our protagonist is a Cambodian merchant. Every day she crosses the border to Thailand to offer her goods, among them being self-tailored dresses.

Afterward, we enter the neighbouring country on the wrong side of the road. Between the two checkpoints, in the approximately one kilometre long no-man's-land, an Eldorado for casinos has developed. "Little Las Vegas" officially lies on Cambodian territory. Right afterward lies the border town of Poipet with its slums full of inconceivable poverty. But not until the following morning will we be able to see them.

Saturday, January 12, 2013 - At the break of dawn, our protagonist must leave her house, which is situated in a better part of Poipet, to get to the market on the Thailand side as soon as the border opens up. Along with her, hordes of merchants shove their old wooden wagons over the border to earn a few pennies on the other side. It is obvious that on entering Cambodia, we have crossed a border of prosperity.
We drive on to Siem Reap, the next bigger city, right next to the famous temple of Angkor Wat.

Sunday, January 13, 2013 - We spend the entire day in the temple of Angkor Wat. That isn't a lot of time, considering that the former governance of the Khmer covers an area of over 20 square kilometres. 800 years ago, the dynasty ruled over one of the most astonishing advanced civilizations of the world. More than one million people used to live in the agglomeration area of Angkor, which was the New York of the 12th and 13th century. At that time, Berlin was just being founded. To this day, Angkor Wat is a national holy site. Despite of all of the tragic abasement the Cambodian people have had to face, they still proudly define themselves as the "children of Angkor". Nowadays, the temples are also honoured by Buddhists, even though the primary rulers were Hindu. We encounter a young monk in the middle of the tropical forest of the Temple of Angkor. We follow his very strict and ceremonial daily routine. He talks about his way to Buddha. At sunset we take aerial shots and view Angkor, the sunken world of wonder embedded in the vast landscape, one last time.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 - We leave Siem Reap right after breakfast and head for Phnom Penh, straight through on one of the few national routes. Again, we are surprised to find the roads in such good shape. Much has been invested in infrastructure in the last ten years. The elementary schools all close at 11 a.m. before the burning midday heat begins. Thousands of students are then seen on the streets, mostly with bicycles, all wearing blue-white school uniforms. So many great motives have caught our eye so that we do not reach Phnom Penh until the evening hours.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 - We drive to the Mekong in the early morning light, where we are to meet a fisherman. Unfortunately, he is not there, and his mobile doesn't seem to be turned on. ... But a small boat, a kind of "floating kiosk", catches our eye. A woman and her daughter are floating about, selling goods to the people on the tied up boats; cold beverages, wine gums, mostly coffee, she sells everything. This is a great opportunity to portrait everyday life on the Mekong.

Thursday, January 17, 2013 - In the afternoon we shoot in Phnom Penh. The city populating two million people is still influenced by the French, despite of all of its historical upheavals.

It is hard to imagine that the town was almost empty during the time of Pol Pot's insane dictatorship. Any kind of private amusement was punished with the death penalty. Nowadays, you can buy fresh baguettes almost everywhere, sit in street cafés, or stroll along the boardwalk. The best culinary places in town are the so-called "Roof Tops", the rooftop garden restaurants downtown. Nico shows us one of his favourite rooftop restaurants, a place for resting in warm, breezy heights. We haven't eaten so well in a long time...

Friday, January 18, 2013 - Today we say goodbye to Cambodia. It has been a week full of unforgettable impressions. Nico was a great escort; his knowledge of the country and its people has inspired us, thank you, once more. We drive along the Mekong, 100 kilometres away from the border we take the ferry over the vast river. At the border we must deal with formalities before we can greet our new producers! Tram and Lan will accompany us from now on. After dark, we reach our hotel in Ti Xa, the capitol of the province of Tay Ninh.

Saturday, January 19, 2013 - The religious centre of South Vietnam is Cao Dai. It is a religious community combining Buddhism, Hinduism, and Catholicism. From the outside, the temple looks like a Catholic church under the influence of drugs. Inside, it looks even more peculiar, like a mixture of a snake temple and a Jules Verne space ship. We meet the temple masters, very impressive men living in asceticism. In the afternoon we shoot landscapes. Our escort tells us that this was one of the worst combat zones during the Vietnam War. The defoliants used by the US-Americans have harmed the landscape and the people to this day. It will take decades until the reforestation is completed. From a hilltop we can see the countryside. It is unimaginable that this is the place where all those horrid scenes of the Vietnam War took place.

Sunday, January 20, 2013 - Today is our day off. We are looking for relaxation in Tay Ninh, which will happen thanks to the Vietnamese cuisine. In small restaurants with roofs you find all that you desire, ranging from soup with duck eggs to breaded frog legs. All is delicious and easily digestible.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - Today we are shooting in the city the entire day. Our escorts tell us that the city has virtually boomed in the last few years. The population is growing exponentially, Saigon is a true boomtown. The middle and upper class is growing accordingly, so the city centre looks pretty much like every other centre in the world's major cities. You find one shopping centre after the other, including all exclusive brands, ranging from Chanel to Prada. There are also many coffee shops, the first Starbucks shop is to open in February. Still, Ho-Chi-Minh City has been able to sustain its unique charm. The people practically live on the streets, you find rows of cookshops, there is busy trading and constructions everywhere. And all around, you will find friendly people.

Thursday, January 24, 2013 - Mai Thanh. The entire day is reserved for a story about one of the most successful women in Vietnam. Mai Than is over 60 years old, she was a paramedic during the Vietnam War and studied refrigeration engineering in the German Democratic Republic. Today she runs an empire making billions. It is a conglomerate active in the markets of real estate, finances and energy. Mai Thanh is a high-powered career woman making her way in a man's world.

Despite all of her success in the modern business world, she has never forgotten where she comes from. The wounds of the war are still open, nothing is more important to her than a country living in peace. She wants to teach the young people especially one thing: There are things far more important than material wealth. We escort Mai Thanh to the airport in her limousine. Her next appointment is in the capitol of Hanoi in the evening, up North...

Saturday, January 26, 2013 - Today we have a day off. In the evening we pick up our author and director for the next two episodes of farEAST from the airport. Starting tomorrow, Christian Klemke will take over. Good luck to him and the entire team!!!