the rabbit is on the run

What a January... Started with a big bang and a decent hangover (-:

As always we had some great party's on Bulabog and White beach for a few days. The wind was strong all time since beginning of 2011, and most riders got used to their 7m kites.
So soon after recovery it was already time for some more x-mas and new year.. this time Russian party... and again a big bang went down in Jungle bar.

So mid January i went off to Vietnam, we had a good time there and made a full competition in very taff conditions, on the water and beside. As the main sponsor jumped the fence a few days before the event started and KTA had to pay most expenses on their own. But still we stayed strong and pulled a great event.
So far this year hasn't been lookin good for the Asian tour as we always have big troubles in getting answers on emails and phone calls from all the organizers.
There is a big thing here in Asia, it's called the loosing face... first time i encountered it was a few years back in Thailand. If people can't give u a proper answer they rather just stay silent and run. They cannot tell u, sorry we have a problem here we need to solve. They just run.. like a rabbit... so i hope that this will not happen to more tour stops even if we are now officially in the year of the bunny...
We got a kick ass product here but all people think they can get it for free...

So right at the end of the KTA Vietnam it was time for my b-day... as i had to spend most of it on a bus back to Saigon and a night flight back to Manila, i decided to make only a small celebration on the closing party of the event. So now i'm started successful into my 34year on this planet, i hope it will be as successful as the last one, with lot of travelling and meeting up new people all around Asia and the rest of the world... maybe i should make another visit to south America (-; haven't been there for a while...

So now i'm in the middle of the Chines New Year celebration "Kung Hei Fat Bunny".

We had another great party and if i talk about big bangs, maybe chinese are the most famous for it. So the island is overloaded with Chinese expats and thousands of Chinese people all on a 2week holiday with one goal, walk as slow as u can and make it impossible for others to overtake u. So that brings back some memories of a facebook group called "i like to kick slow walking people in their a**".

The afterhours of the Chinese new year is celebrated in Hangin now, since this place is turned more into a party location then a kiteschool and on the behalf that there is no more Hey Jude and Epic cannot really keep up wt what the old Hey Jude crowed wants. So i haven't been much on White beach this season, as we keep the party's on Bulabog side.

So after tonight it's time for some detox and off to Thailand on the 13.Feb. for the 4Tour stop in Pranburi.

Keep the bunnies running and catch me if u can... Read Full...

my favorite quote for 2011

Take this as a new years resolution!

“Twenty years from now -
you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do
than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
"Mark Twain" Read Full...

Happy new year...

So here we are again... standing at the edge of another year that passed. If i look back i gotta say it was another great year filled with love, hope, harmony, up and downs, sunshine and nice beaches wt good winds and friends.

So what can i do better for the next one? hmmm i think i should just keep goin the direction i chose and don't change much, as it was a very successful way and i like it.

All that is left of the old year now, is a few hours till midnight, waiting till my babe arrives back on the island, having a deliciouse dinner, some beers wt friends and watching the fireworks goin off wt the midnight bang. The new year will start the same way the old one ends... with a cold beer in my hands, sand between my toes and Rebecka in my arms (-:

So as a little outlook to 2011 - it will be a busy KTA year again, travelling around asia till the summer starts in europe. Including some amazing kitespots like Busan in Korea, Pranburi in Thailand, Boracay here at my homespot, Mui Ne in Vietnam and hopefully Bali beginning of the summer... and mybe one or another sidetrip to China.

So happy new year to all my beloved family and friends.... Read Full...

Merry x-mas everyone

It's time to say....

Merry x-mas everyone out there in the world.

I just came back from the KTA Daet competition in the Philippines. We had some taff conditions from stormy rainy freestyle comp to beautyful sunset session in the butterflat lagoon of Bagasbas beach.
These are some shots from the kicker session, for the Cabrinha Kicker Competition. It was defenitly good fun, we need more of those kind of comps.

It was a busy time during the last weeks, KTA China in Hainan was a great success, wt lot's of competitors from all around the world, competing on a high level of kiteboarding.
Whenever we go to those asian countrys where they don't really speak english we get students to translate for us to the locals to work with em. It's really a great experience for us and them, we get to know a little bit about theire culture and they got to speak some proper english with someone else then theire teachers.

Now it's about time to stay home in Boracay for a while to enjoy the x-mas celebrations and new years madness.. (-; It will be a fun time, wt lot of kiting and partys all over the island. Would be even better to spend it wt my girl that is stuck in London airport for the last 3days.
Hopefully she will be home in Oslo by tomorrow... How the heck is it possible that Oslo Airport is open wt over a meter of snow and London and Amsterdam cannot deal wt a few centimeters? The best of all they don't even pay any money back for cancelled flights and lost connection flights...

I will be very busy in January again, we have the next KTA event in Vietnam in January, then back to Boracay for the Funboard Cup and maybe a trip to the north part of the Philippines after that, then off to Thailand in the middle of Feb for the 4th round of KTA.

So i wish u all a peaceful x-mas time and enjoy time wt all friends and family...

xoxoxo
Stephan Read Full...

Roadtrip along the west coast of Turkey

A shortcut through one week of road trip around Turkeys best kite spots.

Driving along endless Eucalyptus tree alleys, olive trees all over the mountains, adventures roads, fresh figs from the garden, endless empty beaches, windy spots, flat water, kicker waves, cozy hotels and enjoying and experiencing the Turkish cuisine...

KTA Turkey
First of all i wanna start with a special thx to all the organizers and helpers of the KTA Turkey tourstop, u guys did a great job. I think I speak out of most people's mind if i say we had a blast. We had some great onshore winds the first days and some hardcore offshore to finish off the comp. At the end we got it all done with a full double elimination and 8 races, not bad for the first stop of the 2010/11 season.

read the full report here on our new website: www.kiteboardtour.asia







So after the competition we pampered ourselves for two more days in the 7800Cesme Hotel before i moved up to Izmir together with Rebecka and the whole KTA crew. Most of em went straight for the airport to disappear to different parts of the world, while Rebecka and myself stayed two more nights in Izmir with Basak at her parents place. We got spoilt again with a great hospitality and more Turkish food experiences... donno if there is an end of it, but u definitely need a lot of workout if u stay here for long time.
Rebecka got her eye surgery done over here in the Izmir Eye Hospital, called "Kaskaloglo Göz hastanesi" no more contacts needed.
Here like to thank Basak and her parents again for the great hospitality.

So after our time in Izmir it was time to split up again, Rebecka went back home to Oslo and i started my way down to Gökova. Gotta say, the busses here are very comfy, looks like 5star airline, screens in every seat.. playing only Turkish movies (-;

My trip went from Izmir - Gökova - Bodrum - Didim - Bodrum - Didim - Bodrum - Istanbul

ok, we spent a few too many hours in the car, but hey, that's what happens if ur chasing new spots and the wind.
We had wind at nearly every spot we went to, i kited every day.
Gökova, is a wide Beach in a Nature reserve area in between mountains, where the wind funnels through. The water is flat to choppy and knee deep for the first 100meters. Little school and Bistro is setup on the beach. The wind is mostly onshore.

Bodrum, is not really a special spot, but still a nice change for a visit, the beach is a bit narrow and water is mostly choppy, a kiteschool is just around the corner.
Didim, lots of spots around here, all within 30min from Didim. I will not tell u about the exact locations, but this area definitely has some great potential. Most likely the big lagoon with random sandbars which goes along the coast for 17Kilometers!!! It can be very shallow in some spots and knee to waist deep in others. The best spot is a bit smelly, caused by the fermented mud, but who cares if u got a perfect flat water spot... think positive, u got a free mud pack (-;

There is another small spot called "flip flop beach" with some nice little kickers, this spot is not for beginners, there are sharp rocks on both sides and the space is limited. The name is not official, it's called like that because the first to experience this beach found it covered wt hundreds of flip flops... sound like Koh Phangan after full moon party.

One last spot is at the Harbour, we did not had too much wind there but it is also a flat water spot within the harbour. Setup on the pier and ride in front of it, there are windweehls all along the top of the surrounding mountains, so there is a lot of wind around this area.




We spent one night in a friends place close to Didim, this restaurant is mostly visited by Yacht charters and it's placed within a stunning bay. Some trollers coming back from a night out at sea in the morning unloading their catch of the day. Special thx for his hospitality and the lovely, rich breakfast the Kaptan Restaurant.You got a very picturesque place there.

I arrived at the Istanbul bus terminal and went straight to the airport wt the Metro. The 12h bus ride was not that much of a sleeper as i thought, so my butt hearts already... could someone please go ahead and push the science of beaming. Well at least the bus was cheap only 35Euro, no luggage limit... not bad.

Now i'm sitting in the Airport in Istanbul wt another 15h journey ahead... think i cannot sit for a while after this (-; At least i found time to update my Blog and i know my winterseason in Boracay will be a blast again!!

Cheeers from Istanbul and teşekkürler to all my friends in this Country
xoxo Read Full...