Episode 1

The Assignment – Santa Lemusa

In Buddhism the kaki is a symbol for transformation: in the same manner that a green and bitter persimmon turns into a sweet fruit when it ripens fully, an ignorant person can attain wisdom with the passage of time.

Music: «Mannix» by Lalo Schifrin, played by Billy May & Orchestra. Title music from the American crime series of the same name (1967-1975, 194 episodes).

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Episode 2

Geheimer Dienst im Senegal

«The sea makes itself gleamingly beautiful for us – and is fundamentally a dark hole. […] It allows us to believe in freedom, but brings mostly anger at our shore. The sea is a wanton entity that knows neither decorum nor respect – and that is precisely why we can lose neither our perspective nor our sense of it.» (J.-M. Tromontiss, from «Le chant des vents». Port-Louis: Éditions du Musée historique, 2008. p15.)

Music: On 10 May 2008, this brass band roamed all day long through the streets of Goree island, playing music and guzzling beer.

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Episode 3

Ballad in Moscow

«The most splendid in the Russian kitchen are the pickled gherkins. They are the ambassadors of heaven at the table, the nobility of each and every roast, the sharp essence of every sauce – and a ballad on the terraces of every palate that cannot quite close itself to the true allurements of the world.» (Vicca Daschkowa in an article on Russian cuisine in «Leko», 1 February 2005).

Music: This brass band played on the evening of 25 May 2008 at the arrival hall of Moscow Sheremetyewo airport to celebrate the return of physically challenged Russian sportspersons.

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Episode 4

Mauerspiele in Peking

«Between the western world and China stands a gateway in the heads of people», writes Paule Ni Zan: «When you stride through it answers turn into new questions and certainties become fresh possibilities.» (Paule Ni Zan: «La culture chinoise – Une introduction pour les amis de la table». Sentores: Maisonneuve & Duprat, 2008.

Music: A mixed choir with an accordion, led by a conductor. Recorded on the morning of 27 July 2009 at Beihai Park in Beijing.

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Episode 6

Through Korea on
the Cabbage Route

«Traveller, do you hear the distant chimes of the bell / as though they were words, as though they were songs / foreign the name of the land sounds / of which the beats and the time sing / but the place where such a bell chimes / will no foreigner exploit» Inscription on the bell tower of the little harbour-bastion in Sentores.

Music and dance: Singers and dancers were performing on September 12, 2008 in front of Busam Main Station.

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Episode 7

In Fever Trough
the Emirates

Even when one does not understand the words, there is something intrinsically moving about an Imam's prayer. It is as sublime as a mosque in the middle of the desert. It's a sign of a culture that we in the West often find hard to understand – perhaps precisely because it has so much to do with us.

Music and dance: Imam praying on Friday, October 24, 2008 just after noon in the Corniche Mosque in Sharjah.

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Episode 8

Silence in Bangkok
 

Ferries ply between the Khlongs in the centre of Bangkok at breathtaking speed. So much so that the seamen at the helm of these boats wear helmets. The futuristic grace of these rockets would certainly enchant those such as Emma Peel and John Steed.

Musik: Clip from the theme music by Laurie Johnson for the british TV-series «The Avengers» from the 1960ies.

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Episode 9

Straight Across Indochina

Apsara, the female spirits of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, do not only dance on the walls of Angkor Wat - they also serve the tourists in restaurants and knead there braced shoulders. But how do the monks of today think about these nymphs?

Music: Pin Peat Ensemle with different xylophones (Roneat Ek, Roneat Dek and Roneat Thung). Recorded on later afternoon of December 6, 2008 in the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

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Episode 10

Cherry Blossom Blues in Tokyo

When Tokyo is awash with cherry blossom, the Japanese feel obliged to immediately produce spring-like emotions. As that's not always easy to do, even not in Hanami, some wine and beer are sometimes of help – or a bard: Sakura! Sakura!

Music: A singer with guitar and his audience, high on music together, more or less. Taken at Ueno Park, Tokyo late in the afternoon on April 5, 2009.

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Episode 11

Twelve Labours in Australia

In the dreamtime, the mythological genesis of the Aborigines, a «big kangaroo» plays a major role. When the big flood was coming, it took care that the «animal people» were retaining the waters. After that it spited out all word, humans speak on this planet. In the afternoon the creator of sounds and languages likes to lie in the sun and to hold a nap.

Music: A guitar player and singer who performed on Todd Street in Alice Springs on May 9, 2009, later morning.

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Episode 12

Speechless in Syria

As a child, Hektor Maille wished for nothing more passionately than to be able to play the trumpet. Even today he is frequently visited by dreams in which he is a virtuoso at a wind instrument and walks, like a Pan with a big flute, swaying and dancing, through the streets.

Music: Thanks to the Boy Scouts of Homs who performed on September 4, 2009, around 10 PM in Homs, on a roof top above Sharia Shoukri al-Quwatli – and than played Ping Pong against a Lemusan Secret Agent.

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