Category: Destinations

5 Quirky Things to do in Bali

There’s a widespread misconception that Bali is just another tourist mecca full of beautiful clichés. Granted, there is a fair amount of mass tourism, but the island has so much more to offer. Finding authenticity is a walk in the park, and going off the beaten track is just as easy. Quirks are plentiful, and […]

Canchánchara: Cuban Cocktail Recipe

The Canchánchara…My favourite cocktail—born in the colonial town of Trinidad, Cuba. Spend a day wandering the old town and let it transport you to another era. An era of cobbled streets, horse-drawn carriages, and grand 19th-century Spanish mansions. Add a few slightly rum-intoxicated mulattos swinging their hips to rhythmic conga beats in the sweltering late […]

Nepal in Pictures

When some friends told me about their upcoming months-long trip to Nepal, I was instantly transported back to its colourful streets, thick with incense. The moment I got home, I dove into my photo archive to relive my Nepalese journey. I could almost feel the crisp mountain air filling my lungs again and hear a […]

What’s in Sulawesi?

Maybe I should start by answering the question: “Where is Sulawesi?”Among the 6,000 inhabited islands of Indonesia lies Sulawesi, one of the country’s largest. When I told my friends we were off to explore Sulawesi, they all gave me the same puzzled reaction: “Oh, how lovely… What’s in Sulawesi?”To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure […]

Remembering Russia

With all the negative publicity given to the host of the Winter Olympics these past weeks, I started thinking about my own experiences in Russia a few years ago. The unbelievable “fail” photo’s and comments that sports journalists in Sochi have been tweeting got me “LOL’ing” as well as thinking: “why am I not surprised?!” […]

Torajan Death Rituals

“Would you like to go to a funeral, m’am?” Not exactly the question you’d expect when stepping out of a long distance bus… And yet, what this man was proposing, is quite normal in Tana Toraja. In fact, funerals are the “main attraction” in the region. Visitors mostly come to learn about the Torajan culture […]

Thingyan, Water festival in Myanmar

Who doesn’t love a smashing New Year’s party? Now imagine that bash lasting for days, taking place outdoors under a blazing sun, and involving obscene amounts of water. Welcome to Thingyan — Myanmar’s water festival, held around mid-April to ring in the Burmese New Year. It’s the country’s biggest and most important holiday, and it’s […]

Cappadocia on a Budget

Desperate for a dose of nature and exoticism, I found myself daydreaming of the lesser-trodden trails of eastern Turkey — somewhere near the Iranian border. It was remote, raw, and delightfully cheap. Perfect, I thought. Unfortunately, political unrest had other plans as I landed in Istanbul. The region turned into a temporary no-go zone, and […]