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?â€To be
I’ve recently discovered an interesting new iPad app by travel search site Momondo. I’m really excited about it so I thought I’d share it with you. ‘Momondo places‘ is an interactive city guide app helping you to find hotels, restaurants, shops, sights, markets and activities for your city trip. At this moment, there
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:
“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
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
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
Experiencing the Festival of Thaipusam: A Dream Fulfilled Yes!! Another travel wish come true. Years ago, while doing some research on Malaysia, I stumbled upon a celebration that immediately caught my eye: Thaipusam. I was fascinated. But when I realized I had just missed it by a few weeks, I
Disapproving looks are thrown my way as I type this article on my tiny phone keyboard. Who spends time on their phones when they are on a small tropical island?! Well… Me. I’m in Bunaken, a lush island just off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The sea is warm, the
Resuming the travel summary of 2013, the nomadic year… Read part I here. JULY – Timor-Leste / The Gili Islands If you need to leave Bali for a visa run… why not go completely off-script and head to Timor-Leste? Practical info about the place is scarce, so I went in
2013 flew by so fast, I barely saw the months pass.In terms of travel, it was insane. I moved from Europe to Asia and wound up in a place that “forces” me to leave the country at least every two months just to renew my visa.Not the worst deal, right?
So… What’s Life in Bali Really Like in 2013? I’ve been asked the question dozens of times:“What does your life in Bali look like?†Every time, I launch into a passionate description of Ubud — the spiritual, artsy town we now call home. Yet somehow, people still look at me
Warsaw: Europe’s Third Most Boring City? I Beg to Differ. “Warsaw? Why are you going to Warsaw? It’s so boring! Go to Krakow instead!†That was the general reaction when I shared my plans. According to a 2008 TripAdvisor poll, Warsaw was crowned Europe’s third most boring city. (First place?
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