I can’t believe how fast time flies. One year and a half ago I quit my job to travel. Bye vtm– newsroom, bye family and friends and bye good life. I’m ready for an even better life. Looking back on all those things I’ve done I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside. I challenged myself to go travelling alone, I met great people, did crazy stuff and saw beautiful things. Of course there are lonely and sad moments, but after a while you’re not afraid of those anymore and they only make you stronger.

One year and a half equals Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, France, Italy, India, Maldives and Singapore.

TOP 7 MOMENTS
I want to share the best moments of this last year and a half. Those moments where everything feels right. But when I start making a list I end up with 23 moments. These seven made the list:

1. Bumping into wild elephants

Sitting on the motorbike in India, driving through beautiful nature, holding my boyfriend tight and seeing a wild elephant crossing the road. On top of that we see a few minutes later some other elephants chilling along the road. I realized that moment that life was spoiling us.

2. Being part of an Indian wedding

My high school friend Heleen married her Indian fiancé in Calcutta. What an experience! The colors, the people, the atmosphere! A blogpost about that wedding is coming soon!

3. Diving with sharks in the Maldives. My first time ever I saw sharks while diving. Trust me, you feel very much alive at that moment!

4. Screaming on the highest swing in the world

For the wimps that don’t dare to bungee jump – like me – there is the’Nevis Swing’, the biggest in the world. You are hanging 160 meters above the canyon floor when they suddenly let you go. Be prepared for a free fall of 70 meters and to go 120km/p/h. Go and have a look at the site and see what you think of it.

5. A day scootering around Pai, Thailand

You know those perfect days? Everything goes smooth, you do nice things and you realize how much you are enjoying life. I had one of those days in Pai, Thailand. Some friends and I decided to rent scooters and go away for the day. We went to a huge Buddha-monument, jumped into hidden waterfalls, checked out a canyon and tried to boil eggs above a really hot hot spring. And in between we enjoyed the combination of warm sun and a breeze on the scooter.

6. Stumbling upon a lost place in Italy

During the Italy-motorbike trip with my boyfriend we stumbled upon a restaurant in the middle of nowhere between the mountains. We couldn’t believe our eyes. An old Italian guy cooking some meat skewers above a bbq. That with some good cheese and a beer made the perfect motorbike break!

7. Camping in the van next to Lake Pukaki

Sun, food, good company and Mount Cook proud in the background. And the stars at night aren’t bad either.

What now?

This trip was definitely a good decision for me. I had the urge for so long and I’m happy I did it. I guess I’ll never loose the the love for travel. But now it is time for my next challenge. And that will be in New Zealand (so that’s also still a bit of travelling, right?)

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I tried to find that peace in a botanical garden in India. Well… don’t go to a botanical garden in India. From the second the boyfriend and I sat down in the grass, people came over en masse. “Sir, Madam, Photo please?”

The first time it is funny and we have a laugh; but when they keep coming you start to wonder if you will ever get that rest!

People told me before that Indians like to take pictures with tourists, but I didn’t expect it was this intense.

Anyways, we made a lot of new friends and will be a hit on many Indian Facebook profiles!

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We arrived in Chennai, a busy city on the east coast in the province Tamil Nadu. Imagine a lot of people, noise and smells. The streets are packed with cars, motorbikes, bicycles and here and there a cow. And all of them are honking the whole time.

I didn’t really experience a culture shock. The only thing I had to adapt to a bit were the heat and the never ending noises. The latter I solved by wearing earplugs in the street.

What pleases me, is that we haven’t felt unsafe one single time. On the contrary, everyone is so friendly and happy to smile, shake a hand or talk to us (although their English vocabulary often stops at hello and where you from).

A moment I really enjoyed was when we visited a temple in Chennai. We were looking at the entrance and an Indian woman saw us. She took us all around in the temple integrating us in the rituals (waving fire to you, touching statues and putting a little dot between our eyes). This all with very little English but many smiles.

So far the busy Chennai. After 3 days we escaped more south to Pondicherry and later to Kodaikanal and Munnar in the mountains.

Pondicherry
An easy and cheap bus ride (3,5hours) brings you from Chennai to Pondicherry. This city is a lot calmer, especially the French district. Pondicherry used to be a colony of France, therefore a lot of buildings are in colonial style and you find crepes everywhere. It is nice to have a stroll around town and at the coastline. On the other hand, there are a lot more tourists here, which gives you a less Indian feeling.

Kodaikanal
After two cities it was finally time for some mountains! An overnight bus trip took us there.

Kodaikanal is a small town at 2133 m high. It attracts a lot of Indian tourists, it is apparently very popular as a honeymoon destination. The attraction of the town is the lake. You can walk around it, rent a bicycle, shoot on balloons or ride a horse (driver on a bike included..).

Nico and I liked the place, because it was a nice getaway after the cities, the temperatures were cooler and it was calm. But it didn’t really blow our mind.

Munnar
An then it was time for Munnar, another village in the mountains (from 1450 to 2695 high) and so beautiful! Finally the nature we love.

But to get there first, Nico and I had to take 3 buses. It is really cheap (we paid around 1,5 euro) and it went actually quite smooth. Everyone is keen to help you, so we could jump from bus to bus. The only time we had to wait, we amused ourselves with a barber, getting rid of Nico’s beard.

The area of Munnar is beautiful. So green, with all its varieties in colour. Munnar is known for its tea production, so you’re actually surrounded by tea plantations. Amazing to see! If you are not by car or motorbike, I can recommend you to rent a rickshaw for a couple of hours (don’t forget to bargain about the price!) There are a lot of nice spots to see in the area and it’s just great to be out there in the green all day.

The city itself is actually also quite nice. Not too big, not too small, but still cosy. There is a little bridge you take into the Main Street and there you’ll find a market, shops and food. And the food is so good!

Another nice bus ride (not being sarcastic here) lead us out from Munnar, to Cochin, where I’m writing this from. Time to discover a different province: Kerala! And we will do that in style! Soon more about that

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Me and my peers were ready for another boring class when Mr. Claes suddenly starts showing pictures and telling about his holiday. I saw a lot of green, a lot of mountains, incredible coastlines and so on. As a little girl of 12 I was astonished by the pictures and my teacher’s rich words. From that moment on I knew that one day I would go discover that country.

And here I am in New Zealand, 14 years later.

My departure didn’t go very smooth though. I was supposed to be flying in yesterday. Fully packed I arrived – early as a good traveller – at Sydney Airport. At the check in it appeared that I’m wasn’t on the list.. Apparently my online booking company had made a mistake, and because of the time difference I couldn’t get a hold of them.

So, I had two options: buy a new ticket on the spot or stay an extra night in Sydney and try to get in touch with the company so they can fix it. After 1000 thoughts and a welcoming phone call with a friend I decided to stay an extra night in Sydney. In the end a good decision, because a new flight was 398 dollars, and the online company found a solution that night.

You can imagine how happy I am to in Auckland now, right? I am so ready for my New Zealand trip. These next two days I am meeting people to go on a road trip! I can’t wait to travel for two months and explore New Zealand to the fullest!

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