These corona times are tougher for some than for others. We can imagine that stay-at-home kind of couch potatoes with an unhealthy Netflix addiction content themselves with some extra time to binge. Others, whose feet get itchy when they remain too long in one place, might be more hard-hit by the instruction to stay at home. For all of those with a serious fit of Fernweh, an ache for distant places, we present our tips on how to travel in times of corona, quarantine and social distancing.
Continue Reading →Author: Tom Peeters
Day tripping in the Ring of Fire (1): on top of Merapi, the most active volcano in the world
Indonesia is dangerously beautiful. Not only can you find 20 per cent of Earth’s biodiversity in this country, but also the highest number of active volcanoes. We decided to climb the most active of them all. “Merapi is an asshole, but a friendly one.”
Continue Reading →Fire in the belly: about falling in love on top of an active volcano
Is there a better place to experience a turning point than the top of a mountain?
For those with a decided lack of talent for rhetoric, the ones who immediately want to denounce that you may as well experience such turning point on the platform of a train station, or seated down on a toilet: the answer is, of course, no.
Continue Reading →The art of disconnected travel: Is it possible to travel without a smartphone?
I always travel without a smartphone. For the simple reason that I don’t own one, never have and I have no intention to buy one in the near future.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against technology.
I don’t use a horse and carriage to get to places. (Instead, I cycle, walk or use public transportation.)
I don’t live in a mud hut in the mountains of New Zealand, disconnected from electricity and running water. (At least not yet.)
I definitely don’t carry around a portable typewriter, like the bohemian writers and beatniks of the old days. (Although I admit that the idea sounds kind of cool.)
No, on the contrary. As of late, I’ve evolved in quite the flashpacker. I almost invariably carry a laptop (for writing), a camera and an iPod (remember those?) around. I am fond of my toys. But a smartphone? Nope, I’d rather have my balls slowly removed with a rusted spoon.
Continue Reading →Santa Claus Village: the Disneyland of Lapland
Humans are funny. Chalk a line on the floor somewhere, call it a border and you can be sure that everybody wants to take a picture.
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