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Rascals?
(Saigon - Vietnam, September 2009)

Fully prepared, we travelled to Vietnam. A few weeks ago that we even considered skipping Vietnam as a travel destination, after hearing so many negative stories from other travellers. <more>
       
     
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There is a lot to learn from them
(Kota Bharu - Malaysia, July 2009)

Gradually we are accepting in the west that we do not have certain things under control anymore. Poverty, degeneration, criminality, etc, are things that we have over time accepted. <more>
       
     
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Travel fatigue
(Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, June 2009)

Approximately a month ago, we have met a friendly Russian – American couple. Already eight months on the road and full of enthusiastic stories about the things they have done in this period. <more>
       
     
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Ecotourism in the purest form
(Manokwari - Indonesia, June 2009)

Indonesia has a big problem regarding the preservation of their flora and fauna. The Indonesian forests are still cut down in a high speed. <more>
       
     
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Tim
(Dili - Timor Leste, May 2009)

The tires of his white UN-jeep give off smoke. Tim is in a hurry. Not because he is too busy with his job at the United Nations in Timor Leste, but because he has to be in time for a date. <more>
       
     
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Gula-Gula! (Candy!)
(Kupang - Indonesia, May 2009)

The islands of Nusa Tenggara still sees relatively few tourists. Most travel books describe these islands as an area where it is still possible to visit the real traditional villages. <more>
       
     
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We got a phone call from Jakarta
(Ternate - Indonesia, April 2009)

Sometimes we have a day that we are out of luck, and sometimes we have several of these days in a row. The time we spent in Ambon was great, but the days in Ternate are long and tiring. <more>
       
     
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The backpacker
(Mekong River - Laos, February 2009)

The time that a backpacker was somebody who travelled the world with his or her backpack in search of unknown destinations and adventures, is a long way behind us. <more>
       
     
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F*cking guide books
(Luang Prabang - Laos, February 2009)

Today will be a magic day, if we can believe the travel guidebooks at least. We are at the most important tourist place in Laos: Luang Prabang. <more>
       
     
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Sex flight
(Manila - Philippines, December 2008)

It is generally known that the Philippines is one of the most famous destinations for western men for sex holidays. This becomes especially visible when you take a plane to the town of Clark. <more>
       
     
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Marty Mouse
(Bangkok - Thailand, December 2008)

It is around 9:30 pm when we are laying under the nice and warm quilt in our small room in the Kha Yai National Park in central Thailand. <more>
       
     
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Pelan-Pelan (slowly-slowly)
(Makassar - Indonesia, September 2008)

If you ask people in the West about what they can easily miss in their daily life, they probably mention the everlasting hurry. Indonesians do not have that feeling. <more>
       
     
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The two of you … get out of my bus!
(Ijen Plateau - Indonesia, August 2008)

We are prepared for the worst. We are on the train station of Surabaya and will travel today to the village of Cemoro Lawang, to see the fabulous Bromo Volcano. <more>
       
     
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Clipping nails at the breakfast table
(Jakarta - Indonesia, July 2008)

Usually we sleep in the cheap budget hotels of which Indonesia is full of, but sometimes we end up in a midrange hotel. This was the case in the Sumatran city of Bangko. <more>
       
     
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Sputter pooh
(Ketembe -Indonesia, June 2008)

No bigger delight than malicious delight is a proposition that you will only endorse when you aren’t the one who is suffering. I will share my experiences with you. <more>
       
     
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The earth is being ruined!
(Ketembe -Indonesia, June 2008)

The earth is being ruined! This is a phrase that we used several times last months when we were talking with each other while travelling through Southeast Asia. <more>
       
     
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They are big, and very difficult
(Bangkok -Thailand, April 2008)

Shit, not again! It happened to me almost six months ago, and now it happened again. A part of my tooth broke off. It happened in India before, and now it happened in Myanmar. <more>
       
     
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The hypocrisy of the West
(Yangon - Myanmar, March 2008)

A spotted backpacker with a “Free Tibet” t-shirt looks condemned when we tell him that the next destination of our journey is Myanmar. He would never go to a country with a dictatorship. <more>
       
     
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Bangladesh, misfortuned for ever?
(Kuakata - Bangladesh, February 2008)

It is hard to believe, but there was a time, way back in the past, that Bengal (of which a big part is present Bangladesh) was a very prosperous area. <more>
       
     
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A huge difference!
(Saint Martin - Bangladesh, February 2008)

The funny thing about border crossings is that you often enter a complete different world. That is also the case with the two neighbouring countries, India and Bangladesh. <more>
       
     
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On Safari with the Nepalese
(Janakpur - Nepal, January 2008)

At 15:00 o’clock are we waiting to jump on our elephant to start our elephant safari through Chitwan National Park. Yesterday, we already saw a One Horned Indian Rhino. <more>
       
     
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Culture Shock
(Bhuj - India, November 2007)

“Men pushes pregnant wife out of vehicle”, “Woman burns herself after in-law taunts” and “Gurwaras to adopt unwanted girls”. These are three headlines from the last two days’ newspaper. <more>
       
     
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From movie star to police escort
(Udaipur - India, October 2007)

When we are at the Dussehra festival in Kota (see also the article about the Dussehra festival), we witnessed the fact that India is a country with different faces. <more>
       
     
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Lack of respect in Ladakh
(Leh - India, September 2007)

Not just for once, but time after time we are astonished by the extreme amount of ignorance that some of our fellow western tourists display. <more>
       
     
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Hello, I am Tibetan
(Manali - India, August 2007)

“Hello, my name is Hank. I am Tibetan”. Tibetan? But you look so western. “That is correct. I am born in The Netherlands, but I know already for eighteen years that I am Tibetan”. <more>
       
     
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Scary moments 2: Quetta
(Islamabad - Pakistan, August 2007)

You probably know them as well, the movies with a second episode, whose story is almost the same as the first movie. We also have a second episode on our story “Scary moments in Tripoli”. <more>
       
     
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Squat or not?
(Tehran - Iran, July 2007)

Everyone travelling to France twenty years ago, stopped just before crossing the French border to visit the toilet. In this way, a visit to the notorious French toilet (squat toilet) was postponed. <more>
       
     
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Pop star for one night
(Tehran - Iran, July 2007)

Weddings; you hate them or you love them. For the bride and the groom this is the best day of their live, at least that is what they say. I doubt it if this is true. <more>
       
     
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Racists
(Mindelo- Cape Verde, November 2006)

You probably know them as well, the mostly Western African men with beautiful shining teeth, typical African costumes and with a scale of products that they offer. <more>
       
     
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A roaring security officer
(Moscow- Russia, March 2004)

We are on the airport of Vladivostok and are waiting for the nine hours lasting domestic flight to Moscow. Before we booked the flight, we seriously considered if we should take the plane. <more>
       
     
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The chicken clucks
(Ihosy- Madagascar, July 2001)

I can finally leave the village, and the good part of the story is that I do not have to walk myself. Jean-Pierre, picks me up at my legs, and while I am hanging upside down, we start walking. <more>
       
     
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Stress in the Sahara
(Mopti -Mali, July 2000)

It is sweltering hot. We sit in a small hut on a bush taxi station in Mopti, a Malian city in the Southern part of the Sahara. We sit and wait for transport to the city of Djenné. <more>
       
     
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Shakira
(Cartagena -Colombia, March 1997)

The wheels of the plane lose the contact with the runway. This is the moment that I can’t go back anymore. Did I make the right choice? Do I ever see my family again? <more>
       
     
     
     
     
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