Without further ado, here are the next 20 travel experiences in no particular order:
80. Bathing in Budapest’s public baths in the snow
There is something incredibly ‘exotic’ to bathing in the outdoors with outside temperatures of -3°C . Add a stunning architectural backdrop and a blanket of snow and the picture is complete! At Széchenyi Thermal Baths
We tracked down the restaurants serving Michelin starred dim sum. “If I don’t like those, I can officially say I don’t like dim sum.” As it turns out, I do like dim sum! Click on title to read about surprising Hong Kong.
78. Floating in the dead sea in Israel
It’s a strange feeling to be almost completely weightless. Unlike anything else!
Swimming, eating, relaxing with cool beers, waking up to the chirp of little birds… That’s what our time in Bunyonyi was all about. Click on the title to read more about Lake Bunyonyi.
76. Crashing a grand Indian engagement party
The night I arrived in Delhi, my host took me to a party. Once there I realised it was a huge engagement party with incredible food, an open bar and blasting Bollywood music. Though totally underdressed and tired from my flight, I was warmly welcomed by my new friends.
75. Pick-nicking in the Summer Palace in St-Petersburg
As it was my travel mate’s birthday, we took the opportunity to indulge in a blini and caviar pick-nick with the Summer Palace as a backdrop. I don’t even like caviar but it seemed like the most appropriate thing to eat.
74. Spending 24 hours in Qatar with people I had never met before
A midnight drive around, shisha in the souq, Lebanese brunch and shopping in a recreation of Venice… Thanks to local expats who took me under their wings for 24 hours, I really enjoyed the city of Doha in Qatar.
73. Discovering the bizarre ghost towns of Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a peculiar country. The town seems deserted and overrun by desert sand, yet there is a certain mystique in the air… Notice this woman shovelling sand from her front door. The Saharan winds bring the dunes right into people’s homes…
The hummingbirds of Mindo touched my soul and brought back some inner peace . Click on the title to read more about magical Mindo.
71. Road tripping the Irish countryside
I was stunned by the natural beauty of the Irish country side. Stopping for a pint of Guiness and a minced meat pie in a local pub made the experience all the more memorable. A road trip not to be missed!
The rain doesn’t take hitchhikers into account… We hitched rides from Belgium to Denmark through The Netherlands and Germany. Even though we had it relatively easy being two women asking for a ride, hitch hiking turned out to be hard work! The exciting and fun kind of hard work. Click on the title to read about doing Copenhagen on the cheap.
68. Getting pampered with fantastic massages in Southeast Asia
Incredible how a luxury service in the West can be such an ordinary one in the East. Long live affordable massages and the soothing tea’s that follow!
67. Finding evidence of the slave trade in Ghana
Behind the walls of this fort, lie the dungeons where Ghanian men and women were held captive to be sold as slaves and shipped off in those parts of the world. You can actually still smell the human distress in the dungeons. very confronting…
66. Meeting the Garifuna tribe in Honduras
The Garifuna are descendants of the West African people living on the Central American Caribbean coast. They speak their own language and live in communities which reminded me very much of the African villages. Even their food and music have obvious African influences. It felt a little like home after having spent some time in Latin America.
65. Hiking to the top of Mt. Sinai to see the sunrise
The hike started in the middle of the night, following a trail of candle holding pilgrims. Once at the top we had just enough time to catch our breaths before the first rays of light made their appearance. Being surrounded by pilgrims singing, praying, crying and admiring the sun, it was almost a religious experience.
64. Fishing in South India
Though I didn’t work quite as hard as the fisherman, taking part of their daily activity and sharing the (slim) catch was nothing short of enriching.20 years earlier, I was doing the exact same thing (yes, that little girl in the bathing suit is me) Photo by A. Van Den Daele
63. Transforming into a Burmese lady in Myanmar
In a beauty parlour of small town in Myanmar, I found out the techniques Burmese ladies and ladyboys use to achieve their beauty ideal. Lightening the skin is just one of them. Here is the Burmese version of me and my talented make-up artist.
62. Snorkelling with manta rays
They’re so much bigger than I could have imagined, I was frightened. These majestic creatures slide under the surface of the ocean, not slightly fearing the clumsy “human fish”. Photo by Shawn Heinrichs
61. Going on spontaneous trips
There’s nothing more exciting than deciding to take a trip on a whim. Decide today, leave tomorrow… That’s how I ended up in Warsaw, Denmark, Paris, Kosovo, Brunei, Amsterdam, Cuba…
Continue reading part 3, part 4, part 5 and part 6! If you’ve mist the part 1, catch up here… I’ll be posting the rest of the list every other Thursday!
Are any of these experiences on your “been there done that” list?
GIRL!!!
The abandoned villages in Western Sahara really intrigue me… I can’t imagine what that would be like!
Also, LOVE that you were fishing in a dress. Perfect.
I also tried to hitchhike in Denmark, and no one would pick us up!! 🙁
frecklesoup
Hahaha! Now that you mention it, fishing in a dress??? Haha! We also had a harder time finding a ride in Denmark! Lots of passers-by were mocking us; apparently hitch-hiking is not really trending there.
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2 responses to “100 Essential Travel Experiences, Part II”
GIRL!!!
The abandoned villages in Western Sahara really intrigue me… I can’t imagine what that would be like!
Also, LOVE that you were fishing in a dress. Perfect.
I also tried to hitchhike in Denmark, and no one would pick us up!! 🙁
Hahaha! Now that you mention it, fishing in a dress??? Haha! We also had a harder time finding a ride in Denmark! Lots of passers-by were mocking us; apparently hitch-hiking is not really trending there.