100 Essential Travel Experiences, Part III

October 22, 2015

As a tribute to carefree traveling, I’m listing my most memorable travel experiences so far. You can read the first 20 items and the next 20 in the previous posts.

Without further ado, here are the next 15 travel experiences in no particular order:

60. Bicycling amongst the ancient temples of Bagan (Myanmar)

We rented some bicycles to explore the temples and pagodas of Bagan in Myanmar. To get the best light and avoid the crowds we left just after dawn and got a taste of what finding these masterpieces must have been like for western explorers back in the days.

59. Wandering and climbing around Petra

Instead of sticking to the usual route to see the main constructions of Petra, we drifted off and climbed ourselves to the "outskirts" of Petra. We no other tourists aroud we experienced ultimate freedom.

Instead of sticking to Petra’s main tourist route to see its remains, we drifted off and climbed ourselves to the “outskirts” of the Pink City. With no other visitors in sight for miles, we experienced ultimate freedom (to goof off).

Of course we also visited the famous sites, like “The Treasury”.

58. Learning to drink vodka in Poland

Our Polish friend intrduced us to the fine art of vodka drinking. It's not as straight forward as ou would think! To read about the rules of drinking vodka, click on the title.

Our Polish friend intrduced us to the fine art of vodka drinking. It’s not as straight forward as you would think! Click on the title to read about the rules of drinking vodka.

57. Camping in the African Savannah

After the safari, we pitched a tent in the savannah. Though it was an official campsite, we were still in the middle of the bush. Some hungry hippos came by at night and the hyena’s were laughing behind our tents.

56. Having a naked hamam experience somewhere in Turkey

Umm, I don’t have a picture of this… But unless you’re a bit of a prude, I do recommend going to a hammam in Turkey! Yes, you’re expected to be naked…

55. Tasting local rum mixes on the beaches of Guadeloupe

Not only does Guadeloupe produce some fine rum, they also have tasty homemade infusions like this one: lemon, honey and cinnamon rum. Can you imagine spending the day on a caribbean beach sipping on this?! Paradise!

54. Finding inner peace in Bali

I wasn’t consciously looking for it but living in Bali for a year helped me find a certain peace of mind. There is something in the air on that island.

53. Having traditional Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem

We were surprised by an Orthodox Jewish man blowing a horn on Friday afternoon in a market in Jerusalem. Shabbat was starting; according to this man’s faith, everyone needed to drop everything and close their shops immediately. He was yelling at the non-Orthodox shopkeepers, blowing the horn in their faces. It was quite an absurd sight to us, which we discussed in detail during the Shabbat dinner we were invited to.

52. Swimming with wild dolphins in Zanzibar

We spotted some dolphins near the wooden fishing boat we were sailing on. I tried to capture them on photo but it was so much more fun to jump in and swim along with them. I had no idea dolphins were so big, bigger than me it seemed!

51. Backpacking through Central America

From Guatemala to Panama with a backpack and a small budget. Honduras and Nicaragua were my favourite countries of the region.

50. Intermingling with the madness of Thaipusam in Malaysia

Looking back, I can’t believe I made my way through this crowd without fainting.

Thaipusam is an intense pilgrimage in Malaysia which involves hooks, chains, lemons and milk to name a few. Read all about the madness of Thaipusam by clicking on the title.

49. Sleeping under the Saharan star spangled sky

I rode a camel to an isolated spot in the Tunisian Sahara where our group camped and danced around thr bonfire to the beat of the hand drums. Though there were tents, most of us slept in open air, falling asleep while gazing at the the countless stars.

I rode a camel to an isolated spot in the Tunisian Sahara where our group camped and danced around a bonfire to the beat of the djembe. Though we had pitched some Bedouin tents, most of us fell a sleep in open air while gazing at the the countless stars.

48. Quite literally rolling in foreign money

OK, this one may need some explaining... I've often traveled to places with very devaluated local currency and places without ATM's. In these cases, I've had to carry lots of cash around. A hassle, for sure but on the other hand, it has allowed me to live out a childhood dream: rolling around in money like they used to do in the cartoons! Hear hear to living you childhood dreams!

OK, this one may need some explaining… I’ve often traveled to countries with strongly devaluated currency. In these cases, I’ve had to lug around lots of cash just to buy a a simple loaf of bread. Quite a hassle, for sure but on the other hand, it has allowed me to live out a childhood dream: rolling around in money like they do in the cartoons! *hello DuckTales* Cheers to living your childhood dreams!

47. Cheering around a “midget-boxing arena” in Manila

Another absurd night... Midget boxing in the red light district of Manila. Click on the title to read more about quirky Manila.

Another absurd and oh-so memorable night… Midget boxing in the red light district of Manila. Click on the title to read more about the quirky things we did in Manila.

46. Jetting off to Italy for a few days with the sole purpose of tasting every possible regional specialty

The food in Bologna is incredible; simple, fresh and local. A real foodie paradise! Click on the title to read about my foodie weekend in Bologna, Eataly!