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Many people get their first taste of Hong Kong during a layover on a long flight. With a bit of luck (or good planning), you can spend a day or two exploring the city. That was my experience as well. Sixteen years ago, I missed a connecting flight and suddenly found...
Many people get their first taste of Hong Kong during a layover on a long flight. With a bit of luck (or good planning), you can spend a day or two exploring the city. That was my experience as well. Sixteen years ago, I missed a connecting flight and suddenly found myself in a very warm Hong Kong for a day. But Hong Kong is more than just a stopover; it’s also an amazing destination for a longer city trip. That’s why I recently flew to Hong Kong for my first ‘real’ visit. I spent 5 days here, which was perfect for a first introduction to the city. In this post, I’ll share in detail what I did each day, where I ate, and some useful tips. Hopefully, my 5 day...
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The woman behind the counter looks confused when I apologetically respond to her question in English. It's not the first time this happens. Not that the people in Gothenburg don't speak English, which they do perfectly, but with the way I look they often think I'm a...
I leave Melbourne thinking 'We should try this again'. It isn't love at first sight like I experienced in Sydney. And with all the high expectations I had of this city, I'm feeling a bit disappointed. But the truth is, I was tired. After traveling non-stop for 6...
This is a story about how my family and I visited Ghent in Belgium and couldn't get ourselves to leave the hotel. If you've been reading this blog for a while you know that 1) I have a thing for beautiful boutique hotels and 2) I usually have a long list of all the...
Trying to kill some time on my flight from New Zealand to Malaysia, I start thinking about how I want to spend the coming days. And I realise how little I know about this country, and Kuala Lumpur - my first destination - in particular. I’ve seen pictures of those...
It's my first time visiting Lisbon. You'd think that based on my previous post that eating my way around Lisbon was all I did (who could resist a fresh, warm pastel de nata?). But this city has more to offer than food. In this post I share how you can get the most out...
I'm spending the last three days of my three month trip in Singapore. Three days and three nights before I'm flying back to Amsterdam. It's a strange thought that once I leave Singapore, I'll have to start thinking about everyday life things again. Work, cleaning my...
My taxi driver is singing softly while we're trying to beat the Marrakech evening rush hour traffic. As we're passing the different city walls into the Medina (old city), the city is getting more lively. I hear the call to prayer in the distance, but it can't compete...
The timing is perfect. While everybody around me is turning up the heating in their house, storing their summer clothes to replace them with warm, comfy winter clothes, I am getting reading for a bit of extra sunshine. As much as I like autumn, when you're being...
One of my main challenges for this Lisbon city trip is to not come home completely exhausted. I always want to do too much when I visit a city for the first time. So how do you make sure you're taking enough breaks from all the sightseeing? You eat. And drink coffee....
The Warehouse Hotel in Singapore may look brand new, but there's a lot of history here. Yes, the hotel opened its doors earlier this year, but the heritage building - built in 1895 - has had several other purposes before it was turned into the modern design hotel it...
Visiting Penang in Malaysia wasn't really planned. At least not when I started my three-month trip. I knew I would end my journey in Singapore, but when that moment came closer and closer I still didn't know where I would be the week before. The original plan - as I...
Sydney or Melbourne? Every time I meet people in Australia it's one of the first questions they ask. Which city do you prefer? There's clearly a friendly competition going on here. Before this trip I thought the answer would be Melbourne. For...
"And this is Charlie Chaplin and his wife, having a tea ceremony with my aunt in this room." I'm looking at the black & white picture and love that even though she has probably showed this to many of her guests over the years, you can tell that she also...
I think it’s safe to say that about 99% of what I know about Australian food (or maybe even Australia in general) comes from watching MasterChef Australia religiously for several years. You’d almost forget that those chefs you see on television are also cooking...
Blog posts with lists, like 8 interesting things to do & see in Yogyakarta can be practical when you're planning a visit to Java, Indonesia. But it doesn't really show you what the city looks and sounds like, the people, the weather, how impressive some of the...
After two weeks in Japan, I'm starting my three weeks Indonesia in Yogyakarta. What a transition! The traffic with what seems like millions of motorcycles, the heat, the squat toilets (toilets are becoming a theme on this trip), the smell of food, and men asking...
If you think Tokyo is just another big city, comparable to New York and London, then you're up for a big surprise. This city is different! It's organized and chaotic, calm and loud, crazy and overwhelming at the same time. As much as you hear about Tokyo, you have to...
Helsinki sure knows how to welcome their visitors. "Nobody in their right mind would come to Helsinki in November. Except you, you badass. Welcome." I actually missed the famous airport sign that went viral when I arrived in November, but it's something that I...
That's the problem with making travel plans too long in advance. Things change. But then how could I have known that three weeks after I booked my return ticket London - Japan, I would come up with the brilliant idea to turn 2 weeks Japan into a three month trip?...
So you were killing some time browsing through Pinterest and travel websites, saw pictures of the beautiful salt flats of Bolivia and said to yourself "I must go there". I get it. I've been there. But then there's only so much time you can spend on a salty...
Some people will escape the winter by flying to a tropical island. Others (that's me) fly to countries where the days are shorter and the temperatures even lower. Helsinki may not be the first city that comes to mind for a city trip right now, but I loved it. It...
It's not every day that I sleep in a hotel where celebrities like Lenny Kravitz and famous fashion bloggers were staying that same week. And where people like Leonardo DiCaprio and Alexa Chung attended the launch party a year ago. It may sound a bit intimidating, but...
Brighton is the perfect day trip from London. Only an hour by train, there's a beach, a fun pier, great food... and yet I had only been once. I was already planning another trip when I received an invite to spend the weekend at the new Brighton Harbour Hotel with some...
Time for another travel vlog! In Amsterdam this time. And yes... still awkward. But as a reward for stepping outside of my comfort zone, I decided to buy a decent vlogging camera: the Canon G7 X MARK II. New gadgets always help. Apparently this is what many of...
I often have to remind myself to look up when I'm exploring a city. But sometimes a city's best kept secrets are hidden underground. For two years I was living right above an important part of London history: the deep-level shelters at Clapham South. Built during...
I'm on a plane to Porto and I finally have some time to read the blog posts and travel stories that I quickly saved on my iPad before I left. This feels like the worst planned trip and I'm pretty sure Jess is feeling exactly the same. We've both been super busy...
Visiting Los Angeles reminded me of my very first trip to New York. I was so excited to finally see the city with my own eyes. Realizing that everything I thought I knew about it was through watching movies and television shows. How much is actually real? It's the...
News you don't want to get right before you go on a trip to Los Angeles: stay away from gluten for a while. And this for someone who basically lives on bread and pasta. But looking on the bright side, if you need to adjust your diet anyway, in my case LA was probably...
Every time I visit New York I’m shocked to see how expensive hotels are. Like most people, I’d rather spend my money on something else than a bed and shower. But at the same time, I really (really) enjoy staying at modern boutique hotels. So for my last visit I...
Yes, I did it again. Well, let's say I tried it again, because this whole vlogging thing still feels super awkward. But I always enjoy watching other people's vlogs, so it's time for me to get on board, stop feeling so self-conscious, and start talking to my phone on...