Journal
Currently travelling the Silk Road. From The Netherlands to China in our Volkswagen T2. Check out the stories here.
Ready for part two
We are finally back at exploring and take that seriously, with visiting an abandoned textile factory and hiking 15km’s in the mountains in one day!
A not so smooth reunification
For a couple of days we’ve been reunited with each other and Alexine but things don’t go as planned, neither do they go so smoothly.
A changed Babylon
From reading books, watching fairytales and dreaming of merchants travelling back and forth to this city to visiting it. Finally I’ve reached Babylon, however, it ain’t what I expected.
The good, the bad and the desert
To the desert we go! After visiting Petra it was time to visit one of the most beautiful areas of Jordan: Wadi Rum! It’s also called ‘Valley of the Moon’. We first drive for a long while through more and more empty landscape until we arrive in Rum village. We...
Holiday in Jordan
Time flies when you’re having fun. It really does. One week in Lebanon was over within what felt like a second. The flight to Jordan (1.5 hour) felt longer than the whole week in Lebanon and we guess that’s a good sign. Arrival in Jordan Up to now crossing...
A week in Lebanon
So much happened in one week that we don’t know what to write. A summery wouldn’t do this week justice but an in dept journal would stop you from reading. So, we’ll try to share our week with you as a combination of photos and text. Let’s start at the beginning, but...
Staying at a 700 year old caravanserai
We are staying at a caravanserai tonight. A hotel / restaurant where travellers would spend the night, giving their camels and horses some rest and catch up with other travellers about the way ahead. This Caravanserai is the best preserved one in Armenia and was built...
Religion, war and waste management
The morning sun is a welcoming guest high up in the mountains. We are now at almost 2500 meters above sea level and the wind carries the cold air into the van. Great for sleeping, a little less for cooking and living outside. But, we are Dutchies, thus no cold air can...
Continuing our Armenian advanture
After five days at the beautiful campsite of Sandra and Marty (3Gs - check it out) we got waaaaay to comfortable with the swimming pool, two kitchens and a washing machine. Not to mention the showers, toilets and incredible wifi. You can imagine, it was time to...
From temple to church
Finally exploring again. We love visiting cities and staying in a hotel, guesthouse, airbnb for a while but we love it even more to explore the roads with Alexine and drive towards unknown destinations. Not knowing where we will sleep that night, but enjoying the wind...
Fixing Alexine and our vaccination
“If there was wisdom in beards, all goats would be prophets." - an Armenian proverb. And even though we have visited about 20 churches already, Yuri is still no prophet. Neither am I. But yeah, 14 days in Armenia and already 20 churches! Oh my. We don't visited...
The annihilation of the Armenians
Exactly 82 years ago Adolf Hilter said "...who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" Let's proof Adolf Hilter wrong and talk about it. The definition of genocide To understand what happened in Armenia it's good to know the definition of...
Entering the ancient Christian country of Armenia
For the past days we’ve been residing in North Armenia. After five weeks of Georgia it was time to leave. Border crossing It wasn’t the easiest to cross the border. First, car drivers and passengers cannot get through together. Instead passengers have to stand...
Strangers becoming friends
Meeting strangers while traveling seems a lot easier than meeting strangers in our hometown. Or well maybe meeting them is not the difficult part but becoming friends with strangers is. Not here in Georgia though. Meeting a stranger on the road After a couple of days...
Conflict & Displacement
And again we left the mountains behind. This time not to travel directly to Tbilisi but to travel back to Tskaltubo. Well, we also tried to get into Abkhazia but that seemed more difficult than we thought. Abkhazia A Georgian region but not really. Even though most...
Things we didn’t plan
We weren’t planning a lot of things in Georgia. From several car break downs to driving the most dangerous road and the most car killing road. But visiting Svaneti was actually one of those things we planned for a second visit to the country. I, Milene, really want to...
We want to see mountains again, Gandalf!
While I look at the stars with my back warming up from the campfire we just made I feel small. I feel like an ant discovering the world, small but strong. Small because the world is just a tiny planet in this huge universe. Strong because most of those stars are...
Yes we van!
Sorry! We’ve been a little absent lately. It has good reasons though. We weren’t quiet because it was too hot to type, or too wild to share but our adventures were mainly about fixing the van. Maybe Alexine had her own version of the Pandemic flue. So from having to...
Crossing the most dangerous road of Georgia!
The Abano Pass impassable by Volkswagen T2 Locals say it isn't possible, they call us crazy, look at us with doubt. Call us crazy but we have believe in the power of Alexine. We have no doubt whatsoever that she can manage to climb up a pass, located at 2900 mtrs,...
Maffia Monks & Hiking the Chaukhi pass
Freedom can only be found in the mountains, as the Georgians say. So, after a couple of days in Tbilisi, getting Alexine fixed and some work done, it was time to head to the mountains again. Everyone tells us Svaneti is amazing, but that’s on the other side of Georgia...
Oh no, what’s that sound?
Living and travelling in a van isn’t all about the best spots to camp, the thumbs up we get or driving the most scenic roads. It’s also about waiting for the engine to cool down, being anxious about a new sound she’s making and visiting garages while holding your...
Our first impressions of Georgia
We love first impressions. Whenever we are just 10 minutes in a country we ask each other “and? What do you think?” A person has an impression about someone or something within 3 seconds. And this is sometimes the right one and sometimes the wrong one. It takes just a...
Beekeeping in Northern Turkey
Why tourists often skip the Black Sea Region is a riddle to us. It’s definitely one of the most beautiful regions of Turkey! The lush green mountains, delicious food, nice & mild climate. It is here where tea is produced, and it’s also known as hazelnut and honey...
Three months on the road!
We’ve been three months on the road right now, so it’s time to reflect on vanlife so far. Up to now we still feel so privileged and happy that we’re able to do this. Travelling brings us so much freedom, we get to see wonderful places, explore known and unknown...
Capital of the Kurds
After Midyat it was time to move North. Finally we would visit the capital of the Kurdish people in Turkey: Diyarbakir. Yes, the Assyrians and Armenians mostly left this area due to oppression and hate the Kurdish people are still here. Turkey is a wonderful country...
From genocide to rebellion
Along the way here several people mentioned Mardin a must visit on our Turkey trip. Ignoring tips from local people would be a stupid thing to do so we continued our journey East to Mardin. Mardin is a very interesting city. It’s a migratory city with lots of Turks,...
History & myths in Turkey
It is sometimes a bit hard to keep up with the blogs. Not because I don’t like it or have nothing to write but probably because there is too much to write. Every morning, middag and evening another adventure awaits, in the morning we don’t know where we sleep at night...
Faces in the mountain
It was time to leave Cappadocia behind and with that the for me, Milene, known part of Turkey. The kind owners of the hotel we stayed in told us about the best way to travel to Nemrut. And boy was he right. Our first stop would be a caravanserai. This is a place...
Kapadokya, land of horses
In the previous post you could read about my, Milene's, thesis on Cappadocia. Lets see what happened in the past ten years. First a bit about Cappadocia The Persian name of the region was “Kappa Tuchia” which means “The land of beautiful Horses”. Cappadocia is...
Fairytale Castles & the Salt Lake
After a couple of days in the city we were in need of fresh air. Also, if we want to reach China this year we need to keep going. Our next stop would be Cappadocia but that will take about 10 hours. We found two nice stops along the way. One would be Burj al Babas....
The shadow
of the sun
Our world, seemingly global, is in reality a planet of thousands of the most varied and never intersecting provinces. A trip around the world is a journey from backwater to backwater, each of which considers itself, in its isolation, a shining star. For most people, the real world ends on the threshold of their house, at the edge of their village, or, at the very most, on the border of their valley. That, which is beyond is unreal, unimportant, and even useless, whereas that which we have at our fingertips, in our field of vision, expands until it seems an entire universe, overshadowing all else.
Often, the native and the newcomer have difficulty finding a common language, because each looks at the same place through a different lens. The newcomer has a wide-angle lens, which gives him a distant diminished view, although with a long horizon line, while the local always employs a telescopic lens that magnifies the slightest detail.
