My top 10 most cherishable moments while traveling.

My top 10 most cherishable moments while traveling.

1 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka: Pidurangala Rock

2 🇹🇭 Thailand: Khao Sok National Park

3 🇮🇩 Indonesia: Sidemen rice farmers

4 🇨🇷 Costa Rica: Puerto Viejo

5 🇵🇦 Panama: San Blas Islands

6 🇯🇵 Japan: Kyoto

7 🇲🇦 Morocco: Mount Toubkal, Imlil

8 🇮🇹 Italy: Dolomites, Tre Cime

9 🇻🇳 Vietnam: Halong Bay, Poem Mountain

10 🇰🇭 Cambodia: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat

These are not my best photos nor the prettiest of locations.

These are some of the moments that stood out with me and which I still cherish today...

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

This one's all about highs and lows.

I remember waking up at 4 AM to be the first one at this spot. It was just me, a guide and a dog.

The sunrise was amazing, so much morning dew with the rural sounds of mother nature waking up in the background.

The sight you get from Lion Rock whilst standing on Pidurangala is breathtaking.

Later on, I completed a bucket-list item: hanging out the side of the local trains.

I was living my best life til I got the message that my grandfather (my hero) passed away because of the coronavirus...

Being so far away from your beloved ones in a train full of strangers, it's a hard pill to swallow. I held myself together until I got off the train and somebody asked if I was okay. That's when I broke down; I felt so lost and alone.

This moment will stick with me forever. Both as positive and negative.

🇹🇭 Thailand

The place that I wanted to see the most in Thailand.

While on the boat to Khao Sok National Park, my mouth had already dropped, this place is surreal and the photos don't do it justice.

My girlfriend and I slept here for one night in bamboo huts on the lake.

From bed straight into the lake, the view was jaw dropping.

🇮🇩 Indonesia

I have seen so many beautiful things and met awesome people the 2 months that I was here, but one thing is my favourite.

Playing a game of tag with local children, which gave me a hard time trying to tag them.

I spotted these beautiful rice fields with the drone and after some time I stumbled upon these 3 kids with the broadest smiles. Not a word was said but our smiles are universal and the memories are unforgettable.

Their parents gave us a tour of where they live and showed us their pets.

Rice fields, golden sun, a volcano as backdrop... what a scenery.

My girlfriend captured some images during the game of tag.

🇨🇷 Costa Rica: Puerto Viejo

Perhaps my favourite memory.

Puerto Viejo had everything I could've wished for.

I rented a small motorbike with my friend Michiel and we scooted the whole coastline.

I had my camera, cheap cocktails, fresh sea platters, mi amigo Michiel, live rastafari music in the background, dogs and a very curious monkey that came by for some portrets.

Just laying relaxed on the black sand beach while the sun is setting and kids are playing on the old shipwrecks in the ocean, with mountains as backdrop 🫠.

Then stargazing to top off the night.

The perfect day and all I expected Costa Rica to be. We both got a tattoo dedicated to this day: "Pura Vida", the way the Costa Ricans live their life.

🇵🇦 Panama: San Blas

The island group San Blas off the coast of Panama is a dream destination: pearl white beaches, crystal clear waters and more palm trees than one can count.

We stayed 3 days on a real small island with local Indians called the Kunas (Guna Yala).

Carrying nothing more than a shirt and swimshorts with us, it was the perfect getaway and detox destination (detox of phones, screens and social media).

We went swimming every day, visiting close-by islands, played sports, watching the sun rise and got the best sunsets I've seen so far.

🇯🇵 Japan: Kyoto

I can say so many things that stood out to me: like the Mario Karts through the busy city center of Tokyo whilst being dressed as cartoon characters with one of my best friends.

But the vibe in Kyoto is unique.

The Irani shrines are so beautiful, same goes for the bamboo forest but the thing that stuck with me is this location.

We climbed up a mountain for a while and found this view of Kyoto. Just views and my friend Steven, nothing or nobody else, right before the corona lockdown 2 days later.

So this would be one of my last trips for a while...

🇲🇦 Morocco

Although it is a country that surprised me with its diversity in nature, I didn't like this vacation. The best part for me was going from the highest mountain in North Africa with -17°C to the desert with a warm 20 degrees.

If I have to choose between our insane stay in the desert or Toubkal mountain, Toubkal takes the win.

It was a 3-day hike, halfway through I had to leave my girlfriend in the basecamp. I also got sick the night before our climb to the summit, which made it really hard to continue and focus, but I got an A team to go with me and a special shoutout goes out to Allister! At the top it was -17°C, which was a first for me (the camera was frozen 📸❄️). The only thing on my mind everytime I climb a mountain or volcano is "I wish my grandfather could see this", which keeps me going.

🇮🇹 Italy: Tri Cime di Lavaredo

My first trip during the whole corona period which, of course, I really looked forward to, just like my travel buddy, my dad.

The day before we were supposed to leave, some idiot crashed into our car parked out front and it was undriveable. So all hopes were gone.

Dad managed to fix a replacement car the same Sunday.

This was the first time back on a holiday and the first in a long time joined by one of my parents, as I usually travel without them.

After our first stop in Austria at the Zugspitze, we drove deeper into Italy for a week of hiking in the Dolomites in amazing weather conditions.

Turned out it was dad's favourite vacation up to this day, which makes it even better for me, having spent some good old dad-son times.

I just bought a new camera so this was the first time using it abroad which was the real test.

This photo is taken on my tripod whilst being on a 2-day hike through Tre Cime di Lavaredo and Cadini di Mesurina.

🇻🇳 Vietnam: Halong Bay, Poem Mountain

When I started this big trip from Sapa (North of Vietnam) all the way down South, I already knew there was only a small chance of getting to Poem Mountain for

various reasons: no time, far away, police, weather, the mountain being closed down and an old lady.

I had stomach problems all night long but was determined to go for it. I made it to the alley where an old lady lives. You're supposed to give her money to buy your way through her garden and then up the mountain which the police closed down due to previous accidents.

Luckily she was home, unfortunately her garden was also closed... She told us what we needed to do: climbing a vertical rock formation by using treeroots and then hopping through a small hole in a barbed wire fence. Then one of her dogs would lead us the way. Complety ran out of water, we reached the top and the view was 1000% worth the risk: a way of being on top of the famous Halong Bay.

On the way down things got worse, just look at my face.

Anyway, the crazy thing was that I've never been outside Europe at this time and I envisioned being here a 100 times. My dream finally became a reality and that's why it's one of my favourites.

🇰🇭 Cambodia: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat and Thom

I'm not going to say too much about it, you have to see it for yourself to understand.

The size of this temple complex is mindblowing.

We wandered around the holygrounds from sunrise to sunset as seen in multiple movies like Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider.

An amazing day that will stick with me and a place you should visit as well.