"Short stories and travel reports from my life adventures around the globe".
September 2010. The Netherlands has an incredibly rich art history for such a small country. Moreover, a bunch of the world’s most famous painters were Dutch, including the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals. However, bragging rights for the country’s most celebrated and influential artist arguably goes to a man known […]
Read MoreOctober 2010. You can’t miss the imposing form of the old Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam. Dating back to 1867, this striking brown brick building served as Heineken’s main production centre for over 120 years until it finally closed in 1988. Having relocated to a larger, more modern facility in Amsterdam’s outskirts, the original structure was […]
Read MoreBack when I lived in Amsterdam, the biggest day of the year was always Queen’s Day. Livelier than New Year’s Eve and a damn sight crazier than Christmas, Queen’s Day Amsterdam took place on the 30th of April to celebrate the birthday of Queen Beatrix. However, the tradition of this intense, all-day city-wide street party […]
Read MoreAugust 2017. My five day trip to the island city of Xiamen very nearly didn’t happen. In the days leading up to my visit, Typhoon Nesat swept through southern China. This caused considerable mayhem to Taiwan and mainland Fujian Province. In fact, just the day before my journey, all trains to Xiamen got cancelled! Luckily […]
Read MoreAugust 2017. I hadn’t even thought of visiting Xiamen University, not until a friend of mine suggested it. “It’s one of the most beautiful campuses in China!” she claimed. So off I went, full of anticipation. When I arrived at the entrance gates, I saw a long line of people snaking down Yanwu Road. I […]
Read MoreAugust 2017. One of my favourite Xiamen experiences was this simple but ingenious nature trail in the southwest of the city. Railroad Culture Park stands as a towering testament to brilliant urban planning and creative reuse, with five kilometres of landscaped gardens set around a stretch of preserved rails. Popular with ramblers, dog walkers, joggers […]
Read MoreAugust 2017. Even if shopping isn’t your cup of tea, a trip to Zhongshan Road in Xiamen is an essential part of a visit here. Teeming with stores, restaurants and cafes, this strictly pedestrianised road offers up an exciting fusion of European architecture, chattering locals and bug eyed sales clerks armed with microphones. My first […]
Read MoreAugust 2017. Hulishan Fortress is one of Xiamen’s most defining landmarks, a sprawling granite castle perched atop a rocky hill in the south of the island. Built in 1894 in the dying days of the Qing Dynasty, the fort was home to some of the world’s most powerful cannons. Furthermore, the fortress went on to […]
Read MoreAugust 2017. It was an overcast afternoon as I slowly made my way through Bailuzhou Park in Xiamen, not a care in the world. A nomadic friend of mine once described China as a place with “lots of beautiful things to see, but nothing to do”. On more than one level, I know exactly what he […]
Read MoreFebruary 2018. They really know how to make a giant mall in China! Wonderboy and I were on our way back from Quanzhou’s Xunpu Oyster Village when we spotted a hulking collection of shiny towers at the side of the motorway. So we dipped into Taihe Mall, treated ourselves to a Burger King and did […]
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Traveling the world, one country at a time.
