Living the Dream - Ben travels around the world
(for however long the money or the excitement lasts...)

In April 2008, I quit my fast-paced corporate job, sold most of my belongings, and left on a world trip - and never looked back. Starting in Berlin (Germany) and heading east, time will tell where my journey eventually leads me...

If you like what you see and want to receive an email whenever I add a new blog entry, simply subscribe to this blog!

I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoy my journey. Any feedback (public comment on any blog entry or private message) is always much appreciated and makes the blog special to me!

Please also take note that I don't mean to offend anyone but merely to share my experiences (good and bad) - so please don't get all worked up by my entries - although constructive criticism is of course very welcome indeed! Having said that, I am not aiming to write a politically correct blog here. My writing is (naturally) highly subjective and expresses my (sometimes strong) opinions. Also, if you happen to be an American lawyer reading my entries: I take absolutely no responsibility whatsoever if someone chooses to somehow act based on any information in my blog.

Also have a look at my pictures on Flickr and at my route!


My journey so far: Turkey (9 days) - Germany (2 days) - Lithuania (6 days) - Latvia (4 days) - Estonia (5 days) - Finland (4 days) - Russia (26 days) - Mongolia (17 days) - China (70 days) - Japan (42 days) - South Korea (10 days) - North Korea (10 minutes) - China (8 days) - Vietnam (15 days) - Laos (35 days) - Thailand (3 days) - Myanmar (25 days) - Thailand (9 days) - Malaysia, Peninsular (74 days) - Singapore (7 days) - Indonesia, Sumatra (27 days) - Malaysia, western Borneo (36 days) - Brunei (4 days) - Malaysia, eastern Borneo (42 days) - Indonesia, Java & Bali (28 days) - Singapore (7 days) - Taiwan (17 days) - Philippines (18 days) - Malaysia, KL (2 days) - Indonesia, Lombok & Bali (10 days) - Australia (47 days) - New Zealand (107 days) - Fiji (14 days) - USA, Hawaii & California (31 days) - Mexico (21 days) - Guatemala, Tikal (3 days) - Belize (9 days) - Guatemala, Rio Dulce (5 days) - Honduras, Copan (2 days) - Guatemala (26 days) - El Salvador, western part (9 days) - Honduras (16 days) - El Salvador, eastern part (8 days) - Nicaragua (13 days) - Costa Rica - ???


-Ben

---

---

---

(Day 880 on the road) Let's start this blog with a guest paragraph written by my dear travel companion and friend Tino, giving us the definition of what we have termed "hiluxing", "hiluxen", or "to hilux": To Hilux: Hitch-hiking at the most comfortable level, on the back of a massive and powerful Toyota Hilux pick-up truck ("A legendary workhorse - built for the toughest jobs"). A Hilux is commonly used here in Central America by the more wealthy part of the population for driving on the often dismal roads, but is also a feature of many of Asia's rough routes. In [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 870 on the road) Even by Central American standards, it seems that Nicaragua has had to endure more than its fair share of misery in its troubled past. The country's history may sound familiar to anyone who has spent some time in the region, with a few noteworthy twists and turns: Dictators and elected presidents corrupt to the bone, lining their own coffers at the expense of the people. US military intervention for a couple of decades after 1912, installing and ousting presidents as it liked. A few internal coups, promises of a bright future, political turmoil. A ruthless dictator [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 866 on the road) OK, first things first: I have booked my flight home for the end of October. Puh! It might not sound like much, but it is a big, no, a huge deal for me. Making plans to go home was one of the very last things on my mind for the past two and a half years. Of course I knew the day would arrive eventually, but I didn't image just how much the simple act of booking a flight home (Panama City-Miami-Dusseldorf on October 31st) would affect me mentally. Now I have about two and a [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 858 on the road) One thing that you won't see in Honduras are other tourists. After the very touristy Bay Islands on the Caribbean north coast we were expecting tourists all over the rest of the country, but to our surprise there were almost none at all. During our whole final week in the country we met only a handful of other travellers (three German students and a US family at Lake Yojoa). Apart from them, it felt at times that all governments had issued stern travel warnings against Honduras and we had somehow missed it: Every hotel we stayed [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 851 on the road) In travelling, a companion. In life, compassion. I am not much of a philosopher most of times, but can't help to be utterly fascinated by this ancient Japanese proverb. In travelling, a companion. In life, compassion. (In Japanese: 旅は道連れ世は情け たびはみちづれよはなさけ - Tabi wa michizure Yo wa nasake). There is so much in this short saying that it is simply mind boggling. No matter how much time I spent thinking about it, on endless bus journeys or at night when I can't fall asleep, I can never quite get to the bottom of it I feel. I [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 841 on the road) When a country doesn't have its own currency but uses the US dollar, you suspect that something is not right here. When you then realise that the country holds the sad fourth place in the category "highest murder rate in the world", this feeling gets stronger. Then your guide book tells you that 95% of the forest in the country has been cut down, you start to get even more worried. And when you then read that a whopping third of the population lives abroad, you know for sure that something fishy is going on. Welcome [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 832 on the road) And so my time in Guatemala was coming to an end. From the great market in Chichicastenango (see last entry), Tino and I embarked on our last few days in the country, the natural wonders of Semuc Champey near Lanquin. One American guy I talked to a few weeks ago had called Semuc Champey the most beautiful thing in the world. As anticipated, my resulting high expectations could only be disappointed. While the blue, terraced pools were certainly beautiful and special indeed, they are most certainly not the most beautiful thing in the world. As always, [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 826 on the road) After a few weeks in Guatemala now I have to say that I am properly impressed. Of course by the beauty of the country, but even more so by the honesty of the people and the absence of hassle. It is by no means standard that in a poor country like Guatemala tourists are treated equal. Despite how much I love Asia for example, the omni-present foreigner pricing and rip-offs there are one thing I can really do without, and which make travelling much more tiring and troublesome than it needs to be at times. In [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 820 on the road) Ask any traveller about their favourite spots in Guatemala, and chances are high that Antigua and Lake Atitlan will come up very high if not first (together with Tikal). And they are right. The charming, colonial city of Antigua and the dramatic, volcanic Lake Atitlan are certainly the two most beautiful spots we have seen in Central America so far over the past two months. Plus their location in the Highlands offered a welcome relief from the scorching heat of the rest of Guatemala (even too much at times, as we were often freezing at night, [View Full Entry]

---

---

(Day 811 on the road) Should we visit Guatemala City or not, that was the question we were faced with in Ilapa. We were back in Guatemala after our short visit to the ruins of Copan in Honduras and had just climbed a small volcano here, and were now deciding where to go next. On the one hand, Guatemala City was roughly on our route west anyway. On the other hand, the city is notorious for its high crime rate, and most travellers simply avoid it if they can. In the end, we made the decision based on the good old [View Full Entry]

---

---