Most people know the movie Trainspotting. Sort of a cult movie. Not a great one in my opinion, but one to have and share opinions about. And it’s one of the more famous movies set in Scotland. The setting is Edinburgh to be more specific, where I spend my weekend. Since it’s far from my favorite flick, I think nothing of it until the topic of movies comes up. There are quite a few large media stores in the city, each with a wide selection of DVD’s. My friend isn’t familiar with the movie, so I figure I should just be [View Full Entry]

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The road to Hana is apparently a must on Maui. There is no room for passing the car in front of you. Even if there was, passing one car would only put you behind the next one. The idea of going to Hana is a popular one. The scenery from the road is spectacular. The word "Paradise" comes to mind. Imagine what this Hana place must be like! It takes a great while to drive there on the crowded and curvy roads. Eventually you get there though, to what feels like the end of the world, the last outpost before the [View Full Entry]

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Cruising through the clouds in an airplane is pretty cool. Doing it by car is much cooler. Going back towards the coast on the mountain roads from Ronda, that is exactly what we do. A magnificent sight. So amazing we have to stop and wait for the sunset, and take pictures. Watching the sunset from above the clouds, in the redish mountains of southern Spain...can hardly beat that in beauty. A true Kodak moment... [View Full Entry]

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Swedish Midsummer tradition suggests that anyone in the search for romance and true love performs a certain ritual on the Midsummer night. The ritual consists in jumping over seven fences/walls, pick seven different kinds of flowers, then put the flowers under the pillow, and you will dream about the person you will marry. Apparently this tradition is also known in Iceland. Randomly meeting a group of young girls after a night out on Midsummer, me and my travel companion half-heartedly pick up on the tradition. We jump two walls, but don’t bother to pick any flowers. The next night - admittedly [View Full Entry]

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Midsummer. The longest day of the year. Not widely celebrated, except for in the Nordic countries. What turned out to be a great way to celebrate it was in northern Iceland. Starting with a bath in the hot springs near Myvatn, followed by a short sauna session. Thereafter a trip to one of the mightiest waterfalls on the island - Detifoss. A not so well known dirt road with a landscape that might as well have been the moon (and indeed, the astronauts did actually train for their missions to the moon here) leads up to this impressive waterfall. The roar [View Full Entry]

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How about a last-minute Elton John concert? Usually going to a concert requires some planning, not the least in the aspect of acquiring tickets. A bit surprisingly though, the concert is not sold out, so we get tickets only a couple of hours before the concert. An artist in this league, the highest of them all, should guarantee a great show, but due to the short notice I haven’t had the time to build up any expectations. Turns out that was for the best. Elton starts the concert with a number of to me unknown songs. If I was in charge [View Full Entry]

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Probably very few tourists who visited Berlin left the city disappointed. The city offers more sights and activities than most other cities in Europe. Its history, culture, size, affordability, accessibility, and atmosphere make it a great destination for anyone who wants a little bit of everything in a short amount of time. A short weekend with the family is my reason to visit. After having seen the main sights, the family takes off for Sweden, and I’m left to explore the city for a day before the flight back to Amsterdam. Fortunately, an old friend lives there and knows the ins [View Full Entry]

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Pretty much every single song ever written has a meaning. Some songs have deeper meanings than other songs. Actually, considering the massive output of songs throughout the years, most songs ever written probably mean very little to the vast majority. Personally, I’ve only taken the time to analyze no more than a dozen or so songs to find the true meaning and apply to my own situation. Most of them in association with romantic situations. In fact, all but one. But it took two. By coincidence on a Saturday night out, Mr. M and me started singing on one of the [View Full Entry]

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Assume that you would plan a trip for a long time, and finally travel halfway across the world to a place where you have never set your foot. Inevitably you would collect a number of memories, take mental as well as digital pictures, let it sink in, tell the stories. Despite the modest time frame of two weeks, Thailand is a land with innumerable impressions just waiting to be taken in by the traveler. So, which memory would end up at the very top of the list? The amazing beaches and the nature? The beautiful girls? The culture? The great food? [View Full Entry]

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The distance between Siem Reap in Cambodia and the Thailand border is 150 km, give or take. On a standard freeway, this should take about 1.5 hours, allowing for some traffic. On a standard highway, going 80 km/hour, this should take no more than 2 hours. This particular journey takes 7 - 8 hours - on a good day. I happened to catch the bus on a not-so-good day. Although the concept of time and corresponding schedules and timetables appear to be a flexible matter in south-east Asia, the “air-conditioned minivan” - which turned out to be a small bus from [View Full Entry]

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