"Travel with six senses..." Pieter11's Profile

WELCOME TO MY HOMEPAGE

Welcome to my homepage on this wonderful medium called Virtual Tourist. A place where you can meet the most wonderful people, a place where you can dream about your future trips, a place where you can express your feelings about your past trips and to me it's a very good reason to learn more about the destinations I visit then just the random 'Oh, that looks nice'. VT keeps you dreaming, keeps you active and keeps you curious.

As probably most of the VT-members, travelling really is my passion. Although I'm only travelling for a few weeks a year, it's an important part in my life. I love the proces of searching for information before you leave. Picking out the right hotel, reading about the destinations, thinking about the routes to follow and just dream and dream and dream... And after returning from a trip another great part of the travelling rhythm follows: organising the pictures, making a nice album, reading even more about the places you've been to, and of course: updating your VT-page.

But of course the very best part of travelling is the feeling of being inside the books you've read, the movies you've seen and the dreams you've had. And the most wonderful is: in 3D everything is just even better then you could imagine. In 3D it's not only about seeing things, but about feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting the atmosphere.

SEEING...

Beautiful ugliness

Of course a very important part of travelling is the seeing part. Seeing the major attractions of a city, or seeing the wide nature of a quiet piece of land. But the most wonderful thing of all is to see the different things: the symmetry in a football stadium in Barcelona, a lonely Zambian boy at the streets of Livingstone, a brave flower in a concrete jungle of Belgrade, or the beauty of an old car wreck in Antigua Guatemala. I can really enjoy that: that makes me enjoy every single destination you can think of.

HEARING...

Tinkling souvenirs

But there is so much more then seeing a destination alone. Sounds are an important part of the atmosphere you get pulled into when you visit a place. The sound of two Italians arguing passionately, of crickets at the lakeside, the sound of souvenirs tinkling in a crowded shopping street, of soundsystems in the streets of Basseterre, Saint-Kitts, or the sound or hearing nothing at all on top of Volcán Irazú in Costa Rica. Sounds can give you the wonderful feeling of rather being quiet and enjoy the atmosphere silently.

TASTING...

Foreign food

Taste is one of the most important aspects of most cultures. It is a must and a delight to get to know these aspects of the destinations you visit. Coming from the boring mashed-potatoes-eating-culture of Holland, almost every other 'cuisine' is like heaven to me. Weither it is the Hungarian Gulash, the Spanish Tapas, the Caribbean rhum- and the French wine-culture, weither it is the Malaysian Nasi Lemak or the Central American Ceviche, trying foreign food is the best thing there is.

SMELLING...

Smelling spring

A great thing about visiting nature is experiencing the smell. There is no better smell then the smell of fresh A shower after a dry period at the island of Grinda in Sweden, colourful spices on a market in Morocco, the smell of fresh fish at an Asian market, or even the smell of exhaust gasses produced by an old tractor in a little mountain village on Crete in Greece. These are things that can make you remember that wonderful trip you've made years ago, with your eyes closed.

FEELING...

Coloured warmth

Of course the feeling part is essential too when visiting a destination. It´s great to feel external feelings like a sunbeam in your face when you´re inside a beautiful church, or the wind through your hair on top of a mountain. But the best feelings are the internal feelings of kind locals. Having the feeling of being welcome in someone´s hometown, making friends with people from totally different cultures and becoming part of this culture little by little. Meeting up with the locals is the best thing you can do.

DREAMING...

Six sences

But the best thing of travelling, the sixth sence, is the dreaming part. Inspired by all the other sences: looking at a picture, hearing a certain sound, eating a foreign meal in your homecountry, the smell of a certain flower or the feeling of friendship you've developed, can bring you back to your destination in a second. By only using your imagination you can travel 365 days a year. Dreaming at night and daydreaming are the reason why travelling is so worth the money and the effort you put into it. Due to the dreaming part every single trip you make stays in your life forever. Travelling in this way isn't something for a couple of weeks a years: it's a 24/7, 365 days a year thing. A passion of six sences.

Me riding a motorbike in Cambodia

LATEST TRIPS

2006:
- October - December: Ghana

2007:
- January: Ireland
- April: Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland
- September: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
- December: France

2008:
- February: England (Dover, Canterbury, London)
- March/April: Morocco and Western Sahara
- April: France (Cannes)
- April/May: Italy (Florence and Pisa)
- June: Poland and Slovakia
- July: Hungary (Budapest), Serbia (Belgrade, Nis), Bulgaria (Sofia, Koprivshtitsa, Rila) and Turkey (Istanbul, Saray, Kiyiköy)
- October - December: Guadeloupe
- November: Dominica
- December: Saint-Martin, Saba, Saint Kitts and Nevis

2009:
- February: Berlin
- April: France
- July: Norway (Bergen)
- August: Portugal (Lisbon)
- September: Switzerland (Zürich)
- October: Germany (Düsseldorf)
- November: Norway (Oslo)
- December: United Arab Emirates and Oman

2010:
- January: Paris
- March: Morocco
- April: Croatia and Bosnia Hercegovina
- May: Sicily, Italy
- August: French Guiana
- December: Brazil

2011:
- January: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay
- March: Barcelona
- April: Paris
- June: Luxembourg
- June: France
- July: Mali
- August: Portugal

UPCOMING TRIPS

2012:
- January: Chile (and Easter Island)
- May: Denmark
- July: Thailand, Vietnam
- September: Sweden (Stockholm Half Marathon)
- November: Paris
- December: Disneyland Paris

2013:
- February: Israel and Palestine

Intro Updated Oct 17, 2012
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Comments (146)

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rosequartzlover1 Apr 4, 2013 at 12:24 AM

Hi! Pieter..HAPPY BIRTH DAY...(Sorry ..a little late)
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angiebabe Apr 2, 2013 at 2:49 AM

Happy Birthday Pieter, great to see here on your home page youre still up to great things! another fantastic year!
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toonsarah Dec 24, 2012 at 2:13 AM

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year
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jumpingnorman Oct 6, 2012 at 3:08 PM

Hi there! Hope u enjoy this: I included your jump pic in the BEST OF VT Jumpers at
youtube.com/watch?v=4pZjQ2dh...
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Sheemoz Apr 3, 2012 at 12:54 PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (belated) PIETER!
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Usctwin Apr 2, 2012 at 8:58 AM

Hi Pieter, hope you have a great birthday!
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MalenaN Apr 2, 2012 at 8:33 AM

Happy Birthday Pieter! I hope you are having a great day!
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angiebabe Apr 2, 2012 at 4:11 AM

Hi again and Happy birthday Pieter - have a great day today! So you might be off to Morocco later this year!? Ive got lots in my pages....and in my head if you need any ideas, info or connections.
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Bokhari76 Apr 2, 2012 at 4:01 AM

Happy Birthday Pieter.
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toonsarah Apr 2, 2012 at 12:45 AM

Happy birthday Pieter, and greetings from sunny London - have a wonderful day!