"Niekie's Travels" Niekie's Profile

Amsterdam Sail 2005

Explorer reporting

The freedom of your own car

My inspiration for travelling comes from a desire to discover new places. I want to learn about the world first hand and for that, one must go out and explore! But when I lack the time and money to go, I satisfy myself with exploring the world through my computer. A few years ago, I was researching an upcoming trip when I stumbled across VT. Since then it has become one of my favourite sources for making travelplans.

When I travel I want every part of the journey to be an experience. My choices for mode of transportation, the route, or places to sleep and eat, are determined by how much they allow me to experience a country the way it really is. For instance, you can sit in a tourbus and let yourself be taken from highlight to highlight, but I would rather drive myself and make a detour through a small village, or take a bus or train for some interaction with locals. This is when unexpected things happen and when you get to meet new people and for me, that's what travelling is all about.

The things I like

For me travelling has to be active. To stand by the shore of a lake and think it is beautiful is all very well, but I would rather get in a swimsuit and into the water, or get on a boat and feel the waves. Looking at a mountain can be rewarding enough for some, but I would be eager to climb the giant and see the world from its peak.

Besides nature I like to learn about the history of a country. Before I go, I read as much as I can about the events that have made a country to what it is today. If you know the stories behind it, visiting a church, monestary, castle, or other historical site will be much more rewarding.

The best trips also involve visiting a few quaint little museums, small cosy pubs, and the tasting of local specialties. And after that, it's time for nightlife!

Dream Trip

My ultimate dream (I guess I’m a bit of a romantic) would be to take a big 4WD car and drive from the Netherlands, through Eastern Europe, the Ural, and Siberia to Kamtchatka and then back through China, Mongolia, the "Stan's" in Central Asia, and then via Turkey back to the Netherlands again.

Intro Updated Sep 19, 2007
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Comments (57)

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samanthacy Aug 28, 2009 at 3:00 PM

Happy Birthday to you :0) -Samanthacy
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jorgec25 Aug 28, 2009 at 10:34 AM

Hello Niekie! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and wish many happy returns of the day. Greetings from Lisbon. Carlos
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Donna_in_India Aug 27, 2009 at 11:07 PM

Wishing you a very happy birthday Niekie!
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kopwint Aug 27, 2009 at 8:30 PM

happy and free in your days, Happy Birthday to you from Burma..., this is my wish you..., Get harmony and peaceful., get healthy and strong., get success and smart in your greatest Birthday, Benn Burma or Know Burma???
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yellowcab Aug 28, 2008 at 9:23 AM

Happy birthday, Niekie! Mabuhay Greetings from Manila, Edwin
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a2lopes Aug 28, 2008 at 6:10 AM

Happy birthday Leonieke and many happy returns of the day. Greetings from Lisbon which is waiting for you at the Euromeeting
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mary2u99 Aug 28, 2008 at 2:24 AM

Hoi, Happy Birthday to you. :-)
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WorldMeet2008 Jul 25, 2008 at 6:51 AM

Your next trip? Make it really unique! It's not too late to attend WM08 - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv & Dead- Sea on 25- 28th Sept (+Petra 29-30th). We want to double the num of attendees to 100! Click to learn where, when, what, how, how much! Avi [FruitLover].
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jasmine_ding Apr 9, 2008 at 9:22 AM

Do I know her/him? Hehe..., it's good to know that you are working on your travel plan
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nirmataarchitect Nov 25, 2007 at 9:00 AM

good to know your views about traveling it will be a very courageous tour by car to see the desired places mentioned by you.