I made a little something after encountering a clogged-up toilet and a hostel cleaner who looked frustrated. Perhaps you never even considered your toilet paper’s destiny… but should you flush the toilet paper? I made a cool flowchart to help you determine whether to bin it or flush it! Follow these easy steps: But really. Clogged toilets and sewage systems are a huge problem in many parts of the world – and the traveler isn’t helping the cause. I’ve met a few travelers who were proud to announce they would straight up refuse to bin their used toilet paper whenContinue reading
Miscellaneous
Yeah, you did it! You found the least-findable category page: miscellaneous!
Miscellaneous (adjective)
mɪsəˈleɪnɪəs
consisting of a mixture of various things that are not usually connected with each other
On this page, you’ll find all sorts of things. Anything I’ve written that doesn’t belong elsewhere belongs here.
Some posts don’t belong in a very specific category, such as ‘Danube’ or ‘Africa.’ Of course, some posts can belong to multiple categories, and ‘miscellaneous’ can be one of them. Some posts are deeply personal, some of them are goofy. And I guess I tried to make some of them useful and generic. The pattern is that there is no pattern. Categorizing stuff is hard for people like me: an agent of chaos.
Who knows, I might one day find that I have no use for the category of miscellaneous anymore. Perhaps I’ll change it. But I think you deserve a badge for finding this page at all. Kudos!
71 Reasons to Visit South America in 2017
Whether you’re a hitchhiker, a digital nomad, or a holidaymaker, South America is absolutely phenomenal. Let’s not hold off on that long-desired trip to the southern hemisphere any longer! Without further ado, here’s your randomly ordered justification to go ahead and get south the coming year: 1. Firstly, pick up fifty shades of Spanish! As a result of colonialism, South America is quite homogeneous language-wise, with Spanish and Portuguese being the most spoken. Or mix ’em up and you get “Portuñol“. Learn just enough Portuguese to make your trip to Brazil easy-peasy with Duolingo or Memrise. So instead you want toContinue reading
Mind of a Hitchhiker: The Game!
Introducing a new feature on my travel blog: Mind of a Hitchhiker: The Game! Take me to MOAH: The Game! The Idea to Make a Game If you’ve never hitchhiked, this is your chance to enjoy a soft introduction into the art of stopping cars. The current version needs a keyboard (i.e. proper computer, no phone/tablet) to play. Together with my co-author for the Buenos Aires Guide Jonas, I’ve put together this videogame in which you play this pixelated character that hitchhikes and fends off mosquitoes. The conception of the idea went pretty much like this: Jonas: I’ve always wanted to programContinue reading
Loss on the Road—Farewell, Ashley
Trigger warning: pet loss, death Oh, how I hate talking about death. Usually, I just pretend that it doesn’t exist and everyone and every being will always be around for eternity. Like there’s not enough people already telling me that I won’t be around for much longer unless I quit hitchhiking and do something normal instead. Traveling—what a selfish thing to do when there are people at home worried sick about what silly shit I am doing now. Why am I not caring and taking responsibility for my aging family instead? Losing Ashley Last week my mother told me thatContinue reading
Hitchhiking Anniversary: 4 Years a Hitchhiker!
Today is my hitchhiking anniversary: it’s been four years since I first put up my thumb to stop a car! I’m applauding Facebook for its ‘memories’ feature that brings up gems like this photo of me catching my first ever ride. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but the event right here in this photo has proven to be quite the life-changing moment. What happened that day four years ago? I guess I’ve never really talked about this on the blog. It may be good to type this up another time. Long story short: I was an exchange student inContinue reading
I Wrote a Travel Guide and It Has Nothing To Do with Hitchhiking
Long time, no blog! But I have been legitimately busy. I arrived in Uruguay about three weeks ago and decided to first travel around the country, as far and wide as possible. Before that, I was writing a travel guide together with Real Digital Nomad™ (someone who travels and works from a laptop and has enough money not to hitchhike) and partner Jonas about Buenos Aires. Only a few people know this about me, but here it is: I’ve always wanted to write a travel guide. In fact, after I started traveling more often in 2012, my first new ‘dream’Continue reading
A Quiet Birthday (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Pfew… That time of the year is over again! Last week I turned 25 and the day just passed like that. It’s the second time I’m in Buenos Aires, Argentina on my birthday, but it was really different from when I went from 19 to 20 at my guest family. This time year: no celebration, nothing whatsoever. No cake (not the biggest fan anyway), candles or balloons. No friends visiting, birthday cards or a party. Minimalistic; just me and a package of tissues. I’ve been struggling with a cold – and have been feeling very sorry for myself – butContinue reading
Five Years Ago—My Travels to Buenos Aires Then and Now (Argentina)
The past weeks I’ve been very silent on the blog and social media. BUT I HAVE RESURFACED! The last major update from Ushuaia, Argentina, was about quitting smoking. I know you might think I started smoking again, but that’s not the case at all. That’s actually going mighty fine! No… my mind has been stuck on drawing parallels to my trip five years ago and the one today. Five years ago to the date, I was rounding up my first year at university. I was planning a five-week Spanish learning trip to Buenos Aires. Argentina’s capital was then the cityContinue reading
Chile to Argentina: a Border Crossing Vlog
In my second vlog ever (first vlog here), I’m hitchhiking across the border from Chile to Argentina over two days’ time. The border crossing is at Paso Rio Jeinemeni. That’s a river that forms the border per the 1902 agreement between Chile and Argentina. The small river drains into the binational lake called Lake General Carrera in Chile and Lake Buenos Aires in Argentina. The lake also has a native Tehuelche name: Chelenko. I’m running out of days on my Chilean visa, so I have to hurry! I wasn’t paying attention, because 90 days seemed like an endless time atContinue reading