Celebrating My Birthday in Kyiv, Again! (30th)

When booking Ukraine, I knew that I was gonna celebrate my 30th birthday in Kyiv. This happens to also be the same town where I celebrated my 22nd birthday back in 2013 during my first medium-sized hitchhiking trip. A few things have changed: I’m not a happy single anymore but a happy partnered individual. And as a partnered individual I am also not hyper-poor and on the brink of developing scurvy anymore. I believe they call this ‘progress’. Jokes aside, quite a lot has changed. My interests have changed. And though I think getting blind drunk, getting banged on theContinue reading

Kayak Trip Day 33: Vienna to Haslau – Birthday on the Danube

Events in this story happened Wednesday the 31st of July, 2019 – a.k.a. my birthday. We paddled our adorable yet fierce inflatable canoe named Zucchini from Vienna (Wien) to Haslau on the Danube river. Vienna is the capital city of Austria and Haslau is a village en route to the Austro-Slovakian border and Bratislava. This is how I spent my 28th birthday. Unfortunately, when editing the videos for this post and the next one (Day 34), I accidentally deleted all of them from the tiny camera’s SD card. Yes, we’ve tried every recovery program in the world. Yes, I amContinue 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

Die, Drôme: Celebrating My 24th Birthday in France!

24! I’m currently celebrating my birthday with my mom, step-father, and dog in France at a campsite. I’m kind of couchsurfing their campsite, or squatting it? Heck, I don’t know what to call it. We’re in Die in the Drôme department of France. It’s full of beautiful mountains and rivers. I think this is the 8th time or so I’ve celebrated my birthday in France; we used to go here almost every year when my sister and I were younger. So it’s like the good old days with a Francophone gâteau d’anniversaire! In recent years, I’ve spent my birthday abroadContinue reading