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Home Year in Review

December 25, 2016

Year in Review: Travel Achievements in 2016 and Plans for 2017

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Africa 2CV adventure
Happy times during the road trip of a life time towards the Western Sahara.

With only days left in 2016 I am looking back on another year of backpacking to unusual places. In this post I will share with you what I have done and reveal my adventure plans for the upcoming year. 

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Travel Achievements

In 2016 I so far added five new countries/territories to the list. In chronological order: Luxembourg, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the Western Sahara. Next week I’ll be flying to Lithuania for New Year’s Eve, making up the sixth new country. With this I am closing in on one of my goals to visit all UN countries in the European continent (currently at 37/47).

During the year I wrote a couple of posts about my trips, in case you missed it:

  • Three Weeks of Backpacking in Central Asia: Route, Accommodation and Expenses
  • Dead Goat Carcass Throwing at the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan
  • The Road Trip of a Lifetime: Driving a Citroën 2CV to the Western Sahara

This year I also visited countries I had already been a couple of times before. They include Germany, Belgium, Morocco and France. Though not all of my trips end up as articles on my website, I suggest to follow my social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to stay up to date.

One of my posts on Facebook at the time was about the high security measures taken in Paris, with heavily armed soldiers patrolling the main tourist sites and what seemed to be random bits of the city. I cycled around the town and managed to snap a few shots to show you what it was like.

Paris Security
Security around the Louvre in Paris was pretty tight. I obscured the soldiers’ faces for security reasons.
Paris Security
Also around the Eiffel tower soldiers were patrolling the streets.

Paris I must say surprised me a lot. The tourist sites are spectacularly beautiful while the more undiscovered suburbs of Paris are vibrant, multicultural and cool to hang out. Hanging out between dozens of drunk backpackers on the hilltop of Montmartre was particularly fun.

Paris Montmartre
Drunk backpackers from Argentina taking over a street musician’s performance in Montmartre.

Statistics

This is what 2016 will boil down to in travel statistics:

  • Visited 6 new countries + 4 additional ones already been before
  • Spent 44 nights abroad: Couchsurfing (1 night), camping (7), airport (2), train (2), hostels/hotels/resorts/motels (32)
  • All trips together costed me an all-in total of €1,800, I think that is very cheap
  • I took 5 flights, 5 trains and drove some bits by car
  • Covered 3,800 kms in Central Asia (article here) and 5,000 kms towards Africa (article here)
Almaty Kazakhstan
Flip-flops and snow during summer in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Some blogging statistics for 2016:

  • Published 15 articles on Offbeat Travelling (see the list here)
  • Reached 25,000 users and about 50,000 page views
  • Wrote 2 travel guides for One Week Adventures  (Albania, Jordan)
  • Wrote an article for Vice Sports about the World Nomad Games
  • Was interviewed about my adventures by Gamin Traveller
  • Opened up an online photography gift shop
  • Updated many technical things on the website, including a new home page

All in all pretty successful and so I am looking to continue the work in the new year, which I will discuss next.

Plans for 2017

Travel map
Places visited as of December 2016 (blue) and plans for 2017 (red)

Next year will be more about shorter trips. My strategy is to take maximum advantage of weekends and public holidays, combined with a few days off from work for each trip. This style of travelling, I just found out, has it’s own name: bite-sized backpacking or “snap-packing”.

With my available holiday days I am going to Costa Rica / Panama (April) and road trip Switzerland and Liechtenstein somewhere in summer. A major adventure will be to try gain access to one of the most closed countries in the world, Turkmenistan. I have some ideas how to obtain a visa so let’s see how that will go. High on my 2017 bucket list is also to spend a week in Oman and if I’m lucky I could be in Senegal/Gambia around NYE 17/18.

All should get me at 40/47 for my Europe goal and 87 (out of 325) countries and territories using the definition of the Travellers Century Club (TCC).

That’s it for now! Do you have any suggestions for new articles on my site in 2017? Let me know in the comment section down below!

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"My name is Bart and I travel to some of the world’s most fascinating places"

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Dog sledding in Finland 😍. Out in the incredibl Dog sledding in Finland 😍. Out in the incredible nature with these beautiful huskies. Is it on your bucket list?

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#travel #husky #huskylove #huskylife #huskylovers #huskiesofinstagram #husky #dog #finland #lapland #snow #travel #tourist #traveldestination #bucketlist #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #instatravel #everycountry #exploretheworld #traveladdict #wanderlust
I’m stepping out of the spot light! It’s bee I’m stepping out of the spot light! 

It’s been a wonderful and eventful three months of travelling around Africa and Saudi Arabia and a pleasure to share it all with you guys! But it’s time to get back to normal (working) life again, so that’s why I’m posting this from the comforts of my home in the Netherlands.

I might create some reels of my past adventures, but the pace of me using social media will drop significantly. As you might know, I don’t use Instagram that much when I’m not travelling. So the moment I will, you will be the first to know! 

Thanks all once again for following me and tagging along on my journeys around the world!

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#travel #instatravel #fuji_travel #wanderlust #picoftheday #travelphotography #exploretheworld #worldtraveller #everycountry #everypassportstamp #beautifuldestinations #traveldestination #backpacker #solotravel #adventure #adventuretravel #natgeotravel #passionpassport #nomadmania #aroundtheworld #jeddah #visitsaudiarabia #saudiarabia
What a great party at the 2023 Grand Prix Formula What a great party at the 2023 Grand Prix Formula One in Jeddah!

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#swedishhousemafia #saudiarabiangp #concert #performance #dj #visitsaudi #jeddah #travel #party #mood #disco #edm #dancemusic #electronicmusic #holiday #grandprix #saudiarabia #shm #mdlbeast #formula1jeddah
Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 in 2023 Travelling to Saudi Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 in 2023

Travelling to Saudi Arabia all by yourself? No tour guides or sponsored trips? Totally possible! I hired a car and drove 3.000 km from Riyadh to Jeddah!

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#adventure #tourism #visitsaudiarabia #travel #travelblogger #wanderlust #worldtrip #aroundtheworldpics
Wealth is not measured by how much money you have. Wealth is not measured by how much money you have. Neither by how much you travelled and the experiences you gathered. It’s determined by the number of camels you own.

How many camels do you have?

#camelmarket #saudiarabia #visitsaudi #visitsaudiarabia #market #animals #souq #travel #instatravel #fuji_travel #wanderlust #picoftheday #travelphotography #exploretheworld #worldtraveller #everycountry #everypassportstamp #beautifuldestinations #traveldestination #backpacker #solotravel #adventure #adventuretravel #natgeotravel #passionpassport #nomadmania #aroundtheworld
Where the road ends, is where the adventure starts Where the road ends, is where the adventure starts.

#saudiarabia #visitsaudi #visitsaudiarabia #independenttravel #tourist #travel #instatravel #fuji_travel #wanderlust #picoftheday #travelphotography #exploretheworld #worldtraveller #everycountry #everypassportstamp #beautifuldestinations #traveldestination #backpacker #solotravel #adventure #adventuretravel #natgeotravel #passionpassport #nomadmania #aroundtheworld #travelquotes
Is it safe to travel in West and Central Africa? W Is it safe to travel in West and Central Africa? Well, after two months travelling using public transport I came a long way and made it to my final destination!

Yes, I did get malaria twice and road transport is not always the safest. But never did I encounter crime, hate, violence, etc. Just smiles and curiosity.

It’s been mostly solitary travel though. I did not meet many other like-minded people on the road. In these regions, solo travel really means solo. Eating out alone almost every day. Going on hikes all by yourself. Staying in a hospital without anyone visiting you. Always paying for a double room by yourself.

But in the end, my two months here have been full of nice and memorable encounters. The tea guy at the bus station, selling amazing ginger lemon tea. The Ghanian woman who crossed the border into Togo with me. The young boy selling ice cream for absolutely no money. The local kid who offered me water when I was totally thirsty.

Soon I will leave this continent once again, but for sure the continent will not leave me. I’ll be back!

#ghana #togo #benin #saotome #gabon #cameroon #westafrica #centralafrica #africa #travel #instatravel #selfie #wanderlust #picoftheday #travelphotography #exploretheworld #worldtraveller #everycountry #everypassportstamp #beautifuldestinations #traveldestination #backpacker #solotravel #adventure #adventuretravel #natgeotravel #passionpassport #nomadmania #aroundtheworld #peoplephotography
São Tomé and the iconic Cão Grande. I guess you São Tomé and the iconic Cão Grande. I guess you all liked this photo from my stories, so why not post it here as well?

Have you been to Sao Tome? Did you do a self drive like me, on a motor? Or by car? With a guide? Let me know how you travelled around the island so others can read and learn about the different options! 

#saotome #paradiseisland #paradise #mountain #island #principe #saotomeprincipe #travel #instatravel #fuji_travel #wanderlust #picoftheday #travelphotography #exploretheworld #worldtraveller #everycountry #everypassportstamp #beautifuldestinations #traveldestination #backpacker #solotravel #adventure #adventuretravel #natgeotravel #passionpassport #nomadmania #aroundtheworld
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