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About me

Tamga / Issyk-Kul

Hi! My name is Bart, founder of this website, and I travel to some of the world’s most fascinating places. From troubled regions to countries that don’t officially exist, my trips are low-budget and often improvised.

Turkmenistan, Iraq, Mali, Bangladesh and Swaziland. My trips take me to countries often not seen on bucket lists. But once out there I stumble upon incredible stories…

The discovery of an abandoned tank graveyard, meeting an African king and accidentally getting locked up inside an ancient Egyptian tomb. On my website you will find travel experiences that will give a whole new meaning to adventure travel. Exciting, right?

Quick links:

Where I’ve Been
My Goals
Publications
Let’s Talk

My fascination of travel specifically concern the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East and post-Soviet states. Away from the tourist crowds I find my way around the world mostly overland, occasionally by hitchhiking and often while staying with the locals.

This low-budget style of travelling challenges me and puts me into situations that I think are unique. I often travel in the wake of major (news) events or attend them as they happen. Always with a camera or smartphone by my side I capture some amazing moments and publish them not only here but also in other media.

Where I’ve been

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Homepage map
/tag/bangladesh
/tag/belarus
/tag/egypt
/tag/western-sahara
/tag/india
/tag/iraq
/tag/iran
/tag/jordan
/tag/kyrgyzstan
/tag/lebanon
/tag/liberia
/tag/mauritania
/tag/mozambique
/tag/peru
/tag/pakistan
/tag/eswatini
/tag/turkmenistan
/tag/ukraine
tag/albania
/tag/bosnia
/tag/china
/tag/georgia
/tag/israel
/tag/cambodia
/tag/kazakhstan
/tag/lithuania
/tag/malta
/tag/uzbekistan
/tag/vietnam
/tag/kosovo
/tag/armenia
/tag/switzerland
/tag/cabo-verde
/tag/liechtenstein

My first backpacking adventure took place in 2009, at the age of 21. Since then I travelled on and off, reaching 97 out of 193 UN states, 13 additional territories and 115 places as defined by the Travellers Century Club (Mar. ’22). In pretty much all those places I stayed anywhere between a full day and 4 months. On NomadMania.travel I am listed as the youngest among Dutch travellers that reached more than 100 UN+ regions. I have visited >280 places on the NM1301 map (Mar. ’22).

I focus first on the more difficult and ‘dangerous’ countries and keep the easier ones for later.

Confused? Counting countries is indeed a bit complicated given there are different definitions to use. That is why I am particularly fascinated by unrecognised states and weird little enclaves. I have been to places like Iraqi Kurdistan, Christiania, Western Sahara and Transnistria and crossed overland borders in numerous troubled regions like Korea, Pakistan, Kosovo and Mozambique. I plan to visit many more of these kind of places, like Somaliland in the Horn of Africa.

My goals

My current goal is to have travelled to all UN states in the geographical continent of Europe (45/47), and then move on to do the same in Asia.

That might sound like a walk in the park, but unfortunately we were faced with a Covid pandemic and I have an intensive job in the corporate world. Also, I still like making repeat visits every once in a while and visit regions outside of Europe / Asia. I always aim for quality visits, staying somewhere at least for several days looking for memorable experiences. Just stepping foot outside an airport won’t do it for me.

Apart from my Europe goal my approach is to focus first on the more difficult and ‘dangerous’ countries and keep the ‘easier ones’ for later. This is why you would not see me write about the best places to visit in Paris or New York. I does not mean I don’t visit these places, but I get more excited writing about places that are more unusual.

Publications & Media Appearances

Bart WNG2016
Me photographing the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan, Sept. 2016

If there’s one thing that gets me excited, it would be inspiring others about adventure travel. For this reason I have worked together with some great people who all share that same passion. A still expanding list of work can be found below.

Komsomolskaya Pravda // Interview Belarusian Newspaper
One Week Adventures // Albania Travel Guide
One Week Adventures // Jordan Travel Guide
Gamin Traveler // Interview: travelling with Bart from Offbeat Travelling
Tales Maze // 10 Places I Wish I Had Stayed At Much Longer!

My photographs and stories were published around the world, listed below.

Vice Sports// Entering Turkmenistan as one of the very few first photojournalists allowed in (NL)
Gazeta do Provo // The largest (and almost impossible) land route in the world (BRA)
Komsomolskaya Pravda // 14 things to do in Belarus (BLR)
Cool Material // This Is the Longest Straight Line Hike in the World (USA)
Vice Sports NL // World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan (NLD)
Nu.nl in beeld // Photo of the day (NLD)
The Guardian // Albania vs. Serbia EURO2016 qualifier (GBR)
Telesport Newspaper // Tirana Derby Report -Torture for the Toilet (ALB)
Dutch Journalism Fund // Balkan refugee crisis (NLD)
Pelle Mortensen // A World of Football (DNK)
NGO Shipbreaking Platform // Shipbreaking in Bangladesh (BEL)
Archeological Diggings Magazine // Behistun inscriptions Iran (AUS)
SKIWO // Balkan refugee crisis (NOR)
De Correspondent // Shipbreaking in Bangladesh (NLD)
ELF Voetbal Magazine // FIFA game Kosovo vs. Haiti (NLD)
SCOPE Magazine // Around the world in 7 months (NLD)

Let’s Talk

If you like my stories, photographs and crazy adventures, why not get in touch? There are several ways to do so, pick one you like. I hope to hear from you!

Contact Form // New Posts by Mail // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // Pinterest // Youtube

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About Bart

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

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Top Posts & Pages

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Chasing the micro states of Europe, here’s anoth Chasing the micro states of Europe, here’s another one visited: San Marino, one of the world’s oldest republics. It is home to just 33,000 people and is completely surrounded by Italy.

Have you ever heard of this place before? Have you visited?

#sanmarino #unesco #unescoheritage #micronation #travel #happyeaster #instatravel #backpacker #solotravel #mountain #castle #globetrotter #eps #everycountry #wanderlust #passionpassport #everypassportstamp #adventure #italy #enclave #tourism #tourist #natgeo
I visited Ukraine several times, heartbreaking to I visited Ukraine several times, heartbreaking to see what is happening now. Hoping for better days and for all hostilities to end asap…

#ukraine #kyiv #travel #peace
Back in 2014 I visited, by myself, the Ukrainian-c Back in 2014 I visited, by myself, the Ukrainian-controlled part of eastern province Donetsk to see the direct aftermath of the 2014 war.

I’m shocked to learn that a full scale war has now returned to Ukraine.

Places that I visited back then, Kharkiv, Slovyansk and Kramatorsk are now under attack by Russia. My thoughts are with all people affected.

Pray for Ukraine.
Exploring ancient lands in a forgotten corner of t Exploring ancient lands in a forgotten corner of the world. 

This is Alinja castle, the Machu Picchu of Azerbaijan but without the visitors. It’s hidden within the mountains of Nakhchivan, an autonomous region and exclave of Azerbaijan that hardly sees any visitors.

Have you heard of this place before?

#azerbaijan #nakhchivan #naxcivan #azeri #alinjafortress #alinjagala #asia #caucasus #globetrotter #nomadmania #everycountry #adventure #wanderlust #exploretheworld #travelstoke #lonelyplanet #lp #everypassportstamp #voyage #travel #instatravel #explorer #machupicchu #landscape #mountain #hiking #nature #passionpassport #backpacker #goexplore
Secret picture inside a militia checkpoint in Iraq Secret picture inside a militia checkpoint in Iraq.

Reliving my 2021 experience travelling independently through Iraq (backpacking style)

#iraq #samarra #middleeast #solotravel #traveller #instatravel #traveler #travel #tourist #tourism #visitiraq #passionpassport #adventure #wanderlust #globetrotter #everycountry #everypassportstamp #backpacker #beautifuldestinations #postcardsfromtheworld #postcardplaces #exploremore #traveladdict #roamtheplanet
Is this the most beautiful monument in the world? Is this the most beautiful monument in the world?

It has the most mesmerising curved shape, two carefully positioned pieces in dreamy and heavenly colours. An oasis of beauty and peace in a city so hectic, congested and scarred by years of conflict. 

This is the Al-Shaheed (Martyr’s) monument, completed in 1983 and dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers who died in the Iraq Iran war of the 1980s. 

#iraq #visitiraq #baghdad #middleeast #history #martyr #art #monument #eastereggs #onion #traveler #instatravel #travel #tourist #tourism #natgeo #passionpassport #wanderlust #globetrotter #traveladdict #solotravel #adventure #backpacker #beautifuldestinations #postcardsfromtheworld #postcardplaces #everycountry #eps #blue #exploremore
Mysterious ancient Roman arch found in middle of n Mysterious ancient Roman arch found in middle of nowhere near Mosul, Iraq.

#iraq #middleeast #history #ancient #mosul #bridge #arch #traveler #instatravel #travel #tourist #tourism #natgeo #nationalgeographic #mesopotamia #roman #romanempire #passionpassport #everycountry #traveladdict #adventure #visitiraq #solotravel #backpacker #wanderlust #beautifulworld #postcardsfromtheworld #postcardplaces
Iraq, where you can have ancient Mesopotamian wond Iraq, where you can have ancient Mesopotamian wonders (dating back 4,000 years) all to yourself.

#iraq #nasiriyah #mesopotamia #ziggurat #ur #uruk #visitiraq #middleeast #architecture #history #ruins #tourist #traveler #travel #instatravel #archeology #exploretheworld #natgeo #everycountryintheworld #everypassportstamp #eps #everycountry #passionpassport #wanderlust #offbeat #traveladdict #globetrotter #happy #everydaymiddleeast #postcardsfromtheworld
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