“There was a scorpion on my slipper!”

Most beautiful memory

Two years ago during a holiday in Suriname with my friend Rens. Our holiday was full of special moments, but one of my best memories was the visit to the beautiful Bergendal Eco Resort. We stayed here in a kind of luxury tree house in the middle of the tropical rainforest. Experiencing the jungle 24/7, with all its sounds, was so special to me!

This was drama

I went to St. Maarten once during hurricane season. Considered the chance of violent natural disasters during my one week to be virtually nil. Well, on the second day, subtropical storm Otto hit the pavement. Unfortunately, the hotel room turned out not to be resistant to all the rainwater. I was eventually evacuated to another hotel where the ceiling was not in danger of collapsing. Since then I have taken all travel advice very seriously.

Suitcase change

Once, after a long flight, I took an almost identical red suitcase from the baggage belt at Schiphol. When I got home I only found out that my key didn’t fit. Fortunately my suitcase was waiting for me in the luggage storage at Schiphol. Since then I have made my suitcase recognizable with stickers.

Craziest memory

When I opened my suitcase in Bangkok I suddenly saw a small gray-black scorpion sitting on my slipper. I was shocked to death. We put the beast in a laundry bag and killed it with a Chinese gong. The poison colored the laundry bag black, like ink from a fountain pen …

Always with you

My diary.

Favorite address

My boyfriend and I went to staycation in Zeeland in August. Here we had an amazing meal at Restaurant Morille in Koudekerke. The chef, Dennis Willems, gets his ingredients from the surrounding forests. For the salty ingredients, he puts on his boots and heads for the Zeeland coast. He has a lot of respect for nature and you can taste this in the dishes.

That did not go well

The Half Moon Party in Thailand was great, but I expected more from it.

Most beautiful meeting

In Bali, a cheerful old priest blessed me with a water ritual. My father was born on an island in Indonesia (Banka) and this was my first time going that way. I somehow felt an equal connection with Bali. Perhaps because my grandmother is Javanese.

Also in the My Trip section? Mail to [email protected].