Home Is Where The Car Is (2024)

31/08/2017

Cappadocia, Turkey [October 2016]

Are we Throwback Thursday bi***es? Not particularly, yet here we are: On Thursday, posting one of our photos taken of our trip and even putting the hashtag of TBT underneath the post. Maybe we are a bit TBT bi***es.

Either way, today it felt right to connect the hard drive to my laptop again and to go through some of the photos taken on our trip. There are so many of them.

This photo was actually taken with my iPhone. As you can see, the camera is with Josephine. The camera we got used too, so much. The camera we took thousands and thousands of photos with. On this point of our trip, we had our Nikon only for a week. We were still figuring out how it was working.

And we did figure it out (or at least, we like to think we did). We drove through all those countries without one single problem. But once we got back to Europe, the place we thought to be the safest, it went wrong. The camera, among other stuff, got stolen. Bastards, those people.

The other bastards? Our insurance company, , who doesn’t pay one cent for our stolen stuff. Of course they don’t pay. What insurance company does? They will always find a way to not pay.

Either way, I will look at some more photos and maybe post some of them. It doesn’t even have to be on Thursdays only

16/07/2017

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

We are a bit hangover from the drinking last night.
We are hanging in our apartment, chilling and actually catching up with an old friend we met in India a couple of months ago. Welcome Izy.

The sun isn’t shining. It should have been shining though, I mean, it is summer in the end. But it is gray outside and the rain comes and goes. Dutch summer and it is not the summer that we had imagined at all.

Later on we have a birthday to go to. My fathers birthday actually. We will have to take a train to another city for that. We will be eating some pizza, drinking some wine and chatting with the family. Easy.

Today we won’t be camping in the wild. We won’t see or visit new places. There won’t be big new highs. We know what to expect, more or less. We know how the evening will go, more or less. We know what train we will take back home tonight, more or less. We know when we will go to bed, more or less.

And you know what? It might sounds boring, but I love it. It is good. It is a good life. For now, for a while.

About the photo, any one of you has an idea where this kid is from?

04/07/2017

Amsterdam

We have been 'home' for a while now and it is weird ass s**t, in many ways...

Seeing our family and friends again, having loads of nice dinners, always access to a proper toilet, hot water and clean drinking water...
And boy, do we have a lot of stuff! Materialists is what we are! Yeah, it is such a cliche, but once you have travelled for quite a while with just a few things, you really realise once you are home how much s**t you actually have. Or, at least we have loads of it. Embarrassing, if you think about how little we needed the last 10 months.

Being home also means no more unlimited freedom. It means having less nature around us. It is kind of boring to know where we will sleep the next day, and the day after. But it is also very nice.

It is confusing to be home. Love and hate come together. We probably just need some more time to fully adjust...

19/06/2017

Europe

Why the colourful Josephine?
Life is good.
Because we are healthy, happy and very lucky in many ways. We have had an amazing trip, and have reached Europe safely after driving more than 40.000 kilometres.

Why the black and white background?
Not because black and white are bad, but because life also has downsides. Nothing too bad, luckily.

In the last couple of weeks we have had some downers. Mechanical issues, a new colour of the car, almost not being able to leave Russia due to wrong papers and last but not least, a couple of days ago they broke into our car.

They stole our camera, GoPro, iPod, radio glasses for driving and many more things. It's sad, but it happens. And at least it happens now, in Latvia, and not in one of the countries everyone says it would happen. By the way: this also means we have lost loads of photos. And don't have a camera to take new ones anymore. From now on it will be flashbacks, like Josephine standing against this wall in sunny Mumbai.

Let's hope our bad luck ends here!

16/06/2017

Russia

You all have been waiting for the story about Dox and his fifty shade of grey. Here it is.

When we tried to fix our car in Samara, just after entering Russia from Kazakhstan, we got told that the parts we needed, weren't there. We had to go to a garage in Moscow, who, according to our mechanics in Samara, had all the parts. Off we went to Moscow, scared as hell something would go wrong, to go to the promised garage with all the parts within hand reach.

Once arrived in Moscow It went the way we hoped for. They knew about our problems, we left the car there, took a metro to a hostel and we could enjoy Moscow while they fixed our car. Or so we thought.

Three days later we got a text that our car was ready. Once we arrived at the garage, the first shock was there. Dox had changed colour. From beautiful equally grey to fifty shades of grey. It's a big shock if you see that, believe me. Apparently the mechanics did a carwash with some heavy chemicals, without us knowing it, and therefor our lacquer is partly gone.

Second shock: Basically nothing got fixed, so the transmission is still leaking like a little baby that is drooling, while our steering wheel oil container is spitting the oil out like a teenager who drinks too much. But friendly as the mechanics were (to be honest: they were very friendly), instead of charging us, they gave us money. But still.. Car not fixed, a new colour and some work we have to do asap. Damn...

p.s. Photo was taken somewhere in Kyrgyzstan, the land of nature. Or one of the countries of nature.

12/06/2017

Moscow, Russia

'Oh beautiful Moscow: your beauty is overwhelming, your people are unexpectedly welcoming, you are hipster, you are artistic, you are lived, but you are fresh at the same time, you are wild, you can be warm, but at the same time so ridiculously cold, you make an alcoholic out of me, you make me dance, you are huge, but at the same time small, you have one of the most wonderful metro systems in the world and I don't want to leave you, but I do want to come back!'

This very famous saying, by David Hielkema, perfectly describes Moscow for me. It really does the trick. Moscow is epic. Our car not so much any more, by the way. Dox is fifty shades of grey these days. But that's a totally different story... We follow up on that.

09/06/2017

Aral Sea, Uzbekistan

Once upon a time there was a wild sea right here on this spot. For weeks the strongest men from the villages went out on their boats to catch fish. Rain, storms, wind: they knew the sea and they conquered it.

When the men, smelling like fish and sweat, finally returned, the village was in ecstasy. Parties were thrown. Vodka and beer was shared, fish was fried. Children saw their fathers again, the women were relieved to see their husbands alive and well. But times have changed...

Most part of the sea is gone, in the bit of sea that is left the fish have died, men have disappeared to the cities to make money, the boats are rusting away and the village tries these days to sell the former Aral Sea as a tourist attraction. Life is hard, life changes, life is unpredictable.

[Disclaimer: Most of this story has come forth out of my imagination - just the part of the Aral Sea disappearing is 100% true]

p.s. Try to spot Dox. Though Land Rovers are famous for rusting away as well, he is not in that stage yet.

06/06/2017

This is a picture take in stunning Samarkand, Uzbekistan. In the meantime we are out of Uzbekistan, have crossed Kazakhstan and have arrived in Russia. We however have virtually nothing to show you from Kazachstan, as most of our hours there were spend on the highway and at the mechanic. Sadly, Dox is not doing so well. To be precise, the problems with the engine are that bad, that we had to go to Russia to have it fixed. That is also the reason why we have no nice Russian surroundings to show you as the only thing we have seen so far is, again, the inside of the mechanic’s garage.

It seems like even here, in Samara, they do not have the needed parts for preparing our beloved car/home/pet. This means we will be hitting the road to Moscow tomorrow, driving a risky 12 hours to get to the next garage for actual fixing of the Dox. Let’s hope it will all work out, inshallah.

And let’s be honest, after 4000 km trouble free driving on some of the World’s worst road in extreme climates, we can’t really blame Dox for his current troubles. Still happy to have him! Hopefully he will be better in time in order to shows us around our last few destinations. In which case we will try to overload your feed with some final photographic evidence of this planet’s awesomeness.

05/06/2017

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

What to say about Uzbekistan? Our experiences were almost exclusively positive, hospitable and generous people, amazing architecture in supreme restored state, friendly police and an air of tolerance and acceptance.

But our knowledge tells us different things. Uzbekistan is also the country where walls are built to shield the old parts of cities of from the new, polished parts, because the state does not like the poor, unkept image the old town might convey. It is the country where farmers are forced to cultivate cash crop cotton, year after year, although the Uzbek soil is unfit for this particular crop. The relentless cultivation tires the soil and farmers alike, whose income yields too little for them to hire the necessary workforce to cultivate their land, as the prices are controlled by the state. In stead of paying farmers a sufficient wage, the Uzbek government forces people all over the country to work on cotton harvesting during the harvest season. It is only fairly recently that children are excused from this forced labour, following international uproar.

Cotton is the third biggest source of income for the country and perhaps Uzbekistan as a whole profits a bit from the mass production of this cash crop, but that far from justifies the malpractices related to its production.

With Uzbekistan's former and more rigid president having passed away and a new, more liberal successor having taken over, we wonder what it will mean for the government's doubtful policies on city planning, farming and oppression.

01/06/2017

Uzbekistan

See this pile of mud? Well, first of all: it is not just a pile of mud. It is a pile of mud that is older than Jesus. Yeah!

This fort, the Koy Krylgan Qala fort, was in use as early as the 4th century BC. Although we needed some good imagination to actually recognise it as a fort (we will let you use your imagination too), the idea of being on top of a fort that survived so long, did the trick. Sort of. But still, harsh winters, sand storms, rainfall, incredibly hot summers... it is something!

And being there with our lovely fellow overlanders wasn't too bad either. I don't think we have any other friends that we have met in so many different countries: India, Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and now Uzbekistan. That's a nice list!

31/05/2017

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Hello Lonely Planet Cover of Central Asia of 2014!

Traveling around the world with a Lonely Planet. Not really Lonely at all, is it? But that doesn’t matter, we use the LP once in a while. We of course use it on our phone, not hardcover, because we don’t want any one else to see us reading it… but we enjoy the book for the background information it gives on sights. Often it is written lively and gives us some good anecdotes.

On the other hand the book is about many sights extremely positive all the time. Every building is again beautiful, has a great history and is an absolutely MUST SEE. We find it difficult sometimes to figure out what to see and what to skip.

But back to the topic: why did the Lonely Planet pick this building, the Chor Minar in Bukhara, for the cover? We looked it up, but couldn’t find it. Apparently they use random pics. And maybe it is a good thing:

30/05/2017

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Not only is this complex of mausoleums a beautiful architectural and historical highlight, it is also an important place of pilgrimage for Muslims. As you might see on this picture, my legs are exposed, I am wearing a “short" dress! For me, visiting a muslim shrine in a shorter dress and without covering my head was definitely a new experience, this trip.

It is always interesting to see how differently the Islam is interpreted and applied in different places. We went from Iran, where the Islam means you have to dress conservatively and men and women are usually separated, to Pakistan, where there is no national law for Islamic dressing, but a women’s head must be covered when entering a mosque or shrine, to Uzbekistan, where one is simply asked to behave respectfully, but this can be interpreted in your own terms.

We have to admit, we quite like the Uzbek interpretation. It is nice not to have to worry about hiding hair, lower arms, ankles, etcetera. And despite the lack of obvious rules and regulations, people do behave modestly when visiting these holy places. No one is seen running, shouting, or writing their names on walls. It seems people agree on a common sense of what is proper behavior and dress and otherwise leave each to his/her own in deciding exactly what modest dressing should look like.

Islam, or religion, in Uzbekistan, seems to be a personal matter and we like it that way!

29/05/2017

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

'I know we've come a long way,
We're changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?'

Actually this song by good old Cat Stevens does touch some serious questions these days. All the children with their phones and computers... but in Samarkand, at the main square Registan, we did know where the children played. And what they do: hide 'n seek!

Registan, once a public square in the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand, is now a touristy square you can't enter without paying an entrance fee. But what is somehow authentic is the shops selling stuff, touristy stuff of course, and the woman and children strolling around. Women doing business while children play hide and seek!

28/05/2017

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Why do I have such a big smile on my face at the Shodi Mulk Oko Mausoleum, sister and niece of the great ruler Timur? Laughing is not really a typical reaction when visiting graves, even if they are as beautiful as this one.

Most of the touristic places we go to are filled with people trying to sell some stuff. Post cards (any one interested in a post card from us?), magnets, drinks, books, souvenirs, more souvenirs and even more souvenirs. But besides this business of theirs, the sellers also exchange money. And this time we had some euro’s to exchange.

The smile on my face here, was because of the man’s negotiation skills: he was very determined to say the least, and of course I wasn’t at all… Let’s say the negotiations went on for quite a while. Eventually we agreed on a rate and I got a small present.

The seller must have been influenced by Timur's spirit, wondering around the graves of his relatives and friends. Timur, said to be a great leader, shared his belongings with the ‘normal people’, instead of keeping it all for himself. So besides the rate we decided on, the seller gave us some postcards. Thanks Timur!

27/05/2017

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

After filling our minds and Instagram feed with images of blue skies, snow capped mountains, green grass and azure waters, we thought it was time for a change. We drove Dox to Uzbekistan, home of some of the most amazing remains of ancient Islamic architecture, for some refreshing sights of man made glory. First stop: Samarkand.

Said to be one of Asia's oldest settlements, Samarkand has always been an important stop along the Silk Road, but it celebrated its heyday during the Timurid area, when most of the towns most beautiful buildings were erected. That is to say, the most beautiful buildings surviving the test of time.
Timur's grave itself, as seen on this picture, is actually one of the least lavishly decorated buildings that can be found in Samarkand. Not bad, right?

What struck us most when visiting each of these architectural wonders is that they seem to be in perfect condition. It is almost as if they were build 20 years ago, rather than 600 to 400 years ago. Credits for this go to the Soviets, who did extensive maintenance works on the remains during their reign in Central-Asia. Although the work does deserve some credit, it is also a bit controversial, as many of the original art work was replaced by replicas. In some occasions, the soviets even added some new elements.

It made us wonder, what is better: a slowly decaying building in original state or a crisp, new-like, restored version?

23/05/2017

Afghan border, Tajikistan

Tajikistan is famous for a few things, the Pamir Highway is one of the country's unique selling points and it is beautiful indeed (we will spare you the details on the road conditions...).

However, the country is also famous for a less positive thing, namely drug smuggling. Tajikistan shares a huge an easily penetrable border with Afghanistan, world’s biggest he**in producer. Having a neighbor whose two major export products are opiates and ma*****na and a border difficult to control, it is no wonder Tajiks are joining on the profits of the drug trade.

When you think about driving along the Tajik - Afghan border, you might assume you would see unrest, signs of violence and chaos, perhaps, as drug trade usually brings these things along. The fact that Afghanistan suffers from extremist religious violence does not help the situation either, right?

But driving along this border we saw no such things. Of course our insight in this country was very limited and we are only able to see what is on the surface, but it still surprises us to see a seemingly normal, peaceful and beautiful country, where we are made to believe Afghanistan is war territory.

We have considered crossing the river about a hundred times (like this time: just on the opposite of where we camped), but at the same time we thought it wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. Hopefully it will soon no longer be just a question of only thinking about crossing the border, and tourist will be able to easily and safely explore both sides of the beautiful Pamir region.

22/05/2017

Wanna know why this man looks so sceptic?
Or curious how not to get a Chinese visa?

Go for all of that and more to our latest article! Check link in BIO. Or just like the photo and don't care about it.

21/05/2017

Tajikistan

Some of you might know already, but for those of you who don’t: we have a love-hate relationship with lakes. And we would like to talk about it, if that is okay with you. This is some serious s**t.

We love to visit lakes, check them out and maybe even swim in them, if the weather allows it. But reaching a lake is easier said than done… Many, many, many times during this trip we have failed to reach the lake we were planning on reaching. And many times, we got really, really, really close. So close, that we looked at each other and said: How is it possible to turn around while we are almost there? Why us? WHY?!

Sometimes we hiked for hours, but without seeing a glimpse of the lake. The lake would be too far away and we had to turn around before the night would fall. Another time we didn’t walk, but took Dox with us. He would bring us to the lake. Except that just 10 kilometers before, a landslide occurred. We had to turn around. And then there were the times we went to a lake, actually saw it, but it was raining outside or way too windy or too cold. It is hard guys, reaching a lake actually.

So Josephine and I sat around, had a long talk with each other, looked at Dox, and said to each other: We have to go to Tajikistan, the country of the lakes. The country where about 2% of the surface area is covered by lakes!

And here she stands, Josephine, at just another stunning lake.

16/05/2017

Lake Karakul, Tajikistan

We are speeding up a bit. Only 6 weeks left before we will be back in the Netherlands. That means, we see a lot of beautiful things in a short period of time... crazy when you think about how fast everything went and goes!

Any ways, this shot was taken at Lake Karakul. Another high altitude lake that sits at 3914 meter. The water you see on the photo is actually the only that wasn't snow covered.

The skull you see on the photo is of a Marco Polo Sheep. At least, we think so! Apparently around this area it is easy to spot the beautiful sheep, but we were not lucky. So far no alive Marco Polo Sheep yet. But we have another five days on the Pamir Highway, so who knows?

Why Marco Polo? Rustichello da Pisa about these mountain goats in his 13th century’s The Travels of Marco Polo, a book based on Polo’s stories about his travels through Asia between 1276 and 1291. Back then, the sheep were still around in great numbers, we suppose. These days, they are unfortunately yet another name on the list of endangered species.

15/05/2017

Pamir Highway, Tajikistan

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear …, Happy Birthday to you!

No, it was not Dox his birthday. Though the car is shining at the Pamir Highway, it was someone else who was in need of a party. Josephine was celebrating her 25th year, her one quarter of a century!

Her birthday was actually a couple of days ago, on the 13th of May, but we got stuck on the Pamir Highway without any internet.
Funny fact: Pamir Highway is the second highest Highway in the world. Number one is Karakoram Highway. Guess where David celebrated his birthday? Indeed!

Aren’t we one hell of a couple?

11/05/2017

Gulcha, Kyrgyzstan

‘The Yurt owners can arrange horses’, ‘Hire horses in Kyrgyzstan (for around US$10 a day)’, ‘The families can provide cars and horses to the lower lake’, ‘Either place can organise bikes and horses’... Horses, horses, horses. It is all about horses! Where as the cow is holy in India, the horse is holy in Kyrgyzstan.

Did you hear about the Scottish guy who made a joke about a Kyrgyzstan national dish, saying the sausage looked like the p***s of a horse? He got deported, after the judge was a pretty cool guy for not sending him to prison. Some believe this joke almost started a war between the UK and Kyrgyzstan. Either way: don’t mess or joke about horses while you are here (leave the national dishes for what they are as well)!

In Kyrgyzstan we see horses everywhere we go. They are free and just roam about a bit... Beautiful: this is the way it should be with animals. Freedom to a certain extent, space to move around, not being locked up the whole day and enough fresh food to eat (no garbage or plastic, India!).

The one thing we noticed about horses we liked less, was that sometimes the legs of the horses are tied together with a rope. All so they can’t move away too far... Understandable, but it looks a bit sad: A big horse taking these very little steps... But still, their life isn’t too bad.

08/05/2017

Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Most of you have probably heard of Lake Titicaca, located for one part in Bolivia and for the other part in Peru. If you are travelling through South America and you follow the Gr**go trail, it is difficult to miss it. Lake Titicaca is the worlds largest alpine like. Long introduction, but what you see here is number two on the list of largest alpine lakes: Lake Issyk-Kul, meaning 'Hot Lake'.

The water of the lake isn't hot at all. And why swim if the water is cold and outside it is not above 30 degrees yet? But calling it 'Hot Lake' makes sense in some way: not because of it's beauty (hot!), but because the lake never freezes. And Kyrgyzstan's winters can be very cold.

One big and sad difference between Lake Titicaca and Lake Issyk-Kul: in the latter one is hardly any fish left. Most fish sold around the lake, are actually caught in other lakes around here...

07/05/2017

Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

It took some time, but we finally found an architectural building in Kyrgyzstan. Tadaaa... let us present you the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Karakol!

We have to admit, we have seen more beautiful buildings, but why complain if there is finally something man-made that was worth checking out?

Kyrgyzstan is not really famous for its architecture, here it is mostly about nature. Plenty off nature. Kyrgyzstan is one of the least populated countries in the world. What a difference compared to, for instance, India! Here, there are rolling green hills, peaceful pastures with grazing horses and endless beautiful bush camping spots, we like it!

06/05/2017

On our way to Kumtor, Kyrgyzstan

Foreign companies in other countries: there is always something controversy to it.

In Kyrgyzstan there is a gold mine, named Kumtor. It is the world’s eighth-largest goldfield, it has the second-highest gold mining operation going on (4200m) and it produces an estimated 12% of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP. But, the mine is 100% owned by a Canadian mining company and they, of course, make the big bucks.

What to think of that? Probably by the time the Canadians arrived to start the operation, in 1997, there were no Kyrgyzstan companies who had the knowledge or the money to operate on this mine. The Canadian company did have all of that and it helped the local economy enormously.

But people develop, knowledge too, and in 2013 protestors clashed with the company, arguing that they wanted better environmental conditions. The protestors also argued that the mine should be nationalized.

It is difficult, always, because my first reaction is that of course all the money should go to the locals and the Kyrgyzstan government. But then again, the Canadians invested here and some contracts must have been signed - although contracts can be controversial as well.

Whatever is right or wrong, at least we figured out where all the gold teeth of the Kyrgyzstan people come from - HA - !

05/05/2017

You all have seen Slumdog Millionaire, right? Well, if not: don’t. The movie is full of stereotypes. Kids stealing s**t, slum life like hell and a 'Slumdog' boy only being able to win this quiz by luck and not because he has some real knowledge. Or does the movie really show India as it is? One simple question for you, before continuing reading: when thinking of India, what do think of?

/

Check it out in our latest article. MYTH BUSTERS!
Check link in bio or just go to the website! 🇮🇳

04/05/2017

Fairy Tale Valley, Kyrgyzstan

Fairy Tale Valley says it all, right? We think so too. Stunning landscape, over the years formed into sculptures and formations by just wind.

Funnily enough some sculptures also have names. One is called "The Chinese Wall", obviously due to its similarity to the Great Wall of China. And then there are names like hippopotamus, snake, dragon and sleeping giant.

Not to forget: the castle. Maybe David is walking here in the moat of the castle?

For those who don't know what a moat is (like we didn't know the English word for it's Dutch counterpart): A deep wide ditch, usually filled with water, typically surrounding a fortified medieval town, fortress, or castle as a protection against assault.

03/05/2017

From Pakistan to Kyrgyzstan

We have arrived in Kyrgyzstan. A country I didn’t even know that existed before we left the Netherlands 8 months ago. Yet, here we are. About Kyrgyzstan we will follow up soon: just some short information so you are not worried: we love it.

So, China. The whole crossing was one hell of an experience. Hell? Yes, at some times at least. Luckily we didn’t have to do it all by ourselves. We had a lovely team surrounding us. And that might sounds cheesy, but it is true: we really enjoyed their company and the group worked out amazing. Driving together was fun, sharing the China cross is a big advantage (if we would go without them, 4 days would cost us 2000 US dollar, now it costs 800 US dollar; fu**in expensive any way) and a problem shared, is a problem halved. And during this trip we shared quite a few problems.

One other advantage of this whole trip is that there are some photos taken of us by the others. We will steal some of them. Like this on, taken by the Swedish couple (last car) who don’t have an Instagram account. Cheers anyway guys!

Thanks to our lovely fellow overlanders: (motor dude who unfortunately isn’t on this photo).

See you guys on the road somewhere, sometime!

02/05/2017

Kashgar, China

From colourful India and Pakistan, to the black and white of China. From informality being the standard to formality being the rule. From having tea with officials to obeying every word an official says. From laughter to being totally quiet.

What a difference! So, we adapted a bit. Josephine wearing black and black.

This mosque, somewhere in the new old part of Kashgar, was beautiful from a distance! Getting closer we noticed another small difference between China and Pakistan/India: from stunning old buildings to new look-a-like old buildings.

Still, the city was organised and clean. That's nice too sometimes! 😊

29/04/2017

Karakul Lake, China

Four days of China does not seem long, and waiting for the right documents half of the time didn't really help either.

But we crossed the country and luckily we did see some of the nature! This stunning lake for example. It is one of the highest in the area and the scenery around it is beautiful. The water goes from a dark green to azure and light blue.

And of course we really had to wash our feet here...

Home Is Where The Car Is