Is Cancun safe for tourists?
So much hearsay, so many stories are to be found on the internet about people with bad experiences and safety issues in Cancun and the Riviera Maya. This is the cartel country where people are shot to death, taken hostage,…
Kingsday Festival in the Netherlands
So many tourists still come for Queensday to the Netherlands on April 30th. It is amazing. So many that the city of Amsterdam actually organized a special party for all the pity-tourists that came 3 days to late. Three days too…
Can a Tourist open a Filipino Bank Account
Using the ATM with a European MasterCard is a costly affair. The max amount of withdrawal is 10,000 pesos per transaction and the withdrawal and interchange fee is around 10 euro each time, add to that the exchange rate and…
Travel Photo’s, Punta Allen Mexico
A sleepy little village by the sea, Punta Allen in Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is a little village with no cellphone reach and at the end of a long unpaved road full of potholes. It has a charming little church…
Murals in Mexico: Cancun
I don’t know about you, but I simply love murals. Every corner I turn I look for surprises. And Cancun is an amazing place for murals. I may have done a post before on murals in Cancun. This city has…
The Art of Sweet Talk in Mexico
Sweet talk or piropos, there is a little confusion on the internet about what the real meaning of the word piropos is, some say it is pick-up lines, others say it is innocent flirting. But I know it confused me…
I miss the Magic of Dumaguete
I really was looking forward to my visit to Dumaguete. After all: I’ve been watching all those videos about the place on YouTube during my preparations. So I kind of had the feeling I would know the place. How wrong…
April 1 2021, a visa tax for Mexico needs to be paid
April 1, 2021, a new visit tax (VISITAX) needs to be paid for all visitors to Quintana Roo that come from abroad. You can either pay this tax when booking your trip, during your stay, or before departing from the…
The beggar and your travel budget – 5 tips how to deal with beggars
It breaks my heart sometimes: children in oversized Tees without any underwear sleeping in the streets, hair all tangled up and so dirty. Their parents look no different, yet they look not mall nourished. The other night I saw an…
My Visa extension beyond 59 days in the Philippines
My visa was about to expire. So I downloaded the necessary forms from the official website of the Bureau of Immigration and headed to Batangas for an extension. Since the Bureau of Immigration closed the office in Puerto Galera, it…
Dutch Sunset, my 5 most favorite
Don’t we all love them: Those beautiful pictures of the sun painting the sky in all red, orange and like 50 shades of blue. I think every person int he world can fall still over beautiful sunset. I’m looking forward…
Where to find Dutch Hunebeds
Off on a road trip to the east of the Netherlands to the picturesque village of Borger in Drenthe. In Borger, you can visit the Hunebed Centre next to the largest still existing hunebed (ancient burial place) in the Netherlands.…
Where to park your car in Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen changed from a sleepy little fishermen town to a fast-growing Tourist hot spot. With new short-term rentals and Airbnb on the rise, the city gets crowded especially during the high season. I think besides finding a quiet…
Prison in the Netherlands
On my last tour through the Netherlands, my best friend and I planned to visit the prison museum in Veenhuizen. We both read the Dutch book ‘Pauper Paradise’, telling the story of families that were sent to the correctional colonies…
