A few months ago I wandered around my fav bookstore in Utrecht and my eye was caught by a bright blue sky on a cover. This cover contains the incredible story of Martijn Doolaard. Martijn is a Dutch guy who’s got a lot of travel bugs (and courage) running through his veins. He decided to travel from his beloved Amsterdam to Singapore….in one year on a bike. Packed with just the essentials he hopped on the sadle and started to paddle his way through Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The description of the landscapes, encounters and harsh trips are so laced with color and emotion that you’re dragged into his journey from the first page you turn. His pictures of exceptional high quality seal the deal. From the first nights in his tiny tent in the middle of nowhere, the inexhaustible hospitality from the Iranian people, having to leave the girl he fell in love with behind, eating porridge for breakfast under hundreds of hot air balloons in Cappadocia till the disappearance of his privacy in overcrowded India; I could not force myself to put this book aside. In addition Martijn made a beautiful video (a thousend hellos) about his journey which is available on Vimeo. After this big adventure he couldn’t stay at home for a long time. Currently he is biking his way from Vancouver to Patagonia. You can read all about it on his blog Espiritu Libre although at this moment a beautiful blue-eyed Maxican girl is holding this man from cycling. Let’s see how that adventure works out…
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