Here you will find inspiring journals that I write during my travels. In fact, during my travels I just take down notes and when I return home to Romania, I edit and publish the notes – with information and personal photos. The articles published on this page will be in English, but you can find some of them written in Romanian at LiterNet Magazine. Wherever you read them, I hope they will inspire you to travel in an authentic way and at your own pace. Because I strongly believe that each of us has its own, unique way of traveling. Here, in these inspiring travel journals, I share my experiences of travelling.
Inspiring Journeys
Tunisia Travel Planning
Tunisia Travel Planning is the summary of my one-month trip through Tunisia during the autumn of 2022 (September). The pace of traveling was slow and flexible. I could go and stay wherever I wanted with a rented car.
Tunisia Travel Planning – General Planning
The travel planning for Tunisia started two months before the trip. I used only the Lonely Planet Guide and ignored any other articles about Tunisia from the internet. I considered that the guide book offered me enough, well-synthesized information to plan the trip. I could choose the places in the guide book where I wanted to go for one month Read More...
Serbia Travel Planning
Serbia Travel Planning 2022 is the summary of my one-month road trip throughout Serbia during the spring of 2022 (April). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the flexibility I had to go and stay wherever I wanted with my car. Here you can find my other Balkans Trip – the Balkan Countries Planning from 2017 – Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo, Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2018: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021.
Serbia Travel Planning 2022 – General Planning:
Travel Planning for the road trip through Serbia was very random and almost not-existent. I hadn’t seen Serbia Read More...
Bedouin Camp - Dakhla Oasis, New Valley, Egypt
Bedouin Camp - Dakhla Oasis
Egypt has been the story of the fertile 5% territories alongside the Nile for much of its history. For the rest of the 95% of the country, the Egyptian Sahara is the most varied desert on the planet. It features sand sheets, rocky canyons, rock art paintings, rich oases, and century-old traditions. Due to its farthest location, few people venture into this part of the country. Still, the ones who do that are rewarded with the richness and hospitality of the Desert Oases.
The New Valley cuts through the Western Desert, Egypt's largest and most sparsely Read More...
Shamofs Art Camp, Siwa Oasis, Egypt
Shamofs Art Camp - Siwa Oasis
In the middle of the Sahara Desert (only 50 kilometers from the Libyan border), Siwa Oasis is a dreamy destination far from any other place your mind could think of. The oasis is surrounded by large palm groves, no less than 250 thermal springs (very good for the skin), and salt lakes with crystal-clear water and an incredible white salt floor. The settlement itself features mud-brick traditional architecture, ancient ruins linked to Alexander the Great as well as rock-cut tombs with colorful paintings. Siwa is the place where you can still find century-long customs like Read More...
Egypt Travel Planning - Sights and Routes
Egypt Travel Planning is the summary of the two-month trip through Egypt during the autumn of 2021 (October, November, and a bit of December). The pace of traveling was slow and flexible. I could go and stay wherever I wanted with a rented car (I rented the car only for one month) or with a bus (the first month I traveled only by bus).
Egypt Travel Planning – General Planning
The travel planning for Egypt started two months before the trip. I used only the Lonely Planet Guide and ignored any other articles about Egypt from the internet. I considered that the Read More...
Bulgaria Travel Planning
Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021 is the summary of my one-month road trip throughout Bulgaria during the summer of 2021 (June). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the flexibility I had to go and stay wherever I wanted with my car. Here you can find my last Balkans Trip – the Balkan Countries Planning from 2017 – Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo and Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2018: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia.
Bulgaria Travel Planning 2021 – General Planning:
Travel Planning for the road trip through Bulgaria was very random and almost not-existent. Because Bulgaria borders with Romania, it was the Read More...
Thailand Travel Planning
Thailand Travel Planning is the summary of my two-month trip to Thailand during the winter/ spring of 2019 (mid-February to mid-April). The pace of traveling was medium, meaning:
I had a single-entry tourist visa which allowed me to stay in Thailand for a limited amount of time (60 days)
to get my above-mentioned visa, I had to show a round-trip plane ticket to the Thailand Embassy in Bucharest so it didn't worth to cancel it and to extend my stay in Thailand for one more month (the maximum period a tourist can get a visa in Thailand is 90 days)
I couldn't Read More...
Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2018 - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Mont...
Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2018 is the summary of my three-month road trip to most of the countries of former Yugoslavia: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia during the summer of 2018 (May - August). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the flexibility I had to go and stay wherever I wanted with my car. Here you can find my last Balkans Trip - the Balkan Countries Planning from 2017 - Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo.
Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2018 - General Planning:
Travel Planning for the road trip through the former Yugoslavian countries started a couple of Read More...
Dana Tower Hotel, Dana Village, Jordan
Dana Tower Hotel - Dana Reserve and Village
Dana Tower Hotel. Situated on the very edge of the Great Rift Valley, Dana is considered Jordan's largest nature reserve. Dana is on the major migratory routes between Asia, Europe, and Africa. Thus, it is the quintessence of flora and fauna species from all the three major continents. Intricate cliffs and canyons of sand, limestone, and granite strangely cut by the winds create a nearly moonlike landscape. Acacia trees twisted by drought appear among red and black cliffs, and sometimes even pink oleanders in blossom arise in the lower parts of the valleys. Read More...
Jordan Travel Planning
Jordan Travel Planning is the summary of my five-week trip to Jordan during the autumn of 2017 (October and a bit of November). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the flexibility I had to go and stay wherever I wanted with a rented car.
Jordan Travel Planning – General Planning:
My travel planning for Jordan started two months before the trip. I used the Lonely Planet Guide and also read some articles about Jordan on the internet. I considered that the guide book offered me enough, very well synthesized information to plan my trip. From the guide book, I could choose the places where I Read More...
Etno House Shancheva - Kratovo, Macedonia
Etno House Shancheva - Kratovo town
Etno House Shancheva. Kratovo was a major mining center in the Macedonian part of the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, Saxon settlers came here during the Middle Ages. Moreover, Kratovo is also known as the town of towers and bridges. The town developed in the crater of a former extinct volcano. Nowadays, it's still interspersed with defense towers and old bridges between steep valleys and different neighborhoods (Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, and Jewish). Only six of the twelve medieval towers have been preserved whilst the high-arched bridges have retained their original role and are still in use.
From Read More...
Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2017 - Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo
Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2017 is the summary of my two-month trip to three of the Balkan countries: Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo, during the summer of 2017 (June - July). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the flexibility I had to go and stay wherever I wanted with my car.
Balkan Countries Travel Planning 2017 - General Planning:
Travel Planning for the road trip through the Balkan Countries started a couple of months before the estimated departure. I couldn’t go anymore as I had planned in 2016 and I postponed the trip for one year. I used a Lonely Read More...
Nepal Travel Planning
Nepal Travel Planning is the summary of my two-month trip to Nepal during the autumn of 2016 (October and November). The pace of traveling was slow, in accordance with the buses' speed in Nepal.
Nepal Travel Planning - General Planning
My travel planning for Nepal started somewhere around six months before the trip. I used only the Lonely Planet Guide and randomly read some articles about Nepal on the internet. I said that if by chance I had bumped into an article about Nepal, I’d have read it as a sign from the Universe. If not, I wouldn't make any efforts in search of them. Read More...
Greek Islands Travel Planning - Thassos, Lemnos, and Samothraki
Greek Islands Travel Planning is the summary of my three-week road trip to three Greek islands during the summer of 2016 (July). The pace of traveling was slow and flexible. I could go and stay wherever I wanted with my car.
Greek Islands Travel Planning - General Planning
My travel planning for the Greek Islands of Thasos, Lemnos, and Samothraki started somewhere around one month before the trip. I used an old Lonely Planet Guide to find some names of places that are worth a visit. I would have loved to visit Santorini too, but it was too far and out of my reach. Read More...
Dar Kamal Chaoui - Bhalil Village - Morocco
Dar Kamal Chaoui - Bhalil Village
Dar Kamal Chaoui - Bhalil seems a simple Moroccan village located on the sunny slopes of hills with olive orchards and ancient caverns. Even though it is overshadowed by the cultural attraction of Fes, Bhalil is still amazing both by the uniqueness of the troglodyte houses and the tradition of nearly 1,000 women who usually crochet buttons for djellabas (traditional Moroccan clothing) in the street.
Bhalil is also unique for its traditional olive oil production, baking bread in earth ovens, local pottery, and unspoiled wedding customs. In this special environment, Dar Kamal Chaoui guesthouse stands in the heart Read More...
Casa Aya Medina - Fes - Morocco
Casa Aya Medina - Fes Medina
Morocco’s cultural and spiritual center, Fes is an outstanding example of a medieval town created during the first centuries of Islamisation in the country - which is why it is part of the UNESCO world cultural heritage. Narrow lanes flanked by high brick walls meander throughout the medina (the old part of the town, called Fes-el-Bali). There're nine thousand dwellings in the medina and no fewer than four thousand lanes and blind alleys. Casa Aya Medina guesthouse stands in the western part of the medina, at a walking distance between Talaa Kebira (the main shopping Read More...
Morocco Travel Photos
The photos in the Morocco Gallery were taken during a six-week road trip through Morocco, in the fall of 2015 (October - November).
Here, you will find photos from Fes, Sefrou, Bhalil, Ifrane, Azrou, the Middle Attlas Mountains, Midelt, Ziz Valley & Gorges, Tafilalt Oases, ksars, Todra Gorges, the Dades Valley, kasbah, Ksar el-Khorbat, Skoura, Ouarzazate, Agdz, Tamnougalt, N'Kob, the Draa Valley, Zagora, the Jbel Bani Mountains, Sahara Desert - Erg Chigaga, M'Hammid, Ksar Ait Benhaddou, Marrakesh, the Souss Valley, Essaouira, Safi, Oualidia, El Jadida, Azemmour, Casablanca, Rabat, Sale, Larache, Lixus, Assilah, Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Moulay Idriss, and Meknes.
A general overview Read More...
Morocco Travel Planning - sights and routes
Morocco Travel Planning is the summary of my six-week road trip through Morocco during the autumn of 2015 (October and a bit of November). The pace of traveling was slow and flexible. I could go and stay wherever I wanted with a rented car.
Morocco Travel Planning – General Planning
My travel planning for Morocco started two months before the trip. I used only the Lonely Planet Guide and ignored any other articles about Morocco from the internet. I considered that the guide book offered me enough, well-synthesized information to plan my trip. I could choose the places in the guide book where I wanted to go for six Read More...
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