Bergen – a picturesque, harbor-side city in Norway is out of a sudden a destination everyone is talking about. You’ll find Bergen on most Top 10 cities-lists in Europe and there’s a good reason why!
What Makes Bergen So Special?
Norway’s second biggest city with less than 300,000 inhabitants has seven mountains surrounding the city centre of Bergen, which makes an unique scenery, and therefore it’s often called ‘the city between the seven mountains.’
Bergen has the most beautiful fjords, colorful houses, plentiful museums, and innovative gastronomy all served up alongside a heavy dose of Scandinavia! There are plenty of things to do in Bergen…if you can get past the weather there is!
One Of The Most Beautiful Countries On Earth
After arriving to Bergen from the north of Norway (Vassfaret) and spending more than 3 days here on Norway’s southwestern coast, on my 22nd visit to Norway, I’ll admit I have a weak spot for Norway and its beauty! Now I have a very soft spot for Bergen too! But don’t get too excited before you’re off to Bergen!
Fishing in Vassfaret, Norway
The Weather
Yes, there is no denying it, Bergen is allegedly either the wettest city in Europe or the entire world (depending on your internet source.) Around 240 days of rain on average a year, guess I was extremely lucky to have 3 days in the most beautiful sunshine I’ve ever seen with no rain whatsoever. But don’t worry, the hardy Norwegian Vikings have developed plenty of alternative activities for a rainy day!
Furthermore I’ll strongly recommend you to go in July. August is doable too, but July is the best chance you’ll have for no rain!
Walking around Bergen’s cozy streets in the end of July. Perfect time.. Maybe!
5 BEST Things To Do In Bergen! (3-Days Itinerary)
These are some of the unmissable things to do in Bergen. Of course, there are plenty more things to do – but for 3 days in Bergen, this should keep you very busy!
1: Take Fløibanen Funicular To Admire the Views From Mt Fløyen
On top of Mt. Fløyen
If you’re unlucky to have lots of rain, wait for a break in the weather and head to the Fløibanen funicular, which whisks you up to the top of Mt Fløyen every 15 minutes for the best views of Bergen. Bonus points if you can time it for sunset, there is truly nothing else like it in the world. Beautiful views!
Top of Mt. Fløyen during day time
Pro budget tip: For the more adventurous/active traveler you can save yourself some coin and hike up/down or both ways – it’s about an hour up, and there are two pretty decent loop tracks on Mt Fløyen (1.6 km / 5 km) which take you past picturesque lakes and through the forest.
I actually paid for both ways, which was stupid because I chose to walk down! I saw the beautiful scenery and changed my mind up there. It’s 135 NOK (16 dollars) for both ways. You can pay for one way also, which is 65 NOK (8 dollars), which I should’ve done. If you want to save more money and time, I recommend you to buy tickets for Fløibanen online at www.floyen.no in advance. The queue was pretty bad!
Bergen is getting popular!
2: Admire the UNESCO World Heritage Enclave of Bryggen
Bryggen has been ravaged by many fires, the great fire of 1702 in particular. The whole of the city was reduced to ashes, but the foundations had been there since the 12th century, which means that Bryggen is basically unchanged despite the passing centuries. This magical place of wooden buildings and walkways on the harbor front is easily Bergen’s most iconic attraction.
Though there has been plenty of fires over the last 1000 years, (I like to imagine they partied too hard every time,) Bryggen is still the best example left remaining of the overseas Hanseatic Offices and is protected with an UNESCO World Heritage status.
Today it is filled with boutique shops, souvenirs, and cafés, but still has plenty of charm…especially at night when the place is completely deserted and you feel transported back in time. Magic!
3. Try The Freshest Seafood at the Bergen Fish Market
In a country known for the quality of its seafood, you simply can’t visit Bergen without checking the fish market out! There is no better place to try seafood than the ultra-modern Bergen Fish Market with over 30 specialty shops selling small-scale Norwegian produce.
Norwegian King Crab. Around $160 if you want to eat it at the market and $100 if you take it with you. Pricey!
You can try the expensive +$100 Norwegian King Crab or you can go for some cheaper options. Remember Norway is considered one of the most expensive countres in the World, so it probably won’t be cheap no matter what.
I tried a bit of the legendary Norwegian Atlantic Salmon, which is 2. in the World, after New Zealand’s King Salmon, which is the creme de la creme of all salmon. Top choice still!
Norwegian Atlantic salmon makes people who don’t eat fish, eat fish
Enjoy a meal here of some of the freshest seafood in the world, or simply walk through and try to spot as many weird fish species as you can. It literally blew my mind to see the options here! In the summer months there is a large outdoor fish market that takes place every day, but in the winter months there is only the iconic Mathallen Food Hall to keep you warm and dry.
One of the best things to do in Bergen, and given it’s location – you would be sad to miss it!
4. Take a Road Trip Around The Fjords (Or Boat Trip)
Geirangerfjord
Bergen is the Gateway to the Fjords of Norway! The best starting point to experience the most magnificent fjord landscape, with narrow fjords, glaciers, steep mountain sides, beautiful islands and spectacular waterfalls.
From Bergen you can pick from several fjordtours in the Bergen-region, a journey to one of the World’s most popular tourist attractions Nærøyfjorden – the world’s narrowest fjord, which was voted ‘The World’s Top Unspoiled Travel Destination’ by National Geographic in 2004.
Or Just Drive Through The Stunning Landscapes
Nature itself has provided the first letter for many of the superlatives used to describe the fjords and the landscape near Bergen: Stupendous, stunning, spectacular!
You can drive a little further to ‘Hardangervidda’ and the landscape changes completely from mountainous fjords to becoming a huge flat mountain plateau, it largest of its kind in Europe.
Hardangervidda, the largest mountain plateau of its kind in Europe
Or you can drive to one of Norway’s most famous and majestic waterfalls, Vøringsfossen. An absolute stunner!
Vøringsfossen, Norway
5. Take A City Walk In Bergen
Put on your best shoes and get moving in Bergen! It’s not for fun it’s one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Historic wharves and colorful wooden houses in a beautiful Scandinavian design! If it wasn’t for the 240 rainy days in a year here, I would strongly consider moving here after my 3 days here! So cozy!
Walking around Bergen. (@gustavrosted)
Bergen has some undercover artistic hot spots too, and I was surprised to find out that the Bergen street art has burgeoned over the last decade largely thanks to a Bansky visit in 2000. Head to Sentralbadet to see one of Bergen’s only legal street art walls or explore around the University of Bergen or the Skostredet neighborhood to spot more creative pieces of art. This city has it all!
See You Next Time, Bergen!
I can’t wait to visit Bergen in winter time too one day and watch the World’s biggest Gingerbread City – the Pepperkakebyen in Bergen, which unfortunately is only a seasonal attraction, but if you’re visiting Bergen in the winter months (November-December,) you should definitely go. It looks amazing.
Bergen, it was a pleasure. I can’t complain too much after 3 sunny days in the World’s wettest city!
Want to know more about North Korea? These are 20 Interesting Facts that you probably didn’t know about the country! I want to challenge you as well.. How many of these 20 facts did you know BEFORE reading this? Count them and let me know!
1: It’s Year 107, Not 2019
Former leader Kim Il-sung
The year isn’t 2019. The North Korean or Juche calendar was adopted in 1997 and begins with the year of Kim Il-sung’s date of birth (1912 – or Juche I to North Koreans.)
2: The Country Holds “Elections” Every 5 Years
Always with a lot of excitement, North Korea hands out ballots with only one option on them, so votes swing, you guessed it, 100% for the Leader.
3: There Are Few Working Traffic Lights
There are not many traffic lights in North Korea and they have been working off and on for at least seven years. The traffic girls are occasionally sidelined when the traffic lights are working.
4: No North Korea Stamp In Foreign Passports
In North Korea you don’t get a stamp in your passport and it actually makes it a lot easier in any Airport immigration afterwards! You get a separate visa that you have to deliver back when you exit the country.
5: North Korea’s Has The Only One-Star Airline In The World
North Korea has ‘The World’s Only One-Star Airline’, Air Koryo, run by the North Korean Government. See for yourself what it’s like to fly on Air Koryo — the worst airline in the world.
6: World’s Largest Stadium
The Rungnado May Day stadium in North Korea has more than 150,000 seats. To comparison Barcelona’s Camp Nou has a seating capacity of 99,354 and is the largest football stadium in Europe. Wow, just wow!
7: Kim Il-Sung is seen as the ‘Eternal Leader’
Statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il
Kim Il-Sung will always be considered North Korea’s Eternal Leader, even though Kim Jong-Un is the Supreme Leader of North Korea now. Kim Il-Sung’s statue is raising the hand in the sky to the left.
8: Pyongyang Is Only For The Elite
Life in Pyongyang, North Korea (@gustavrosted)
The capital Pyongyang, one of North Korea’s only big cities, is home to around three million people, but only the elite. Only trustworthy, healthy, and loyal citizens can live there.
9: Kim Il-Sung Scammed Sweden For 1000 Cars
Kim Il-Sung scammed Sweden out of 1,000 Volvo 144 sedans in 1974, and to this date North Korea has never made the payment. Now I understand why he had this million dollar smile!
10: One Of The Largest Armies in the World
North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world. It is estimated by the U.S. State Department that they have an active-duty military force of up to 1.2 million personnel.
11: ‘Three Generations of Punishment Policy’
With a North Korean family
There is a ‘three generations of punishment policy’ in North Korea. The offender, along with his next two generations, has to bear the consequences of the offense.
12: North Korea has no taxes.
North Korea is one of the few countries in the world whose residents don’t pay any taxes. Taxation was abolished in 1974 as part of the “old world.” Only organizations and individuals who are making money outside the country are not released from it. However, everything might change soon: it is rumored that the government is planning to reintroduce income tax in the near future.
13: Kim Jong-un Is Unique
In North Korea, it’s officially forbidden to give children the name borne by their Leader. If a child had been named like this before his accession, the parents must urgently change the name!
14: They Have Their Own ‘Intranet’
In Kaesong in the southern part of North Korea. No cars, like walking back in time!
North Korea has their own intranet – “Kwangmyong.” It opened in 2000 and includes a browser, email, news and search capabilities. No open internet as it exists in other parts of the world.
15: North Koreans Are Convinced Korea Is One Country
If you take a political map of the world made in any other country, you’ll see both North and South Korea on it. However, North Koreans are certain that there is only one Korea: any school map shows a united country with the capital of Pyongyang.
16: They Only Have Three TV Channels
There are only 3 TV Channels in North Korea. Which leaves me wondering how many families might be in prison for illegally watching soap operas from South Korea..
17: North Korea Has Death Penalty
Death given are sentenced for distributing pornography, watching movies not approved by the governments and possessing Bibles.
North Korea one of the last six countries to still perform public executions after Saudi Arabia, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, and Yemen.
18: Bill Gates Net Worth Is Three Times Larger Than NK
Bill Gates’ net worth is more than three times larger than North Korea’s annual GDP, as of 2017.
19: Almost Impossible To Walk Freely In North Korea
You need a guide to walk around North Korea as a tourist. I was extremely lucky to go during a special time, so I could walk around freely on several occasions. Watch this video on how it was possible for me.
20: Tourism Is A Very Small Part Of The Country’s Economy
Walking around freely in North Korea
Tourism is a very small part of the country’s economy. Due to government restrictions, only around 5,000 Western travelers per year make the trip. To compare London attracted 20.42 million international visitors in 2018. Big difference? Indeed so!
I was close to die two times in 1 week in Liberia. My first time was a near-death experience, which happened when I just arrived to the capital, Monrovia. Here is what happened exactly!
Me and a Liberian guy arriving too late to the border in the evening from Sierra Leone to Liberia
When I finally made my way to the capital Monrovia, I just wished for a nice, enjoyable week in Liberia. Well, not really! But I will return to this.. There was some good vibes in the shared car I was in on our way to Monrovia, but we went out 6 or 7 times to different police check-points on the drive. I knew Liberia had been in 2 civil wars recently, for a total of 14 years, where more than 250,000 Liberians were killed, so I knew this country had been pretty unstable not too long ago.
Me and “The Black Cristiano,” as he introduced himself, from our shared car towards Monrovia
First Look At The Capital Was Shocking
The guy in the blue t-shirt helped me a lot at the check-points, because the police officers usually liked him. He said I was with him, which meant I wasn’t asked too many of the usual questions, wasn’t asked for money or had all of my baggage checked, as I’ve experienced a few others places. That was pretty great! Local friends are good to have.
Now I was close to the capital and I was honestly excited to relax a bit after 30 extremely hectic hours.
My first sight in Monrovia, Liberia
Monrovia, Where Is The Trash-Service?
My first sight of Monrovia was one of the worst I’ve ever seen in a capital. Trash everywhere on the streets and people walking around in this. Even in the car the smell was so bad that we had to hold our noses. I thought the nature had been pretty beautiful on the way to here, and I never judge an entire country on its capital, but Monrovia didn’t make it to my top 20 of capitals around the World – let’s put it that way!
My original plan was I was going to stay in Monrovia, but I had a bit too much of this place already after a few hours, and a friend of mine had a contact in Paynesville, a 45 min drive outside of Monrovia. I thought why not try this.. It could only be better than here! I was going to Monrovia later in the week anyway to fix a visa, so I knew I would have time to explore the good parts of the city too. It was a win-win! I thought…
Near-Death Experience Incoming
The traffic in Monrovia was terrible. Super crowded, no rules, people driving where they wanted to drive, motor bikes and cars everywhere! I thought that because Liberia only had a small population of 5 million people, the country would be pretty smooth with the traffic! Not.. at.. all!
Liberia’s capital Monrovia from above
What concerned me a lot in Monrovia was seeing plenty of damaged cars and motor bikes, I knew there would be a big chance of a road incident here.. No space for small mistakes or a second of inattention!
I counted 5 serious incidents when I arrived in Monrovia, Liberia
No Way Out Of The City – What To Do?
I was on the search for a taxi or a shared ride to Paynesville and it was close to impossible to find a way.. I waited 10 minutes.. Waited 20. All taxis were full of people. I was almost running out of hope, when a young guy on around 19 years of age came to me on his motorbike and asked me: “Where are you going?”
I told him I was going to Paynesville and asked him: “How much?” He started with an absurd price, and I just laughed as I usually do when people are trying to scam me and I pretended I was about to leave, when he said: “How much do you want?” I ended up paying 20% of the price he started with and we were finally off to Paynesville! I’m normally a big fan of taking motor bikes when traveling.. And I can assure you:
THISride is the ONE I remember the MOST out of +1000 motor bike rides.. Here’s why!
Driving Through Hell
I jumped on the motor bike and the driver started to drive really fast almost immediately.. I didn’t get to think anything, before he was driving around 80km/h in a compact African city traffic (not the traffic we know from Europe!) with tiny space to pass other cars.
My driver zigzagged through the queues anyway with high speed. It would be too dangerous to stop him, because of the insane traffic we were in and because of the way he was driving without using the brakes…
My driver honked 3 times pr. second and he looked back every 3 seconds in order to look cool I think, I’m not sure why he did that to be fair, but it freaked me out!
Driving Against Trafic
My driver was a wrong-way-driver and drove against traffic most of the time, and we we’re constantly centimeters away from hitting other cars.. He gassed up to 100 km/h. After 20 min of being in survival mode on this motor bike, I was sure it was over! It all happened in a few seconds..
Another motor bike driver drove from the opposite side of the road and was out of a sudden in the lane we were driving in.. We came with full speed.. My life flashed before my eyes. We were literally as close to a collision as you could possibly get. Millimeters from death! A second of silence and then full speed again!
I’ve taken more than 1000 motor bike rides in my life, but this was by far the worst!
Crazy driver.. Don’t ever jump on a motorbike with this guy in Monrovia, Liberia!
My Body Was Shaking – Shock Mode! I Survived
I was thankful for being alive and my whole body was shaking. I was in totally shock mode! My driver even asked me to double the price and took me to his corrupt friends who pretended to be cops by showing their fake Police ID’s to get money out of me.. I got really aggressive at them and to be fair I wasn’t myself for the rest of that day. I paid the guy the firstly agreed-price and escaped the group. I was just grateful I was still a full piece and alive, and couldn’t really focus on anything – I had a lot of anger inside me!
Seconds after the worst motorbike ride EVER in Liberia
After a few hours I met with my friend’s buddy in Paynesville, Liberia, but my thoughts were somewhere else the rest of this day.. I slowly became myself again the next day.
This is what can happen when you throw yourself into a crazy solo ride through West Africa, without your own car or motorbike, just trying to make a way! I know I probably have to be more careful next time..
I have traveled a lot worldwide for 7 years, been to every country in Europe and most of them +2 times. These are the 5 most beautiful countries in Europe based on ONLY landscapes, according to my point of view. We all have different preferences, but for me these countries blew my mind. This is the Top 5!
The 5 Most Beautiful Countries in Europe (Landscape)
5. Scotland
Edinburgh and Glasgow are very cool cities, but the most fascinating part of Scotland is the dramatic scenery, the lush woodlands, the stunning lochs, rugged coastline and green rolling hills topped with crumbling castles. My personal favourite part is the Scottish Highland. I still remember my travel around Scotland, the fabled Loch Ness and these, misty, magical mountains. If you’re lucky to have no rain the Isle of Skye is an iconic place! I’ve been to Scotland 3 times and I really hope I will come back to see more.
Scotland has some of the most beautiful landscape in Europe
4. The Azores, Portugal
I’ve been to mainland Portugal 3 times and it’s a beautiful country! I like Porto, Lisbon and Sintra very much, but my fascination of mainland Portugal is most of all because of the cozy cities and villages, yet the landscape is nice too. On my 4th time in Portugal I wanted to see a new part of the country and went to The Azores. The Azores was actually recognized as the most beautiful destination in Europe by the European Best Destination, and the blue lakes ringed by forests of laurel and cedar and the peculiar rocks and structures certainly is TOP-CLASS on this volcanic archipelago. Hyacinths are everywhere, nature is so lush and green and breathtaking views from mountain tops when hiking around.. So close to my very top!
Portugal is so much more than only Lisbon.. The Azores has STUNNING landscapes
3. Iceland
Iceland is a country you CAN’T skip on this list. I’ve only been to Iceland one time and I spent 7 days there, but tried to see as much of the island as I could. Iceland’s blue bubbling geysers, rugged lava fields, and spectacular glaciers create a visual spectacle that seems out of this world. Definitely the Land of Fire and Ice, and who honestly wouldn’t love taking a dip in the Blue Lagoon?! Crazy colors, geysers, waterfalls and rock formations everywhere here.. Thumbs up for Iceland!
Visited Iceland is 2015 and I still remember these unique landscapes
2. Norway
I’ve been to Norway 20 TIMES.. Insane!? I went a lot to Norway as a kid and just as much as an adult.. I love the landscapes, there’s always a new adventure waiting in my Danish neighbor country. Deep, striking fjords, rugged coastal mountains and glaciers that take your breath away. Spectacular national parks which protect the nation’s unique scenery and wildlife. Norway is so big and some parts of the country lies within the Arctic Circle. Go north in the country and there’s a good chance of seeing Northern Lights, while reindeers and polar bears roam the staggering ice fields of the Svalbard archipelago most north.
Norway is fascinating, even in the extremely cold winter days with 2 meters snow laying everywhere…
Norway with my dad. As a kid I went mostly to Norway for holidays and a few other countries. Now I’m at 120 countries!
1. Faroe Islands
If you visit Faroe Islands on a big cruise ship for a few days and you only visit the capital Torshavn, then I’m sorry to say that you’ve missed out on some of the most beautiful scenery in the World. Faroe Islands is every photographer’s dream coming true!
I’ve been to Faroe Islands 14 times and been to most of the 18 islands, which are all very unique in their own way. The dramatic, mind-blowing islands landscape is shaped of steep cliffs with sheeps everywhere (Faroe Islands means ‘Sheep Islands), deep fjords and high rising mountains – no matter where you are, you are never more than 5 kilometers away from the ocean!
This natural paradise is Europe’s best kept secret, and while tourists are flocking countries like Iceland and Norway the Faroe Islands still goes under the radar, which makes it even more unique and special!
In a small village called Tjørnuvik in Faroe Islands with 64 people living there
Faroe Islands even has an island with only one family living there! As remote as it gets. Check out The 5 Reasons Why You Need To Go To Faroe Islands, if you’re planning to visit soon. You definitely should!
That was my ‘Top 5 Most Beautiful Countries In Europe (Landscape!) What’s yours?
After visiting 120 countries my travel style has become a lot more simple.. At first I thought expensive things were really cool. Gold watches, Rolex, expensive jeans, expensive clothing, shirts, t-shirts, sneakers. It was all a fascination! It all had to look and be expensive! I played at lot of semi-professional football from 16-19 and the environment I want in was all about which belongings you had and material stuff.
Started Traveling
When I started to travel more my mind started to change slowly. I realized that spending too much money on clothing, meant less money for travel and experiences. Because I had more and more beautiful eye-opening travel experiences, I wanted more of that and therefore I cut down on the expensive clothing.
I took a big world travel for 6 months and it was here I realized that expensive clothing, watches and jewelry only put you in a lot more danger when you’re traveling the world.
With friends in Manila, Philippines where I traveled around 1 month
Luxury Watches Are Not For Traveling
I started to let my hair grow long and wear pretty simple travel clothing and it actually felt really good to change my focus a bit away from this luxury lifestyle. To not have to worry about spilling Ketchup on your expensiveshirt or getting attacked and having your watch stolen. Luxury watches are simply just not for traveling. If you only travel to places like Saint Tropez to drink Crystal champagne for a few weeks or Formentara in Ibiza, you can surely flex with your Rolex, no problem at all mate, but try to go through Africa or South America with a Rolex and see what happens.
My mate Hemal and I on Copacabana Beach, Rio De Janerio
When I went to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, I saw a guy getting his Rolex watch stolen, I saw an old man getting jumped by 5 criminals who snatched off his gold chain right in front of my eyes and I heard gun shots in the street next to me, so I had to run away all I could. That made me realize: Wearing too expensive clothing when traveling is maybe NOT a good idea.
My 3 Favourite Travel Watches
Having had more than +40 watches, this is the list of my 3 favorite travel watches.
1. Michael Kors MK8400 – Jetmaster
ThisMichael Kors brings back amazing memories for me. Can’t count how much mud, rain, dust and all it has been through, but this watch is strong like few. Simple watch that doesn’t attract too much unnecessary attention in Africa, and still looks super awesome. I’m considering buying one again actually! I even scuba dived with it in Maldives, because it’s 10 ATM Water Resistant. It can go down to 100 meters.
I had the Michael Kors MK8400 Jetmaster on me through East Africa
2. Daniel Wellington
Daniel Wellington
This Daniel Wellington Watch has been an essential part of many of my travels. Simple and stylish! You can buy it cheaply through Amazon with quick delivery. Classic watch!
Wearing the Daniel Wellington watch in Pokhara, NepalWearing the Daniel Wellington watch in The Azores, Portugal
3. The Apple Watch
This Apple Watch Series 4 has GPS, heart sensor and when I play football I can answer calls on the Apple Watch, so I don’t need to carry my IPhone in my pocket. So many cool new features. I think it’s really nice to connect to your IPhone, just like your Airpods, GoPro HERO 7 Black, MacBooketc., it just works together very well. I just had the Apple Watch, so I can’t say too much yet, but because it’s not too bling bling, it will be great to travel with in most places. Thieves go for more expensive and flashy watches!
Might try some new watches soon, but these 3 are highly recommend!
With my Michael Kors MK8400 in Mozambique
Have you changed your travel style? What’s your favorite travel watch?
After 7 years of lots of traveling and 120 countries, I want to share with you ‘My 20 Most Essential Travel Items.’
I usually travel with a 40 liter backpack and I try not to bring too much unnecessary stuff. I want to be flexible and easy moving. However a lot of these 20 travel items are essential for my travels.
I just landed in the Azores after a 2 months trip through West Africa, and I was so happy that I brought my essential travel items on the trip. Everything just got so much easier!
Here in Mali. Essential travel items are important during 2 months in West Africa
20 Most Essential Travel Items (Tips From A Pro-Traveler!)
Every year there are new travel gadgets and gear upgrades coming on the market. If you search “travel” on Amazon you might quickly want to make 10-15 purchases, but not all of these travel items are actually worth packing. I’ve learned to minimize my travel gear, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have a few luxury items in there. There are some things in my packs that you’ve most likely never heard of, and others that are common, but I feel these travels items should be obligatory for long-term travel. Here is the list!
1.Osprey Fairpoint 40 Liter Backpack
I had a lot of Backpacks in my life, some good and some bad. I only had one excellent, which covered all of my needs. This Osprey Fairpoint 40 Liter Backpack is certainly much better than just about every travel backpack. It fits in Carry On on most Airlines, which saves you A LOT OF MONEY and I love its durability, carry, and hideaway harness system. Awesome look, very comfortable to wear. One of my best investment!
2. Zipper Cubes
Mesh packing cubes
I purchased Eagle Creek Zipper Cubesand they’re incredibly durable. I had them since 2017 and sometimes I’ve packed them so tight that I had to kneel on them and pull on the zippers just to do them up. To this day, the zippers are still working like brand new. There are a lot of options on the market today, but I’ve only used Eagle Creek, because I know they last. When you get the Eagle Creek, you’ll ask yourself “why didn’t I buy them years ago?!” Trust me! I had that EXACT feeling! So nice to have!
3. DJI Spark
Back in 2014, drones were mostly reserved for professional videographers, vloggers and bloggers who wanted arial photography. These days, drones have become smaller, more durable and a lot easier to fly.
The DJI Spark is so tiny that it can pretty much fit into any backpack or luggage. It comes with a hard foam case to keep it protected and it takes great videos and photos. If you like to get unique photos while you’re travelling, then this thing is perfect. FINALLY a drone that’s affordable, small and easy to navigate!
Check out the drone footage my friend and I did with the DJI Spark in Lake Assal, Djibouti here!
4. Power Bank
If I had to pick only one thing of these 20 Travel Items where you shouldn’t save money, I would pick the Power bank.
My favourite Power bank is by far ‘The Anker PowerCore’ with 20100mAh. After having had a lot of different Power banks, because I usually forget them somewhere or they burn out, I always go back to this one. ‘The Anker PowerCore’ is fast charging, it doesn’t burn out, and with its high power capacity it can usually charge my phone 4-5 times fully, sometimes 6.
When I traveled in West Africa I went long periods without electricity, and you really want to be able to use your phone in these situations. Therefore you NEED a good, powerful and reliable Power bank, which can charge your phone many times and can resist bad weather conditions.
‘The Anker PowerCore’ is perfect for me.
5. TRTL Pillow
TRTL Pillow
I’ve just passed 400 flights and I’ve slept on 95% of them! It’s both a good and bad habit to sleep on the plane, good because I’m then rested when I reach my destination, but it’s bad because I end up sleeping in awkward position, which usually cause a lot of neck or hand pain the day after. Few weeks ago I bought the TRTL Pillow and I’ve been really satisfied. It gives scientifically proven super soft neck support and the day after a flight now feels a lot better for me with the neck support and comfort if offers whilst you sleep.
There is a manual on how to put it on (SO EASY!) and it literally doesn’t take 2 seconds to do!
6. Good Compact Camera
Every traveller needs to be carrying a good pocket camera. If you really don’t care about what your photos look like and never plan to take pictures in low light, then your iPhone or Android device should do the trick (assuming it’s a newer model with 10+ megapixels). I like to bring a small camera that takes no space.
If you want to take some better photos and great videos while you’re travelling, without packing the size and weight of a full DSLR or mirrorless, then I recommend the Sony A6000 with 24.3 Megapixels. To compare my IPhone X has a 12-megapixel camera. The Sony A6000 camera has some incredible features, takes great photos, and produces some of the best video of any camera in its class. EASY to use and it takes no time to connect it to your phone. I’ve connected it to both my Samsung (android) and to IPhone easily!
The Sony A6000 takes some amazing photos! Here I brought it to Cape Town, South Africa. @gustavrosted
7. Luggage Tracker
Ever lost your luggage? I have, and to be honest I promised myself I would pick up one of these things after Turkish Airlines lost my luggage back in 2016. I “forgot” to buy one and in Oktober of 2017 when Air Astana misplaced my luggage, I thought it was the right time.
On both occasions, I was able to get my luggage back in a week, but it’s an absolutely horrible feeling you have that you’ll never see your backpack again. If I just had the Luggage Tracker in my bag, I would have known exactly what airport they were at and I could’ve even told the airline so that they could retrieve it faster for me. I use the GEGO Luggage Tracker, and I got it after the Trakdot didn’t work properly on 3G network any longer. I’ve been satisfied with it, as it’s generally known that the GEGO is best luggage tracker on the market, tracking very precise and fast. Bluetooth connection is great, where Trakdot was always finicky in every way. Still haven’t found a better product than GEGO and the Map View is great too!
8. Polarized Sunglasses
Kayaking Halong Bay, Vietnam
My secret addiction: Sunglasses and especially for Ray-Bans! Why? Stylish look, 100% UV PROTECTION, (protecting the eyes from the harmful UV rays) and just an iconic look, shape, feel, and style. One thing I don’t save money on for sure, and they’re usually a long-term investment, which will always be modern!
A travel backpack is an ESSENTIAL item. You should invest in a sturdy, comfortable backpack which you can carry all day long. Anti-theft backpack is what I recommend. I use the Affinity USB Backpack as my day backpack to combine with my Osprey Fairpoint 40 Liter Backpack. One of the good things about the Affinity USB Backpack is it can fit in the Osprey Fairpoint 40 Liter, so sometimes I put it in there and bring it in the carry-on, so I don’t need to pay to for check-in baggage – travel like a boss! I know!
This Affinity USB Backpack helps me to store my electronics, travel documents (RFID protection,) powerbank, toilet bag etc, and have comfortable and adjustable straps. I’m a big fan of this anti-theft secured backpack with a USB charging port that fits a 15.6 MacBook.
10: MacBook Pro
I bring my MacBook Pro with me everywhere for travel, and it’s obviously the best computer I’ve ever had! Once you go Mac, you never go back! I have this MacBook Pro (13-inch with a 2.3GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM and with a 256GB SSD in Space Gray.) I bought in on Amazon and its been perfect so far!
The first MacBook I had lasted for 7 years, and it’s always a good investment to get a proper MacBook in my opinion. For me and my Digital Nomad lifestyle it’s an asset I can’t live without, and I need a computer that can go through rough roads and rain season in West Africa, which has been the case with this one!
Of course, always be careful with your computer and don’t do stupid stuff 😉
10. Bluetooth Speakers
Everyone travels with their Bluetooth Speakers. When you’re getting ready to go out for the night or just chilling on your beach hut patio looking out at sunset, having a bit of music playing in the background can really set the mood. If you’re traveling solo like me mostly, it’s usually a very good way to make new friends to bring a Bluetooth Speaker, put on some good music and get the vibes going!
Not just any bluetooth speakers do it for me. Had plenty, but I love a nice mix of durability and excellent sound. I currently have the JBL Splashproof Portable Speaker, and it has amazing sound. Plus, I use it with wet hands at the beach and it hasn’t been damaged yet. The latest model, the JBL Waterproof Flip 3 Speakers are so waterproof that you can even submerge them in water and not ruin them, and they’re lightweight and very durable. You can take them to the beach and not worry about them getting wet or sandy and they sound crystal clear. For just $99.99 on Amazon, they’re also an excellent deal.
11: Dock & Bay Microfiber Towel
A travel towel is key – and I usually recommend a basic microfiber travel towel, cheap and easy in your local shop. But last year, I learned about Dock & Bay Microfiber Towel, which is one of the best Quick Dry Towels and said to be the most original SAND FREE Beach Towel there is. These towels are honestly awesome and more lightweight than other microfiber towels, but are also amazing for the beach. They dry really fast, more than 3 times as fast as a normal towel. I pack mine in the bottom of my personal item backpack and never know it’s taking up space but it’s always there when I need it.
I like this the model in Bondi Blue! Sand free, quick drying, odorless and colorful too!
12. Baseball Cap
Like here in a small village Senegal and most of the hot places I travel, I like to wear a Baseball Cap to protect my face against the sun. Absolutely convenient and a must-have for me to bring on every travel! They don’t take up any space and are perfect for hiding your hair when it looks absolutely terrible! 🙂
13. Toilet Bag
My toilet bag broke on my long journey through Africa and it really sucks when that happens! To be honest everything was a mess in it, so maybe it was meant to happen for a reason. I just bought this Premium Quality Organized Travel Bag, and it’s an absolute game-changer! Now all of my toilet things are where they should be! Love it!
14. Multi-Port Cables
With all the electronic items that you will be carrying on your travels, keeping them charged and up to date is essential. I swear by this multi port cable. I was given a sample of this cable years ago when and it’s an AMAZING item to keep forever. A charging cable, with multiple ports like for your iphone, Kindle, camera, or a battery back-up.
You might be aware each of these devices listed above use different ports like the micro USB, USB and lightning cable, etc. Using this cable you can charge all of them. Yes – at the same time if you like.
15. Universal Adaptor
As a frequent traveler, a universal adaptor is a MUST. I still remember my first big travel where I didn’t thought of bringing this before it was too late, and had to buy a super expensive universal adaptor for $40 in an Airport. This multi-country adaptor is only $12,99 and has 2 USB ports to plug in and charge the electronic item in over 150 countries. So definitely a good investment. You will be carrying some electronic device (a phone, camera, tablet or laptop) with you on your travels. Universal adaptors will help you to plugin your device in any power outlet across the world to charge its battery for use. So important!
16. Collapible Water-Bottle
Waterbottle is an essential item on your travels. Whether you are hiking or on a full day tour and exploring, you SHOULD stay hydrated and carry a waterbottle. In countries where water is expensive, fill it up from the hotel. I use this LEAK FREE, vacuum insulated Alpha Armur Bottle, because I HATE to get water in my bag where I have my electronics and because I don’t like the concept of buying plastic bottles all the time in countries where they don’t know how to recycle the plastic properly.
This waterbottle is totally a Win-Win! And it definitely saves you money in the long run..
17. Travel Organizer
Travel Organizer for documents are so handy! They are a MUST have to organize and secure your credit cards, printed boarding passes, passport, any quick notes like hotel address, emergency contact information, etc. I know you might think, in the age of technology why bother with printed boarding pass? Trust me, not all airports will accept barcode/digital boarding passes and what if your phone is frozen and cannot be scanned, especially in Africa!
Also, your passports and credit cards are not digital, you will need a wallet with RFID protection (to protect against identity theft) or a travel organizer like this one. I use this travel organizer, to keep all the travel documents in one place. Invest in a piece that is not bulky, yet has enough rooms for passport, credit or ID cards, money, paper, pen and boarding pass, with RFID protection.
18. A Day or Two of Toiletries
I can’t count how many times I’ve had a Sun Lotion, Perfume etc. over 100 ml taken from me in the security control in Airports. It was first after I discovered these small Go Tube Travel Bottlesthis finally ended! Really good to have for personal hygiene. Very durable and don’t leak despite being repacked daily as I stayed in many different hotels and places! I’m a big fan of these! The other travel bottles I had were usually leaking and it sucks to open your toilet bag and find out a shampoo is now all over your toothbrush!
These ones are honestly very good to have!
18. Travel Insurance
No one wants to buy travel insurance. I get it. We all think the incident doesn’t happen to me. But what happens when a monkey bites you in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and you need to get a quick rabies injection or you get malaria in Ivory Coast. Then you’re screwed! Unless you have a good Travel Insurance-
I prefer Worlds Nomads. Honestly, I hate worrying about my stuff while I travel. World Nomads gives me the peace of mind I need when it comes to gear. When my bag got stolen in Argentina, we took the proper steps by filing a police report and submitting our paperwork and they covered our losses. No muss, no fuss. It was great.
Plus, their One-Call 24-Hour Assistance Services offer multilingual pros to help you find a local doctor, dentist, or hospital abroad, and they can even arrange transportation to get you there.
19. First Aid
When it comes to travel first aid, think of anything you might have trouble hunting down in a foreign pharmacy and bring at least one. I’m not a big fan of taking pills, medicine and whenever I can avoid it I do. But I do like to have a little medicine for emergency situations and what I personally bring for my travel is:
1: Imodium (Stomach problems, anti-diarrhea.) After drinking the wrong ice cubes in India these are absolutely life-savers!
2: Systane Eye-Drops. I have dry eyes, and in countries where you deal with a lot of dust etc, I need eye-drops, otherwise I can’t see properly, my eyes get scratchy and sometimes red. Systane eye-drops helped me so much in Africa.
3: Paracetamol Tablets. For me they are the most important. Every time I’m about to get sick, it usually helps taking one of these and drink some water. I use the Danish brand Panodil and like to take one when I feel bad, because they usually better the situation.
4: Zyrtec Allergy Relief.I have allergy for grass, dust and some special perfumes and when it’s worst I use Zyrtec Allergy Relief to recover from sneezing, runny nose, itchy and watery eyes. Also relief from itchy throat or nose.
5: Band Aids. I never travel without these. You never no when you’re going to hurt yourself! 🙂
20: Windproof Travel Umbrella
While other umbrellas get easily flipped in the wind & break, the this Compact Travel Umbrella has a vented Double Canopy that allows the wind to pass through, preventing it from flipping over and breaking in strong winds. That’s one feature I really appreciate. I can’t count how many umbrellas I have watched die in strong winds, but this one is a survivor! And it doesn’t take a lot of space!
A Last Remember
Last but not least remember to bring copy of your passport, proof of vaccinations and maybe some small passport photos! You now have all the Travel Essentials and remember the only IMPOSSIBLE journey is the one you never begin, so pack your bag and go! ✈️
I had 5 lovely days in the beginning of my Liberia stay and I find most Liberian people as warm, friendly and sociable, but what happened in my last 2 days in Liberia is something I will never forget!
Hello Liberia. My country number 116
Is Liberia Dangerous?
Before you read this article and get scared of Liberia, I need to say I enjoyed Liberia mostly. A beautiful country, even though I was there in heavy rain season with up to 16 hours of rain some of my days. I had to be smart with my time in Liberia and took full advantage of the sunny hours, as well as with the rainy ones.
There are some sketchy areas in the capital Monrovia, especially at night, but I felt comfortable most places in Liberia during day and night. So it is a safe country, but there’s one specific time, where it’s NOT!
At the abandoned luxury hotel, Ducor Hotel, at night
My Observations In Liberia
Can’t avoid the spices in Liberia! Even cucumbers have spicy chili inside
The Language
I love the way Liberian speak English, the way they shorten all of the words and mix it with their own local language, makes it so hard to understand, but enjoyable to listen to. Sometimes I had to listen to sentences 3-4 times, in order to fully understand what was being said. So yes, Liberia is a English-speaking country, but not the English you know.
The Food
The food in Liberia is extremely spicy and it’s no matter what you eat. The Liberian people find the food to be completely normal, but in all of the other +115 countries I’ve been to, I only remember a few countries where ALL the food was this spicy. Most of the time I had tears in my eyes when eating in Liberia.
Public Transport Discussion
I took a lot of public transport in Liberia and in all of the cars, mini busses, busses there were discussions.
Usually the one who shouts the loudest wins the argument and when you think people are about to fight, they say “my man, listen,” and the “my man” takes of a lot of the pressure. I’ve seen it so many times here.
Civil Wars
The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1997. The conflict killed about 250,000 people. The Second Liberian Civil War was from 1999 – 2003. After nearly 14 years of Civil War the country is finally safe now, but when the situation get overheated, people can go back in war mode.
Caught In Shootings And Explosions In Liberia
I was caught in shooting and explosions in Liberia. The day before I went on a crazy hunt to find wild, abandoned chimpanzees on an isolated Liberian island, dubbed as ‘The Planet of the Apes.’ Read: The Hunt On Wild Chimpanzees In Liberia,’ but now it was time to go from Liberia to Ivory Coast!
Here’s what happened exactly: I went up 5 am in the morning to find a car from Monrovia to Ivory Coast, because you usually have to wake up early when moving around West Africa to get a car. The car was first full at 9 am though, so it was a long waiting time, but we were now finally ready to go. I was in a Jeep with 7 other African people and off we went!
I sat next to a guy from Ghana, who spoke a good English I could understand easily. There was also a Liberian guy, who was extremely friendly, but I was happy that the man from Ghana was there to translate what he said, because he spoke extremely fast and the Liberian way. Fast talking combined with the Liberian way of speaking English is not the best combination, at least not for me.
The Road Was Blocked. How Come?!
Police blocking the road. What is going on?!
We had been on the road for only 1,5 hour and now the road was blocked. We talked a bit to some of the other passengers in the cars waiting in line, and from what I could understand from the conversations there had been an incident and two kids had died.
I thought it was a bad road incident, which happens here occasionally, but after 30 min of waiting the Liberian guy and I decided to go and check what the problem. There was a lot of noise up there!
“The President Kills Our Children”
We came up to the chaos and walked a bit around. The police were there, but it seemed pretty quiet after all at first. We saw some people who were furious and my Liberian friend and I went over to them to find out what the problem was. A lady was screaming us in the face: “The President is killing our children.”
One of the furious ladies. Lots of aggression
The ladies wanted the President to come and talk, and I was hoping he would come, because I’m a football fan. The President of Liberia is the old football legend, George Weah. His abilities on the football pitch seemed to be better than his presidential ones! At least people were MAD about him in this situation.
Football legend George Weah is the President of Liberia
I honestly didn’t understand the issue really, but the protesters said they would block the road for at least 2-3 days. This was the ONLY International road from Monrovia, Liberia to the border of Ivory Coast.
At this point I thought either they stopped the demonstration or there would be big problems soon. In a country there has been in a war mode not many years ago. A country that’s not afraid to pull the trigger.
Only white man in the place. Would the President come or not?
At one point it seemed like the President would come to give an excuse to the people, but then the reports from the Government changed. I could see the Ghanaian guy from my car running back towards the car. The Police was still passive at this time, but the alarm bells were ringing now. I had to get back to the car.
Get In The Car! Now!
The Liberian guy ran past me and I turned around and ran also. Our car was only 40 meters away from the protests. When we came to the car we stood outside and talked a bit, and the Liberian guy said there was NO CHANCE we would leave today. Just when he said “no chance,” our driver came running from the opposite site of the demonstration and said the police are sending extra forces: “Get in the car. Now!”
Two of the last guys from our car came running in full sprint to the car and jumped in. Literally 5 seconds after we were all in the car, I looked to the right side and from around 50 meter distance I saw a young man throwing something and I yelled: “Get down!” It was a small home-made bomb. Everybody went down beneath the car seats! We could feel the pressure from the bomb inside the car. The car was shaking and right after I could smell the smoke from a battlefield.
I looked up again and from the other side now three Liberian men threw stones at our car, so we were still hiding under the car seats. The driver screamed: “Open the windows,” because if a stone hits glass, it could leave serious damage on the people inside. We were all with the heads down. The protesters were running away and I made a short video footage, where you can hear the gunshots starting to fire from the police.
The women from the demonstration came running now in full speed with crying kids, absolutely horrible.
Liberian woman running from her life. One of the worst days of my life!
The Police Didn’t Want The Protests To Continue – Shoot!
The President had told the police the situation was unacceptable and had told them to act! I saw this woman on the picture above came running past my car window, I looked back and saw a woman was shot in the back head 10 meters away from me. The second after a young man got shot in the back and went straight to the ground. F*CK! I went back under the car seat and heard 5-7 gunshots more and heard a lot of screaming outside. After 1 minute all the people who were protesting and blocking the road were gone.
Police with truncheon and guns. At least 2 were shot dead, I saw it with my own eyes!
I saw two people were shot with my own eyes, but I’m not sure how many were shot in total. A lot of gunshots.. Time was standing still.
All of the people from the demonstration were gone in less than 1 minute
Time To Get Away From The Gunshots
Now we had to escape. Our driver got up from where he was hiding, starting the engine and drove like he was getting casted for a new ‘Fast & The Furious-Movie.’ He destroyed the rear view mirror on another car, because all people just wanted to get away. We really had to get away in a hurry, and he even went off road, where the car was close to turn around. He honestly drove like Michael Schumacher in his heyday. The situation was hectic and scary, still with a lot of violent, unpredictable police around us.
Our driver driving right after he raced through the demonstration. We made it!
A Day Not To Remember
What a day to finish off Liberia, my country number 116. A day I wouldn’t even wish my worst enemy to experience. A day right in the middle of shootings and explosions a little outside of Monrovia, Liberia.
20 minutes after the shootings. Seeing people get shot is something you don’t want to try.
Goodbye Liberia
As I said earlier I don’t know much about the conflict, but blocking the only International road to another country on the African continent usually have bloody consequences. It had today. These protesters put themselves, the road users and worst of all small children in extreme danger by doing this. Not smart. Seeing kids crying, running for their life. Not fun at all. I can’t figure out who were right or wrong though.
Made it to Ivory Coast. Big relief!
Honestly happy I have arrived to Ivory Coast alive, my country number 117. Can’t wait to see what this country has to offer and now it’s time to move forward!
Dubbed as the Planet of the Apes, I traveled to the secretive “Monkey Island” in the Liberian jungle, but the hunt to find them wasn’t easy!
How To Find This Place?
I had talked a bit to my Dutch friend Bart about this place, but to be honest I had absolutely no clue how to get there at first. I just heard about the “Monkey Island”, and was a bit fascinated by the story of these aggressive laboratory monkeys living it up on the Liberian island.
What is said to be infected apes with a reputation for attacking invaders are apparently on their own private island in Africa. Going there sounds like something from a horror movie, right?! Anyway it sounded too cool for me to resist, and I always prefer to see animals in the wild and not in a circus or in most zoo’s, where they don’t belong.
Win-win situation!
Jumped on a motorbike with a man and his wife
No Tourist Attraction At All
I quickly found out this place wasn’t a tourist attraction and many people didn’t know the place I was asking for, but I took a shared taxi for around 1 hour south of Monrovia to a small city called Marshall and from there I jumped on a motorbike with a man and his wife. The man was complaining that I was moving too much in the 45 min motorbike drive, but I had his wife’s steel plate and fruits in my back, which caused a lot of pain!
Anyway, the pain shouldn’t stop me from making my way to the chimpanzees!
Corrupt police at a security point
Corrupt Police Security Point
It’s incredible how much stuff can be on a small African motorbike, right?! I checked my phone and could see we were now close to the place, where the motorbike driver told me I could find a boat to the chimpanzees and right when I looked up from my phone a guy yelled: “HEY!” loudly.
I could see it was a security point and the 4 cops looked really sketchy.
I was sure they would try to get some money out of me. But I met them with a smile and a positive attitude, because I knew all my documents, vaccinations and visas were in order. After a little talk outside, I was taking into Officer Kanneh’s office and he asked me: “What are you doing here?”
I knew if I said I was going to look for the chimpanzees he would probably mention a fee for entrance, so I just said I was going to see the village here and walk around.
He said: “Ok I see. You didn’t know there were chimpanzees here?” I said: “No, are there really?” and looked very surprised.
Officer Kanneh said: “Yes. I can call a guy named Wacki, he know the chimpanzees and he can take you there for free.” I knew it wasn’t going to be free, but I just agreed and Officer Kanneh and his big security guard took me to the lake.
On which other continent would you see two police officers at an important security point just leave their job?
The Two Police Officers And Me Off On Motorbikes
We arrived to the place and it started to rain like crazy. We tried to call Wacki, but he didn’t take the phone. Out of a sudden someone found Wacki in the village and Wacki was very happy to see me and said he wanted to take me to the chimpanzees. But he said he would just go and change his outfit.
We waited for 20 minutes and Wacki didn’t come back.
Me and the corrupt police officers searching for Wacki
Where Is Wacki?
Now it was finally dry, so one of the guys said that we should go now to the “Monkey Island.”
I was sure the guy had coordinated it with Wacki, but I was a bit surprised, when I asked him 5 times about where Wacki was and I didn’t get any respond.
Officer Kanneh was there with us and said Wacki wasn’t here right now, but I could pay 15 dollars and then go with Mr. Mojo’s old fisher boat, instead of Wacki’s kayak.
I knew time was short, because it was raining heavily (it really does here in rain season), so I said let me talk to Mr. Mojo. First of all I told Mr. Mojo that I wanted Wacki to come with me, because he was the expert in the area. Mr. Mojo said it was impossible, because we couldn’t find Wacki. I could tell Mr. Mojo just wanted to benefit from the situation, instead of Wacki, and to be fair I could see this Mr. Mojo was focusing more on the money, whereas Wacki seemed like a really nice person with a big heart.
The Oral Agreement
I looked Mr. Mojo deep in the eyes before the ‘Chimpanzee Hunt’ and said: “I don’t want a boat tour. I want to see chimpanzees. When I’ve seen chimpanzees, I’ll pay you 15 dollars. Not before.”
It was a cheap price indeed, but it’s a lot of money for Liberian people and fuel prices are super cheap here.
He said: “Yes, that’s a deal” and we shaked each other hands. Everybody around us saw it.
From my experience when traveling Africa, it’s always super important to make clear agreements before you do something, otherwise there can sometimes be problems afterwards and you will have to cash out!
It turned out there were big problems here too later! Anyway..
I made sure all the other 20 Liberian guys who were circling around me heard it too, in case Mr. Mojo suddenly ran away from our oral agreement. I wanted to see chimpanzees and after I would pay.
The agreement was reached and I was ready to go with 5 Liberian guys in Mr. Mojo’s old fisher boat
We went out in the old fisher boat, which went from side to side. I’m glad I have Faroese fisherman blood, and even one of the Liberian guys went puking after 30 minutes. That boat was absolutely terrible! I thought it was going to tip over at times, but the water luckily got more quiet. But the weather didn’t.
Water got quiet, but then the rain was incoming!
We started to search for the chimpanzees in two nearby islands, but they were hiding. They had food in the morning, so a guy told us we should come back, when they were hungry again and then suddenly a crazy rainstorm hit us! We had to go back! No chimpanzees!
No chimpanzees at our 1st attempt
1.st Attempt – FAIL!
When I came back I could see Mr. Mojo was looking at us and we jumped up of the shaky boat, soaking wet and disappointed and went inside a small stone house. The 5 Liberian guys told Mr. Mojo we didn’t see any chimpanzees and Mr. Mojo then said:
“Ok. But I want my money now.”
I was shocked. 15 dollars is not a problem for me, but to change an agreement is a problem. We made an agreement 1,5 hours before in front of everybody and now Mr. Mojo changed his mind. Waow!
When I’m traveling in Africa I’m a man of principles and I stick to my agreements here, which is one of the reasons I rarely get scammed in Africa.so I reminded Mr. Mojo in a kind way about the agreement we made earlier about the fact that I would pay when I had seen chimpanzees.
Mr. Mojo Got Aggressive
Mr. Mojo went straight to my face and started to yell that he wanted his money now, and he started coming with several racist remark about me, calling me f*cking stupid white man and several other things I don’t want to wrtie, but I kept my calm and didn’t move one step, even though he was right up in my face and I just told him in a polite way.
“How can I be the stupid one? We had a deal?”
I wasn’t scared, because I knew I was right and I knew if he hit me one time, he wouldn’t stand a chance against me. The other guys took him away and told him to calm down, because they all heard the agreement we made. A guy in a yellow shirt came into the circle and that was THEGAME CHANGER!
Wacki And His Friend Were Back!
Wacki came back and he got really pissed off at Mr. Mojo.
Wacki told Mr. Mojo, he shouldn’t take me on his boat, while he was changing his outfit. Wacki apparently lived a little away from the village, and Wacki told Mr. Mojo he knew nothing about finding chimpanzees. Everybody loved Wacki in the little village, and Wacki told me: “Don’t worry my man, my friend will show you chimpanzees.”
After 30 min. of crazy discussions between Mr. Mojo and Wacki, Wacki convinced Mr. Mojo about his plans. I would pay the 15 dollars, when I had seen the chimpanzees and Wacki promised Mr. Mojo I would see them now at the 2. attempt with huge confidence. Wacki told me to go with his friend!
My man!
Everybody in the village had arrived to see our hefty discussions
2. Attempt! Now Or Never
We left the village in the old fisher boat again for a 2. try! Wacki’s friend was really confident, he was actually dancing on the boat and started to say all the names of the monkeys and said he had a great personal relationship with them. I couldn’t help but to smile a bit after some rough hours of discussions.
Our 2. try to find chimpanzees. Wacki’s best friend in the yellow shirt! Top guy
Would We Finally Find The Chimpanzees?
Wacki’s friend was shocked about where the guys had taken me at first, and it turned out Wacki’s friend was right.
Right when we went out to the first place on this boat trip, 3 Chimpanzees came out, when Wacki’s friend started yelling their names. Such a clever animal, no wonder why it’s the most human like animal in the World.
We found them!
The water was shallow at the beach, so we couldn’t really get close, because the chimps could get aggressive with me as a new person they didn’t know, but we went to the other side of the island and got pretty close, where the chimpanzees were in the trees and on the seashore. Wauw, this was it!
CHIMPANZEES! Such an amazing experience getting close to these aggressive, but cute guys
We were all very happy to see the chimpanzees, and even Wacki’s friend’s friend was amazed and was sneaking out his phone and took some nice photos!
Wacki’s friend’s friend was even more hyped than me and took a lot of pics! Awesome chimps!
I couldn’t thank Wacki and Wacki’s friend enough and I gave them a solid well-deserved tip for saving my ‘Chimpanzee Trip’ and then I gave the man his 15 dollars when I came back of course. Even though I was a little mad about his racist remarks and aggressiveness towards me, but I could understand his frustrations too. I just can’t help sticking to the agreements I make. That’s just natural for me.
A hectic, but amazing chimpanzee hunt! Would you do have done the same like me?
After some long travel days and a baby puking on me on the bumpy roads in Guinea, I was honestly a bit tired to say the least and very excited to get out of Guinea’s capital Conakry’s craziness and into Sierra Leone, the country of white beaches and diamonds.
No. 2 Beach, Sierra Leone
The Ebola Outbreak
When I had to go from Guinea down south to Sierra Leone, I a took bus, shared taxi, motor bike, basically every possible vehicle in order to finally reach Sierra Leone, the land of the white beaches, which I heard so much good stuff about. Besides a big Ebola outbreak few years ago which killed +10,000 people. Terrible!
Ebola just found in Congo again. Sierra Leone on alert!
Not Allowed To Enter Sierra Leone?
But I didn’t want to think too much about that. Like always. Just go!
First of all I was told that my vaccination card wasn’t complete to enter Sierra Leone. I told the border police that my doctor gave me all the vaccines which were needed. After a little talk with the Sierra Leonean border police, they told me: “This is not the Official Vaccination Card.” I told them that it was how the Official Vaccination Card we get in Denmark looks like, even though it was just a copy of it, (as I would be afraid to lose my original one,) and they luckily believed in my super convincing explanation.
I then had to go through two offices more for registration and thought okay, now I’m almost in Sierra Leone.. But then the lady at the registration office said: “Now you go into that room, to the ‘Big Boss!’
Border crossings in West Africa can be complicated and tiresome
My Meeting With The Big Boss
The ‘Big Boss’ was a big guy, probably around 50 years old, wearing a suit and with a mad look. He said “sit down” with a brutally dark voice and then started to look at my passport without saying anything for 2 minutes. It felt like a reeeally long time in there, because he looked really critically on every page and visa.
He then looked at me and opened his big mouth. “What are you doing here in Sierra Leone?” I replied “I’m just visiting the country as a tourist.” He didn’t say anything and continued to look at my passport.
It seemed like I was just about to get allowance to enter Sierra Leone, sitting in the ‘Big Boss’ office with him lifting his arm to give me the stamp, but then he put the arm down slowly and asked me:
“Which hotel in Sierra Leone?” Damn…
The Missing Hotel Reservation
SH*T. How could I forget to find a hotel name or to fake a hotel reservation in Sierra Leone.
I told ‘Big Boss’: “Give me one second..”
I was trying to get some internet connection, so I could say a name of a hotel, but there was absolutely zero connection at the border.
‘Big Boss’ looked impatiently at me and raised his voice. “I NEED A HOTEL RESERVATION.”
I replied: “It’s called Freetown Hotel.” Big Boss: “I don’t know that one?” I said: “At the beach?” He said: “There’s no one with that name.” I thought oh no, this is NOT good.
He continued: “We can’t let you in to Sierra Leone without a Hotel Reservation. Impossible.” I realized I had to make a quick move, otherwise entering Sierra Leone wouldn’t be for this time, which would destroy my travel plans completely. I didn’t want ‘Big Boss’ to destroy it for me!
I said: “Let me just call my friend about the hotel name.” He stared at me angrily with his scary mad look.. Of course I couldn’t call my friend with no connection at the border, but while I was pretending to call my friend, I took a quick look in ‘Big Boss’s’ book, which was upside down in front of him, and in 2 seconds I could see a hotel name called ‘YMCA.’ I started to scratch my eyes to distract him a bit..
YMCA in Sierra Leone
I took my phone to my ear and faked a call: “Hello Samuel (quickly made up name), what was the name of that hotel.. At the beach in Freetown? Arh, YMCA, okay thanks!” Without talking to any person of course.. When ‘Big Boss’ heard YMCA, he said “good” with his extremely manly voice and continued “Welcome to Sierra Leone.”
I didn’t go to that hotel, but..
Thank you, ‘Big Boss!’
Had to buy a Sierra Leone t-shirt out of pure excitement!
Entering Sierra Leone felt extra good after my meeting with the ‘Big Boss,’ he was indeed one of the biggest bosses I’ve ever met, and to top it off I met a nice lady who brought her rooster in the shared taxi in Makeni, Sierra Leone!
After some relaxing days in Sierra Leone visiting villages, beach hopping and enjoying the capital, Freetown, I thought it was time to make way to by country number 116, Liberia.
No. 2 Beach, Sierra Leone. My favourite beach so far in West Africa!
The Slow Way To Liberia
I prefered to move slowly from Sierra Leone to Liberia in order to see some new places on the way. I wanted to take my time in Sierra Leone and there were several reasons why. First of all because it’s a pretty relaxed English speaking country in this region, which is rare to find. Secondly because when I entered Sierra Leone from the north, I was almost not allowed to enter. I had to be creative and my quick way of thinking saved me in the last second, otherwise it would have been NO Sierra Leone!
Climbing the Lester Peak with a nice view over Freetown, Sierra Leone
After having a fun time in the north of Sierra Leone in Makeni, I went to Freetown and the area around there for some days. After having seen the beaches in Conakry, Guinea, I was stunned to see the difference in the beauty of the beaches in Sierra Leone in such relatively small distance.
Dirty Beach in Conakry, Guinea
Most beaches in Sierra Leone
Tokeh Beach Resort in Sierra Leone.. Different class!
Hard to leave Sierra Leone
It was honestly nice to relax a bit in Sierra Leone, especially to get out of the capital Freetown and enjoy the small villages and lovely beaches. Also enjoyed to eat some of my favourite West African food, the ‘Sierra Leonean attiéké’, with fermented and grated cassava and a blend of various ingredients. Definitely a different supplement to the rice and fish you’ll get most places here, which can get boring in the long run.
Sierra Leonean attiéké is delicious
Too late for Liberia
I wasn’t too far from the border to Liberia and wanted to do some more exploring before crossing the border from Sierra Leone to Liberia. What I didn’t think about was that the border from Sierra Leone to Liberia would close at 6.30 pm. I found out of this randomly mid day and thought it was maybe the right time to head down to the border. I had a strong belief I would make it in time, still with plenty hours to go!
In a southern village Gbongay, Sierra Leone
I found a shared car going to the border and negotiated a fair (cheap) price with the driver. There was just one thing wrong. I quickly found out this could be a big problem in order to reach the border in time. Something was wrong with the driver. Me and the other passengers were in deep sh*t literally!
The Driver’s Diarrhea (Mr. Poo Poo)
I sat next to a very funny guy in the shared taxi, who said he was the black Cristiano Ronaldo!
Me and the black Cristiano Ronaldo and another guy out in nowhere, Sierra Leone
We had several stops on the way there and in the beginning we didn’t understand why we stopped the car all the time, because we were in a bit of a rush. The driver kept running away from the car every time he stopped the car. We quickly found out something wasn’t as it should be with him. After a few stops the driver pointed to his stomach and signaled something was wrong. The black Cristiano Ronaldo said: “We have to drive now Mr. Poo Poo” and every one in the car laughed, including the driver, even though he was in pain. Really a shitty situation for all of us, most of all for the driver!
The clock was 5 pm. Only 1,5 hour to the border would close…
We had to keep on going!
“Mr. Poo Poo” in pain! He insisted to keep on driving.. Would we make the border in time?!
The Liberian Border Would Close Soon
The minutes were counting down. Time was now 6 pm, which meant we only had 30 minutes to go, before the border would close!
I talked to the black Cristiano Ronaldo about the possibility of the border still being open, when we arrived, but I could see on my offline Maps.Me that we had at least 40 minutes to go. Time on a map in West Africa is never correct and that’s a fact. We arrived 7.09 pm. 39 min after the border closed!
Border closed 18.30 sharp. We didn’t make it!
Mr. Poo Poo was off to a little home made African toilet immediately at the border, but it didn’t take away the shit we were all in right now!
Me and a Liberian guy at the closed border! Before we knew the consequences of this situation
It was getting dark and I was there with the black Cristiano Ronaldo, the Liberian guy and Mr. Poo Poo and we discussed where we could sleep and none of us had any clue. We really didn’t want to sleep in the car after an exhausting ride. We were out in nowhere and the heavy rain could come anytime.
Stuck at the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia. Rain hits really hard in the night in rainy season!
The driver called someone and the black Cristiano Ronaldo said we could maybe go on some muddy roads through the forest at night to a village. The roads were really muddy, maybe not as muddy as the driver’s underpants, but indeed muddy!
We drove over 4 small rivers during night to find a place to sleep. Driver wasn’t scared we would get stuck with the car in the dark forest
The Right Track
Mr. Poo Poo drove us the right way. We were now in this village the black Cristiano Ronaldo mentioned to him and me and the Black Cristiano Ronaldo and the Liberian guy went out to search for a place to sleep. It was really hard to find anything and there weren’t many people we could ask during the night, but we found a place with a small ‘Motel’ sign, which looked really creepy. They had two rooms available.
What to do!?
Inside the motel at the border. Straight out of a horror movie
We all agreed that I took the single room. Sounded good to me at first, until I found out the lights went on and off every 1 second, the window was open and couldn’t close (would someone jump in or would the mosquitoes bite me like crazy?!), no mosquito net, no toilet. Anyway it was time to sleep.. We were all too exhausted to thing about anything late at night now!
My $7 motel room at the border to Liberia
Good Morning And Hello Liberia
The border crossing went pretty okay, besides a lot of police check points when we entered Liberia, but I was happy to be with the black Cristiano Ronaldo all the way to Monrovia, Liberia. It went a lot smoother with him, because he small-talked to all the police officers and they seemed to like him.
He is honestly a guy I’ll never forget. He was so excited to go home to his wife in Monrovia, Liberia to have a special dish she would make for him. But he came 1 day too late and I saw his girlfriend was texting angry messages to him about him sleeping with his side chick in Sierra Leone. Ouch!
I can confirm he slept with a Liberian guy and I hope for him he had his favourite dish today in Monrovia, Liberia! Top guy!
Me and the black Cristiano Ronaldo in the morning ready to pass the border to Liberia
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