A turning year
- XPLORid
- Sep 17
- 4 min read
2024 was a tough year. After our world bicycle tour through Europe, North America and Central America, we returned to the Netherlands in July. The heat stress in Central America played its toll for Linda. Furthermore, in these impoverished countries, we missed the opportunity to connect with locals. Out of decency, we didn't want to burden them with a stay for the night.
That summer, we had several house and pet sits spread across the Netherlands and Belgium, and our intention was to continue this while cycling in Europe.
In September, we unexpectedly had to say goodbye to Ben's father.
We then decided to return to our apartment in Maastricht. Fortunately, it was available. We made it our "base camp" starting January 2025. A potential house and pet sit in Malaysia in May/June 2025 got us into the idea of backpacking in Indonesia in March and April.
It turned out backpacking is not our cup of tea.
Base camp
After touring through North and Central America, our plan was to continue cycling in Europe as nomads and house and pet sitters. The lack of a permanent place to fall back on in case of unforeseen circumstances, the constant search for housing, and the European winter, in particular, made us decide to return to our apartment in Maastricht.
From our apartment, which we've set up as a "base camp," we search for house and pet sits in Europe. We prefer to travel by bicycle, otherwise by public transport. When possible, we extend our journey with a nice detour.
Inactive and lack of connection
In Europe, Canada, the US and Mexico, we often knocked on people's doors looking for a place to stay for the night. We enjoyed meeting locals and we love the flexibility by not having to plan accommodation beforehand.
While backpacking, we did not knock on doors. W e were mainly reliant on homestays and hotels. Bali is touristy all over, but we also didn't feel comfortable visiting touristy places in Java and Sumatra. Despite the various homestays trying to mimic a local experience, we soon realized that we especially missed the daily cycling activity and the connection with locals and nature.
We were traveling with our backpacks, but we weren’t active.
We explored nature on two jungle tours in Sumatra, but that was precisely the reason we decided not to do any more tours. In our view, these tours are fake connections with locals and nature. Moreover, most tours harm nature and are not beneficial to the well-being of the local people, flora and fauna.
Tours
The members of the Mentawai tribe, where we stayed for two nights, smoked one pack of cigarettes after the other. Our guide brought some. The Mentawai weren’t welcoming without cigarettes, he told us.
During our trek through Gunung Leuser National Park in search of wild orangutans, we slept in a small tent wrapped in single-use plastic for the rain. The amount of plastic and toilet paper left behind in the wild was enormous.
No one cared.
We were there in the off-season. Let alone what it's like in peak season. The stench from the “toilets” in the bushes near the camp was unbelievable. If I were an orangutan, I would stay far away from this place.
Transportation, waste and plastic
We noticed that no one walks and hardly anyone cycles. Everyone has either a scooter or a car. Outside of the resorts, the beaches are littered with trash. There's endless plastic use. It would be great if the government would commit to offer public transport, environmental protection, waste separation and plastic reduction. If there aren't any financial resources, let the countless tourists pay a fee and make it happen.
Happy ending
We now know what we don't want and what we do want.
Backpacking and tours aren't for us. We prefer to be active by cycling, connecting with locals and nature, and seeking out secret local gems (which we won't report on ;)
We lived like true nomads on our bicycles for four years. Of course, it's nice to have your own place again and not have to worry about housing. Our apartment as a base camp is an ideal safety net for family emergencies, unexpected physical ailments/accidents, and the cancellation of a planned house and pet sit.
We know what we do want: we'll spend half the year in Maastricht and the other half abroad. Ideally, we'll combine house and pet sitting with cycling, or we'll get on a longer bike ride through Europe. In both cases, the connection with nature and the local people is central.
Both feet on the ground
During our bicycle tour, which was actually supposed to take longer, one of the goals was to cycle without getting on a plane. Ben had practical reasons for this at that time; for Linda, the ecological crisis has always played a significant role.
In Panama, we had no choice but to fly back to Europe. After the decision to move back into our apartment we felt the lack of movement, change, and adventure. The temptation to do a house and pet sit in Malaysia was strong. Ben wanted to experience Indonesia, and Linda was ready to get back on the road again.
We want to relive our world bicycle goal.
We miss our way of life “without flying”. What we've experienced during our tour and what's happening globally has made us even more aware that flying has a far too great impact on the health of all of us and the planet. What will we do with a potential house and pet sit for 3 to 6 months that's too good to be true and that would require us to fly? Hopefully, other wonderful experiences in Europe will come our way, so we don't have to ask ourselves that difficult question.
Besides our desire not to fly, we also live consciously in other ways. We don't own a car, we eat almost vegan and prefer organic, and we buy functional, practical, sustainable and local products.
KARMA
Actions that lead to good karma are based on compassion - generosity, kindness, sympathy, and wisdom. On the contrary, acting with greed and hatred will lead to bad karmic outcomes.
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