Behind Around the World in 80 Clicks
Hello! I would like to introduce myself. I am maintainer, developer, writer, photographer for traveladventures.org. On this page I would like to tell you a little bit more about the background of this site, and about me. After years of travelling, in 1999 I decided to make use of Internet technology to share pictures and stories about some of my travels with a worldwide audience. Travelling is my passion and large part of my life. Making this site available to all of you, I feel that I can give something back from all the input I get on my travels, and that I can show you places you might have never heard of. Or wonder what they look like. Or perhaps, want to see pictures of places you have been to. You might be planning a trip yourself, and need some images to help you decide where to go.
You might wonder how it is possible that someone travels so extensively. Well, I have always felt that travelling has somehow been fed to me since I started drinking milk as a baby. When I was only 5 months old, my parents decided to take me to Greece, which took some 50 hours by train. In Greece, instead of spending holidays on the beach, they decided to wander around the island of Crete with me. Apart from a lot of local curiosity, this also prepared me for a restless life of travelling. Indeed, when spending more than a few hours at a beach, I am bored and wish to move on....
Anyway, when I grew up I kept my travelmindedness. My father's work at an international institute implied that our house was often filled with exotic people from around the world, but mainly so-called developing countries. We traveled often, mostly to Greece and the Middle East, but also other countries further away - and all those trips, I was always very excited - even though I did not always understand what I was seeing.
Whenever I saw a plane, train or boat, I was excited, and wanted to go. When I reached adulthood, I went on Interrail tours of Europe 9 times. After ending my office life as a computer programmer, I went to Africa and Spain where I worked as a computer consultant and studied Spanish, respectively. Both events further increased my restlessness and yearning to explore the unknown, and when I started studying International Relations at the University of Amsterdam, I felt almost dead: I felt a strong need to explore more of the world, no matter how interesting my university. So, I applied for a job as flight attendant for a major European airline. And that's where I still am, for over 22 years now. Currently, I am working as a Senior Purser on intercontinental flights, so I will continue to add pictures from all over the world. With retirement being postponed, I will be flying for many years to come.
After arriving from a long flight, I am still thrilled and have a goal to pursue. I take my camera and lenses, and hit the road to explore a country, a city, a neighbourhood - whatever I feel like doing - even if it is the 20th time I am there. Each and every holiday I leave my home continent Europe to explore new countries, or travel more in countries where I have been before. Sometimes, I make short trips in between flights - there are a lot of interesting places I still have not seen in Europe itself. This has allowed me to build a huge collection of pictures from over 157 countries now. You can see a selection of those pictures on this site.
Often, already on the way back home, I start thinking about my next trip. Socrates once said that the more you know, the more you realize how little you know. I find the same goes for travelling. The more you travel, the more you realize how many places there still are to discover, and how many beautiful and interesting places our planet has. There are still so many places I want to go to - countries I have never been to - or in countries I have already visited (many times) before.
Is travelling tiring? Yes, it can be. But in the end, it almost always gives me a lot of energy. It makes me feel excited, sometimes in the way a child can be excited. In short, travelling makes me feel alive. What is more: travel is life. Travel is about yearning, about realizing dreams, being excited about new discoveries, about cherishing special memories of an experience. Travel means to meet people, to discover habits in far away places, to connect. Travel means highlights, but there is always the possibility of adversity, of problems, of lows - basically, challenges on the road ahead. More often than not, these have the potential to turn into the high of your trip after you have dealt with them and come home. With travel, you can learn from your mistakes, and if you are open to it, you can not only learn a lot about the incredible world we live in, but also about yourself. Travel can be as straightforward as visiting a unique sight, seeing a magnificent mountain, or a city. To me, it more often than not is vital to keep an eye out for the ordinary, for the small things, the peculiarities that make a place special. To me, that is what makes travel equal life.
Hardware:
Pictures taken before June 1993 were taken with a Minox camera; for those taken between June 1993 and August 2000 I used a Pentax Espio115; those taken between September 2000 and October 2004 are taken with a Sony DSC-F505V digital camera. Pictures taken since November 2004 are taken with my new photography companion, the Canon EOS 20D, while those taken since November 2007 are taken with a Canon EOS 40D. I currently use a Canon 17-40mm 4L USM, a 24-105mm 4L IS USM, a 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 IS USM, a 10-22mm 3,5-4,5 EF-S USM lens, and a 50mm 1,4 EF lens.
In October 2011, with my upcoming visit to Antarctica, I invested in a new body, Canon 5D Mark ii, as I will be traveling with two bodies for the first time - just to be on the safe side. In addition, I bought a 70-200mm USM ISII 2.8 and a 2.0 Extender iii; really looking forward to the results! At the same time, I remain a convinced light traveller, although I recognize the needs of a good lens for great pictures: a big dilemma!
Keep coming back to this site, as it will continuously expand. My travelling will only stop when some higher force so decides.
And, please send me your comments. If you find errors, misspellings, false information, missing pictures.... this site is human work! Let me know!
Boris Kester
