Extraordinary World Traveler Started Traveling And Can’t Stop

Extraordinary World Traveler Started Traveling And Can’t Stop

Father was an alcoholic, and  he didn’t like it. Actually,   when we were at home, I didn’t  drink alcohol. I don’t use drugs,   even though people think I do all the  time. If you live such a cheap life,  

Don’t go traveling. What do you say to the people  who are giving comments like this on the platform?  Today, I bumped into a person who traveled for 45  years. Now, normally I talk to a lot of different   people in one video, but because it’s such an  interesting character, we are just dedicating  

This video to our new friend. It’s going to be an  interesting conversation. I hope you’re excited.  I’ve been one month here in Vietnam, but  I’ve been many times in Asia, and Vietnam   is amazing. I thought completely different  about it. In a few days, we go to Cambodia,  

Then to Laos, and then to Thailand. Nice.  So you’re backpacking at the moment. Yeah.  Have you been backpacking before, like any times?  Yeah, yeah, since I was 13. Oh, really? Yeah. What   makes you travel so much? To meet local people,  usually, to try to meet local people. But before,  

It was much easier than now. Why is that? I  think because of the mobile phones everywhere.  Ah, I’ve been 15 times in India. I’ve been a  few times in Thailand, Malaysia, everywhere.   And since, for me, since the introduction of these  phones, it’s changed totally. If you look at the  

People now, even when it’s a football game, 80%  is on their mobile phone playing games. And when   there is some cheering on the screen, they look,  okay. So it’s a different world we live in. Yeah,   I’m 58, so I know. I’m born in 1990. Yeah,  so you’re born with this thing. Pretty much,  

Yeah. But I also see that it’s… Yeah,  probably nicer before. I think, for me,   yeah. Because before I traveled a lot alone, but  you’re never alone. If you travel now alone, it’s   much more difficult to meet people. Even in guest  houses in the morning, it’s quiet. Everybody is  

Looking at his phone. Everybody before everybody  was talking to everybody, but it’s finished.  Where have you been? You mentioned Thailand.  So you’ve been a lot to India, you’re saying,   but Southeast Asia, most of the time, it was  like Singapore and Malaysia and Thailand for  

A few months, and then I jumped to Australia or  to New Zealand, like this. I’ve done the same   thing. I’ve done a year or two in Australia and  New Zealand. Now I’m still backpacking in a way,  

But a little bit different. I’ve got a small  suitcase on me this time, you know. I’ve only   like 5 kilos. Oh yeah. All my life I have 5 kilos,  and even those 5 kilos is even two and a half kilo  

Too much, I think. Yeah. So what’s that, like a  few shirts, some underwear? No, just one shirt I   have. Oh yeah, and every few days, like everywhere  is laundry now. You just bring your clothes in,  

You wait for 3 hours in your underwear somewhere,  and you get it back. It’s clean, yeah. True, true,   true, true. You don’t need a lot of things, no. True. Friends of mine, went for one month to   Vietnam, and the girl had 25 underwear with  her. Every day another one. She didn’t want  

To wash. I say, you don’t have to wash. You just  bring us somewhere. I have a mosquito net. That’s   for me the most important. What’s the plan for a  regular day? W hat are you doing today, let’s say? 

I was on my way to get something to drink and  go back to my girlfriend because she’s waiting   for me. And then change some money, okay. The man  from the hostel say you have to go to a jewelry  

Just behind here, okay. It gives a very good rate.  We’re walking around looking for some nice street   food. Because we always looking for special  street food. How long are you traveling this   time? Four months. How do you do that with work  and all that? Can you—I don’t work anymore. No,  

I—it’s funny, ‘cause I just was in Finland in the  newspaper with the whole story of my life. No way,   yeah. Okay, in Europe, I travel with a new  Suzuki Jimny. That’s what I travel in Europe   with around. And here, I just sometimes  rent a motorcycle or just public transport. 

I backpacked myself as well for many years.  But how do you do it, for the people who don’t   understand a backpack…—what are—what, how do  you do this?! Are you always on holiday? Yeah,   actually, yes. Yeah? For since I was. I stopped  working when I was 40. But I live a simple life.  

I don’t drink beer. I don’t use drugs. I don’t  gamble. Just, I met already some crazy guys   when I was traveling. I met one guy. He was from  Holland anyway, and he had, like, a few thousand  

Bitcoins. And he was just sitting on the beach.  He was like 25 years. He won them with some games   when he was young. And every night, he was drunk.  Every day, he was drunk. But I think it doesn’t—it  

Isn’t going to make his 50. Why are you telling  this story that the guy that… Some people do it   with Bitcoins traveling all their life because  he was not working anymore. Then again, you’re   saying you live quite—you live quite simple….? I live very simple. But still, you need at least,  

Let’s say, especially in Southeast Asia, I  would say, and you can argue this, maybe 6,   700 per month. You can do it with less, of  course, but… We do it with like maybe 600   for two persons. Okay, yeah, yeah. So that’s very  basic. Very basic, yeah. We only eat street food,  

Yeah, yeah. And we now we sleep for 250, but we  have already like rooms for 120. When my wife   died about 10 years ago, and she was sick for  10 years. Oh, wow. Yeah. We had a good, sorry,  

Just—we had a good house, and I sold it. And then  I bought a house in the south of my country. So I   do it with the money that I collect from  my house. But I know people, if you’re  

A bit good in trading, some people, they just  laptop, and they trade every day a little bit,   and they can make money. I didn’t do nothing  with trading or whatever, but I just… Yeah.  But you don’t need much money. And I had a  choice when my wife died. I could buy a Ferrari,  

But then 14 days, I will brake it, Ithink. I  just live simple. I’ve been this year in like,   my girlfriend, she was counting, we’ve been  in Georgia by car, Turkey, Norway, Sweden,   Finland, Denmark. I did this year already  like 22,000 Km, and we sleep in the car.

Yeah, yeah, and now, here, what’s  your plan in Vietnam? We just came   from north to south slowly, and we are  not, like, we want to see everything,   okay? We just relax and see what’s come on  our path. So live an easy life, yeah? Easy,  

Okay, yeah. Because the woman who gave me  this shirt, she was a month ago in Vietnam,   the one with the 20 underwear, and she spent like  €7,000 in one month in Vietnam. But she did, like,   every tour what’s possible, then you pay like  180/200, then it goes fast. But then she’s like,  

Every time in the morning, 7:00, we pick you up.  She came home, and she was tired. Every day she   planned something because she has only one month  holiday. Then people want to get the most out of   one holiday. And I think that’s, yeah, it’s for  everybody different. I think most of people,  

Don’t aspire to travel for such a long time.  They just want to go on holiday for, and then   you can splash it. Everyone to themselves. Yeah?  Everybody… yeah. My favorite is a sailboat,   but I don’t have the money for a sailboat. Even  if I had the money, I wouldn’t be able to sail,  

But that sounds like a dream. 45 years traveling.  Yes. You started when you were 13, yeah? Can I ask   you what happened when you were 13? How come  you were in the position you were traveling?  

Was it needing to travel? It was actually like a  kind of escape because I have very bad parents.   Oh? Yes. Okay. Father was an alcoholic, yeah,  and he didn’t like it that we were at home. 

So the first time I was 13, and I said I go away.  And I was away for 3 months. And at that time,   there was no mobile phone, no GPS, there  was nothing. I just had in my head the  

Map of Europe. So I wanted to go to Spain. I  was hitchhiking, of course, ‘cause I had not   much money. A truck driver stopped, okay, and I  asked him Spain, and he nodded, yes. I got in,  

And I fell asleep in his car. A few hours later,  I woke up, but then I saw a big sign, “Benvenuto   Italia.” So I walked and hitchhiked along that  road, and it took me 5 days to get into Spain. 

On the way, because I didn’t have luggage,  many times when I saw laundry hanging out,   I swapped my t-shirt for a clean T-shirt,  and even my underwear sometimes I swapped   for a clean one. So this is when you were 13 years  old,? Yes 13 years? Wow! Yeah. but at that time,  

The world was different. Along the Mediterranean,  bakeries and small grocery shops, left everything   outside. They just put a cloth over it to protect  it from dust or whatever. So if I needed an apple,   I could steal an apple. Wow. There must be a  point in your life where you were working as well,  

Probably when you were maybe 15, 16 years old,  you were working. How did you manage to travel and   keep your budget this way that you were actually  able to travel? Because I didn’t drink alcohol,  

I don’t use drugs. Even people think I do all the  time. I don’t gamble. And if you ask people all   over the world to help you, 99% will say yes,  easy. Especially if you’re a child. Of course,  

You have to be careful because I had a lot of gay  men wh tried to lure me in as well. Wow! Yeah.   If you’re hitchhiking and the man says, “Look at  the dog. If I say bite you, he will bite you. So  

Now you’re going to listen to me.” Wow. And then  he put his hand on my lap once. No! I said, “No   problem, man. I like men. No worries.” But then  the next traffic light, I jumped out of the car.  

Yeah. Things like this I did, yeah. Wow, so it’s  not only girls that try to lure in; it’s also men.   Yeah, yeah. Now doesn’t happen so much anymore. And then I’m 13, I come home after 3 months,  

And I was a bit afraid maybe my father going to be  angry. Because I was away for 3 months. He didn’t.   He knew nothing of me for 3 months because there  was nothing at that time. But then he said, “Ah,  

You’re back already?” something like this. And  then I said, “Okay, next year, I go longer.” The   upsetting about my life, I was always in boarding  school till I was 13. There was no boarding school  

Anymore. Then my father said, “You can live with  me, but you have to pay to live with me.” Wow, so   he gave us a job because he was a pastry cook. So  every weekend when we were at home, we worked two  

Times 12 hours, so 24 hours in a weekend. Okay.  Yeah, for that, I got like at that time two, but   my father took half because we lived with him. We  were 13 years old. So that’s tough. I can imagine  

That was sometimes also lonely and sad? Yeah. I was lonely and sad because… But another thing,   it made me like what I am now. Because I  had always a little bit of money. Not much,  

But I had money. Because he took half. So the  other half was for me. So it was like something   like 20 now every weekend. But I also had to pay  for my food at home. Wow, still you were still a  

Child. But so many years later, can you say you’re  happy? I’m happy in one way. I didn’t like how my   childhood was. Because I think I missed a lot of  things like a normal child. But in the other way,  

I never in my life had money problems.  Because I spend the money that I have,   and I don’t spend what I don’t have. Or what I  think… I think a lot of people spend money they  

Think what they’re going to have in a few weeks.  But yeah, that’s not sure. And if you always live   like in front, I think it’s not correct. Okay, but then we talk about money,   and I think we both know that money doesn’t make  people happy. Maybe not enough money can make you  

Unhappy, I believe. But talk about happiness.  Are you loose from the financial situation   that you’re in? Are you a happy person?  Yeah, yeah, I know. I know. I took a risk. Because I sold my house, now it’s about 10  years ago, I think I sold. And I know I have  

Money till I’m 68. The good thing is I still have  a house. Now, because I sold my house, I bought   another house, I restored it, and so I still  have… You’re a handy man? Yeah. Can you teach   us something? Let’s say what you. learned over  all these years of traveling, seeing the world.  

Live today. Don’t put your things “when I’m 65”. When I was 18, my friend immigrated to Australia,   and I went visiting him because he started that  Chocolate Factory. And I met a lot of people 65   years old on pension doing all those expensive  things like big hotels, big touristic trips,  

A lot of things that, but they were complaining  about it’s too hot, it’s too this, it’s too that.   It’s always something. The older you get, I think  not for everybody, but older you get, the more   issues they’re coming when you’re traveling.  Okay. If you’re young and you don’t sleep for  

One or two nights, it’s not a problem. But if  you’re 60 and you don’t sleep for two nights,   it’s going to be a big problem. If you’re 65,  I think more problem. But I think just live… 

Why do you say it? Live the day! Because tomorrow  you never know. How about the ultimate travel   story? Do you have one story that you can share  with us? I like New Zealand a lot. I was cycling  

In New Zealand from the South to North Island.  Wow. And I cycled in Australia also, Tasmania.   Wow. And America, I cycled because on a bicycle,  it really cost nothing. In America, I was cycling,   and everywhere people selling fruit or food along  the street in America. And I just stop, and I like  

Talking to people. And I start talking, and then  they give me some food. I ask, and then I ask how   much. You have to pay, what you think they say?  Nothing. You’re just a nice guy. Hey, cycle on. No  

Problem. You don’t have to pay. I was 2 months and  a half cycling from Miami South to New York with   500 USD. That’s insane. Yeah, it’s insane. And another thing that’s insane. But you   think that’s also insane? yeah! It’s, but it’s  done. It’s doable. Yeah. Yeah. You don’t need,  

You don’t need… That’s what I also, my message  to my friends back home and whoever is watching   now. That you don’t need a lot of money to go  holiday, to travel, to backpack. And especially   now with that couch surfing thing and welcome to  my garden thing. I said, that’s a good thing about  

These phones and the internet. You can find  a lot of cheap places to stay. And if you’re   a bit inventive, it works. In the States, there  was something stupid. I go to McDonald’s in the  

States and I ask, can I have some water for  free, just water? You say no, but then I ask,   can I have some ice cubes for free? Because  everybody was taking ice cubes. They say, yeah,   you can have ice cubes for free. So what’s ice  cubes? It’s just frozen water. And it’s outside.  

It’s 35°C. So you fill one gallon, one of those  big gallon things you fill it with ice cubes. And   after, and you have cool. You’ve done this one.  Yeah. I did it all the time. If you’re cycling,   you need water. You don’t need Coca-Cola  because then you need more, but you need water. 

I’ve got a friend who’s living a budget life.  Not even as extreme as you were mentioning, no,   nothing like that. Nothing close to that.  But he also is on social media on YouTube,   and he get some people that are saying you’re a  cheap skate, and, if you live such a cheap life,  

Don’t go traveling. What do you say to the people  who are giving comments like this on the platform?   I was a chocolate maker before. So I know a  lot of rich people. They never want to live  

Like I live. But it’s in life you have, usually,  you have money, but you don’t have the time. I   don’t have much money, but I have time. I say  to those guys, one day you’re going to die. So  

Make the best out, just do whatever you like,  and don’t listen to others, don’t judge other   people. Just let everybody do what they want. I must say if everybody lives like I live,   the world economy goes like this ‘cause I almost  buy nothing. How many people sleep every night in  

The park? And I saw people coming like if they  coming late night, like last night, some people   with suitcases they came at 11:30pm into the Park,  yeah, and then they have to pay for that night   Normally, if you check in. And they say: WtK. We just stay one night in the park…

They’re with 4 or five, they’re going to grab some  beers they sitting there chatting to each other   and they wait till 8:00 in the morning and then  they check in so they save a night. I was before  

Alone, but if you with a group it’s much more  safer because that’s another thing it’s safety,   yeah? If you sleep on the street it’s possible,  but you have to be careful. In America when I was  

Cycling, I always went to some people who lived  on the street, and I asked them, hey, can I stay   one night with you around? They said, what the [  __ ] who are you? Say yeah, I’m from Belgium, I  

Start talking to them. “I’m cycling. I don’t have  much money. I just want to stay with you, just for   safety. Yeah, they say it’s not safe here. I say, yeah, but it’s safer with you than   I’m alone somewhere. And you did that? 

Yeah, and they are happy to have you. You’re going to carry on backpacking   for much longer, right? Yeah, till I Die I think. Yeah,   I’ve been doing it since I was 13. Do you have a message to the world or  

Some wisdom to pass on? Take it away. We can’t change history, but we can   change the history of tomorrow. And I wish  everybody a good life. And whatever you do,   enjoy it. Do nothing that you don’t enjoy,  okay? That’s what I say. Merry Christmas.  

Merry Christmas. If you want to know more about  his story, I leave a link in the description. This   channel is based in Thailand. We’re showing you  the beauty of Southeast Asia, and we’re meeting   a lot of interesting people along the way. And  I think we did meet a very interesting person,  

And I hope you enjoy this video. Thank you all for  watching till the very end. Merry Christmas and a   Happy New Year already. I would like to say from  Ho Chi Minh City, bye for now, and stay champ.”

Meet Laurens in Saigon, Vietnam. We normally meet a lot of people in the same video but I found this gentleman a very interesting character so I decided to make it a Lauren’s special.

Read more about his and his parents journey right here:
https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/this-couple-drove-across-europe-and-lived-out-of-their-suzuki-jimny

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