TMI travel tag

I was tagged by dear Marilyne to do the TMI Travel Tag. You can check out her answers here!
I'm so happy she tagged me because I had seen it on Simona's blog and really wanted to do it anyway, so when she tagged me that gave me the perfect excuse ^^


1. What was the last country you visited?

London, England, a week after I came back from China to celebrate my return (oh the irony) and my upcoming birthday.

2. How many countries have you visited?

10. 

The Netherlands, Germany, France, Hungary, Sweden, UK, Italy, China, Hong Kong, Macau

(coming up: Spain)

3.  What is your favourite place on the planet that you have been to?
Oooooooooooooooooooooooh this is hard! There is still so much. Different places mean different things and different things made it special. I'll cheat and pick two (like Simona)

1) My second home: London. This place is beautiful and it holds a special place in my heart. Whenever I feel a bit blurgh, you can be sure of it that I will book myself a trip to London if I can. I love it there and if I could, I'd go every weekend <3
(does this need a picture? I don't think so ;))

2) China (my other second home): I know that it's a little different because I did spend 6 months there and China is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!!!! Also, a massive reason that it's one of the best places is because of the amazing time I had there while teaching and meeting other people and having the best time of my life. Link to my 'I lived and taught in China blog' is here

I visited quite a few cities in China and I have a few favourite places there.

a) Beijing. (GO TO IT! IT IS BRILLIANT!)

b) Guilin.

4. Favourite place in your home country?
I don't have one really. Belgium's not that big to begin with.
Though, there's a lot to love about Belgium: Bruges, Ghent, Brussels.
Every time I have been away for a while to another country and I arrive back in Antwerp central and walk out of the station to see those beautiful (in gold leaf covered) buildings reflecting the sunlight, I feel a little happier.

5. If you could board any plane right now, where would you go?

China, because I miss it so much.

6. What’s your cup of tea – tropical island getaway, snowy ski break or city exploring trips?
City exploring, definitely.
I'd love a tropical island getaway too but even that would be an adventurous one.

7. What are your top 3 hand-luggage must haves?
Passport, phone, book

8. Any travel tips to share?
- Make eye contact and talk to other travelers around.
- Hostels are the best place to talk to strangers (top opening sentences that would be cliché anywhere else but work in a hostel: 'where are you from?', 'what brings you here?', 'how long are you staying?').
- When travelling in China and using train/boat/plane, do NOT forget your passport.


9.  Most embarrassing moment abroad.
Not sure if it qualifies as embarrassing or funny but it's genuinely the only thing I can currently think of...
My friend and I were in London (surprise!) and we were staying in a hostel. Our room was a mixed 4 bed dorm and when we had arrived we hadn't seen or met our room mates yet. We went out the entire day, came back, still no one, and continued going to the hostel's bar.
In the bar it was a little bit of a dj night, so people could dance as the music played and stuff. All of a sudden two guys appeared out of nowhere and started hitting on us (I know, I'm as surprised as you are! But they were very drunk, maybe that explains it :p). After a while it got a little but much so we managed to sneak away from them and eventually went back to our room. Still no one.
Then a frightening thought dawned on us: what IF those two guys happened to be our room mates?

Luckily, the next morning we came face to face with our room mates who were both very lovely and (more importantly) NOT the guys from the previous night.

10. Biggest disappointment.
I wish I didn't have to say it because poor Hungary, it's not been getting very good reviews so far but Budapest was slightly disappointing.
It didn't leave an impression on me. The city was nice, it had a lot of beautiful buildings and I had a great travelling companion. Yet, it failed to leave a lasting impression behind and I think that's says it all.
Another disappointment for me personally was Shanghai. For many reasons which I once explained here.

11. Nicest surprise.
I know I keep saying it but: China (not surprising considering the 6 months that were spend there).
I'm not sure if I had any expectations when going there but you know about the clichés a lot of people have about and how many prejudice is against the country. But I loved it there.
The people are the nicest. They will worship you like a rock star (they will also take pictures of you like you are a rock star).
The food is delicious.
No they don't just randomly eat dog as a meal. That only happens in a certain area and would NEVER give it to you as it is considered a delicacy. Like they would share that with you, pah!
The country itself has so much to offer. You want desert? Sure! You want mountains? Go right ahead, this way! You want rain foresty kind of things? Of course! Whatever you want, it's there and if it isn't, you can be sure of it that they'll make it!

12. Three places at the tip of the travel bucket list.

New York,

Australia,

South America (is that cheating? Fine! I'll start with Brasil then) and/or Canada

13. Favourite food discovery.

DUMPLINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

14. Why do you travel?
To find peace within myself.
To explore new places.
To meet new people.
To feel happy.

15. What 3 things would you take on holiday/travelling if you could?

I can only think of things I would bring anyway like: a book, camera and my travel journal.

Not having all the things I would usually have is exactly what makes it so interesting.

However! If there ever existed a thing that would allow me to perfectly speak and understand any language spoken to me, I'd take that within a heart beat!

16. Have you picked up any phrases from travelling?
I learnt English, French and German in school so I have a it of basics from there, so not sure what I picked up there but some other languages:
Tack: Thank you in Swedish
jag alskar dig (there's some fancy ¨in there somewhere): I love you

Quite some Chinese:

Xie xie: thank you

bu ke qi: no worries/you're welcome

wo shi bi li shi ren: I am belgian

jiao zi: dumplings

duo shao qian: how much does this cost

hen hao: very good
wo ai ni: I love you

etc...

17. What two places would you not go back to and why?
Budapest, as mentioned previously and that's it so far. Wouldn't mind going back to any other of the places I visited so far.
Liverpool, I've been there, I've seen it, there's not that much. I wouldn't do it for a sightseeing trip anymore (a gig related trip is something completely else :P)

18. Your dream travel companion?

I'm not picky when it comes to travel companions. I am much more aware of a few people I do NOT want to travel with. If I get along with the person, is willing to see/do new things, explore stuff etc. I am happy! My best friend Mehdia always proves to be a good companion.

19. Most surreal travel moment?
The Great Wall. I know it's cliché but you won't believe it until you're there.

20. Three people you would like to see do this tag

Jenny (poor girl, I keep tagging her), Mehdia, Becca