Prose | Kamiel Choi

February 2. Hostel World.

I was taken care of once more. On the day I left, they took me to the bus station in Oliveira. Sixteen euros to get straight back to Lisbon. I dozed in the bus, let a lot of thoughts pass my inner eye. Where would I go? South America? India? Which country would be next ...

February 1. In the Dutch enclave.

A lot of Dutch live in this area. It's popular to live here. Not like the Algarve, this is popular among people with style, and maybe money, too. We went to a second hand market somewhere
in the hills. A lot of Dutch expats, yes they called themselves expats, were around, and a very tall ...

January 31. Life as Literature.

Birthday of Beatrix, the Dutch queen. Felt even more connected to my native country. I woke up at nine, and was taken care of again. I'm so grateful. We went to the village with the new dog that day. The new dog can't be together with the old one yet, since they're not used to ...

January 30. In the green hills of Portugal.

The next couple of days I spent with my friends. It was a fantastic experience: just being around the house, giving a hand to he who needed it, walking the dog, discussing life and literature, and watching the day and some cultural heritage die away in front of the tv at night.

The ...

January 29. In the Countryside.

The breakfast Andre offered me was very good. Especially the strong Portugese cheese called "Queijo da serra" was delicious. Go try that, dear reader, when you are in Portugal. Andre brought me to the bus station, where I bought my ticket to Oliveira do Hospital, a small city in the middle of the country. Then ...

January 28. Lucky in Lisbon

Andre showed me around in his hometown Lisbon. We walked uphill into the Barrio Alto, and he showed me some bars in this lively part of the city. When it became clear that I had no Couchsurfing options open, he very kindly offered me his couch. Relieved of all my worries, I had a very ...

Airplane to Lisbon

There's nothing special about air transportation. I got to the airport way to early, checked in my backpack, except for my netbook which I kept in my cabin luggage, entered the plain after some boys yelled "Portugal!" expressing how fond they where of going to that country. Soon enough, they'll get older and say "I've ...

Séjour in Lyon

So I just walked out the other day and walked towards the highway. A cardbord "Lyon" I made and held up, but most of the cars had a 21-licence plate, which is Dijon. I kept walking, it started raining... isn't hitchhiking great... wait a moment, this is not going to be just another boring story ...

Dijon and on and on…

So I went on. Let's tell the story of a typical hitchhiking day. The reason for hitchhiking is not saving money, but meeting people who are as different as possible, because that inspires. One or two of such days is advisable, not more.
Posting myself in Mainz near the Autobahnzubringer was easy. A man who ...