live tomorrow today.

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There isn't much I can share yet, but depending on one official decision (I have no influence on whatsoever) I'll finally be given the chance to take on a dope, life-changing adventure. In the meantime I finally hired a Japanese tutor to revive my rudimentary knowledge and have been studying non-stop ever since making fast progress. Also, I decluttered my entire apartment and sold all the hoarded make-up, mugs, tech gadgets, etc. I can easily live without. There isn't much left besides my furniture, cats and emergency 'Triolade' bars (look it up, you won't regret). I probably won't post much - if at all - until my next trip in April (Slovenia) or the one after in October (Italy). Actually, if everything goes accordingly, I'll be shutting down this account and set up a new one since I plan on blogging once said decision has finally been made. See ya ✌🏻 https://ift.tt/3bZkjrx

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I thrive in snow ❄️☃️ https://ift.tt/30zsmpL

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There's a shot of me taking this shot wearing a thermal suit and not moving an inch fearing I'd miss the lights. I went for another round of aurora hunting, this time around accompanied by @marianneseventyr, which took us all the way to Sweden. Literally stood on a frozen lake for an eternity freezing, waiting, wishing whilst everybody else was huddled around a bonfire on solid ground. Fun fact, crossing the bridge pictured either gets you to Sweden or Finland. https://ift.tt/2Tw3tKf

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Taking pictures from above and positions humans literally can't reach - unless they're able to levitate - gives me such a thrill. It's the closest I'll ever get to being a bird! https://ift.tt/35VDkXB

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It wasn't until winter of 2009 that I found out about the natural phenomenon that is the aurora borealis if it hadn't been for Dior Makeup's collaboration with Swarovski. They created a stunning pendant adorned with 52 rhinestones of which four were so-called 'aurore boréale'. Needless to say I got it and have been dreaming of seeing the Northern Lights ever since. Fast forward almost eleven years later I'm in Tromsø, a Norwegian city right above the Arctic Circle known for its incredibly clean air and high rate of aurora sightings. I might as well have gone to Iceland - initially I was dying to see them in Greenland or further up north in Spitsbergen, but those places are hard to access and Tromsø is an easy three-hour flight from home. While it's sometimes possible to catch the lights in Tromsø and its surrounding islands (on a very clear day and during a weak moon phase), one's best chance to see the lights is a guided tour. And there are tons of operators out here (which changed the city and even its remote areas in a negative way, the guide told us). It took me two days to finally decide on family-run @arcticbreezeas and I thank my guts I made the right decision. We were a small group guided and driven by Brynjar in a glass rooftop mini van. This guy lives and breathes for Northern Lights and has an incredible skill of reading the sky taking us all the way out to Lapland. The forecast predicted a 100% cloud coverage and we encountered multiple, really intense snow storms. The icing on top came in the form of a bright, huge full moon - the possibly worst moon phase. The lights pictured above were NOT visible to the human eye, we only saw them on our camera screens or through the viewfinder. What you see in reality is a very faint veil of grey-ish light that can easily be mistaken for a cloud. So, did I see the Northern Lights at all and made one of my bucket list dreams come true? Does it count? https://ift.tt/2NsW0aP

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It wasn't until winter of 2009 that I found out about the natural phenomenon that is the aurora borealis if it hadn't been for Dior Makeup's collaboration with Swarovski. They created a stunning pendant adorned with 52 rhinestones of which four were so-called 'aurore boréale'. Needless to say I got it and have been dreaming of seeing the Northern Lights ever since. Fast forward almost eleven years later I'm in Tromsø, a Norwegian city right above the Arctic Circle known for its incredibly clean air and high rate of aurora sightings. I might as well have gone to Iceland - initially I was dying to see them in Greenland or further up north in Spitsbergen, but those places are hard to access and Tromsø is an easy three-hour flight from home. While it's sometimes possible to catch the lights in Tromsø and its surrounding islands (on a very clear day and during a weak moon phase), one's best chance to see the lights is a guided tour. And there are tons of operators out here (which changed the city and even its remote areas in a negative way, the guide told us). It took me two days to finally decide on family-run @arcticbreezeas and I thank my guts I made the right decision. We were a small group guided and driven by Brynjar in a glass rooftop mini van. This guy lives and breathes for Northern Lights and has an incredible skill of reading the sky taking us all the way out to Lapland. The forecast predicted a 100% cloud coverage and we encountered multiple, really intense snow storms. The icing on top came in the form of a bright, huge full moon - the possibly worst moon phase. The lights pictured above were NOT visible to the human eye, we only saw them on our camera screens or through the viewfinder. What you see in reality is a very faint veil of grey-ish light that can easily be mistaken for a cloud. So, did I see the Northern Lights at all and made one of my bucket list dreams come true? Does it count? https://ift.tt/2NsdeFl

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Today made up for all the bad luck I encountered throughout my trip. First I got to ride a snowmobile in the Lyngen Alps all by myself with no speed limit slipping and sliding across the fjord and now I'm back in the van to go see the aurora for one more time 'cause apparently tonight will be the best night to see it full-on. Fingers crossed! And I'm joined by @marianneseventyr who I just met a couple hours earlier 👌🏻 https://ift.tt/3a2o3Yx

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Had to abort my hike up Fjellheisen one hour in due to pesky driving sleet. My clothes and gear bag are soaked and I'm waiting for everything to dry so I can try again; I have yet to check on my lenses whether the moisture did any damage. Drone shots are definitely out of the picture this time around - most of Tromsø is a no-fly zone and if you find a spot to fly, the weather usually makes it impossible to take off. Most shops and cafés are closed Sundays as well and there isn't much to do indoors; what a time to be alive. https://ift.tt/2Nj6uK2

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To date one of my favourite quick shots. No aperture or shutter speed evaluation, just firing away on the trusty ol' Nikon. https://ift.tt/37KfwHr

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I did in fact bring my DSLR to Asia and abandoned it just five days into the trip. While relying solely on DSLR photography for the past eight years, I fully converted to phone photography and mobile only post-processing. Now that I got myself a drone to get into the quadrocopter game, I'll probably never use my DSLR ever again 'cause I'm not striving for desktop or big screen resolution and quality anymore since I only publish photos on my Instagram handle. So here's a rare DSLR shot of a particularly spectacular sunset in Vang Vieng shot on my loyal Nikon. https://ift.tt/34ybjWb

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Back home and beat. Au revoir, Asia 🙏🏻 https://ift.tt/36PbHkL

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Initially on the itinerary for a trip that'd ultimately take me back to Japan and postponed once more when I opted for the US last year, I made it to Luang Prabang. This town has been on my bucket list for years and I can finally cross it off. Took a leisurely walk for a couple hours this afternoon to get a taste of the nicknamed 'Sleeping Beauty'. Already lovin' the cafés and French colonial low-rise mansions, which I sure will share more of, for I'll stay here an entire week. https://ift.tt/2N8hwll

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Briefly returned to Angkor Wat at the crack of dawn for an overcast sunrise session (even though I scored a pole position right by the pond 😭) and rushed through Ta Prohm, the infamous temple featured in the first installment of the "Tomb Raider" movies - if you're fucked by BPD and agoraphobic like me your symptoms will intensify to infinity (but it's soooo worth it). But holy fu*k, it might've kicked Prea Khan off its throne and taken over as my new favourite temple of all time. I have yet to go through a bazillion pictures, but you bet Imma spam your feeds once I'm done. https://ift.tt/34lAxH4

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Touring from noon till 7 PM covering only seven temples out of anywhere between fifty-three to over a thousand sites (nobody actually knows) has left me sunburnt, awe-struck, grateful and tired af. My alarm is set to 4 AM to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Wish me luck, there's a slight chance of getting trampled down by fellow tourists who venture out to get the same once-in-a-lifetime kinda shot. https://ift.tt/2BUiqeX

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And just like that it's my birthday again. A 28-year-old acting 21 feeling 84. It wasn't until my last night in Vang Vieng that I got taught the lesson I was hoping for all along. I came as a volunteer, not because I relied on free lodging and food (and I don't judge anyone who does), but because I wanted to connect with fellow travellers and listen to their stories to gather inspiration for my own journey and the decisions I have yet to make. You see, when I travel solo I'm going all-out solo. The only people I'd talk to are officials or the staff at restaurants. I'm not someone who talks freely or a lot at all. And while it's only been seven days, I've been a part of this group of strangers from all over the world that happened to be in the same place at the same time. It's not all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows as I make it out to be on Instagram. This trip has been different from the get-go and unlike any of my previous ones, overshadow by the mental baggage I brought from home. I can't seem to get rid of it, even here in my alleged happy place that I call 'anywhere but home'. It wasn't until a fellow volunteer couple's farewell dinner where the ten of us gathered and connected over authentic Italian cuisine that I felt genuine joy and a brief moment of happiness. Those moments have become so rare this past year, I can literally count them on one hand and wouldn't even get to five. So, thank you to myself for coming to Vang Vieng and pursuing something out of the ordinary. And happy birthday to me, but I got places to go and no time to dwell on stuffing my face with cake - although I'd love to 🎂🎉 https://ift.tt/2W7Cyng

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A group of locals built a bamboo bridge for pedestrians over the course of yesterday. They tear it down every year for the dragonboat festival that took place last week. I should've filmed a time-lapse, they finished the project within four hours. https://ift.tt/2qmnTsn

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I've only been for a couple hours, but the mountains have already given me everything ranging from overcast and clear skies to tropical thunderstorm to misty dusk. https://ift.tt/2VYr3yj