Quixoticguide
Hi, I’m Maarten Van Den Driessche, a curious human, aviation enthusiast, vexillophile, world traveler, and food lover with over 14,000 days of life experience.
-
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia is a vast hypersaline lake in northwestern Iran, located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, not far from the Turkish and Armenian borders. Historically it was the largest lake in the Middle East and one of the largest salt lakes on Earth. Geography At its historical maximum, Lake Urmia stretched…
-
The Roof of a Country
A QuixoticGuide Reflection on Highpointing Every country has a highest place. Sometimes it is obvious — a towering volcano or a jagged alpine summit visible from hundreds of kilometers away. Sometimes it is barely noticeable: a grassy hill, a quiet ridge, a plateau where the wind moves through tall grass and nothing marks the altitude…
-
Yap and Colonia: Where Money Is Stone and Time Moves Slowly
n the western Pacific, far from the busy shipping lanes and aviation corridors that stitch the modern world together, lies Yap — an island where the most famous form of money cannot fit in your wallet. The island’s capital, Colonia, is small enough that you might walk through it in half an hour. A few…
-
Panj River: The Natural Border Between Tajikistan and Afghanistan
The Panj River is one of Central Asia’s most remarkable frontier rivers. Flowing for about 1,125 kilometers, it forms the natural border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, carving its way through the dramatic landscapes of the Pamir Mountains. The river begins where the Wakhan River and Pamir River meet in Afghanistan’s remote Wakhan Corridor, a narrow…
-
92 Countries Later
On movement, borders, and the illusion of completion There is a moment — somewhere between passport stamp 37 and 73 — when travel stops being accumulation and becomes something quieter. I crossed that threshold again recently. Ninety-two UN member states. Not as a trophy. Not as a checklist. But as a map of conversations. The…
-
Hormuz Island
Where the Earth Turns RedAt the narrow entrance of the Persian Gulf lies an island that looks unreal. Hormuz is small. Dry. Almost vegetation-free.And yet it feels larger than many countries. From above, it resembles a spilled box of pigments — reds bleeding into yellows, purples dissolving into ochre. From the ground, it feels lunar.…
Where curiosity leads
Travel isn’t about collecting countries, but about understanding them.
These are places that shaped how I see the world — not just destinations, but contexts, encounters, and stories waiting to unfold
Travel Beyond Tourism
- Discover Places
- Understand Cultures
- Travel Better
- Meet the World
- Learn the Context
My Travel guides
- Not instructions, but orientation.
- These guides explain how places work — so you don’t just visit, you arrive.
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” –
Ibn Battuta
Maghrebi traveller