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.
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Japan Triples Departure Tax as Overtourism Grows
Travelling to Japan just became a little more expensive. As of 1 July 2026, Japan has increased its International Tourist Tax, commonly known as the departure tax, from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 per traveller. The fee applies to everyone leaving Japan, including foreign visitors and Japanese citizens, and is typically included in the price of airline…
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Just Let Them
Inspired by: Victoria Horsley’s Instagram Story on the “Let Them” mindset. Thank you for the inspiration. Every so often, a simple idea captures the internet because it resonates with something many of us have experienced. The “Let Them” Theory, popularised by Mel Robbins, is one of those ideas. At first glance, it sounds almost too…
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What Makes a Civilization
When people hear the terms “First World” and “Third World,” they usually think of rich versus poor, developed versus underdeveloped, or even civilized versus uncivilized. But history tells a very different story. The terms were never meant to rank civilizations. They were born during the Cold War. The First World referred to countries aligned with…
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Exploring the 8 Regions of Niger
Despite being one of the largest countries in West Africa, Niger remains one of its least-visited destinations. Covering vast stretches of the Sahara Desert and the Sahel, the country is divided into seven regions and the capital district of Niamey. Each region offers its own landscapes, cultures, and traditions—from ancient caravan cities to fertile river…
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Australia Is Wider Than the Moon
It sounds impossible at first. The Moon hangs enormous in our night sky. Australia is just one country on Earth. Surely the Moon must be much larger? Yet when you compare them side by side, Australia is actually wider than the Moon. The Moon has a diameter of approximately 3,474 kilometres. Australia, measured from its…
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What If Every Human on Earth Stood Side by Side?
A thought experiment that will change the way you look at the world It started with a conversation in Turkey. My friend Alex Tsaplev, traveller, thinker, the kind of person who asks questions nobody else thinks to ask, turned to me one evening and said: “Do you know that every human being on Earth could…
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