About me
Hi Explorers!
I’m so glad that you are visiting my website and also this page. I would love to introduce myself to you and welcome you to the Exploring Club!
The community is growing and I would love to see you a part of it. Connect with the group on Tiktok or Instagram.
About me
- My name: Marleen IJsseldijk, for the non-dutchies, my last name will be quite hard to pronounce. I figured that out while traveling. So I will help you; “aisseldaik” is the right way! 🙂
- Age: 25 years old.
- Born in: The Netherlands
- Favorite country: Almost impossible question, but asked so many times. If I HAVE to answer, I would say Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
- Favourite cuisine: One of my favourite cuisines are Thai and Japanese.
How I started traveling?
Before my biggest backpacking trip I did some little holidays, mostly in Europe. In the beginning of 2023 I decided to make my dream come true; traveling the world on my own. During Covid I saved as much money as possible.
After Covid I quit my job and left everything behind in the Netherlands. I only got a one-way ticket to Bangkok and a bit of an idea of the itinerary for the next couple months. It was really scary in the beginning, but soon enough you will understand how easy things are in Asia and how everything will work out. You’ll feel freedom never experienced before. You just need to do it and you will see!
I’ll quote one of my best friends. She said to me: “What’s the worst thing that can happen? Maybe you don’t like it. Then you catch a flight back, but then you tried it at least”.
I alway remembered it and it felt so much easier and lighter that way.
Addicted
I quickly became addicted to exploring various countries. I loved going out on my own or with new friends, diving into their culture and experiencing their cuisine. Meeting happy and friendly people became a constant joy. I just couldn’t get enough of it.
In the end, I spent 9 months traveling to many countries in (South East) Asia. It was the most beautiful and educational time of my life. Even though it was so much fun, it was also quite exhausting. Don’t underestimate the time you spend arranging and booking everything. Questions like these would spin in my mind: What is my next destination? How do I get there? Where am I going to sleep? How many days will I be there? What is there to do?”
A break
I needed a break from traveling and got to Melbourne in Australia to settle down for a couple months to work again. I was able to do this with a working holiday visa. I needed structure, rest and money. When I was settling down I noticed how unreal and amazing the last months were. I looked back on this amazing time through photos and videos. It felt like I had been living in a dream for the last few months and only now realized how special this actually was.
TikTok Content
This was also the time that I realized how many experience I had and tips and recommendation. If someone from home was planning a trip and ask me to help. I got so excited to give all the information and help them plan the best trip of their life!
My friends supported me to share more of my experience on Tiktok. And they’re right, people acctualy really liked it and thought is was helpful!
Starting Exploring Club
From that moment I got so excited in sharing my experiences. I wanted to do more. In my past job I worked in digital marketing. So I know a lot about working with websites and let them grow! This was my next challenge, create a website and fill with content. So people can learn about the countries. Not only with the top 10 to do lists, but more. About history, religion, their language. You’ll experience a country difference when you know these things.
A private community with like-minded people was the last bit that I missed. After beautiful conversation with other travellers, I decided to create this community.