From the swivellin' chair...

After Niels (aka Bentivogli) fell in love with tango, it was little surprise that he also became obsessed with the homeland of the seductive dance: Argentina. Since his first visit in 2003, Niels has been back twice, but he's dreaming of the day when he can move to Buenos Aires.

For now though, Niels has to satisfy himself with living in Amsterdam, where he works as a linguist. I caught up with him to chat about his obsession with Argentina and tango, as well as his views on travel and the environment.


Niels in Pisa, Italy.

You're a self-confessed obsessed fan of Argentina. What do you love about Argentina?

Hm, tough questions first, eh? The country and me simply hit it off right from the start. For starters, I had a lovely conversation on the plane over with an Argentine woman, who not only told me everything about her entire family and circle of friends, but also put me in touch with some of the more interesting figures in the local tango scene. Plus, she offered me a ride downtown from the airport, was determined to help me find accommodation, and wouldn't leave me before having had dinner with me. The best thing was, she was no exception: my encounters with the locals have been like that since. I cannot think of a country with people nicer than Argentinians, although the recent immense increase in tourism has had a somewhat negative impact...

Besides the people, I am in love with the country itself. The cities, though most of them are ugly, are extremely lively and interesting; nature is like nothing I have ever seen elsewhere. I am in love particularly with Missiones and Neuquén provinces; both are host to amazing landscapes and stunning National Parks.

How long have you been fascinated by Argentina?

A number of things conspired to spark off my interest. One of them was the marriage of the Dutch crown prince to an Argentine woman in 2002; I don't think I ever considered Argentina as a travel destination before that, but it got me reading about the country, in particular about the Guerra Sucia. Then, I met a girl from Buenos Aires in Vienna that same year, who I travelled around with for a week. She was extremely critical about her country, which surprised me and made me curious, because I had just read that all Argentinians suffer from a major superiority complex... But the most important reason in the end was tango. I took up dancing in 2002, and was addicted from the start onwards. This made it only logical to go to Buenos Aires, which I am confident to say is the only place where it is taught properly.

So tell us honestly... How good is your tango?

I won't be the judge of that. The basis of tango is that man and woman move as a single body; the dance partially arose from the need to have a decent outlet for carnal desires. The other basic feature, which is commonly neglected in the western world, is that tango is about simple improvisation rather than complex predetermined figures. I would say that I am capable of dancing a tango in close embrace with any woman on any type of music; from the leader's perspective, that is quite an accomplishment.

You live in Amsterdam, a city with a several main tourist sights that everyone knows about. What are some lesser known attractions people should check out if they're visiting Amsterdam?

I am not one for attractions. One should discover one's own Amsterdam rather than visit some arbitrary highlights. That said, places I particularly like are the former docklands north of Haarlemmerstraat, the Amsterdam Historical and Jewish Historical museums, and my own neighbourhood (De Baarsjes, west of center). Visitors should rent a bike (provided they know how to control it!), because it gives you the possibility to get away from the historical center, which is interesting but very one-sided.

You've had some heated debates on Travellerspoint forums about the rise of budget airlines, which you argue has been bad for the environment. Why do you think budget airlines have had such a negative impact?

Basically because the price of transportation stands in no relation to the environmental damage done. Travellers are like sheep: they don't think, they just do what others do. I would like people to travel responsibly, which means a couple of things, two if which I find most important. First, don't try doing in a week what can only be done in a month rationally. That is, don't fly over to Thailand for the weekend, but stay closer at home. Reconcile your ambitions with your timeframe. I am very much aware that travelling is a status thing, and many people fly halfway across the world only because their peers do as well, while they have never explored their immediate surroundings. Second, travel as the locals travel. I find it very disconcerting to hear people brag about 'having done South America' in 3 weeks, without ever meeting a single 'South American'. Slow travel is the best way by far to get in contact with local people.

How have environmental issues affected your travel habits?

To an extent, although one could always do (much) more. I try not to fly within Europe, and take the train instead. I cannot always stick to that; my employer occasionally makes me take a plane, because I don't get the extra time needed for train travel. When I fly, I buy carbon offsets. I know that their effectiveness is questionable, but I cannot think of anything better to do. Third, I have my short breaks close to home; you won't find me planning a NY shopping weekend, for instance. Finally, I don't have a driver's license. Instead I take public transport, cycle or go on foot, which is also a lot healthier.

Do you have any trips planned for this year?

I have a conference in London in September (this time I am allowed to go by train, woohoo!); in November, I fly to South America for five weeks. We're flying to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and don't have a fixed itinerary from there. My girlfriend wanted to see Patagonia, I'd like to go back to Pantanal, but maybe we'll go north as well... very exciting to travel without a fixed schedule.

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Check out these past interviews in the Talking Travel series:

• Talking Travel with Amy and Wim
  
• Talking Travel with Hien
  
• Talking Travel and HIV/AIDS in India with Dave Reidy
  
• Talking Travel with Utrecht
  

1. Kashgar to Turphan. By LuisDafos.
A venerable uygur old man awaits for the long, icy December night to come in a hard seat wagon crossing the Takla Makan desert.


2. Off to school. By dinah1.


3. Dusty Road. By Nurse1.

4. View of Table mountains. By namfon.

5. Mikrolet Maddness. By joffre.

6. Varanasi Sunrise. By hayden111.


7. Ship with mountains Lake Baikal. By adamandmeg.


8. Donna che trasporta rami secchi. By paperix72.


9. Chilled bicycle. By srenangman.


10. Dogsbox on bicycle. By srenangman.

11. Old Style Transport. By kiwilara.

12. Sailing under Öresundsbron - the bridge between Sweden and Denmark. By snatterand.

13. Indian 2nd class sleeper. By LuisDafos.

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Every month, Travellerspoint throws a travel photo competition with a unique theme. LuisDafos, the winner of our Transport Photo Competition, will receive a $50 Amazon voucher. He'll also have his monthly photo upload limit raised to 200MB. So will dinah1, this month's runner up.

Inspired by the UEFA Euro 2008, we've given our June competition a fresh theme: Sport. If you have beautiful, interesting or funny photos with a sporty theme, you can enter into the new competition. Find out how here.

Check out the results of past competitions:

• 13 of the Best Watery Travel Photos
  
• 10 Photos to Whet Your Appetite for Food and Travel
  
• Red: 11 Evocative Photos by Travellers
  

A butt-wrenching bike ride from humble Belgium, southeast across Europe and Asia, finally ending up in China... How's that for a romantic honeymoon?

Amy and Wim are an American-Belgian couple who decided to go all out for their honeymoon. Since August 2007, they have been riding their bikes across Europe and Asia. So far, they have cycled some 8,700 kilometres, but there's more to come as they ride the final stretch from Laos to China.

Amy and Wim: Biking from Belgium to China for their honeymoon.

What inspired you to turn your honeymoon into a full-blown bike trip from Belgium to East Asia?

It all started with an inspirational book about intercontinental biking. After reading it, I knew that Wim and I were destined to bike across large land masses. So, I mentioned it to Wim, and he totally shot the idea down. "No, no, that's not realistic," was his only comment. So, for a few months I indirectly worked at changing his mind (subliminal messages, internet success stories, etc...) Then one day he came home from work and announced that we should go to the bike store. It was the moment I had been waiting for!

Had either of you done long-distance bike journeys before?

No. We had never done any biking before. We didn't even know about butt pain before we started. A few days before we left we visited another biker to see how he plans his routes, where he eats, what he wears... We had no clue! I can say that in those first two months we did some intensive learning.

When you set out, did you have a basic idea of your route? How much have you deviated from that?

From the beginning, we wanted to make it to China and we had a general idea of which countries we would cross in the process. However, because I'm American, I was not able to get a visa for Iran or Syria. Surprisingly enough, India also denied me entry. So, we have deviated quite a bit. But every country we have visited has been so interesting, that we don't have any regrets.

What have been some of the biggest challenges on your trip?

In the beginning, the biggest challenge was physical. But now that our muscles are trained and our behinds are calloused, the challenges change with the country. A different combination of diffuculties presents themselves at each border crossing (i.e. language, people, food, places to sleep, finding good maps, bad roads). And yet, that is exactly what makes it an adventure!


Cycling through Egypt.

How expensive is a trip like this?

Our budget is 30 dollars per day. In Europe this meant (wild) camping, cooking our own food, and pedaling our hearts out to make it somewhere cheaper. However, in cheaper countries, we are often able to keep our budget down to 10-15 dollars per day. An advantage of biking is that it is so economical!

What do you think are the main advantages of traveling by bike?

Definitely the fact that you visit all the "in between" places. Although judging from your guidebook there might be nothing to see in between two towns, you can bet on it you'll meet some interesting people, and have some kind of an adventure. With your bike, you really can't run away from any situation: when you arrive late at night in a small village without a hotel, you are simply forced to go find someone that will sleep and feed you. Those are the most memorable moments!

Has this been a bonding experience for you as a couple?

We were a little worried about literally spending at least 24/7 within a 6 foot radius of each other. But is has proven to be one big bonding experience. When something is wrong, there is no hiding it. When we are upset with one another, we have to deal with it right away. It's taught us a lot about ourselves and really strengthened what we have together.

Check out Amy and Wim's blog to read all about their trip.

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Check out these past interviews in the Talking Travel series:

• Talking Travel with Hien
  
• Talking Travel and HIV/AIDS in India with Dave Reidy
  
• Talking Travel with Utrecht
  

Food is a source of great intrigue for many travellers. It is a way into foreign cultures - a way to appreciate other people's traditions.

Last month, we invited members to submit their best travel photos with a food theme. The favourites, as voted by Travellerspoint members, are shown below.

1. Grinding at the side of the road - driving north in Ethiopia, Ethiopia by kiwilara.

2. Can I have....., Vietnam by 0000.

3. Marrakech food stalls, Morocco by niklasb.

4. Still together, Indonesia by jascho1.

5. Green Tea, South Korea by joffre.

6. An apple a day keeps the dentist away!!, Papua New Guinea by daveh.

7. Banana Bunches, Laos by robjwood.

8. Smells from above, Mexico by edgarklng.

9. Mouth watering Chickenparts, Ecuador by marlis.

10. Tarantulas anyone?, Cambodia by dal28dal.

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Congratulations to kiwilara, whose photo of the Ethiopian women grinding seed won the first prize. She wins a $50 Amazon voucher and will have her monthly photo upload increased to 200MB. As runner-up, 0000 will also have his monthly upload limit increased to 200MB.

If you didn't win this time around, you can always enter our next photo competition. This month's theme is water. Click here to find out how to enter.

Any of you who have spent time in the Travellerspoint forums will probably already know Hien. For the past few years, Hien's been advising travellers visiting Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries.

Late last year, he set out on an adventure of his own. As a Malaysian, Hien qualifies for the United Kingdom's Working Holidaymaker program, providing an ideal opportunity for him to experience life in the UK while planning side trips to the rest of Europe.

Hien: Enjoying a burger in Denmark

Why did you decide to go to the UK?

Ever since I caught the travel bug a few years ago, I've always wanted to see new places. UK was the last to colonise Malaysia and also the longest, so they have a lot of influence in my country. Somehow this has made me want to go to the UK even before the travel bug got me. The British Government runs a working holidaymaker (WHM) scheme for the youths of selected Commonwealth countries and this has given me extra motivation to go there. Apart from that, a serious medical condition I survived through almost two years ago made me want to go even more. Also not forgetting that the rest of Europe is so accessible from the UK. All these add up to my decision to go to the UK.

What appealed to you about taking a working holiday?

The two most important things for budget travellers like me who want to travel for a long time: a long-term visa and a permit to work to help finance the trip. And the WHM scheme has just that; a 2-year multiple entry visa plus a permit to work for up to 12 months. The British Pound (GBP) and the Euro (EUR) are amongst the strongest currencies in the world and the cost of living in the UK can be very high if you're not earning in pounds. So the permission to work with no restriction on the industry is definitely a big help here. Another plus point is that the UK WHM scheme allows you to work for up to 12 months. Of all the working holiday schemes I've seen, the one in the UK has the best terms and conditions. New Zealand also has a similar WHM scheme for Malaysians but with different conditions - a 6-month visa with permission to work for up to three months.

Is the work aspect a "necessary evil"? Or does working in a foreign place give you a deeper appreciation for it?

Everyone would want to have fun for as long as they like without having to worry about their bank account going empty. But then not everyone is born rich. Even though many of us dread going to work, I don't think of the work aspect in this case as evil. Travelling, for some people, means to experience the life in the place you are going to. I can't think of a better way to fully experience life in a place without going through what the locals there are going through. Apart from that, knowing that you have worked hard for the travels, or any other things, makes you appreciate it more.

Hien at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland.

How hard was it for you to find work?

I found out that coming from a different country and having a work permit with limited validity can make things hard to get the job you want. Most employers want commitment from their employees. I think many of them have some reservations in hiring a working holidaymaker who would be here for only a relatively short period of time. But then, it also depends on the type of job you are looking for. Contractual jobs would be easier and employers usually don't mind about the WHM since the jobs are only for a limited period of time. Anyway, getting a job is very easy. Minimum-paying jobs are aplenty in cities, especially in fast-food restaurants, bars, supermarkets and similar establishments and they are hiring all the time. If you managed your expenses well, you could save quite a bit even with a minimum or low paying job.

You've already had time to take trips to Denmark, Sweden and Ireland. Do you have many more side trips like that planned?

Of course! Apart from the rest of the UK, I want to cover as much of Europe as I could and hopefully USA and Canada as well. But I'm taking things slowly, maybe a couple of places at a time. How much of it I can accomplish will depend on how much I could save up during my stay here in the UK.

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Check out these past interviews in the Talking Travel series:

• Talking Travel and HIV/AIDS in India with Dave Reidy
  
• Talking Travel with Utrecht