Thirty-three years old Dustin James Giel,was born in The Netherlands but has a Welsh background. Since he was a child, he spent a lot of time in France each year as his parents own a house close to Le Mans.
”My family is spread all over the world so from an early age, this led already to an awareness that there is so much more than just my birthplace to see or visit,” Dustin starts his interview with Sarajevo Times.
”I traveled to many places around the world in various ways. From traveling alone to Abkhazia to doing amazing road-trips for a month through the Balkans with my friends as well as going on adventures with my family. Some of the most interesting places I visited include South-Korea, Australia, Ukraine, and Kosovo for example. But I especially love the Central & Eastern European region. I think I have visited over 35 countries so far and I am looking forward to see more of the world!” he adds.
Furthermore, he has also lived in Spain, Russia, Bosnia, The Czech Republic and currently he is living with his wife Jana and their son James in Ireland. They definitely have exciting plans for the future and they are pretty sure that Ireland won’t be the last country for them to live in but will see what the future brings. Life is too short for not having adventures!
While reading his blog, two of the articles especially took our attention, namely ”15 Great Things to do in Sarajevo: The Ultimate Mini Guide” and “Are there Pyramids in BiH?” We like how he enumerated the places, first historical ones, then natural beauties, followed by tips what to do during the day and night in Sarajevo.
”Sarajevo is definitely my most favourite place in Bosnia. I love everything about this city. It’s location surrounded by beautiful mountains, the relatively compact size for a capital city, hidden gems like the Skakavac waterfall, and the remains of it’s past when you walk though the streets. I think it’s really unique city in Europe,” he explains.
But, he also loves Mostar (his wife loves it even more). But, especially he likes it during the summer when the sun sets and one has a view on the river from one of the great restaurants. He also liked visiting Blagaj, a beautiful place with a nice historical touch.
”I also enjoyed swimming at the Kravice Waterfall with my wife and to have some nice lunch afterwards close by with a great view.To be honest, I could write a very long list here from the beautiful (Olympic) mountains to cities like Banja Luka. And yet, there is still so much to see for me in Bosnia!”
Speaking about the pyramids in Visoko, Dustin says he loves the story behind the pyramids in Visoko. The day-trip from Sarajevo was a great experience and fun day with a guided tour and hewould definitely recommend doing this (even if you don’t believe the theory).
”The people involved at the site in Visoko were seriously convinced about the existence of pyramids and told me that the history books need to be re-written. However, I am not a scientist or historicus so I can’t really confirm or deny it, but I just like to embrace the theory of the people who believe in the story. Besides that, it’s a great way for the locals to engage tourists with information about the region and the history while offering a great experience. Everyone wins,” Dustin adds.
Speaking about Bosnians, Dustin says that during the time that he lived in Sarajevo,hemet a lot of great people which resulted into valuable and long-lasting friendships.
”In my opinion, Bosnians are very laid-back, always willing to help you with anything you ask and just taking life as it is. I have always felt very welcome in Bosnia and most of the people that I met spoke English which really helped to connect with the locals. I really enjoyed my time in Bosnia and always have the feeling of going back to see my friends or to enjoy the country’s beautiful nature and delicious food. I also admire the Bosnian people and their resilience and strong will to move on after what happened during the War in the 1990’s. But I also noticed that Bosnian people aren’t always punctual when you make agreements. Or also really take their time to come back to you with an answer. But, interesting enough, in the end you’ll always get an answer. I feel it’s just part of the Bosnian culture that you also have to embrace as a foreigner. But all in all, the people in Bosnia also made my stay in Sarajevo very enjoyable!,” he concluded.
Dustin has started a Restless Voyager blog page with the goal of giving the audience a glimpse into his thoughts and experiences. He adds that the Restless Voyager is the result of three things that he loves doing in life which are traveling, writing and doing research.
”For years, I have been thinking what the best format would be but I recently decided to develop my skills in building a website and to gain more knowledge about SEO and affiliate marketing. It’s basically a mix of my own personal experiences in the region, interviews with interesting people from Central & (South) Eastern Europe and other topics that I find interesting to write about. As I lived for almost ten years in this fascinating region, I have a lot of material to write about. I find inspiration in a wide variety of topics including sports, history, must-see attractions, hidden gems and my Czech/Bosnian family in law. Furthermore, I really want to show people the beauty of this region, it’s turbulent past combined with the fast modern development and changes, things that you need to see or visit and to share the best travel practices or resources. I still feel that a lot of people have certain prejudices about this region. I hope to contribute to a more positive image of the region and to inspire people to visit and to see it for themselves. I even started a second travel blog with a good friend of mine called Beyond The Usual Trip. We both have a passion for places or events that are a bit unusual to visit and are not packed with tourists. But this is exactly what makes these places so interesting! We just started but we’re excited to add more and more content and to work on all the ideas we have.As I love to travel and to live in different countries, I live by the quote ‘You go away for a long time and return a different person – you never come all the way back’. That’s exactly what traveling and wandering around the globe means to me,” Dustin concluded.