The Journey

‘The Journey’ is a short travel movie of one of the most amazing experiences of my life: from August to October 2017, I travelled all the way overland from my hometown in Belgium to southern China, and back. Using only trains, buses and boats, I travelled right across Europe, to the magnificent Altai Mountains in Russia and along the famous Trans-Mongolian Railway, through the vast plains of Siberia, along the crystal-clear waters of Lake Baikal, through the endless steppes and the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, along the impressive Great Wall of China, and finally to the unique karst landscapes of southern China… and all the way back again. Visiting 8 countries in total and spending approximately 335 hours on trains, this truly was the adventure of a lifetime, an epic journey I will never forget and for which I’ll be forever grateful.

It was not easy to squeeze more than three hours of video and timelapse footage of an almost three-month trip into an ‘aftermovie’ of less than 7 minutes, but I hope this short film makes you dream away for a short while, and wonder about the incredible beauty of our world I got to witness.

Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible, and for making it such an awesome experience!

Music: Adi Goldstein – The Long Journey Home

Enjoy!

Location list:
00:10 Latgale, Latvia
00:16 Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
00:25 Balezino, Russia
00:33 Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
00:38 Olkhon Island (Lake Baikal), Russia
00:43 Elsen Tasarkhai, Mongolia
00:47 Gubeikou Great Wall, China
00:53 Ak-kem Valley, Altai Mountains, Russia
01:01 Perm Krai, Russia
01:06 Töv, Mongolia
01:17 Sitting Dragon Gorge, China
01:22 Yongding River Valley, Yin Mountains, China
01:26 Tsenkher, Mongolia
01:30 Orkhon Valley, Mongolia
01:39 Orkhon Waterfall, Mongolia
01:43 Övörkhangai, Mongolia
01:49 Orkhon Valley, Mongolia
01:54 Irkutsk, Russia
01:57 Battsengel, Mongolia
02:03 Övörkhangai, Mongolia
02:07 Ak-kem Valley, Altai Mountains, Russia
02:15 Yulong River, Yangshuo, China
02:21 Sylva River Valley, Ural Mountains, Russia
02:26 Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
02:31 Riga, Latvia
02:35 Terelj National Park, Mongolia
02:41 Guangxi, China
02:48 Gobi Desert, Mongolia
02:53 Inner Mongolia, China
02:57 Khangai Mountains, Mongolia
03:01 Mutianyu Great Wall, China
03:09 Ust-Kansky District, Altai Mountains, Russia
03:13 Omsk, Russia
03:20 Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
03:28 Turaida Castle, Latvia
03:33 Gobi Desert, Mongolia
03:46 Belukha Mountain, Altai Mountains, Russia
03:50 Latgale, Latvia
03:59 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
04:08 Moscow, Russia
04:17 Arkhangai, Mongolia
04:33 Tsenkher, Mongolia
04:42 Republic of Buryatia, Russia
04:51 Yangshuo, China
05:00 Olkhon Island (Lake Baikal), Russia
05:13 Lake Baikal, Russia
05:17 Kultuk (Lake Baikal), Russia
05:25 Beijing, China
05:34 Tyumen Oblast, Russia
05:39 Khorgo Volcanic Field, Mongolia
05:43 Laodaowan Gorge, China
05:48 Longji Rice Terraces, China
05:52 Yarlu Valley, Altai Mountains, Russia
05:56 Jiankou Great Wall, China
06:00 Kharkhorin, Mongolia
06:05 Tianmen Mountain, China
06:09 Baltic Sea
06:18 Riga, Latvia
06:22 Yekaterinburg, Russia
06:26 Tsenkher, Mongolia
06:33 Republic of Buryatia, Russia