Travelstories – Raw Happiness

Welcome to Travel Stories

I am Daniel de Leau, an Amsterdam-based adventurer and photographer. I recently quit my corporate job to pursue my passion for photography, foreign cultures and adventure. Feel free to explore my photographs and short stories about my latest adventures. I hope my photos inspire you to get out there and create your own adventures.

Please also check out “The Raw Happiness Project”. In this photographic expedition I will explore different continents, ethnical backgrounds and religions in the world’s most challenging places to meet locals and witness the origin of their happiness. Because I truly believe we can learn a lot from them. I would love to hear your ideas about people to meet and places to see!

Enjoy my website and never stop exploring!

October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 By Daniel

An adventurous cup of coffee

An adventurous cup of coffee I love coffee! Especially a good fresh cup of coffee can really be a moment of happiness for me. Especially when you have to hike for hours through the forest to arrive at a small coffee plantation, and together with some friendly locals you burn, grind and heat up a…

October 24, 2017October 24, 2017 By Daniel

On the foot of Kilimanjaro

On the foot of Kilimanjaro The last weeks of the Raw Happiness expedition I spent in and around Moshi, a small city on the foot of the famous Kilimanjaro mountain, the top of Africa. I am sure I will never forget these weeks because I made some new lifelong friends: Johnson and Frank. These friendly…

July 15, 2017July 15, 2017 By Daniel

Maasai way of life

My trip to Tanzania has brought me many cool adventures and beautiful memories. But nothing will be as memorable as the time I was lucky enough to have spent in the Maasai village Orkisima. I was invited by my Tanzanian friends Matthew and Kizito to come to the village to experience the Maasai way of…

July 9, 2017February 10, 2019 By Daniel

Ras Kutani; a piece of heaven

After being on the road for a while, I found a place where I could lay low and relax for a while called Ras Kutani. But of course I end up spending my days meeting the local people, visiting the nearby village where I met de local chairman, visited the school and the hospital and made…

June 30, 2017June 30, 2017 By Daniel

Zanzibar: beyond the paradise

After the very beautiful Safari trip we made our way (three days in buses and a ferry!) to the paradise of Zanzibar and were welcomed by very good vibes. All the stories I have heard about this island were about the beautiful beaches, palm trees and luxury resorts but once we set foot on Zanzibar…

June 19, 2017July 9, 2017 By Daniel

Into the wild in Tanzania

My previous adventures in Sub-Saharan Africa made me fell in love with this part of the world but to be honest, I had no clue what to expect from Tanzania. I had heard stories of beautiful landscapes and safaris but that was about it. I have now traveled in this beautiful country for a little…

June 13, 2017June 13, 2017 By Daniel

Nepal, land of natural beauty

It is a bit of a surreal feeling posting this blog while in Tanzania getting ready for safari adventures. It already feels like ages ago that I was in Nepal and did a 13 day trek over the Annapurna Circuit and Tilicho Lake but it was only two weeks back that I was walking through…

June 6, 2017November 21, 2017 By Daniel

Adventures in Little Tibet

First of all, my apologies for the radio silence. It took me a while to write this blog since I spent the last weeks off-the-grid in the Himalayas. An unbelievable experience! The start of my Himalayan adventures was in Ladakh, also known as ‘Little Tibet’, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in Northern India….

May 13, 2017May 13, 2017 By Daniel

Rishikesh and Udaipur

Rishikesh and Udaipur are two places that really don’t have a lot in common besides that they are both in India but put them together, and they make up a perfect mix. Rishikesh, a mountain village on the foot of the Himalayas and dubbed the Yoga capital of the world has a lot to offer,…

May 4, 2017November 21, 2017 By Daniel

Raw, Rawer, Rawest Varanasi

My next stop after Delhi and Agra was Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India. I think if I have to use one word to describe this magical place it would be ‘Raw’. And it already started on my way to get there. A long train ride in the non-airconditioned sleeper class; entire families squeezed on…