Deep in the jungles of Malaysia, as you trek through the undisturbed wilderness, you may come across a giant komodo dragon snacking on a camera, you may see a large pile of Komodo waste with a whole camera in the middle (perhaps a hurting Komodo dragon close by) or you may even see him using it to take pictures of jungle friends. Well, long story short, this was the camera of fellow vegan travelers Tinja and Sebastian!
Yes, this happened to them on a recent trip to Malaysia. Not quite the things you plan for, regardless of how adventurous of a traveler you might be. Tinja and Sebastian are a married couple living in Amsterdam, where they also host on Vegvisits. If you told them 4 years ago that they’d be organizing the Amsterdam Earthlings Experience, animal rights protests, vegan movie screenings and potlucks, well they’d probably just kind of stare at you and nervously walk away. But such is the ways of our lives. They've been vegan for almost 4 years, after doing a “3 week raw challenge”. One thing leads to another and well, you’re eventually seeing behind the darkest shadows of our 21st century way of life.
Now while Sebastian still works the 9-5 life at a start-up in Amsterdam, Tinja is a yoga instructor, happiness coach and vegan nutrition coach. On their free time, they dedicate their energy on the front lines as activists trying to educate and open people’s eyes for the sake of so much else behind the scenes.
They had their first Vegvisits traveling experience with Lady Scott in London (one of the more seasoned, always busy hosts), “the vegan mother they never had” as they put it. Most of us probably don’t run across too many older vegans. Its always really cool when you do. Instead of bracing yourself as you're making a salad for their questions of protein, calcium, probiotics, plutonium, the food chain, plant feelings, humane/grass-fed/oxygen breathing animals or whatever else, they had a long-time fellow vegan who was around to just hang out. After spending so many afternoons at events, leafletting, screening Earthlings and now just wanting to relax for a bit while on the road, it was just a nicer place to come home to.
Not unlike most vegans we come across, Tinja and Sebastian prefer an active lifestyle filled with being outdoors, hiking, cycling and yoga. They’ve traveled throughout Southeast Asia and Europe, and have lived in Germany, England, Switzerland, Belgium and Vietnam. They still have their sights set on a time when they can just let it all hang loose and wander around our beautiful Earth, but for now they've taken to hosting on Vegvisits, and have their own place available in Amsterdam which you can check out
here :-)
