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Adventures with a ’79 VW

What is Burning Man Anyway!?!?

I am often asked, “What is Burning Man?”. And it is challenging to answer, because it’s so many things. So I thought I would try and explain it a little in a blog post. I first found out about the annual festival known as ‘Burning Man’, while I was in Novi Sad, Serbia in 2008. […]

Interview with Artist Nate Kogan

4L1C31 - Nate Kogan

Hippie Van Man is about living ones dream and encouraging others to live theirs as well. When I thought of people I knew who were doing just that, one of the first people that came to mind was artist Nate Kogan. Nate has been a mentor of mine for a few years now. He has […]

Motivational Thoughts: Dreams & Motivation

Earlier today I posted a motivational photo on Twitter which I found on Kush and Wizdom Tumblr. The quote is “Dreams Only Die If You Let Them Starve”. Before I go any further, let me clarify that the dreams we are discussing today are not the kind you have at night; we’re talking hopes and […]

My Little Window to The World

Waking Life is one of my favorite all time movies. The summary of the movie, as per IMDB is; A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe. One of my favorite scenes within the movie, which I also feel relates to Hippie Van Man and […]

Motivational Thoughts: What do you really need?

want vs need motivational quote

A big part of the HippieVanMan.com project is inspiring and motivating people to live authentically in the present and to follow their dreams. So I thought I’d make a few posts with some motivating thoughts. In 10 tips to save for an epic trip my number 1 tip was to focus on wants vs needs. […]

10 tips to save for an epic trip

Amongst my friends and family, I am usually pegged as the habitual traveler. A question I am often asked is, “How do you afford to do all this travel”. So I thought I would give my top tips to save money for your next epic adventure. My father once told me, “It’s not how much […]

Tips to Maintain a Healthy Diet During Road Trips

Summer is here and I’m sure many of you have plans to get out on the open road and explore, be it a day trip, weekend getaway, or something much bigger. One thing I’ve noticed is that every time I’m on a road trip, it seems my nutrition habits turn ugly pretty fast. You don’t […]

The Life of a Nomadic Freelance Photographer & Web Developer

Aaron Neilson Belman Freelance Photographer

As some of you will know, and as some of you may not, I am a freelance photographer & web developer by trade and I happen to pursue a fairly nomadic lifestyle by choice. I started taking photography in high school and majored in New Media Studies at the University of Toronto. The New Media […]

10 Life Lessons Travel Has Taught Me

Sleeping in the park in Pamplona, Spain during Running of the Bulls

I think Miriam Beard may have said it best, “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living”. After traveling to over 30 countries in the past five years, I have grown immensely as a person and learned many invaluable life […]

Reminders of Carpe Diem; Lessons from a fallen friend

Carpe Diem Java sunrise

For those of you who took the time to read through the About page, you will have read about one of the people I have dedicated this project in memory of, Jim Sissakis. Jim sadly passed away in mid-2012 after a year long battle with cancer. I posted this facebook note shortly after, and thought […]

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