Like many young global travelers before her, driven by wanderlust to the bewitching Cordilleras.
Two weeks into Anne van de Ven’s planned two-month stay in the Philippines, the 26-year-old Dutch national boarded a bus filled with artists and adventurers like her.
The trip turned out to be her last.
Van de Ven was one of the 14 passengers killed when the bus plunged down a deep ravine in Bontoc’s Barangay Bayyo on the morning of February 7.
According to the Dutch publication NL Times, van de Ven quit her job as a primary school teacher to devote her time traveling the world. She had traveled to South America, China, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and Indonesia, and was set to go to Australia after the Philippines.
Describing herself as a “professional dreamer” in her online travelogue, van de Ven wrote: “A life without dreams is like a garden without flowers. My visa for Australia is inside. Let’s see if these flowers bloom in late February… But first I’m going to thoroughly enjoy in the Philippines with the beautiful Annemiek at my side.”
Van de Ven’s friend, Annemiek Verwegen, was seriously injured in the crash.
An investigation of the cause of the accident is ongoing. Reports of technical malfunction, driver’s error and environmental factors such as thick fog have yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
In a text message, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez said the department has yet to receive a request for the repatriation of the remains of van de Ven and another tourist, Canadian national Alex Loring.
“In this type of case, the embassies of the affected foreign nationals normally communicate directly with the police and local authorities. We have yet to receive any request for assistance from the Dutch and Canadian Embassies in Manila regarding their nationals who perished in the bus accident in Bontoc, Mountain Province,” he said.
Described as “sweet” and “sparkling” by her friends, van de Ven was a passionate traveler who gained friends of different nationalities in her travels.
“I walk around the globe, visit exotic places, meet new people, different cultures and live my own vision of freedom. I chose to be a professional dreamer,” she wrote last Christmas. “And when I lie awake at night and think about all the misery in the world, I try to think of what I do like, because my sense says that it could go either way.” —Elizabeth Marcelo/BM/HS, GMA Newske many young global travelers before her, driven by wanderlust to the bewitching Cordilleras.
Two weeks into Anne van de Ven’s planned two-month stay in the Philippines, the 26-year-old Dutch national boarded a bus filled with artists and adventurers like her.
The trip turned out to be her last.
Van de Ven was one of the 14 passengers killed when the bus plunged down a deep ravine in Bontoc’s Barangay Bayyo on the morning of February 7.
According to the Dutch publication NL Times, van de Ven quit her job as a primary school teacher to devote her time traveling the world. She had traveled to South America, China, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and Indonesia, and was set to go to Australia after the Philippines.
Describing herself as a “professional dreamer” in her online travelogue, van de Ven wrote: “A life without dreams is like a garden without flowers. My visa for Australia is inside. Let’s see if these flowers bloom in late February… But first I’m going to thoroughly enjoy in the Philippines with the beautiful Annemiek at my side.”
Van de Ven’s friend, Annemiek Verwegen, was seriously injured in the crash.
An investigation of the cause of the accident is ongoing. Reports of technical malfunction, driver’s error and environmental factors such as thick fog have yet to be confirmed by the authorities.
In a text message, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez said the department has yet to receive a request for the repatriation of the remains of van de Ven and another tourist, Canadian national Alex Loring.
“In this type of case, the embassies of the affected foreign nationals normally communicate directly with the police and local authorities. We have yet to receive any request for assistance from the Dutch and Canadian Embassies in Manila regarding their nationals who perished in the bus accident in Bontoc, Mountain Province,” he said.
Described as “sweet” and “sparkling” by her friends, van de Ven was a passionate traveler who gained friends of different nationalities in her travels.
“I walk around the globe, visit exotic places, meet new people, different cultures and live my own vision of freedom. I chose to be a professional dreamer,” she wrote last Christmas. “And when I lie awake at night and think about all the misery in the world, I try to think of what I do like, because my sense says that it could go either way.” — Elizabeth Marcelo/BM/HS, GMA News