French traveler based in Bali since 2020, aerospace engineer by training, and former executive in the aerospace and international business sectors, I have visited more than 60 countries across five continents during an international career spanning over 30 years. Passionate about scuba diving, with more than 700 dives and a PADI Master Scuba Diver certification, I now share detailed, honest, and experience-based travel guides on My Best Places to Visit.
My name is Blaise Jaeger. I was born in Paris, where I spent most of my life before living in Toulouse, Cannes, and later in Lisbon. Around ten years ago, I also built a house in Corfu, in Greece, a country I continue to visit regularly and have learned to discover far beyond the classic tourist destinations.
For many years, most of my travels were directly linked to my professional activities in aerospace and international business. It was only after moving to Bali in 2020 that I decided to create this travel website. While discovering Indonesia on a daily basis, I started sharing travel tips, itineraries, and firsthand experiences to help other travelers better prepare their trips.
My very first guide was dedicated to Nusa Penida, an island I first discovered in 2015 and that immediately fascinated me with its spectacular landscapes and preserved atmosphere. Over time, this first project evolved into a broader travel website covering many destinations I personally visited around the world.
Since 2022, I have increasingly traveled for pleasure and around a passion that has become central in my life: scuba diving. Bali, Nusa Penida, Raja Ampat, Komodo National Park and many other destinations across Asia and Europe have become opportunities to discover new cultures, landscapes, and underwater worlds.
My goal with this website is simple: to help travelers make the most of their trips, avoid common mistakes, and discover authentic places beyond the generic content that is often repeated across the internet.
My Professional Background: Aerospace Engineering and International Business
Before creating this travel website, I spent more than 30 years working in aerospace, defense, and international business. I graduated from École polytechnique and ISAE-SUPAERO, and held several international business development and executive positions within major French aerospace companies.
My career regularly took me across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North and South America, and Australia for client meetings, international air shows, negotiations, and large-scale projects. These professional experiences allowed me to visit more than 60 countries over the years.
To be completely honest, most of those trips were business-oriented. For a long time, I had very little time for tourism in the traditional sense. I went to Beijing more than twenty times without ever visiting the Great Wall of China. My days were mostly filled with meetings, airports, trade shows, hotels, and client visits.
However, this international professional life gave me something essential: a deep curiosity for travel, human connections, and discovering cultures far beyond superficial tourism. It also taught me to observe countries differently from the perspective of a traveler truly interested in local realities.
Since moving to Bali in 2020 and leaving the corporate world, I finally have the time to explore destinations more slowly and in greater depth. This more immersive and personal way of traveling now shapes all the guides published on my websites.
Countries Where I Have Lived
Paris, Toulouse, and My Years in France
Although I traveled extensively for work, I make a real distinction between visiting a country for a few days and truly living there for months or years. Over time, my life has been built across several cities and countries, each representing a different stage of my journey.
I was born in Paris and grew up in the 6th arrondissement, where I lived until the age of 18. After military service in Nîmes, I studied for two years in Palaiseau at École polytechnique and later spent two additional years in Toulouse at ISAE-SUPAERO.
My professional career later led me to live in several French cities and regions, including Vernon in Normandy, Cannes, and Toulouse at different periods of my life.
Lisbon and Greece
As time passed, my life became increasingly international. For around two years, I lived part-time in Lisbon, a city I particularly appreciate for its atmosphere, light, and relaxed lifestyle.
Greece has also played an important role in my life, especially through the construction of a house in Corfu, where I spent many long stays over the years, long before moving to Indonesia.
Bali and Indonesia Since 2020
I first discovered Nusa Penida in 2015, at a time when the island was still relatively unknown to international tourism. My first investments there started in 2017 before I permanently moved to Bali in August 2020, at the beginning of the Covid crisis, in order to oversee my projects during the opening of my hotel a few weeks later.
I still live in Bali today while returning to Paris several times a year. These regular stays in Europe allow me to continue rediscovering France and other European destinations with a slower and more experienced perspective.
The Countries I Have Visited
I have traveled to more than 60 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, with particularly extensive experience in Asia and Indonesia, where I have been living since 2020.
These journeys have taken many different forms throughout my life: business trips, international negotiations, aerospace trade shows, partial expatriation, long-term stays, road trips, and simple personal getaways. Some countries were discovered only once, while others became an important part of my life for several decades.
I also make a real distinction between simply “visiting” a country for a few days and truly getting to know it over time through repeated stays, local encounters, and gradual immersion.
My First Trip Abroad
My very first trip abroad happened when I was 9 years old. I traveled alone by plane to stay with a Greek family I had never met before, in Corinth.
It was also my first time flying. During the meal service, the aircraft suddenly hit severe turbulence and all the trays flew across the cabin. Since I had never been on a plane before, I did not immediately realize that this was somewhat unusual.
Looking back, I sometimes wonder whether this experience may explain both my lifelong passion for Greece… and perhaps even my future career in aerospace.
The Destinations I Visited Most Often
During my international career, some cities became almost familiar simply because I kept returning to them over and over again. The destinations I probably visited the most were Beijing, New Delhi, and Rio de Janeiro, with more than twenty trips to each city, mainly for commercial negotiations and major international projects.
Of course, Greece and Bali should also be included in that list, with dozens of stays over the years before I eventually settled permanently in Indonesia.
My Shortest Trip
The shortest — and probably most absurd — trip of my life was a Paris–Hong Kong round trip on December 23rd for a simple dinner with a client at the legendary Hong Kong Club.
Two consecutive nights spent on airplanes, no hotel room needed, and an immediate return to France after the meeting.
Some international negotiations could occasionally become quite surreal (and I did not even sign the contract in the end…).
My Longest Journey
My longest journey remains a nearly two-month round-the-world trip following this itinerary:
Paris → Los Angeles → Tahiti → New Zealand → Australia → Bali → Paris.
It was during this trip that I crossed the International Date Line and “lost” an entire day. Ever since, I have often thought that one day I should make the journey in the opposite direction… just to recover that missing day.
A Few Regions of the World I Know Particularly Well
Asia and the Middle East
Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, China, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.
Today, Asia is probably the region of the world I know best, both through my former international career and my current life in Indonesia.
Europe
Germany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Romania, Russia, and Switzerland.
Europe remains a very important part of my life thanks to my regular returns to Paris and my many stays in Greece and Portugal.
The Americas
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the United States, Guatemala, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Africa
South Africa, Egypt, Libya, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Oceania
Australia, French Polynesia, and New Zealand.
A Different Way of Traveling Over Time
For many years, my travels were mostly driven by professional constraints: meetings, negotiations, international trade shows, and endless flights across multiple time zones.
Since moving to Bali, my way of traveling has changed profoundly. Today, I prefer longer stays, local discoveries, meaningful encounters, and a much slower and more immersive approach to travel.
This interactive map provides an overview of the main countries I have visited throughout my professional career and personal travels.
My Passion for Scuba Diving
My First Experiences with Diving
I discovered scuba diving in 1986 when I completed my first diving certification in Martinique. At the time, diving was mainly an occasional activity practiced during holidays and trips to different parts of the world.
It was later in the Seychelles that I truly began my PADI diving journey, earning my Open Water Diver certification in May 2011 and my Advanced Open Water Diver certification in March 2012. For several years, I remained a recreational diver, exploring underwater environments during trips across the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Indian Ocean, without imagining that diving would eventually become such an important part of my life.
My PADI Journey and the Nusa Penida Adventure
Everything changed in 2017 with the opening of my own dive center, Warnakali — now known as Dune Penida — in Nusa Penida. Living close to the ocean on a daily basis allowed me to dive much more frequently and improve my skills in one of Indonesia’s most exceptional marine environments.
I later obtained the Rescue Diver certification along with several PADI specialties, including Adaptive Support Diver, Sidemount, Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox), Deep Diver, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Emergency Oxygen Provider, and Drift Diver, before achieving the PADI Master Scuba Diver level in 2018.
I deliberately chose not to become a Divemaster or instructor. My goal has always been to keep diving as a passion-driven and independent activity focused on exploration, underwater encounters, and discovering new dive sites around the world.
My Favorite Dive Destinations
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to dive in many parts of the world, with a particular preference for Indonesia, which has become my favorite diving destination thanks to its extraordinary marine biodiversity. Among the dive destinations that impressed me the most in Indonesia are Raja Ampat, Komodo National Park, and of course Nusa Penida, where I completed a large part of my dives.
Outside Indonesia, some of my best underwater memories also come from the Red Sea, the Maldives, and French Polynesia — destinations globally renowned for the beauty of their coral reefs, exceptional visibility, and rich marine life.
More Than 700 Dives Around the World
Today, I have logged more than 700 dives worldwide, including recreational dives, drift dives, explorations, and encounters with large marine animals.
My Best and Worst Underwater Memories
My worst diving memory remains a dive in Ibiza after a night of partying. It was raining, the water was cold, visibility was extremely poor, and I eventually lost my dive group underwater — probably the perfect combination for a dive one would rather forget.
On the other hand, my best underwater memory remains an extraordinary encounter with fourteen mola mola at Gamat Bay in Nusa Penida. Seeing so many ocean sunfish during a single dive is an exceptionally rare experience and remains one of the most magical moments I have ever experienced underwater.
Why I Created My Best Places to Visit
When I first discovered Nusa Penida in 2015, I started writing a travel guide dedicated to this still relatively unknown island. Living there on a daily basis, I quickly realized that travelers were looking for reliable, detailed, and experience-based information.
Many travelers were searching for practical advice, realistic itineraries, updated information, and authentic firsthand experiences, far from the generic content often copied from one website to another. The success of this first guide encouraged me to gradually expand the project to other destinations I regularly visited.
That is how My Best Places to Visit was created, with one simple idea: sharing travel guides based on real personal experiences, field observations, and practical advice genuinely useful for travelers.
My goal is not to publish as many articles as possible, but to create in-depth, honest, and genuinely useful content. I focus on destinations I personally know, sometimes after several trips or years spent there, in order to offer a more accurate and nuanced perspective than traditional generic travel guides.
Over time, this project has become much more than a simple travel blog. Today, it is a way for me to share my passion for travel, discovering the world, local cultures, and real experiences on the ground.
How I Write My Travel Guides: My Method and Editorial Ethics
Travel Guides Based on Real Experiences
All travel guides published on My Best Places to Visit are based on real personal visits. I only publish content about destinations that I have personally visited myself.
The practical information, recommendations, itineraries, and travel advice published on the website therefore come directly from my own experiences, complemented by regular verifications on-site or through official sources whenever necessary.
Photos Taken During My Travels
The vast majority of the photos published on the website were taken by myself during my travels. In some cases, I also use photos taken by friends who participated in the same trip or stayed with me at the destination concerned.
Verifying and Updating Information
I also make a point of verifying practical information before publication and updating it regularly, especially regarding:
- visa and entry requirements,
- transportation,
- access to islands or remote regions,
- opening hours,
- or important changes that may impact travelers.
This ongoing update process is particularly important in destinations such as Indonesia, where regulations, ferry routes, or access conditions can evolve quickly.
An Independent and Transparent Approach
At this stage, My Best Places to Visit does not generate any revenue, and all my travels are fully self-funded. I do not benefit from press trips, sponsored partnerships, or complimentary services provided by tourism boards, hotels, or transportation companies.
Affiliate Links and Monetization
In the future, I may eventually use certain affiliate links — for example through platforms such as Booking.com — in order to help cover part of the website hosting, maintenance, and update costs. However, any future monetization will never influence the editorial content, recommendations, or opinions published on this website.
My Editorial Commitment
My main objective remains to maintain an independent, honest, and transparent approach in order to provide reliable and genuinely useful travel guides for travelers.
Editorial Specialties
Over the years, certain destinations and travel topics have naturally become the core areas of expertise of My Best Places to Visit.
Indonesia, Bali, and Nusa Penida
Indonesia now occupies a central place in my content, especially Bali and Nusa Penida, where I lived for several years. This local experience allows me to publish highly detailed guides about transportation, accommodations, itineraries, beaches, scuba diving, and the practical organization of a trip to Indonesia.
Paris and France
France — and especially Paris, where I still keep an apartment and return several times per year — also represents an important topic on the website. Having spent most of my life in Paris before moving to Indonesia, I regularly share guides about Parisian neighborhoods, local addresses, historical sites, and more authentic ways to experience the French capital.
Greece and the Greek Islands
I also dedicate a significant part of the website to Greece, a country I have visited regularly for many years and where I built a house in Corfu. My travel guides about Greece often focus on a more personal and less tourist-oriented perspective, with special attention given to islands, beaches, and local experiences.
Scuba Diving
Scuba diving is another major topic on the website. With more than 700 dives completed around the world and several PADI certifications, I regularly publish detailed content about the best dive destinations in Southeast Asia, liveaboards, marine biodiversity, and iconic Indo-Pacific diving locations, based on my own underwater experiences across Indonesia, the Maldives and beyond.
Detailed Travel Guides Based on Real Experience
Finally, I generally favor long-form and detailed travel guides designed to answer the practical questions travelers may have before and during their trips. My goal is to create comprehensive, practical, and genuinely useful content based on direct field experience rather than simple compilations of information already available elsewhere.
A Multilingual Website Constantly Evolving
The website is currently available in several languages in order to make the content accessible to as many travelers as possible. Although I personally pay close attention to translations and cultural adaptations, some wording may occasionally remain imperfect in certain languages — simply because I obviously do not speak ten languages fluently. My objective nevertheless remains to provide understandable, useful, and continuously improving travel content over time.
Follow Me and Get in Touch
You can follow my travels, new travel guides, and discoveries around the world through the various social media accounts connected to My Best Places to Visit.
Find me on:
You can also contact me directly through the website contact page for any questions related to destinations, travel planning, scuba diving, or personal travel experiences.
I try to reply to travelers’ messages whenever possible, although response times may sometimes vary depending on my travels and current schedule.