Our adventure in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia...
02-03-2011
North of Vietnam⦠Hanoi, Halong Bay & Haiphong!
Time to give you an update on our experience in North Vietnam
Early arrival in Hanoi Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the busiest city in the country.Crossing a street is more than a challenge ;-) Best way is to shadow a Vietnamese and always keep the same speed while crossing!We enjoyed a walk in the city passing by Hoan Kiem lake, Ngoc pagoda, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the Cathedral, After visiting the city we enjoyed a coffee in a bar situated at one of the busiest road crossing in Hanoi A show on its own!
The day after, we enjoyed a day trip to the Halong bay on the rice paddies (Baie dHalong terrestre en français).It was amazing! Imagine a landscape like the Halong bay but with rice paddies all around you.We enjoyed a small boat trip around the paddies.Our captain was an old lovely lady!
The next day we decided to take a three days tour to the Halong Bay With an overnight stay on the boat and a night on Monkey island located in front of Cat Ba island.We clearly double checked the quality of the boat and didnt take the cheapest price on that one ;-) Security before money!!!!
Unfortunately, we had to admire the Halong Bay in the fog and under the rain but still this site remains extraordinary! This site is classified as World heritage by the UNESCO.The boat trip was nice and we met great people A special hello to Camilla and Jenny!
Now, it was time to head to our last Vietnamese destination being Haiphong! Haiphong is a bit out of the beaten tracks! A Vietnamese city of about 2,5 million inhabitants where two of our friends Dorothée and Reggy are expatriated!We relaxed for two days at their place THANKS AGAIN FOR THE WARM WELCOME!And a special thanks to Reggy for the motorcycle course, the visit of the harbor and taking back to Belgium part of our luggage and a special thanks to Dorothée for the movies and series J I enjoyed them in the plane!
While writing this post, we are on the plane back to Europe after two days of shopping in Bangkok.Our backpacks are full of presents and good memories!
The centre of Vietnam just before the Ben Hai river which was the former line between the South and North Vietnam.
First stop in that region is Hoi An which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site Hoi An is in a way similar to Luang Prabang in Laos.A cozy and small city really colorful and particular for its houses architecture but also tailor made clothes.Of course, we could not resist of making dresses, jackets and top First time in our lives, an evening dress was done just for us in a few hours! ;-)
One of the top excursion from Hoi An is My Son An ancient Cham city also recognized as World site by the UNESCO.The ruins are nestled in a valley surrounded by hills A really peaceful place with a lot of history. A pity, the Vietnam war has destroyed a lot of the temples.
After having burdened our backpacks with our new clothes, time to move to the next stop, Hue!Hue is located at about 5 hours drive from Hoi An and is known for its palaces, pagodas and royal tombs.We decided to join a day tour in order to visit the different highlights. We have been particularly surprised by the beauty of the royal tombs dating from the 19th and 20th centuries They look like castles and all have a specific architecture!
Important point just to let you know that since Hue we are under the rain and clouds we are starting our preparation before coming back to our rainy Belgium ;-)Who says it is always sunny in Asia?
See you in the north of Vietnam for our next post! On our agenda Hanoi, Halong Bay and Halong Bay on the rice paddies! J
Vietnam the last destination of our trip unfortunately! Arrival at the Ho Chi Minh City airport from Manila in the middle of the night! First challenge avoid any taxi issue at the airport! Indeed we heard a lot from fellow backpackers that finding a taxi with a proper meter is a bit though But we managed quite well passing the last few months in Asia has definitely helped. We escaped the first weird taxi driver who wanted us to pay before even leaving the airport and found a proper taxi J
In Ho Chi Minh (also known as Saigon), we had the luxury to sleep in an amazing house A BIG THANK YOU to Isabelle and Olivier to warmly welcome us during these few days and making us remember what a cheese tasted! J
Just to give you a flavor, this is what the Lonely Planet is mentioning about Ho Chi Minh City Fasten your seatbelts! Ho Chi Minh City is a metropolis on the move and we are not only talking about the motorbikes that throng the streets.
We walked around Ho chi Minh City for an afternoon visiting the Reunification palace, the cathedral, the central market Crossing a street is indeed a challenge between all the motorcycles. (To give youre an idea, more than one person out of two in Vietnam has a motorcycle!)
The day after we left for a one day excursion to the Mekong delta and more specifically to Vinh Long and Cai Be where you can admire a floating market. We also visited some typical villages well known for preparing coconut candys, rice cookies and honey. A great day even if under the clouds
After spending 3 nights at our friends in Ho Chi Minh, it was time to take the backpack again and head up north to Mui Né which is a coastal city at about 6 hours drive from Saigon. We enjoyed an afternoon at the sea and visited the Mui Né sand dunes quite amazing! You have the impression that you are in the middle of the Sahara but you are in the south of Vietnam. Check the below pictures! We also had the chance to go to one of the close by fishing village. Fisherman have really special boats being in a shape of a bamboo basket!
Again, time to go up north to Hoi An and Hue which are two world heritage cities located in the centre of Vietnam. Of course, we had the luxury to enjoy a 17 hours bus drive ;-)
The Philippines ⦠Banaue and the famous Batad rice terraces!
Back to Manila after a flight from Boracay
As we already visited the city upon our arrival we directly booked a night bus to go up North to Banaue which is the starting point for the rice terraces visit.
Long time ago we didnt enjoy a night bus and we know why our sleep was rather limited Music in our ears, stops every 1h to load extra people on the bus and no road in some areas A good cocktail to make it a really short night!We arrived around 7h30 in Banaue where we directly went to our guesthouse for a well-deserved breakfast!
Our plan was to visit the rice terraces World heritage listed, they are impressive not only for their beauty but because they were created around 2000 years by the Ifugao. Batads amphitheatre-like stone-walled rice terraces are widely considered the worlds most striking.
We tried to gather a few people in order to form a group to do a day excursion at a reasonable price for everyone!Again, a special hello to Jess, Ben and Marion with whom we spent the day!
We left the hostel at 7:00 AM (yes, it is not that we are sleeping until 10 AM every day ;-) ) with a jeepney (to give you an idea, it is what you would get if you crossed a jeep with a bus) for a 1h30 drive into the mountains.From there, we had a 1h walk to the Batad amphitheatre and then a 3 hours walk through the rice terraces.The views were a-ma-zing!Now we know why it is listed as UNESCO world heritage!
After this day of hiking, it was time already for us to take a night bus back to Manila as our Philippines journey stops already here!We are currently at the airport of Manila waiting for our flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city). See you in Vietnam for the next post!
PS/ I nearly lost Marjan during the last night bus trip she got locked into the bus toilets! Fortunately, thanks to the help of the bus driver and a German guy, we got her out! JWe are still two on the road!!!!
We didnt know at all what to expect about Manila we heard so many bad things about this city but at the end, let say that we have been positively surprised.On the opposite of our other destinations, The Philippines are less the place to be for backpackers.It is a bit out of the beaten tracks so you dont meet so many fellow travelers.
What to say about Manila? It is an enormous metropolis counting around 11 million inhabitants so bigger than Belgium!So as mentioned in the Lonely Planet, this is exactly the sort of place in which there is bound to be a good bit of chaos.We are not only talking about the traffic here ;-) The city is composed of different cities, the most touristic ones being Intramuros, Malate, Ermita & Makati.
We have been visiting the three!Intramuros is the historic part of Manila where you can visit the Fort Santiago built by the Spanish in the 16th century.Malate and Ermite is where the most guesthouses are located and Makati is the financial district of the city where most shopping malls are located!
We also had the chance to admire the sunset on Manila from the famous Roxas Boulevard Dont forget that Manila is a seaside city with a big harbor activity.
In a summary, again an Asian controversial city where on the one hand, you have all shopping malls and posh areas and on the other hand, areas with loads of townships.
After passing two days in Manila, we left the famous metropolis to take an internal flight to Kalibo in order to go to Boracay island. Boracay is well known for its glorious White Beach with white sand, turquoise water and amazing sunsets. Check the pictures below you wont be disappointed!
Arriving on the island, the weather was unfortunately not as we expected it but after two days we got one day of sun and a beautiful sunset JI wont be long describing what we did as it can be summarized in a few words being sleeping, eating, sunbathing, swimming and partying! A good program isnt it? ;-) Im sure you are jealous!A special hello to the people we met over there Mike, Alison and Sam J
After relaxing for a few days at the beach, it was time to get back to Manila again to explore the Northern region.We wanted to visit the famous Batad rice terraces classified as world heritage by the UNESCO!See you there
Next country on our list Cambodia! We didnt really know what to expect about this new country except that we could not miss the famous Angkor temples
Our first landing point was Siem Reap the departure city for the visit of the famous Angkor temples! Siem Reap is a two-faced city with on the one hand, the overdevelopment of the city to attract tourists and on the other hand, a city being one of the poorest in Cambodia. To be honest with you we didnt really like it it was too much!
But we enjoyed the Angkor temples We decided to visit the site by bicycle. We got two bicycles for the day for one dollar each, so a real bargain. Definitely, the cheapest way to visit the Angkor temples! ;-)
To give you an idea, Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world, it is the Khmers national symbol, the epicenter of their civilization and a source of fierce national pride (dixit the Lonely Planet).
The Angkor temples regroup more than hundreds temples the most famous ones are Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Phrom, Ta Phrom is one of the only temples being as the European explorers discovered it in the 19th century. Indiana Jones would feel right at home in this temple ;-) We really appreciated it you can really realize the power of the jungle (here we come again ;-) )
We then left Siem Reap to go to Battambang the second largest city in Cambodia and the fourth touristic destination of the country. We wanted first to go there by boat but after checking the length of the trip being 4h to 7h (nobody has been clear) we decided to take the bus, especially that it is here the dry season, this means no water at some places I let you imagine what could have happened! ;-) We have to admit that Battambang is not really the place to be and there is not a lot to see but we enjoyed relaxing on a terrace of one the remaining French colonial houses.
The next day, we enjoyed again a six hours bus drive to Phnom Penh, the capital of the country!We had a chock arriving at the final bus station.The police had to put barriers to let us go out of the bus as a wild group of tuk tuk drivers was literally shouting at the arriving tourists for a tuk tuk ride! Oh my God, the tone was given! We finally ended up on one of these crazy machines in order to reach one of the city centre guesthouses.
The day after we have enjoyed a tour around the city passing by the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda, the Independence monument, different temples, the central market, The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda are particularly impressive! Check the pictures below.So as a summary, great monuments but a crazy city where below rules apply:
·Dont look twice but FIVE times if you want to cross the street!
·Never look at a tuk tuk waiting along the road otherwise he will follow you being sure you want to jump on his crazy machine!
·Dont wear skirts I pass you the details on this one!
·
After another 5 hours bus drive, we are now at the Cambodian seaside Not yet Ibiza but here this is the place To Be for holidays. The most famous city is Sihanoukville!We nearly slept on the beach as all hostels were full This is the start of the week of the Chinese New year and it seems all Cambodian wanted to enjoy a sunbath at the seaside! After checking about 10 accommodations, we found out one of the last rooms available! After a well deserved night, we enjoyed an afternoon at the beach! Key word was RELAXING before taking a night bus to Bangkok where we have our flight to our next destination the Philippines (See the PS for details).
AGAIN our bus trip turns into a kind of unexpected journey Instead of taking 12 hours as originally announced, it took us exactly 23 hours to reach Bangkok!!!! The southern border between Cambodia and Thailand being closed at night, we had to go up north to reach another border.
PS/ Important thing to mention we wanted to avoid the Chinese New Year week in Vietnam (week of the 3rd Feb) as all prices are triple and all Vietnamese are on holidays so everything is closed in the country! So after investigating different possibilities we have decided to go to the Philippines to discover the rice terraces of Banaue and the famous sunset of Boracay J
Our next destination was Vang Vieng a city well-known on the one hand for its parties and tubing activities and on the other hand, for its amazing mountain landscapes. As mentioned in the Lonely Planet, you like it or you hate it ;-) For us, let say that we didnt fall in love with the city but we enjoyed a 35km bicycle ride in the surroundings.We drove through local villages, rice paddies, Really nice landscapes but the last kilometers have been a bit though as again we were riding on paths with hundreds of stones no roads!
In the evening, we joined two Quebecois, Jasmin and Charles, in order to practice our Old French expressions ;-) We had a good time laughing around a Lao Fondue We definitely ate too much but it was sooooo good! J
In Laos, you have to know that most of the backpackers are heading to the same cities so we had the pleasure to share again the same minibus/hostel as Rachel, Joe, Fabien and Matt J Patrik did not follow us as he felt in love with the famous plain of jaaaaars ;-)
After two days in Vang Vieng, it was time again to take a bus (this time a bigger one) to Vientiane the capital of Laos. This is the most industrialized city of the country We enjoyed a walk around the city passing by the Morning market (lasting until 5PM) where Marjan bought a watch, some temples, a duplicate of the Paris Arc de Triomphe,
In the afternoon, by chance, we met again our backpackers friends on a terrace.We shared a tuk tuk with Joe and Rachel to go to the Buddha Park This park is located at about 25km from Vientiane and is full of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures. Check the pictures below quite fascinating!
Our Laos experience has already come to its end L We are currently in the plane for Siem Reap in Cambodia!See you there for new adventures
Below some updates about the two next cities/sites we have been visiting after leaving the famous jungle Luang Prabang and the Plain of jars.
What to say about Luang Prabang in the Lonely Planet, the city is described as the most sophisticated, photogenic city in the whole of South East Asia. The tone is given The city atmosphere is really nice.Relaxing on a terrace is a sport on its own in Luang Prabang ;-)
Luang Prabang is also an old French settlement so you can easily find there: croissants, baguettes, cakes, Mmmmhhhh. Things that we didnt eat for a while but we definitely did a big catch up in a few days ;-)
In the evening, the main street of the city is transformed into a great colorful night market again extra kilos in the backpack especially for Isa!
After our jungle experience, we were a bit afraid to join any guided tour again but we decided to do a half day elephant trekking! We were this time with a group of 10 people and had really good fun.The elephants are great animals Check the pictures below!
After a few days in Luang Prabang where we completely recover from our jungle experience, we took a bus to Phonsavan which is the starting city to visit the mysterious Plain of jars. The Plain of jars is a large area where huge jars of unknown origin are scattered about in dozen of groupings. We got lucky and met on the minibus to Phonsavan, a group of nice backpackers with whom we spent the next days.A special hello to Rachel, Joe, Fabien, Matt and Patrik! J
Within the region, there are also several fascinating sites related to the CIA Secret War (from 1965 to 1973) during which the US devastated Eastern and North Eastern Laos with no stop carpet-bombing to counter the presence of the North Vietnamese in the country.
We have been visiting a Russian tank, a US Lima S108 airstrip, two hospital caves, and a UXO site (Unexploded ordnance site) full of unexploded bombs.No worries, this time we had a BRILLIANT guide ;-)
It is now time to jump on a minibus AGAIN in order to reach our next destination. Please take into account that in Laos, roads are not existing and turning without an end! So on average, you drive 35km/h trying to avoid anything that could be on your way: cows, pigs, chickens, kids, other vehicles,
Laos not a lot to say about this country yet as we spent (unfortunately) most of our time in the jungle!
You might have heard about our crazy experience into the Lao jungle but let start from the beginning again it is worth to spend some time explaining to you what really happened!
After crossing the Mekong to come to Laos, we took a bus up North to reach Luang Nam Tha, a village into the mountains. This village is well-known to start a trekking into the jungle. You can find there a lot of agencies proposing one, two or three days treks into the jungle.
We subscribed for a GUIDED 2 days trek where we had to walk about 6h the first day in order to arrive to a remote village, spent the night into the village and walk about 4h on the second day in order to come back to civilization. Until there everything seems to be under control
We left at 8:30AM and went first to the local market in order to grab some food for our trek cabbage, tomatoes, chicken, rice, bananas, We left the civilization around 10AM! We walked for 6 hours before our guide turned to us and announced us that we were lost into the jungle. He lost the path and could not find it back Knowing that it is dark at 6PM, there was only 2 hours left to find our way! At that point he told us that the river that we were seeing far away at the bottom of the valley was next to the village we had to go we then decided to follow his advice and cut through the jungle in order to get as fast as possible to the village Problem is that after 2 hours walking, no sign of the river nor the village at all and no daylight anymore The guide kindly proposes us to continue walking with our flashlights into the dark (as he didnt had one of course) But we told him this was just crazy and that we would better quickly build a shelter with the last ray of lights and spent the night where we were. Of course, no need to mention that there was no phone connection at all in the jungle so no way that we could talk to anyone!
We spent the night completely wet squeezed to each other in order to try to keep warm Daylight only came back around 6:30AM so we spent a 12h night in our shelter. We didnt sleep at all jungle is quite scary at night a lot of strange and unidentified noise
At 7:15AM we decided to start the walking again problem was we were in the middle of nowhere so what was the best option going back and try to find back the point we got lost meaning at least 3h walk going back up through the jungle OR continuing going down hoping the river that we saw the day before will appeared at some point The guide convinced us to continue walking down! But again, around 10AM, still no sign of any village nor river L and we were even further into the jungle . No way to contact anyone and that anyone could find us!
So at that point, we shouted at the guide and told him, the only way to get out of this sh*** was to come back on our paces . Meaning about 5 hours of walk up the hill again! I still dont know how we did it but WE DID IT! We reached the summit of a hill (we didnt know which one yet) around 2PM! (Oh yes I also forgot to tell you that we had 2 tomatoes as food that day as all the rest had to be cooked or had been lost the day before due to the difficult walk into the jungle ).
At that point, we asked our guide to put on his mobile but of course, just to make the story a little bit more spicy his mobile was empty! Grrr Fortunately, we had our Belgian mobiles with us and we could put his SIM card in our mobile The connection was really limited but existing J Our goal was to call the office of the agency we booked at in order to let them know we were completely lost. Problem is all phone numbers were stored on the mobile of the guide and not his SIM card But you know, when the situation starts to be completely desperate, something always happens and for us, the guy of the agency tried to call us J YOUHOU we could talk to him but of course we could not tell him where we were as we didnt know
How did we find our way back? We found back on the way 2 tomatoes that we lost the day before and the sticker of my backpack that I lost the day before falling in a big whole . (falling is good sometimes ;-) )! So we walked until 6PM (meaning 11h of walk) where we met the guy from the agency who came to us with some food!
From there, we still had to walk 3 hours in the dark with our mobiles as light in order to reach a remote village in the mountains where they could offer us a bed, a fire and some food!
We spent a great night even if sleeping between the pigs and the dogs Thanks to all these local tribes that really helped us!
The day after, around 11AM, we took our backpack again to walk the last 2 hours to reach civilization again!
So as a summary, we walked 24 hours from which 22h on two days with as food one lunch, some bananas and 2 tomatoes and a night in the jungle! A bit tough isnt it?...
We are currently recovering from our wounds, bites, fever, at the hostel: ZUELA Guesthouse in Luang Nam Tha (an address to definitely recommend!). The people here are really nice and helped us a lot!
Tomorrow, it is time to take our backpacks again and leave the jungle for Luang Prabang! J
It is for sure time to update our blog again sorry for the small delay ;-)
After leaving the South islands we head to the North of Thailand by bus passing by Bangkok again! Our first stop in the North was a city called Sukothai it is a historical city from the 13-14th century. We spent two days over there and visited the ruins of the old city by bicycle J Really nice to discover Asia with another transport again ;-)
We then took the bus to Chiang Mai, a city located 7 hours drive North of Sukothai. Chiang Mai is a bigger city again where you have all the commoninternational facilities. We enjoyed the night bazaar (night market) really colorful and amazing , the city temples more than 350 all together from which, one located on top of a hill called Suthep, and a Thai cooking course.
We spent one day learning how to cook 7 different Thai dishes . Fried rice with chicken, Pad Thai, spring rolls, chicken with cashew nuts, sticky rice with mango, prawn soup, ! It was a great experience with lovely people! We just need to find back the right ingredients when back to Belgium and we will be able to cook a Thai meal for you! J
After our positive Chiang Mai experience, we took a local bus up North to Chiang Rai a city located next to the Myanmar border. In Chiang Rai itself, there is not a lot of things to see but it is a good starting point to go to rural villages/tribes and to the Golden Triangle region.
The Golden Triangle is the intersection between Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. From a view point you can admire the famous Mekong being the natural border between Laos and Thailand.
In order to go to Laos, we took a boat crossing the Mekong the customs and passport control is an experience on its own ;-) Really basic checks and you queue with the monks . So funny!
What to say about Kho Tao Long long trip from the west coast to the east coast of Thailand 3 minibuses (from which, one unexpected ) and a boat. The trip should have been a one day trip but it turns out to be in two because the boat we had to take initially has been cancelled without any clear reason ;-) Here you dont ask questions or try to understand you just find a Plan B J
Our plan B was then to take the boat the next morning to the island (by the way we nearly missed it as the taxi driver arrived at our hotel at 7:10 AM for a boat leaving at 7:00 AM a bit short but we made it I did the worst mistake of my life telling the taxi driver to speed up ;-) ). Talking about the boat, we had our worst boat trip ever after 2 waves, the staff started to distribute plastic bags as the sea was terribly too strong!) I pass you the details ;-)
After such a trip, we enjoyed some peaceful moments at the beach and around the swimming pool of our hotel. We also did a one day snorkeling tour around the island. Always nice to see the beaches from the sea but again the sea was quite tough ;-)
About New Year great party We have started our evening at the hotel eating a BBQ with the staff and some customers the hotel had organized a big present lottery everyone had to bring a present and exchange it with someone else Great moment!Marjan received a cake plate and I received a set of towels and biscuits J
Around 23h30 direction The Beach for the party! Imagine a beach completely crowded where nearly everyone is drunk We stayed partying until 5:00 AM in the morning J
Lets be honest a bit difficult to wake up and do the check out this morning ;-) We are currently waiting for the boat (not really looking forward for it!) and the bus to Bangkok. Around midnight, we should be there ;-)
Before starting to write anything we just want to wish to all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS Hope you could enjoy a good time with your family and good food ;-)
Lets now come back where we left you meaning in Bangkok.After 14 hours of bus and 1h30 of boat... Here we go on the famous Kho Phi Phi (under the rain)!It should be the dry season but it seems it has rained a lot during the last months BUT again we are lucky the rain has stopped a few hours later still cloudy but no rain J
To be honest, we can say that we have taken holidays during our holidays 6 nights at the same place (the longest since we left Belgium) in order to relax on the beach, do some shopping, snorkel and party J
We have celebrated the Full moon party (21st December) on the beach quite an amazing and crazy party over here ;-) People completely drunk and dancing (when they can still stand on their two legs ;-) ) until the morning on the beach!
Regarding Xmas, just to make you jealous We spent Xmas under 30 degrees, feet into the water looking at a beautiful sunset ;-) (OK, I stop there ;-) ). We had for you a big thought knowing that you are the feet in the snow and freezing in Belgium!
After 6 nights on Kho Phi Phi, we left for Koh Lanta (for the French speaking yes, it is the island that you see on TV on TF1 ;-)).Kho Lanta is different than Kho Phi Phi More vegetation into the island with a national park and you can drive on the island which is not the case on Kho Phi Phi where the only way to go from one place to the other is by long boat!
Tomorrow, we are leaving Kho Lanta for a long trip in order to reach the Thai East Coast and some other islands: Kho Tao and Kho Phanang (where we will spend New Year Eve!)
See you,
PS/ Thanks for the sms, mails, we have received with your best wishes J
Late arrival at Bangkok airport after 16 hours journey from New Zealand No issue to get our tourist VISA at the airport. We spent our first night in a hostel close by the airport in order to avoid entering busy Bangkok in the middle of the night.
The day after we met Ilse, a friend of Marjan and ex-colleague of Isa, at the NewJoe Guesthouse (for the ones going to Bangkok soon, a really good address to remember!) The hostel is located in the busy area of Bangkok next to Khao San road (road with all small shops and restaurants).
We decided to walk through the city instead of taking a famous Tuk Tuk as we heard from tourists that they were not always reliable bringing you to shops & travel agencies instead of your destination! On the agenda, visit of the Wat Pho temple, Old Siam area and Khao San road first shopping for all of us ;-) I have to admit that prices are quite tempting ;-)
Second day, visit of the famous Grand Palace Obligation to wear a beautiful blue shirt as shoulders and legs need to be covered (and a scarf is not enough). See pictures below This palace is the old residence of the king gold and wealth is everywhere quite impressive!
Afternoon in China town nice but sooooo busy and polluted! In Thailand, best way to recover from such a busy day is MASSAGE J We tried the Oil massage very nice!
Third day Ilse left us early in the morning to catch her plane to Singapore and then to Belgium.We spent the morning finding a transport and an accommodation on Kho Phi Phi, a bit busy with Christmas and New year! In the afternoon, walk to the King residence (the one he is living in today) New haircut for Marjan After long hesitations, she decided to experience the local hairdresser.The best price quality haircut she ever had 2.5 EUR!!! In the meantime, I enjoyed a pedicure J
Bye bye Bangkok . Hello the islands!
PS/ Funny anecdote for our Visa to Laos, Vietnam, we need ID pictures so we decided again to try the local market ;-) So funny, after taking the picture of us she started to redesign our face on the pic, my skin has the color of a poupée and Marjan has no sproetjes anymore! ;-)
Special editionâ¦. Life as a backpacker Down Under :-)
After two months being on the road, we wanted to share with you some anecdotes and things we are missing while travelling as a backpacker Dont forget to write them down for the time we will be back in Belgium ;-)
We just made the calculation and since we left, we slept in 35different youth hostelsor campgrounds Not bad! ;-) Most of the time we are sleeping in female dorms Dorms being the cheapest!
What we have experienced or heard about dorms
-People snoring like hell!
-People waking up at 4AM to pray in the dorm!
-People starting cooking in the middle of the night (when a kitchen is available)
-People switching on the big dorm light in the middle of the night when there are small personal lights available
-People having sex on the bed on top of your head !!! We didnt experience it but heard it from other backpackers It is always funny to see the face of the ones having fun during the night the day after They always do as Nothing happened ;-)
-Etc
Cooking is also a challenge most of the time we are cooking in shared kitchens A few tips: always avoid the peak hours otherwise you will spend time running after a spoon or a pan and always cook food for which you need maximum 2 pots;-)
What we are missing
-A big and soft towel for shower We only have with us a towel that can dry quickly. Size is rather limited and they are a bit too synthetic
-A good washing machine and dryer We are washing our clothes in the youth hostels but machines are often old and make our clothes shrinking very fast
-Ironed clothes we dont miss the ironing part but we miss the result ;-)
-Proper pots and pans with a flat bottom so that you dont need to wait hours before having boiling water!
-Thick toilet paper we always got the cheapest one in all hostels ;-)
-Our bed!... it remains the most comfortable! J
-Our Belgian Chocolate and bread but also cheese!
-Some heels and sexy clothes ;-)
-And of course YOU !!!! J
And what we love
Not knowing what tomorrow will be You never know who you will meet on the road and what will your next hostel look like! In one word the ADVENTURE!
New Zealand South Island⦠Episode 4⦠Last one already!
Already last time we are writing to you from New Zealand time has been flying!Our last days have been again full of surprises After Dunedin, we have been heading to Lake Tekapo! Again a lake you will say but still different The water is just light turquoise as it is directly coming from the glaciers.We have been enjoying the beach along the lake and the hostel on our second day as it was raining ;-) A good opportunity to connect to the internet and catch up with Belgium J
On our last day in Tekapo, we did a one day excursion to Mount Cook which is New Zealand highest mountain.Under the sun, we have done the Hooker Valley walk.This 4 hours hike walked you through the bottom of the glaciers until a lake where you can admire Mount Cook in the background.Again a postal card! J See our pictures to be convinced!
After enjoying the mountains, we took our last bus to Christchurch We were positively surprised about the city reconstruction after the earthquake that happened a few months ago.To give you an idea, Christchurch is the biggest city of the NZs South island but still really quiet!
We chilled out on a terrace and enjoyed the calm as we know that these moments will be exceptional in Asia! J
In the evening of our last day, we enjoyed a diner with Kevin and Marijke, two friends of Marjan, on holiday in New Zealand for a few weeks JIt was really nice to get to know each other / see each other at the other end of the world!
From Christchurch, we also did a one day excursion to the Banks peninsula and more exactly Akaora which is a French settlement. Streets names and restaurant are really Frenchy over there ;-)
Time has now come to say goodbye to New Zealand!!! L We heavily recommend this destination to anyone who loves nature and adventure!
Here we are again J Leaving Wanaka for Queenstown! Queenstown is again a city located along a lake it is the place to be for parties but also the starting point to visit the Milford Sounds National park.
In order to give you an idea about Milford Sounds, the landscape looks like the fjords in Norway Mountains finishing in the sea!Another important point is that this region is known to be the wettest in the whole NZ South island but we were quite lucky as we barely saw a few clouds during the day J During our boat trip on the fjords, we had the chance to admire seals and dolphins swimming and playing along our boat a great moment J Tough to take pictures but we managed to get a few good shots for you!
After a well deserved night in Queenstown, we jumped on the bus to head to Dunedin situated on the East coast! We thought Dunedin was a small village but we were completely wrong on this one Dunedin is the second city of the South island with a famous university You can also climb the steepest street in the world . I have to admit that we just climbed the first meters ;-)
And last but not least, Dunedin is situated next to a peninsula where you can admire wildlife On the agenda: albatrosses, penguins, sea lions, We joined a tour for about 6 hours According to our guide, we had the best tour of the last two months as we could admire nesting penguins, albatrosses, a sea lion, fur seals, really close by! The show of the penguins coming back from the sea at dusk is quite funny! We have some good videos we will for sure show you when we are back to Belgium!
Again some amazing days We are slowly realizing that in 5 days we will be in South East Asia but it is not yet 100% clear in our heads! The shock will be big arriving in Bangkok after one month in NZ!!!
PS/ Where are the Belgian backpackers? We only met three since the beginning of our trip but we met heaps of German and Dutch!!! Come on Belgium Lets travel the world!
Here we go with some updates The longer we are in NZ, the more we fall in love with this country! We always think we have seen the best and in fact, the best is yet to come! So each day is full of new discoveries and surprises Furthermore the inhabitants are just great and really welcoming you everywhere!Two words they love to use Sweet and heaps You are sweet for anything you do and there are heaps of sheeps around you for instance ;-)
Lets now come back to our trip Last time, we left you in Greymouth
From there we head to the mountains and especially the glaciers region to do a one day hike on the famous Franz Joseph glacier!Our guide, Ben, was great we could enjoy about 4 hours on the ice: climbing, walking, passing in small holes check the pictures for more details! By the way, first time we could use our hat and gloves that we are carrying since the beginning of the trip ;-)
In summary, a great but a bit exhausting day We definitely deserved our beer and coke at the end of the hike!
Next day, back on the bus to go to Wanaka . Wanaka is located next to one of the biggest NZ lakes also well known for skydiving! ;-) After some hesitations, we decided to take up the challenge!
We were really excited in the bus going to the airport We had to put a special gear and 15 minutes later we were on the plane The view from above was just A-MA-ZING! Blue sky all around BUT WIND! While being at 12.000 ft and ready to jump, the plane just went down as the wind was above 50km/h! L We were soooooo disappointed!!!! Back on the ground without jumping The only positive point, we had a scenic flight for free!
Another good memory is definitely the evening of the 5th December The day our Dutch neighbors are celebrating Sinterklaas/Saint Nicolas!!! We ended up with a group of Dutch singing Sinterklaas songs around the BBQ We even put our shoes below the BBQ for some chocolates! J Marije and Lonneke . It is definitely a great souvenir with you ladies J
This is it for now Have a look at the pictures, they are worth it!
What to say about the South island except that this is just one of the best place in the world we have ever seen!!! Landscapes are amazing and you can find a mix of paradisiacal beaches, lord of the rings landscapes, mountains,
Below a set of the best:
Marlborough sounds: First contact with the south island coming with the ferry from Wellington! Typical NZ landscapes blue sea, green mountains and blue sky J
Abel Tasman National Park:This National Park is located on the North West coast of the South island. It is well known for its three days walk along paradisiacal beaches!We could even enjoy a swim in the turquoise water of the sea A bit cold but still great!
We now understand why NZ is recognized for its Great walks!
Kaikoura:A place where the mountains are meeting the ocean! A real postcard!
Kaikoura is also well known for its wildlife This is the place where you can meet whales, dusky dolphins and seals We had the chance to admire whales and even swim with the dolphins! A great experience 200 dolphins swimming and playing with you Amazing!
We could as well admire a seal colony these animals are definitely lazy laying in the same position for hours! ;-) What a life!
Centre of NZ Nelson: This city is at the entrance of the Abel Tasman National Park. Nothing special to mention except that this city is recognized as the centre of New Zealand A small walk will lead you to the top of a hill where a monument indicates you are at the central point of the country! Quite funny!
Pancake rocks: Like that it seems really good to eat . But these are just rocks that look like pannenkoeken/crêpes as they are composed of different layers of stones Better you have a look at the pictures as it is quite difficult to explain ;-)
Hamner spring: On the agenda, bush walks and hot pools a relaxing well deserved afternoon! Great hostel with warm welcome!
Greymouth: Nothing to say! A sad city but we had to stop there to catch our next bus This city is unfortunately well known for its mining activities and lately the mining accident that happened over there
PS/ A special thought for the great people we had the chance to meet on our route during this Episode 1 ;-)
Our first kiwi experience⦠the New Zealand North Island!
City of arrival Auckland! The biggest NZ city, although it is not the capital, Wellington. The first day, we enjoyed a walk around the city and booked our transport for the coming weeks Instead of renting a car, we decided to take a bus pass allowing us to hop on and hop off at different locations into the country.
In the evening we met Jonty, a UK Deloitte colleague from the J&J project he is now working for Deloitte NZ ! Jonty, it was nice to see you again and thank you for letting us enjoying the skyline of the city from the Deloitte tower ;-)
The second day in Auckland, we enjoyed a 3h-walk on a volcanic island located in the Auckland bay, the Rangitoto island. Le soleil était au rendez-vous and the views were great J
On Wed (17/11), we left Auckland for Rotorua stopping at different touristic spots on the way like the Hobbiton village (for the ones who like Lord of the rings, this is a place where they recorded part of the movie), Paeroa (the city of the famous NZ drink L&P, now owned by The Coca Cola Company) We spent the night in Rotorua, a geothermal city where you can admire a natural hot water pool! Water is bowling at about 100 degrees in the middle of the city! Really impressive This kind of place definitely reminds you that you are on a volcanic island!
On Thursday, we left Rotorua for Taupo well known for its famous lake, Lake Taupo! On the way we stopped at the famous geothermal park Wai-O-Tapu AMAZING!! We could admire the following weird phenomenons: a geyser erupting at 10:15 AM every day, boiling mud pools, a hot lake known as the Champagne pool, We spent the afternoon and evening in Taupo.
PS on the above paragraph before Marjan explains it I prefer to let you know that indeed I thought I could have a swim in the geothermal pools so I was wearing (optimistically) my swimming gear to visit the site but after looking at the board (see picture) telling us that the temperature was about 100 degrees in the pools I quickly understood, it will not be the case L
The day after we left Taupo to go to the National park in order to do the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the best one-day walk in NZ! This is where things are getting wrong
When we arrived in the park, we heard that there was a high chance of rain for the next day We tried to remain positive and woke up at 6AM as foreseen but while looking through the window, we quickly understood that the walk will not happen due to the atmospheric conditions!!!! You could not see at more than 50 meters away
So we decided to quickly change our plans as the bus for our next stop (Wellington) was leaving 30 minutes later We were lucky and got two seats on the bus!
We are currently enjoying a few days in Wellington, the capital of NZ. Today, we visited the Te Papa museum explaining NZ history but also presenting different exhibitions such as earthquakes, Maori culture, the biggest squid, The city is rather small for a capital but we have to remember that New Zealand counts only 4,5 mio inhabitants.
On Tuesday, we are taking the ferry to the South island where we hope the weather will be good Still a lot of amazing things to see in the coming weeks! We will keep you posted ;-)
So after Tasmania we head back to Melbourne for 2 days before taking our flight to New Zealand!
Melbourne was for us not unknown anymore as we had the chance to discover it before our trip to Tasmania so we just chilled out into the city centre and met some friends In fact we met a couple while travelling in Malaysia last year and they kindly invited us for dinner at their place in Melbourne. A great opportunity to get to know Yasmina, their little daughter of 2 months J
We had a great evening! Claudette & Joe, thank you again! We are definitely waiting for you in Europe next year ;-)
Our Australian adventure is now finished LWhile being in the plane we realized that it was the first step of our trip that was done one month is gone already BUT 4 other months are still ahead of us!
We are really excited to discover New Zealand We heard so many stories about this far away country Time difference with Belgium will be 12h!
