South East Asia & New Zealand

A 168-day adventure by Juliet Read more

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South East Asia & New Zealand Traveler
Trekking Sapa - Day 2
October 2, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
The next day we hiked through more rice fields to the waterfall (quite small) before lunch and a ride back to the town where we had a quick 20 mins to look round before a shower and the long bus ride back to Hanoi.Read more
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Three days relaxing on Cat Ba
October 4, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
After being on the move for the past four weeks, we booked a hotel with a pool and spent a few days on the island relaxing and sunning ourselves.
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Cruising Ha Long Bay
October 6, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Spent the day cruising around Cat Ba and Ha Long bay and found our new sport...kayaking! We had a funny and flirty tour leader, a great lunch on board, a fun group of people, and thoroughly enjoyed paddling through the caves into the lagoons and visiting the isolated beaches. We followed the cruise with dinner, cocktails and dancing with two others we met during the day.Read more
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Dragon Peak, Ninh Binh
October 7, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 29 °C
It's called the Mua caves but the cave is underwhelming at best. We knew about the stairs to the dragon statue perched right at the top of the mountain which has incredible panoramic views over the fields and rivers below but there was also a mini park and a massive lotus field. Lots of selfie takers and boyfriends of Instagram here due to its beauty. We finished the day on the town walking street enjoying the illuminations and mini night market.Read more
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Bai Dinh & Tam Coc
October 8, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 24 °C
The two top attractions in Ninh Binh. Bai Dinh is a temple complex which was so big you had to get a golf cart to the starting point of the tour, it was also strangely quiet, and we were practically the only people there. On the other hand, Tam Coc river and cave labyrinth was incredibly busy. With 4 people in a little floating platform boat rowed by a little old lady we set off down the river, through tiny caves to various temples.Read more
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Imperial City, Hue
October 9, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 28 °C
The walls and buildings of the old imperial city of Hue are now a museum. It rained all day but we still got to admire the different courtyards, colourful building and learn about palace life. On Hue riverside, a legion of dragon boats await tourists to cruise up and down under the colourful bridge.Read more
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Hue royal tombs & river views
October 10, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
A very hot morning going around three royal tombs. The first was the best as the main structure was entirely mosaic inside. The tombs have plenty of space for the ancestors to come and worship and are guarded by warriors.Read more
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Thien Mu Pagoda
October 11, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Quick morning visit to Thien Mu Pagoda, a nice pagoda with a large Buddhist garden and an interesting tale about a monk who burnt himself to death in protest.
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Morning in Hoi An
October 12, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Hoi An is a large town with a river running through it which has retained its traditional style and charm is now a tourist haven. The top attractions are the old houses and temples, the quiet flower filled streets, and the lanterns.Read more
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Afternoon in Hoi An
October 12, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We stumbled across a shop selling sweet black sesame soup. The shop was looked after by a son and his parents who were well into their 90s and slept in the shop while he showed guests around. Hoi An comes alive at night with the lights turned off in the shops and cafes to show off the lanterns at their best. We took a boat down the river and released our candles lanterns before an excellent dinner with live music.Read more
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Da Nang by night & Sunworld
October 13, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
It's monsoonal in Da Nang so we sheltered for the day in the hotel and then hit Sunworld for the evening. Sunworld is the quietest theme park I've ever been to which meant no queuing and they had a free amusement arcade and a high-end buffet restaurant. A very fun evening out!Read more
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Marble Mountain
October 14, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
The monsoon continues so we dashed to Marble mountain before the rain came back. We thought it was just a temple upon a mountain (with an elevator) but actually once you've climbed to the top, you can then work your way higher through some small cave holes and clamber up to see the panoramic views out to sea.Read more
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3D world Da Nang
October 15, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
Day three of the monsoon and we have to find somewhere other than the hotel to hide from the rain.
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Exploring Ho Chi Minh City
October 17, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
1. The post office - Lots of tourists enjoying the act of posting cards from this giant colonial post office. Couple of nice monuments outside.
2. The Renaissance museum -A harrowing museum dedicated to the Vietnam war but an important place to visit.
3. The Opera house - Classical colonial architecture which we visit again tomorrow.
4. The Notre Dame - Unfortunately under construction, so you can't go inside but still pretty.
5. One of many local markets.Read more
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HCMC by night & the Bamboo theatre
October 18, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
We watched the amazing Bamboo theatre at the Opera house, which was an acrobatic circus where all the props were made from bamboo. The city is lit up all over at night, especially the backpackers party street.Read more
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Day trip to the Mekong
October 19, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
The coach took us out of HCMC and down to a small harbour where we boarded a long boat and crossed over a small section of river to coconut island where we watched coconut candy being made and wrapped from scratch by hand. We then hopped back on the boat and headed to our lunch spot before hopping on our little boats rowed by two people and heading down the muddy brown canal between the palms. We finished the day at a temple.Read more
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Cu Chi Tunnels
October 20, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
A two hour drive out of HCMC you find the Cu Chi tunnels museum. These are the original tunnels the Southern Vietnamese guerrilla fighters used to hide and as a supply chain. You can walk around a small section of the forest and see replicas of the traps, a tank and then take a very short crawl through the tunnels. You have to descend and crawl through three levels; it's very warm and cramped despite the tunnels being widened to accommodate tourists. Our war veteran tour guide was an interesting character to say the least.Read more
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Phu Quoc - Beach time
October 22, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
After three weeks on the go it was time for some relaxation. We flew out to Phu Quoc and booked into a hotel with a guitar shaped pool 5 mins from the beach. It was heaven.
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Phu Quoc town
October 23, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Took a morning off from sunbathing to cycle to the main town. Not much there as most the tourists stay near the beach hotels but there was a nice temple where flowers and fruits were being dried, a port with traditional circular fishing boats, an unusual lighthouse and an abandoned airstrip.Read more
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Phu Quoc Cable Car
October 24, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Another delight from Sunworld. The cable car is meant to lead to a private island with a waterpark and aquarium but they're not open yet. As the ride is so beautiful they opened it in advance and you can take a trip over the top of several small islands, take in the views and finish at a beach resort.Read more
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Vietnamese food & drink
October 26, 2019 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
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Taiwan
October 27, 2019 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Arrived in Taiwan at 4am and made our way over to Taipei main station for our train; we were happy to find all the metro signage in English. Due to Pride weekend, every hotel was full, so we couldn’t stay in Taipei and instead headed straight to Hualien. As the trains are super-efficient we were still too early to check in so took a wonder down to the coast and into town, where everything was closed. For dinner we hit our first Taiwanese night market, which was packed and there was so much food to choose from, mainly snacks but also a few places with plastic seating. The market also had a highly enjoyable light art show.Read more
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Taroko National park
October 28, 2019 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Had our first taste of congee for breakfast with a mix of nuts and dried fruit for toppings. Our tour of Taroko was unfortunately all in Mandarin but the guide kindly google translated to us how long we had at each stop and a couple of girls on the tour could speak English. The tour was amazing. We went to the Cingchui cliffs which dropped into the tropical blue sea, Changchun (Eternal Spring) Shrine, had lunch in the town, saw large cast iron bridges, walked carefully over a 10 people max suspension bridge, visited trail heads, stood on observation platforms, walked through the East entrance arch gate, walked round the tunnel of nine turns and finished the day at the beach.Read more
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Rift Valley bus route
October 29, 2019 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
We hopped on the Rift Valley bus on a drizzly day to see what else Hualein county had to offer. Starting at the end of the line with Danongdafu Forest Park. Still rather damp and without English signage and a giant car park we weren't sure what we were doing here but the guide book said to hire a bike for a couple of hours, so we did and practically had the place to ourselves. The forest is a reforestation project and the trees are planted in perfect rows with a perfectly tarmacked bike path meandering through them. Our next stop was Liyu lake where we (and a few tourists/locals) completed the loop around the edge. Pity we had not been there earlier as they had pedalos. Tonight's night market dinner - stinky tofu fries and sizzling beef noodle.Read more
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Taitung
October 30, 2019 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We took the train south to Taitung, where the tourist office was running a fashion exhibition from a local designer. We spent the afternoon completing the cycling loop around the city. The first part was good, along the coast and then into the local park/forest but soon we hit a long stretch of road, we took a short cut back to the bikeway which now ran along the old train tracks which have been pedestrianised and sculptures placed along it. We spotted a bakery and stopped for our first real and delicious cake in a long time. Cycling back we saw a pack of 20 dog join in with the evening riders, joggers and strollers using the path. After dinner we headed out to see the lanterns where we found a local bar pumping out pop hits… and what turned out to be a drag queen beauty contest. It was fun, even though we clearly missed a lot of the jokes. Must have been the only thing on that night as quite a few westerners around (by quite a few... around 10).Read more
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