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Maria Safont-Tria
Maria Safont-Tria

Maria Safont-Tria

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara

    Mad Monkey Koh Rong Sanloem

    20 Jun 2022, Kemboja ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Slowly the boat starts entering a cristal blue water bay, there's a long corridor leading towards a wooden house in the middle of the sea, swings on the water, organized hammocks next to each other and wood simple bungalows. This place looks like paradise. They drop you in the middle of the beach, you walk from the water to get to the sand, completely wet trying to save your backpack from the water. There's no better way of entering such a divine place. Still, the place is built for the average british group of kids, so you kinda feel how it destroys a bit the essence of the place. Every single detail is made to try and get you to buy as many drinks as possible. Had some very nice days on this private bay anyways, at the beginning uncomfortable and forcing myself into fitting in the place. But then, I finally saw a solo traveller walking in (such a rare specie nowadays). Had some nice time with him, a guy from Israel, and after that started to meet more and more people, since a large tour group came (with some diversity to the place). Did a fishing tour (it was the only way of getting myself into snorkeling) were I saw the amazing inside of the sea, gave a very unsuccessful try to fishing and had some lunch on a private beach. Nothing could be better. But after this days feeling a bit in a school excursion, left to the main island to see what else this barely occupied island has to share.

    🏠 Accomodation: Mad Monkey: isolated from the rest of the world you can only get here with a boat from the island. The hostel is in a private bay, with hammocks and swings on the water, an amazing chilling area after a long corridor, and everywhere you look at is just stunning. They pick you up for free from the ferry in Koh Rong Samloem on a very cute boat. The only con is, as everywhere else, this places are thought for british kids travelling SA, so there's bad music all day long and its only purpose is to party and drink. Also food and drink are quite expensive since there's no other option on the place, and not so good either.
    📍Essentials: Fishing trip (they take you on a boat around the island, you do some snorkeling which is sooo nice, and fish your lunch, that you will eat on a private beach totally worth it and for a pretty good price), fire show at night    Baca lagi

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara

    Sihanoukville, China Town

    18 Jun 2022, Kemboja ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    This very ugly and smelly city located on the coast of Cambodia has been completely conquered by the Chinese, so even the people you see look different, the buildings are so high and shinny with lights, there is a casino for every meter square, prices in this city also felt way higher and everything is written in chinese instead of khmer. Reaffirming how unpleasant this place is. But it was a necessary logistic stop before going to the islands were there is no connection, ATMs, supermarkets... Luckily the hostel had a nice pool (but with a very weird burping drunk man) and bumped into a girl I had met already for some company.
    The way to the city was quite easy as well, a lovely large family (they were like 30 people from all ages) took me there and invited me for lunch on the way. I sat on the back of the truck so could relax and even have a nap, but for my sick stomach that was a bit of a suffering (the road is in terrible conditions) and got there almost falling apart and with an insolation to add to my weak body. I really need some days to recover!

    🏠 Accomodation: Onedererz    Baca lagi

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara
    111

    Kampot

    13 Jun 2022, Kemboja ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Started my adventure through the country by exiting the big city of Pnomh Penh. First thing I had to do was to walk for a few kilometers to a bus station that would take me out of the city and to the highway towards my next destination. The bus was a nice and interesting experience as a starter, it looked very clean and organized (and not so used as well, sadly), they trusted you with the payment and you had to insert the bill on a box on the door of the bus (and it was only around 0.3$, so very different from the rest of transportation expenses I had till the moment). Arrived to the surrounds of the country and started my test. I had written a paper both in English and Khemer with the place I was going towards and tried to stop the cars and trucks who where rapidly going through the road. You could clearly see in their confused faces or waving smiles that they didn't understand what I was doing. Still, without any waiting time I got myself a ride from a motorbike driver who looked like a gangster in a pink helmet and was half my size. Even though he didn't speak any english, he told me he could drop me on his way and we made clear that I couldn't pay him. He was a very sweet man who invited me to three redbulls (which I clearly couldn't finish) and when his time to turn came, he stood on the road with me and didn't leave until I could get myself a new ride. For the continuation, a man who spoke some proper english picked me up and was also incredibly nice and sweet, this time I got myself invited to plenty of water and a durian (for those who don't know what it is, it's a very typical fruit from South-East Asia of a huge size, an expensive price, a very weird taste (for me it kinda reminded me to a croqueta taste but a bit sweet) and an awful smell, even some establishments forbid the entrance with it). We spoke for hours and he told me so much about the economical, political and social situation of the country. So it was a blast to get to the place with all this beautiful experience already (and fully what I was seeking for in my travelling).
    As in for Kampot, it was a cute city in front of a river and surrounded by large vegetation. The town is known for its Durian's and Pepper (supposed to be the best), so you saw stalls with durians everywhere and even the icecream had pepper. They are so proud about it if you ask them. The city was full of expats everywhere with quite a lot of activities for them and tourists, so I had a taco night with live music and some more british people, enjoyed sunset in front (and inside) of the river and an expensive drink on a privileged spot, did some aeroyoga in a beautiful studio (how needed it was) and stayed in a waterpark with some rustic and wild attractions a bit far from society . Also visited a pretty pepper farm and learned how it grows and its harvested, visited a cave with an elephant shape inside, and enjoyed the road on the way and the emptiness around me. Nevertheless, apparently everything in life comes, and seemed like it was time for me to finally get sick. So I got some food poisoning (after eating always for the cheapest deals ever it was even surprising this was to happen so late) and suffered for some days without having nor energy or hopes to move. As my health was reaching the lowest point on the trip, so were my feelings, and I hit the rock bottom for some days where I was feeling very lonely, out of place and sad. I guess we all need someone to bring us soup or ask us how we are feeling when we're feeling on our low, and travelling solo has this con.
    And last but not least! Submitted my Australian visa already (my bank account is not so happy about this decisions), still have to go to the capital for some tests, but its getting closer!

    🏠 Accomodation: Karma traders (on tuesdays they have live music), Arcadia Waterpark (free entrance to the water park and the location and place is very rustic and nice to relax)
    🍴Food: Epic Cafe (social project with employees with disabilities and that donates 50% of the money to this group)
    📍Essentials: yoga barn (beautiful atmosphere a bit in the middle of nowhere surrounded by chickens and cows and they have aero yoga), Arcadia waterpark, Pepper farm (they give a free tour with a tasting), drive around pepper farm, secret lake and caves (there's not even a road, but views are beautiful), Hideaway for sunset (but careful with what you take or can be overly expensive)    Baca lagi

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara
    1

    Phnom Penh

    10 Jun 2022, Kemboja ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    After an insanely easy border crossing, found myself in a new country. Nevertheless it doesn't really feel as if I had just changed flags, everything looks quite similar. Probably because it's the first time I don't travel long distance to change nations, so I didn't get the cultural shock I was getting on the previous journeys. On a first view, Cambodian people seem very lovely and nice, their english is way more understanding (but still, outside of touristic sites people don't speak it), everything feels much more organised and less chaotic, the sizes of the chairs are for an average human; and, indeed, its clear that Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia. Phnom Penh was an opportunity to decide which direction I wanted to take my trip this time. Also took a day to empathize with the horrors that happened in this land not so long ago. Got invited to dinner by some nice locals with the Swedish guy I met, and got ready for investigating this new country, decided I might try to hitchhike it so I can get closer to the people and feel as I am having some real experience (and save some bucks on the way), but seems like this concept doesn't exist in Cambodia, so let's see how it works...

    📍Essentials: killing fields, genocide museum
    💡Travelling tips: apparently 2$ are not accepted in the country, so avoid bringing them with you to Cambodia. Nor damaged bills, so always check that they are in good shape when accepting change. (As you can see been in the country for a day and keep getting scammed, so I've got plenty of money that I can't use🙃)
    💡Travelling tips: the conversion from dollar to riems is not 100% exact, so always using riems might benefit you a bit longterm. ABA bank has riems
    🍴Food: Dosa Corner (if you need a break from noodle soup as I did)    Baca lagi

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara

    🇻🇳 Vietnam overview 🍜🛵🚌

    9 Jun 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    🔖 Before you go:
    Save some money so when you get to the country you can purchase a bike. You won't regret using this method of transport, and you can sell it once you finish your trip. Also learn or write down some important things in vietnamese because it might be hard to find someone speaking english in most of the cases.

    🤤 Best food:
    1. Bán Xéo (vietnamese pancakes)
    2. Egg Coffee
    3. Smoked Ice Cream

    🛌 Places to stay:
    1. Hanoi Central Backpackers (1 hour free beer)
    2. Khang Homestay (fell in love with the genuine kindness of the owner)
    3. Lan's Homestay (beautiful place, very nice owner and amazing food)

    📝 Must do:
    1. Eat Street food at Hanoi's old quarter
    2. Drive a motorbike along the north of the country
    3. Try out the interesting night buses

    👁️Top attractions:
    1. Bike tour on the north (Ha Giang Loop if your tight on time)
    2. Sapa Hike
    3. Hanoi's old quarter

    ✨Favorite moments:
    1. Bike trip with the Brokepackers
    2. Camping in the mountain with the hole
    3. Last night in Hanoi with the guys that rented us the bikes
    (Yes Gabi, for when you read this, all them where with you🙄 enjoy this moment)

    🔑Something this country tought me:
    Just because everyone is travelling in a way doesn't mean I have to do it as well. Taking it my way is also alright, even if I often feel out of place.

    ♻️Something I've had enough of:
    The overpriced Night Buses

    ⏳Something I will miss:
    Street Food

    👣Leaving for next time:
    Halong Bay, Desmilitarised Zone (very sad I was unable to do this) and the South of the country

    🎁To be remembered:
    Vietnamese cheers    Baca lagi

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara
    1

    Sài Gòn (Ho Chi Minh City)

    8 Jun 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Ho Chi Minh is just a big developed city with not much essence or difference from any other city in the world. Wide streets, large buildings, busy people (but on their vietnamese calm vibe). You can clearly see how the economical status is higher in this city compared to the rest of the country, everything is more modern, people speak some english, there are homeless people everywhere on the streets (somehow you can always see that the richer the city is, bigger is the amount of poverty you see on the streets). Didn't stay for too long in this big city, it was more of a practical stop for some "first world tasks" such as my expensive whole day english test (by some examiners with an awful english, given the irony), finding my way out of the country (cheapest possible way) or doing some shopping. On my exam break escaped to the sad remnants war museum to remind myself how awful humans can be. Got impressed by the intensity of the party street (strippers dancing on the front door, incredibly loud music that no one is dancing to, 7 year old's breathing out fire in the middle of the night...), had some beers with a greek guy I met a few towns ago and got greeted by a really sweet bartender who gave me the chance to say goodbye to the country surrounded by vietnamese generosity and warm heart. Last but not least, as proud as I am of myself, managed to leave the country with only 3 dongs, which is about less than 10 cents (best country I have done so far). Had my last pho (noodle soup) for breakfast and got ready to leave this country of friendly and relaxed people, large interesting food diversity and very cheap beer. Let's see what Cambodia has to share!

    📍Essentials: War remnants museum, check out the party street
    💡 Travelling tips: Giant Ibis was the cheapest reliable company I could find. After Covid prices increased enormously from ~10 to ~40$. This was 35$ The bus is pretty comfy, the lady who attended me incredibly sweet (at least I think so, but we couldn't exchange a single word on the same language), the guy on the bus spoke a bit of english and managed all the details (easiest immigration borders I've ever done). The only thing was that I decided to do visa on arrival because I wasn't sure where, when and how I was crossing the border, and instead of paying 36$ t-visa I payed 45$ to the bus guy. So if you can plan at least three days in advance (more than I do as you can clearly see) you can save a few bucks on it.
    💡Travelling tips: food is slightly more expensive in here compared with the rest of the country, at least for what district 1 stands for. So make sure to ask for the price of food in advance if you don't want to find yourself paying four times more what you were hoping for.    Baca lagi

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara

    Dà Låt

    7 Jun 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    A big city surrounded by mountains brings some fresh air to the hot Vietnam. The long night bus didn't leave me too much energy nor enthusiasm to visit the town, but went to see a waterfall from a viewpoint, some elegant pagodas, the crowded night market full of very interesting stalls (such as big fluffy dogs to take pictures with) and the Crazy Home (a very unusual hotel from which the architect was inspired by Dali. I was really curious of what my brother Jordi would think about this place, since I wasn't even sure if I liked it or not. Personally, I thought it lacked something to reach what Dali always tried to say through his art, and it was absolutely a very impractical building. So on my harsh opinion, it was a failed attempt to tribute Dali and got lost on a painting of him put in 4D and a kids house). But still it was very interesting to go and visit it, and worth the visit if architecture is your thing. My hostel was full of groups of english people and I got slightly overwhelmed (I reallyreally need a break from them), even though the place was nice, it reaffirmed how I keep feeling so out of place with the average South East Asia travellers who come to spend a bunch of money for three months, get drunk and party all day long, with not much to tell and just the the must do things without giving a chance to the real country (they're nice people, I swear, just not my cup of tea). After here, got on the nicest sleeping bus I've been so far (and hopefully the last!) Towards my last destination: Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh as its called now) for an english exam I must take for my emigration to Australia and a connection to my next country: Cambodia. I am excited about Saigon, which is a city that resides such an intense and sad history of the country, so hopefully it won't disappoint. Even though I've been warned of how big and stressful it is.

    📍Essentials: Linh An Pagoda, Night Market
    💡Travelling tips: if you visit Vietnam, you'll soon realise that your main way of travelling will be the sleeping buses. Most of them are terrible, and even worse, quite expensive. You can not fully fit on your bed because they're made for the Vietnamese average (who are way shorter), and they're never on time (you can wait up to three hours for it perfectly), they make random hour stops for no reason, drop you in the middle of the night, and if you succeeded to get a good night rest, you are one of the lucky ones. But still, there's rarely any better way of going from one place to the other if you don't have your own way of transport (hitchhiking is quite hard in this country and they'll usually ask for money in exchange; public transport might end up being expensier when they see how you look, and way slower and you never know when they come; grab is expensier than everything else, and for long distance unaffordable; trains are always a good option but they are only an option in a few destinations), and you can skip paying for a night's accomodation with it. All this said, without doubt I recommend always searching for Futa, for me the best bus company with difference.    Baca lagi

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  • Maria Safont-TriaWorld tourPengembara

    Hôi An

    5 Jun 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    The famous beautiful city of Hoi An is probably a must do for every traveller visiting Vietnam, and that's probably the reason why it's so crowded and made for tourist. The pretty town has a bit of the Venice essence in a Vietnamese style. Even though you appreciate the beauty and style within every step you take, you also feel in a fake stage made for entertainment. Prices in here are as high as they can get (hopefully) and when night comes, walking and seeing two feet in front of you becomes challenging, because the lanterns light up and the river is full of boats. This city is a must do with no doubt, but taking more than half day for it won't take you anywhere.
    Walked around the place many times, renewed my wardrobe (it was finally time) and did a failed attempt of visiting the beach and the traditional villages of the area that ended up in relaxing in a hammok with an awful lemon juice on a calm spot, escaping from the tremendous sun and the infinite touristy places, with a new argentinian friend I met, with whom I've been hanging out for the last week (even though I did most things on my own, which was a nice mix)
    💡 Travelling tips: the transport near this city is incredibly expensive, so moving from Da Nang might help you save a lot of money.
    📍Essentials: Hoi An old quarter    Baca lagi

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    Da Nang

    3 Jun 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    As south as I go everything becomes more expensive and less authentic, adventurous and different. So trying to navigate with the deception, and my budget being strangled, has been a challenge for the past days. Many things I had to deal with started to have to become a priority, so my days in this city were actually mostly on a nice caffe trying to organize myself (and still have so much to do). I am not much of a planner, so having to put everything together was a bit stressful (an extra added to my stressed "Ihatetouristystuffbutdontknowhowtoescapefromit" self). A new update to my life is that I finally decided to go to work to Australia, so I could make some fast money, which kinda moved all my plans or expectations so I could make it happen (also my savings). This means that my next destination will be Cambodia, and I'll have to rush myself to the south in order to reach some deadlines. Still, Da Nang was an interesting city, not to touristy, and a nice break from the "I have to see everything" vibe that other places gave me.

    💡Travelling tips: how to get the best and most authentic vietnamese food in three easy steps;
    1. Search for the main street (or nearby) on the city center
    2. Get into a place that looks basic (the plastic small chairs is a must), unhygienic and overcrowded by locals
    3. Point at what their having, no questions asked.
    📍Essentials: Dragon Bridge fire up (21h weekend), quick stop at Cham Museum (at the moment it was for free because of covid), Son Tra Night Market
    🏠 Accomodation: TrangHomstay (the host is sososo nice, helpful and desinterested that makes the place a 10, also great location)
    🍴Food: Bánh Xeèo Bà Durõng (Vietnamese pancakes, a dish is very big so it can be shared by two), smoked ice cream    Baca lagi

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    Huê, Imperial City

    1 Jun 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    This city, which was the capital of this empire many years ago, has such a beautiful citadel and a very alive market. It's surrounded by tombs of great characters done with so much detail and dimensions to prove their greatness and leave a proper mark behind. Also drove around the perfume river, visited an amazing abandoned water park (such a "hidden" gem) and drove till the beach, where locals go for a quick swim and have some seafood with some beers. Still, Hue is a very touristy town (I feel like the southern I go the more touristy made it is), where motorbiks overwhelm you offering you rides and it's hard to find out of the track activities or places, nor move around in a cheap place.

    💡Travelling tips: the best way to travel the country is to buy a motorbike when you get there and sell it before leaving, you'll save lots of money and headaches by having your own simple way of transport!
    📍Essentials: Abandoned Water Park (you might have to bribe the guard to enter, but when I went I was lucky and didn't cross paths with him), Market
    🍴Food: Lien Hoa (very cheap vegetarian food)    Baca lagi

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    Phong Nha, caves paradise

    31 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Visited this small town surrounded by a National Park full of some of the most astonishing and large caves in the world. Did some easy trecking, drove around the park and visited a beautiful cave that looked like you were inside a marble palace. Even though the place was very nice, it was fully designed for tourists and you had to pay pricey tickets for everything. So turned it into a short stop, and continued my way towards south center of the country

    🔍 Some facts: the biggest cave in the entire world is located in here, in order to visit it you need to book it with at least one year advance and pay at least 3.000€. It's an overnight visit.
    📍Essentials: Paradise cave
    🏠 Accomodation: House Village (they pick you and drop you on the bus station, includes breakfast and has free bikes use around the town for a very cheap price)    Baca lagi

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    Back to Hanoi

    29 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Finished at the same place were we started... Decathlon! (Because I keep losing my random stuff that I can only get there). It was nice to come back to a known place. I must confess, even though there's not much to do in Hanoi, it's a city I like quite a lot. We got invited to many beers and wine rice (even though I said I wasn't gonna have any more) and to an amazing soup (maybe we payed it by listening to a very drama queen monologue). After that escaped to our always recurrent night club (Tom's bar), but not after drinking a 5 liter beer. Had our last dance as a goodbye, and next day, very hangover did some egg coffee so Gabi could leave having tried all the essentials and I took the day to do some "recados". Back to being on my own after such a long time, and at the same time back to being the center of attention everywhere! How much does it change to be with a guy than a solo girl on the street. Also had the best creation in the world for lunch! All the best foods mixed in one dish (avocado, mango, coconut, icecream, nuts and fried banana). If there's something I am really gonna miss from Hanoi, it's its amazing street food variety and price.

    🍴Food: egg coffee at Giang Caffee, avocado place, street food
    📍Essentials: rent bike from Green Farm Restaurant, the owners are so fucking amazing and good price deal (they literaly invited us to so much tea, coffee, beer, wine rice and even a bit of their family dinner)
    🔍 Some facts: rent in Hanoi is incredibly expensive (same price as big cities such as Paris or London, but considering the Vietnamese salaries) so people live in really small houses that often don't even have a kitchen and with a lot of people. Also you'll se that literally every place is settled outside and inside there is only a small kitchen (you can't walk on pavement because its full of super tiny chais, tables and motorbikes parked). But vietnamese law doesn't allow putting tables on the street. So in order to do that they need to monthly bribe policemen, paying really high and variant prices.
    💡Travelling tips: VPbank is the only bank with no commission for foreigners    Baca lagi

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    Last stop, Bac Son Valley (🏍️bike trip)

    28 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Working our way back to Hanoi to bring back the bikes, which feels sad and exciting as well, because I loved Hanoi, is such a vibrant and alive city with a real essence, but at the same time this trip has been so amazing. For sure one of the highlights of my trip. I will miss Saperlipopette sooo much! and for instance, Gabi as well, it has been incredibly cool travelling with him and it feels weird to think that tomorrow we will part separate ways, because I got so used to being with him all the time, he is with no doubt as adventurous and random as me (I'd say even more) and he reminded me that this was the way I wanted to travel and not the way all the "tourist backpackers" I've been meeting on the way. My physical activity has gone to 0 since getting the bike, so it will be nice to bring some movement back. The valley was incredibly stunning, and we got to see it from a gorgeous viewpoint (Gabi looooooooooves viewpoints so we are never missing them), it was supposed to be a 1h hike (incredibly steep btw) but we did it in 20 minutes (compensating our lazyness for a day).

    📍Essentials: Na Lay Peak    Baca lagi

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    Camping in Thác Nâm Tra (bike trip🏍️)

    28 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Drove around the frontier with China for the day and enjoyed the immensity of the mountains. It felt so cool to be so close to such a powerful country! After that decided to go to sleep to a lake, but because it was to rainy for the hammock, rented a tent from a man we found on the internet and camped on a super priviledged spot with the best views ever! Made a beautiful fire (that disn't last for long because we had to hide from the rain), suffered some wine rice (what a bad taste!), Got mud everywhere, swam a little bit and woke up literaly insise the lake!

    📍Essentials: camp in Thac Nam Tra    Baca lagi

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    Almost in China! Ban Gioc (bike trip🏍️)

    26 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Drove towards Ban Gioc waterfall, visited different ethnic villages on the way specialised on different works (incense village, paper village, metal and stone), which were truly beautiful, but so poor and basic at the same time. You could see the big gap with the more modern areas. After that we went to the very expected waterfall, which wasn't so beautiful because of the rainy season and the water looked brown and choppy, but still you could feel its power and strength. After that enjoyed an astonishing vieepoint hidden behind a pagoda, had a quick nap, and visited a cave. This town was super interesting, but surrounded of national tourists. So even though we were the only foreigners, the feeling of being lost wasn't so strong.

    📍Essentials: viewpoint of China and waterfall, traditional villages, Ngoc cave
    🏠 Accomodation: Lan Homestay (food was expensive but amazing)    Baca lagi

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    Cao Bâng (bike trip🏍️)

    25 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Gabi and I drove towards China on our own. We found a beautiful place to crash and did some yoga. And... Sun came back!!! Still we are the only tourists (at least foreigners) everywhere, what a blast. But the end of this biking trip is getting closer, and I would keep on riding with Gabi for sooo much longer still.

    🏠 Accomodation: Luong Son Homestay (only con is that they don't serve breakfast)    Baca lagi

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    Bâo Lac (bike trip🏍️)

    25 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Plans had to change last minute due to the bad condition of the road. Because of the heavy rain there where landslides, fallen trees and floods everywhere on our way to the National Park of Ba Be. So at some point we couldn't cross the river because of a huge overflow. We had to drive all the way back and find another way, so it would have been to long to get there, so we ended up finding another way and ditching on Ba Be. Still we found an interesting town with a very nice market, and we decided to go towards China from there. So Sebastian decided to go back to Hanoi from here, so it was departing time. It was a sad and a weird feeling to spread after so many days, we were already such a formed group.
    💡Travelling tips: you'll find that they have wifi even on the dirtiest and most simple places, so always ask for it because you might be surprised!    Baca lagi

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    Wet Ha Giang (bike trip🏍️)

    23 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    We can't remember how being dry feels, all our clothes, bags and bodies are drowned with water because it rains and rains and rains with no stop. Everytime we stop somewhere we ask for a dryer, but 10 minutes later everything is fully wet once again. We are starting to travel with more than a rain jacket on top of it, maybe it gets a bit bette...We miss so much the sun!!! It's hard to drive and see, so even though the landscape is beautiful we can't enjoy it to the fullest. But still, the experience is so much worth it.Baca lagi

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    Bâc Hà (bike trip🏍️)

    22 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Woke up supersuper early to get to the Bac Ha market early in the morning and see the Hmong people selling their supplies from up the mountains. Enjoyed all the varieties of weird fruits, veggies, homemade pharmacies, beautiful fabrics, tried some new food (as always without knowing what it was) and had a cards night back in our private homestay.

    🏠Accomodation: Sa Hmong Homestay
    📍Essentials: Sunday Market early morning    Baca lagi

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    Sa Pa (bike trip🏍️)

    20 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Back to contact with other tourists/travellers (more of the first though) after being alone on the rode for some days. Sa Pa is a big city full of touristy places, lights and big buildings. Almost died from a vietnamese pipe offered by our mechanic (never trying it again) and entered the foggy and rainy city. We could have some rest on the nice homestay we were staying in and did a very nice wet and muddy trek along the rice fields, bamboo's, Hmong villages (the ethnic tribes of the area) and mostly the mud.

    📍Essentials: Muong Hoa Valley trek (it takes around 3-4 hours, its usually done with a guide, but we found the route in AllTrails and did it on our own at was absolutely nice and safe, but you MUST have proper hiking equipment)
    🏠Accomodation: Mekhoo & Zizi Sapa Homestay (far from town and the road to get there is no the easiest for the bike, but its in a calm and beautiful scenario surrounded by Hmong people and the place is full of other travellers and food is not expensive)
    🍴Food: bamboo fried rice, sweet bread pastries (easy to find in street stalls)    Baca lagi

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    Mù Cang Chai (bike trip🏍️)

    20 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    The ride was absolutely stunning today, but some it was very long and some parts were tough, bumpy and very steep (I was surprised by my bike and my own's skills on the road). But the quote is right: "the climb is hard, but the view is great".

    📍Essentials: riding from Mai Chao to Mù Cang Chai (probably break it in two so its more smooth) and stopping on the viewpoints for the rice fields    Baca lagi

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    111

    Mai Châu (bike trip🏍️)

    18 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Beautiful riding trip from Ninh Binh to Mai Chao. Landscape was breathtaking and we discovered a beautiful hidden waterfall. We climbed to the top and enjoyed the freedom of the place. Had a small bike slip and manymany kids waving at us from everywhere and cows in a very characteristic way. Really local lunch at a very intense place, the kitchen was a real scenario and on my way to the toilette bumped into a goat murder on the living room.

    💡Travelling tips: expect not to find anyone speaking english in this country. Not even on big cities or basic words. Be prepared for lots of google translation and other types of non verbal communication on your journey.    Baca lagi

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    Ninh Bình (bike trip🏍️)

    17 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Leaving Hanoi was stressful and long, had never seen so many motorbikes together and the traffic and the disorder were eternal. It was Sebs first contact with a scooter and it became dark pretty fast so it was a bit stressful to get out of there. But then, the first stop on our motorbike trip was absolutely over our expectations. The places we visited, even though not a bargain, were so worth it. We enjoyed so much the place and each others company. Ninh Binh is absolutely a most do in Vietnam

    💡Travelling tips: probably vegetarianism and budget travel are quite incompatible in this country. You can find several options with no meat on restaurants and nice cafes, but the cheap street food around 1-2€ will 99% of the time involve meat. Fried rice and vegetable noodles are probably the easiest options outside the variety of big cities. Learn how to say vegetarian in vietnamese to survive the trip.
    🔍Some facts: don't get alarmed if you can't find your motorbike after leaving it somewhere, very unlikely that someonen stole it. It's common in Vietnam that people move other people's bikes to their convinience (even one or two streets away)!
    🔍 Some facts: there are dragons everywhere in Vietnam because there is a legend that says that Vietnamese people are the descendants of a Dragon and a fairy.
    📍Essentials: Trang An boat tour, Bai Dinh Pagoda, Hang Mua Peak    Baca lagi

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    Hanoi🎢

    13 Mei 2022, Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Hanoi was absolutely a rollercoaster of emotions that made it hard to understand and process. My existential crisis was growing bigger and bigger, and I was feeling confused, disappointed, sad and desmotivated in several facets of my life. But at the same time, Hanoi was so exciting, different and intriguing that my mind went from one side the the other. Xavier (the french guy I met in Tangalle)'s birthday was when we met-bumped into each other (kinda way) so I though I would take him to do something different and we went to have alcohol made out of snakes. The place was in the middle of nowhere, and we ended up having shots with a random Vietnamese guy in his garden, all surrounded by alive snakes in cages and pots of snakes alcohol. It was reallyreally shocking and unique for sure. And a real surprise for both of us.
    But Hanoi also ment trying to organize my thoughts and feelings. So I spent more money than usual changing plans last minute and just trying to listen to my gut, which made me lose a nice bus (and abandone an american guy, I am sorry for that) to join two french guys on a long motorbike trip that I had met 10 minutes ago. For some reason it just felt right. So next day, woke up, went to rent my beautiful semiauthomatic bike "Saperlipopette" and created the new gang I will be travelling with for the next 10 days around the north of the country. We decided to name ourselves the "Brokepackers". We did some organizing stuff we had to do, and headed towards our new adventure, leaving the stressfull and busy roads of Hanoi and its pollution and thousands of motorbikes behind. This just gave me the joy and excitement I was lacking, and suddenly everything felt alright again. My heart came back to place, and so did the peace in my mind. We look like and interesting group, Gabriel is absolutely my type of traveller and feel like we'll get along very well, he feels calm and adaptable; and Sebastian is a vibrant teenager full of energy. It also feels weird to tag along with people for such a long time, I am wondering if I'll be possible to work it out.

    💡Travelling tips: avoid stopping a taxi on the street if you don't want to be riped off. Grab is an easy alternative to a taxi.
    🔍Some facts: to enter the temples in Vietnam, you'll see that there is a very large step on the way. That is because Vietnamese believe that ghosts can not jump, so that way they can't protect the temple from them entering
    📍Essentials: snake villa if you're up for some tough adventure
    🏠 Accomodation: Central Backpacker's Hostel (really cheap, free breakfast and walking tour. But most important, one hour of FREE BEER!!!!)
    🍴Food: cafe giang (egg coffee), street food (whatever you see, just try it, you won't know what you're having anyways)    Baca lagi

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    🇱🇰 Sri Lanka overview 🐒🌴🍚

    12 Mei 2022, Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    🔖 Before you go:
    Check the political and economical situation. At the moment I was there Sri Lanka was going through a very tough time with lots of shortages, protests and even curfews. Also read carefully about the common scams in Colombo so you don't fall into them just arriving.

    🤤 Best food:
    1. Rice & curry (papadam, tapioca leaves and jackfruit at least;))
    2. Egg hoppers / Roti
    3. Curd with mango, papaya, banana and watermelon with oats, chocolate and nuts (my to go whenever I was tired of rice & curry)

    🛌 Places to stay:
    1. Banyan Camp (all meals included)
    2. Laughing Leopards (dinner and breakfast included)
    3. Another world hostel (really good breakfast)

    📝 Must do:
    1. See an elephant on his wild habitat
    2. Eat rice and curry as a local
    3. Enjoy the true essence of a Sri Lankan Bus

    👁️Top attractions:
    1. Banyan Camp
    2. Snorckeling in pigeon island
    3. Adam's Peak

    ✨Favorite moments:
    1. Dancing in Dots with Miriam and Sifat
    2. Train from Hatton to Kandy with locals
    3. Paddleboarding to Banyan Tree with David and Agathe on a huge storm

    🔑Something this country tought me:
    To learn how to appreciate time and let it go, no need to make as much from it. Take it down

    ♻️Something I've had enough of:
    "Tuktuk Maddam?" "Where you goin?"

    ⏳Something I will miss:
    Eating with my hands

    👣Leaving for next time:
    Partying, surfing and relaxing in the south coast

    🎁To be remembered:
    How they bring their head from side to side for literally everything (never knows what they mean)    Baca lagi

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    111

    Underneath the Mango tree

    4 Mei 2022, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Last stop of the trip, a bit of rest and relax with this new job at a veryvery fancy and luxurious Ayurvedic Retreat (I am starting to get the hang of working in beautiful places and being able to enjoy them while just teaching for a few hours) .
    With its ups and downs, I had some time to relax, think and process. Found out just before leaving that the yoga teacher I was replacing was for instance... Miriam! The same german girl I kept bumping into everywhere. And even heavier, Sifat (the bangladeshi guy) was also in Hiriketya!! How crazy is destiny? I started to feel this crowd as my SriLankan people, and that felt quite good. So, I decided to drop by a day before to the place to settle down and enjoy Miriam's company. We went to a bar for an open mic, and how fun it was! It was literally what I needed and I didn't even know. There were two girls dancing in the front that looked so beautiful and connected, that we couldn't stop staring at them, until... We joined! It was just medicine, we felt so free and good, even one of the girl started crying saying how beautiful and empowered we all felt. I guess I've been having a hard time connecting in this place, and doing it through movement felt so good (even though you meet lots of people all the time, not everything is sunshine and roses, and quite often the conversations are superficial and finding people of your kind is not so easy).
    After that, I stayed in the resort on my own for a week, visiting some places nearby, interacting with older and rich european woman and relaxing. It was nice to have some continuity with the students (because guests usually stayed for up to 3 weeks), and see their progress and motivation. But often there was not much work because the season was ending and people were leaving, and also the classes were while the treatments, so sometimes I felt a bit useless.
    Last days Miriam came back and it was so nice to meet her right before leaving, and decided to give her my knife, which I couldn't take with me, so she would give it back to me next time we met, in exchange she gave me her earrings and it felt like a promise of a soon reunion.
    Last days were pretty weird though, I haven't written very much about the SriLankan political and economical situation, but its been kinda harsh and present on daily life here. There was a shortage of many products, such as gasoil or cooking gas, or very silly things that were exported as sunscrean or Gin, the money currency dropped day by day, so many things were way cheaper, but also other types of things had to increase the prices because of the hard situation (as transport for example), and people felt so thirsty of tourists, power cuts were a part of the day, and there were even times when you would only have power for a few hours as 2-3, where you had to do everything that required modern life (unless you were in a fancy place with a generator), people were talking about it day and night, politicians houses were surrounded by civilians so they could not leave, curfews were imposed after every new event and protests started getting uglier and uglier. So for this last days protests got more violent, there was fire and destruction everywhere. People were angry and tired, their liders' abuse had reached their limit. So the prime minister resigned. Now the only person who was left was the president Gota. So, the last days in Sri Lanka a long curfew was imposed, so no buses to leave the place, no open restaurants, and mostly, no way to get to the airport. So I was a bit shut at the place with not much to do and no way to leave (even my lovely tuktuk driver Dishan wouldn't dare to pick me up), feeling weird about this ending point, that was mixed with some disappointments and existential crisis around me.

    Anyways, nothing is fun without a bit of adventure, and even when things get harder they never get impossible. After a rapid test in the nicest and most serious place that I found (it ended up being literally a backyard), headed to my leaving point from the country.

    How weird it is to leave a place were you've felt so comfortable in, understanding the culture, the traditions and the lifestyle. Even integrating it a little bit on myself. To just leave, not knowing whats ahead and if you'll ever return to what you're leaving behind.

    📍Essentials: open mic in Dots, Hiriketya beach    Baca lagi

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