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Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
  • Katharina Bo
  • Torsten Pe

Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³

A 20-day adventure by Katharina Bo & Torsten Read more
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  • Trip start
    October 29, 2025
    Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
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    Rainy days in transit

    Oct 30–31 in Thailand β‹… ☁️ 28 Β°C

    Task of today: staying awake! 😳
    (or was it the task for the last 2 days, or has it been 3 already? Hard to tell) 😡‍πŸ’«

    We are back on the road. πŸ’ͺ
    Well in fact the road only took us to Frankfurt airport, at 3am. Fun.
    After that there was a plane, a train, a walk 🚢‍♀️ in the “forest” 🌳, another plane ✈️ and walking again 🚢, finally a much needed 2h nap 😴 , a train πŸš‚ , walking 🚢‍♂️ , being on the road again but in a Tuktuk πŸ›Ί, a boat 🚀 , walking and finally another train πŸš‚ .
    Now there is hopefully a good nights sleep before there is going to be another plane and another train again tomorrow. πŸ™ƒ

    Long story short, we flew from Frankfurt to Bangkok and spent one (rainy) afternoon roaming the streets and waterways. We saw some temples πŸ›οΈ, the big Buddha πŸͺ·the river, wildlife and Chinatown πŸ‡¨πŸ‡³. Overall an “ok” experience but we are happy to move on tomorrow.

    But how does the “walk in the forest” fit here?
    Well during our transit in Doha πŸ‡ΆπŸ‡¦, we discovered that they build a 🌳 forest in between the terminals. Crazy but quite calming. 😌Maybe FRA or BER should take some notes. πŸ˜‰    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³

    Country Nr. 30

    Oct 31–Nov 2 in Laos β‹… 🌧 26 Β°C

    Task of the day: getting into our thirties country. 🌏

    Which was a greater challenge than anticipated.
    After a full nights sleep (finally 🀩), a relaxed morning at the breakfast buffet 🍌and a short flight to Vientiane πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦we faced customs in Laos.
    We did of course filled out the “arrival card” online in the short 3 day window, in which one can do that, and had the QR code ready 🫑. But it took us 3 trips to the counter and back to get all the other things. Visa application form handwritten on some wrinkled copys that were lying around everywhere and 2.000.000 KIP Cash of course. πŸ’΅ Feeling like a millionaire for a second πŸ€‘ (but “only” ~80€ ).
    Conveniently there was a ATM right next to the customs booth…

    After that, we hopped onto a taxi that brought us to the railway station where we boarded the train πŸš† to Vang Vieng.
    Here war checked in at our cosy little hotel with a great view and an enough distance to the party crowd. πŸ˜ŒπŸ‘΅πŸ»πŸ‘΄πŸ»

    Dinner was more Chinese than Loatian but very good. πŸ₯Ÿ

    We are looking forward to a couple of days in one place and no transit hassle. Will see what Laos has to offer .    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
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    Up and down the limestone mountains

    November 3 in Laos β‹… ☁️ 26 Β°C

    Task of the last two days: Exploring Vang Vieng

    At first glance, Vang Vieng looks like a big adventure playground for young adults and Chinese travel groups. One can do anything from kayaking πŸ›Ά or “tubing” (floating down the river on a truck tire tube, often combined with having a drink or two), to off-road buggy πŸ›Ί tours and hot air balloon🎈 rides.
    We quickly realised that we are not young adults anymore but also no Chinese travel group, so we rented a scooter πŸ›΅ and explored the less crowded (but still very touristy) view points πŸ”Ž, blue lagoons and caves ⛰️, had some really good and saw some interesting food and enjoyed our time here.

    Next stop: Luang Prabang    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
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    πŸ’β€β™€οΈLiving the good life πŸ’πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ

    Nov 3–4 in Laos β‹… ☁️ 27 Β°C

    Task of the last 2 days: get out of the hotel room.

    We got to Luang Prabang via train πŸš‚ . As did the vast amount of chines tourists which are omnipresent all around, and frequently partake in very loud open air karaoke parties 🎀, but that is another story.πŸ™ƒ

    After another bumpy taxi ride we arrived at “Le Sen Boutique” Hotel.
    Usually hotels are just a place to sleep for us, but somehow this time we decided to splurge
    a little and took the “boutique” hotel, which would have been plenty beautiful 🌺. But the hotel decided to upgrade us and gave us “the Villa”πŸ’―. So now we have our own area with a garden, terrace, lounge and (of course) a Whirlpool πŸ›. Hence the task of the day! πŸ™†‍♀️

    But we did leave the hotel and explored the UNESCO world heritage site: Luang Prabang.
    There are a LOT of temples πŸ›οΈand Buddhas πŸͺ·, the Mekong 🏞️, cute little shops selling handmade clothing and souvenirs, good restaurants, a hill with a great view πŸ‘€over the city (and a temple and a Buddha) and nice restaurants. We tried the local beer and a one of these regions specialties: fried riverweed.

    Tomorrow we will explore the surrounding area, where there are waterfalls and caves and coffee stops waiting to be visited.    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
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    From caves to waterfalls

    November 6 in Laos β‹… ☁️ 29 Β°C

    Task of the last 2 days: testing the scooter driving skills. πŸ›΅

    We wanted to see the sights outside of the city centre. And since we are still no Chinese travel group (still no karaoke for us) we didn’t need a minivan. 🚐 Once again we rented a scooter πŸ›΅ and drove 1h to the north and 1h to the south. The roads and the traffic are … interesting. 🀨 But if you go with the flow and don’t expect the others to follow any traffic rules you will be fine. 🀷🏻‍♂️

    In the north there are the Pak Ou temple caves, with ~4000 Buddha statues. It took a short ride over the Mekong which featured some great views ⛰️ and of course a good number of steps to reach the top. The caves were fascinating but not spectacular.
    The day ended with a stroll over the night market where we did not buy the “Winnie the Pooh bag” but a Japanese pancake shaped like a fish.🐟😍

    The next day we drove south to the Kuang Si Waterfalls and these are truly spectacular! 🌟We chose the trekking path away from the tourist groups and managed to get some great views without any crowds. This was really worth the trip. 🀩
    On the way back we stopped at the Nakhon Cafe which was wonderful relaxing and in the evening we caught the sunset over the Mekong. πŸŒ…

    A good last day in Luang Prabang and in Laos. πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦
    Tomorrow we will check out and fly to Vietnam.πŸ‡»πŸ‡³    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³

    South east Asia part 3 - Vietnam

    Nov 7–9 in Vietnam β‹… ☁️ 26 Β°C

    Has it been 3 days already since the last footprint. Well here we go πŸš€:

    Task of day before yesterday:
    Getting from Luang Prabang (Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦) to Cat Ba (Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³)
    Task of yesterday: realising we are not in Loas anymore πŸ‘€
    Task of today: exploring the Island 🏝️

    What started out as one of the most relaxed days on this trip so far ended up in a speedboat 🚀 , driving over the south Chinese sea in the dark 🌚, feeling like we did something illegal (which we did not!) πŸ‘€
    We used our luxurious hotel till the last minute and enjoyed the poolside chairs β˜€οΈ. A taxi πŸš• took us to airport πŸ›« and even the fact that we had a propeller airplane ✈️ wasn’t to much of a concern.

    Immigration into our 31st country Vietnam was no problem (we didn’t even need an ATM).
    🏧 Since our first stop in Vietnam was Cat Ba (wich is an Island in the Ha Long Bay) and we landed fairly late (18:30) the hotel organised a transport for us πŸ™. The last ferry to cat ba leaves at around 17:00 so they told us they would organise a speedboat for us. So far so good.

    What they did not tell us was that the driver (who did not speak English) would get us to the closed and dimly lit ferry terminal, where he would signal with his cellphone flashlight to a guy on a boat who than came to the ferry loading ramp πŸ‘».
    We hopped onto the boat and without one word (the “captain” did also not speak English) sped towards the other side. πŸš€πŸ’¨
    5mins and some light signals with the headlamp of the captain later we arrived at some harbour where we docked alongside other boats which we needed to climb over in order to get onshore (again a closed, dimly lit ferry terminal). Nobody else was there, no lights, but a hand full of barking dogs πŸ• . Scary. πŸ‘€
    Good thing we travel light and with backpacks πŸŽ’ , this would have been a real struggle with proper suitcase 🧳 .
    A new driver πŸš• was waiting for us and took us to the hotel.
    In hindsight this was as smooth and well organised as the hotel had promised, but the part with the boat did feel pretty adventurous.😬

    The island is really beautiful once you leave the “city”. Most of it is a nature reserve park which we explored today. Of course there was a viewpoint ⛰️ on top of the mountain and a picturesque little harbour ⛡️ with great views.

    Tomorrow we will take a boat trip πŸ›Άthrough the ha long bay.    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
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    Somewhere between cliffs and the tide

    November 10 in Vietnam β‹… ☁️ 26 Β°C

    Task of the day: chase the tide, not the rules. ☝️

    We started early in the morning πŸŒ…, by the pier and hopped on our little boat 🚒 with 30 other tourists, ready for a full day experience to explore the stunning Lan Ha and Ha Long Bay, which is considered as one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world. ✨

    The scenery was absolutely breathtaking — towering limestone cliffs ⛰️ with rainforests on top, calm emerald water πŸ’§ , and tiny hidden beaches πŸ–οΈ everywhere. We couldn’t resist jumping in for a swim 🏊 , even though there was a big “No Swimming” πŸ™…‍♀️sign watching us from the rocks. Totally worth it! πŸ˜…

    Lunch on the boat was delicious — fresh seafood 🍀 , rice 🍚 , veggies πŸ₯• , and fruit 🍍, all served with an incredible view.

    Later, we hopped into kayaks πŸ›Ά and paddled through narrow caves and peaceful lagoons surrounded by cliffs. It felt like gliding through another world — quiet, magical, and so beautiful. ✨

    Afterwards, we stopped by a floating fishing 🎣 village where locals still live and work on the water. It was fascinating to see their floating homes and how daily life happens entirely surrounded by the sea.

    By the afternoon, the tide had gone out, and it completely transformed the landscape. Suddenly, beaches πŸ–οΈ that had been hidden in the morning appeared out of nowhere — the water dropped by several meters, revealing stretches of golden sand that hadn’t been there before. It was amazing to see how much the bay changes within just a few hours!

    We wrapped up the day back on land with some well-earned burgers (because sometimes you just need a break from fried rice πŸ˜„). πŸ”

    Best part? First day without any new mosquito bites! πŸ¦ŸπŸ™Œ    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
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    Scooters, boats and dragons

    Nov 11–14 in Vietnam β‹… ☁️ 23 Β°C

    Task of the last days: keep the motor running. πŸƒ

    After an uneventful trip by bus 🚌 we arrived in Tam Coc on Tuesday. The hotel is again a little off the main road but quite nice.

    The first day was spent with exploring the city on bikes 🚲 which the hotel provided for free. We quickly decided we would need a scooter πŸ›΅ again for the next days.

    So the next day we rented a scooter… which decided to turn off the motor every time you went off the gas. πŸ™ƒ
    Maybe it was a sign telling us to live life, don’t stop, push forward and don’t hold back… πŸš€maybe it was just a broken scooter πŸ˜„ either way we took it back to the shop and got another one. (This one had problems starting the motor πŸ₯²…we did not read any signs into thatπŸ€”)

    The scooter took us to Trang An where we explored the “dry Halong Bay”.
    The vehicle of choice to do that? A boat 🚀 , what else? 🀷🏻‍β™‚οΈπŸ˜‚
    But it was a really nice boat ride with lots of spectacular views, temples and one or two other tourists. πŸ“Έ

    After spending the last days so close to the water it was time to do some climbing πŸ§— again. Another viewpoint was on the menu for today. 500 steps up to the “lying dragon πŸ‰ ” viewpoint. Worth the effort! 🀩

    The rest of the day was spent at the hotel pool. 🏊We are on vacation after all!β˜€οΈ    Read more

  • Laos πŸ‡±πŸ‡¦ & Vietnam πŸ‡»πŸ‡³
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    Big City Life πŸŒ‡

    Nov 14–16 in Vietnam β‹… β˜€οΈ 26 Β°C

    Task of the day: go with the flow (or: don’t get hit by a motorbike) 🏍️

    Going back through our footprints of the last trips we realised the last footprint is often called “big city life” so this is becoming a tradition now.

    After spending the last 2 weeks in nature and small cities, coming to Hanoi was different. The traffic is crazy. πŸ€ͺ Motorbike everywhere, traffic lights more suggestion than rule and since the sidewalk is used as outdoor space for the “restaurant” more often than not you need to walk on the streets. 🀷🏻‍♂️
    But if you embrace the chaos it is not a problem but somehow fun to navigate through the streets.

    It has also become somewhat of a tradition to do a “free walking tour”. So we did the tour in the “old quarter” and our guide “Mint” was very entertaining and had very good insides and tips. 🀩

    Of course we also visited the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum 🏯 and the train street (unfortunately 10min after the last train of the day, where is the train delay if you need it?)

    The sunset was watched from the rooftop bar on our hotel where we also spent the last hour before heading to the airport. πŸŒ†

    Overall it was a great experience and we enjoyed our route through south east Asia a lot 🌏. Good food 🍲 , great weather β˜€οΈ, friendly people πŸ•Ίand a beautiful landscape 🌴🌳!    Read more

    Trip end
    November 17, 2025
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