Switzerland
16 de outubro de 2024, Suíça ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
So there we were knowing that we wanted to take a long break and go abroad. We have both handed in our resignations and a letter to terminate our apartment and are left with a metric shit-ton of tasks to do before we can actually disappear.
The biggest of those tasks was to get the room, which will be Matthias’ future workshop, ready to store all our furniture and belongings for the next couple of years. And of course, preparing everything and placing it neatly into storage took a substantial amount of time as well. But mainly it was the countless and often nerve-wracking small things, which needed to be organized, that ate up all our energy and made us wish we had already left. Among these was almost everything from vaccinations to insurances to visas but also our regular lives in Switzerland including the related paperwork. Speaking of vaccinations, if you're looking for a quick way to get rid of a 1000+ bucks, here's an idea for you…
And, of course, personal matters needed attention too - like a last visit to the hairdresser just two days before departure. This brought Marina frome having long blonde hair (for many years) to having short(er) brown hair. Despite the advantage of being of less maintenance during our travels, the new hair style led to a major existential crisis, which took many days to fade.
But here we are now, on the day of our departure, grateful that the stress is over, despite not realizing it yet, and ready to embark on our biggest adventure yet. A big thank you to all the people who supported us during this stressful preparation time, contributed to our travel budget, and to everyone who found their way to the airport to say goodbye.
A bunch of last hugs, a few tears, and off we go…Leia mais
Vientiane
18–21 de out. 2024, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Our first destination was Laos. After a long flight from Zurich with a stopover in Bangkok, we finally arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. During our stopover in Bangkok, we had a special encounter. There were monks sitting in a lounge and reading books. While reading, people came and prayed to them. We have never seen such a thing before, but it seemed to be normal to other people around.
We stayed a total of three nights at the S2 Modern hotel (http://www.s-2hotel.com/) in Vientiane. It is a modernly furnished hotel in a quiet place a bit outside of the city centre, and we can definitely recommend it.
On our first day, we mainly worked on recovering from our jet lag and spent most of the day in our hotel. We went out in the evening and our first stop was a food market, where we were introduced to the more adventurous side of Lao cuisine. Here, stalls offered everything from fried insects like crickets and worms to living crabs which were tossed into fresh salads. We were not brave enough to eat something like that at the market, that's why we have chosen another place. In our uploaded pictures, you can find a few good places where we have been eating or drinking something. The following day, we did some easy sightseeing by foot and tuk tuk. We visited Patuxai, often called the Victory Gate, and Pha That Luang, the iconic golden stupa and a symbol of Laos. We also passed by the Presidential Palace, an impressive colonial-style building and we strolled along the Mekong River. While walking around the streets and doing some sightseeing, we realized that there was a huge amount of trash scattered around the city, accompanied by unpleasant smells.
In general, Vientiane can easily be explored in just 1-2 days, as there aren’t many major attractions and it isn’t packed with activities compared to other destinations. If you plan on visiting Laos, we even recommend skipping Vientiane and directly going to more interesting places that Laos has to offer.
From Vientiane, we took the train to our next destination. The train, built by the Chinese, runs all the way from China, through northern Laos, to Vientiane. It’s a modern setup, and the station feels like an airport because they have scanners and security checks. As we went through security, they took away the Swiss army knife of Matthias. You are not allowed to bring knives exceeding a certain length and there is no such thing as checked luggage as on planes. Besides that minor frustration, traveling by train in Laos was very efficient and we met a very kind and funny Laotian guy who was very communicative and knew English relatively well, which enabled the first proper conversation with a local person. So let’s see and hope that we have some more wonderful encounters like that at our next destination, Luang Prabang!Leia mais
Luang Prabang
21 de out.–2 de nov. 2024, Laos ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Luang Prabang, the most charming city in Laos, offers a unique blend of natural beauty, cultural experiences, and laid-back vibes. But before we could enjoy all that, we were greeted by a mass of Chinese tourists waiting to board the train we were getting off of as if it was the last train they could ever take again. As soon as Matthias stepped out as the last person exiting that car, the crowd started squeezing in hard, not caring about the luggage which Matthias was pulling, such that the luggage got stuck in between people, hindering Matthias to exit the train fully. Fun times, especially given that when you buy a train ticket, you have a seat assigned to you so that there is no need to squeeze into the train for anyone ever.
In total, we spent 12 days in Luang Prabang and were staying at SaSa Lao (https://www.sasalao.com/) where we did a Workaway (more details about that in a separate footprint). Besides working, we also did some sightseeing, which Luang Prabang has to offer a lot of. We visited the stunning Kuang Si Waterfalls with a private driver who brought us there and picked us up again once we were ready to leave. While the site is very beautiful, it got incredibly crowded toward noon. We also went up to Phousi Mountain, which is a hill in the center of Luang Prabang with some temples on it, from which you can see beautiful sunsets and get breathtaking views of the Mekong River. Another great opportunity to see nice sunsets and wonderful views of the surrounding landscapes is on a sunset cruise on the Mekong River. Since SaSa Lao is also offering such sunset cruises, we were invited to join one for free. Finally, the vibrant Night Market is perfect for exploring local crafts and cuisine, which we did regularly. Other attractions, such as the Pak Ou Caves, National Museum, and Tat Sae Waterfalls, remain options for those with more time to explore.
Besides sightseeing, we did some other recreational activities. Marina took relaxing yoga classes at the Grasshopper Yoga Studio and at the Jungala Lounge (with river view). Two very nice places to recharge energy. One morning, we visited Big Brother Mouse, where volunteers like us can engage in English conversations with local students. One inspiring encounter was with Herbert, a young man from a rural area who earned a scholarship to study computer engineering in Luang Prabang despite never having a computer before we met. It is very nice that youngsters like Herbert have a place like this to learn English with foreigners.
However, in general, communication in Laos can sometimes be a challenge, as many Laotian locals don’t speak English well or at all and even google translate was often far from doing wonders. Despite this, their warm hospitality and friendliness make every interaction a memorable part of the journey. By now we have also learnt and experienced that Laos is a very safe place. That’s why it is common to see female solo travelers all the time. Marina also met a girl called Julie at a yoga place who was travelling by herself through several countries. How amazing!
On the streets, traffic is chaotic but fascinating. Helmets are rare, scooters often carry up to four passengers, riders use mobile phones while driving or chat while riding next to each other. Traffic rules seem to not exist here. You simply “go with the flow”, entering the traffic stream without looking, navigating around potholes. And flowing toward the destination.
Most restaurants and hotels don’t have websites. Instead they have Facebook for more information like a food menu. Besides restaurants, street food is a common sight, with vendors grilling right by the roadside, often filling the air with smoke or burnt oil. A very special thing when it comes to serving meals is that the meals are ready when they are ready. The appetizers might arrive with the main course, and one person’s meal may come long before another’s.
After almost two weeks, it’s time to head to our next destination. Again by train. The journey from SaSa Lao to the train station of Luang Prabang was strange for Marina because she had the feeling of going back home to Switzerland. After all, two to three weeks is the usual duration of vacations we took so far. The train station itself has basic facilities, with squat toilets and no toilet paper. As in a lot of places in Laos, you don’t really have toilet paper, not even soap for washing your hands. We have also learnt that sewage often flows into the Mekong, trash isn’t recycled, and much of it is just burned.
In case you want to visit a good restaurant, café, or bar in Luang prabang, here are our recommendations:
- M & M Restaurant (Indian Food)
- Khaiphaen Restaurant (Laotian Food with local ingredients - Try the typical Laotian dish “Laab” here.)
- Il Tavolo (Italian food)
- Popolo Restaurant (Italian Food)
- Jungala Lounge & Bar (For drinks in the evening)
- Grasshoper Café, Lounge & Restaurant (Great breakfast place)
- Zaori Café (Delicious breakfast - avocado toast & best coffee)
- Formula B (Cute Café)
- Indigo Café (For nice pastry)Leia mais
Luang Prabang - Sasa Lao Workaway
22 de out.–1 de nov. 2024, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Workaway (https://www.workaway.info/) is a platform where travelers can find hosts around the world and arrange deals where they devote some of their time in exchange for food and/or accommodation. We stumbled upon this platform some time ago and absolutely wanted to try it out on our trip. And we did so pretty much at the beginning of our trip with a 2 week workaway at Sasa Lao (https://www.sasalao.com/) in Luang Prabang. Sasa Lao consists of a guesthouse with several little houses and a dormitory, a restaurant, a big boat on which they offer cooking classes and sunset cruises, and many more smaller activities and projects.
On the first day after arrival in Luang Prabang, we sat together with Denis, the owner of the place, and Alycia, his right hand (who is also a volunteer there for three months) to define our workaway deal, our first projects, and potential projects for later. Our deal was that we help them for 21 hours per week per person in exchange for accommodation in the dormitory, breakfast, and 25% off of food at their restaurant.
Matthias’ main project was to build a simple type of solar collector on one of the houses’ roofs to provide pre-heated water to the boilers of three houses in order to save on electrical energy. Marina’s main project was to design flyers and posters for a buffet on their boat, which they wanted to start as a new offer, and promote it at Luang Prabang’s night market.
Marina’s flyer designing started with a classic trap of delegated responsibility without authority. She was given barely any constraints but had to go through several iterations after her design was checked by up to two people, resulting in many (sometimes conflicting) change requests that could have been avoided, which also resulted in a lot of frustration for Marina. But promoting the designed flyer at the night market to other tourists was certainly an interesting experience including a lot of rejection and revealing the different characters of people through their reactions. But within the two weeks, her work helped spread the word about this new buffet and successfully attracted at least a few people to join every day.
Matthias’ project started with interesting challenges of figuring out how a solar collector could be built, what materials are available, and where to get them. After proposing a simple design of an oval spiral of pipe held together with steel cable on the roof and doing some basic calculations, work could get started to create this structure in a tight space between the houses. With some occasional help from Marina or local workers, it took a few days to get all the materials and assemble the structure before mounting it on the roof. A few local workers then helped to lift the structure onto the roof and Matthias spent several more days attaching it on the roof and making all the necessary connections. By the end of our two weeks, the solar collector was connected to three boilers and successfully provided warm water to them.
Some thoughts by Matthias:
I’m always interested in watching craftsmen and construction workers, which is especially true in such a part of the world that is very different from Switzerland. I soon realized that some of the fun compilations about labor in some parts of Asia I watched on Youtube are reality here. There seem to be no safety standards, workers weld with dark sunglasses and sandals, metal is cut on the floor without shoes, googles, or ear protection. The tools they use are often quite old and have seen much better days on top of being stored out in the open with little organization. I also get the impression that workers mainly learn by doing and that they never had much (if any) formal training for the jobs they are doing. This manifests in many things that are improvised and if you look at the details (or also non-details) of e.g. their buildings, you see deficits and flaws everywhere you look. But funny enough, it also seems to be perfectly sufficient for the simple lives most people have in Laos, so I can understand why they do not want to put effort into perfection. This also makes me ask myself if it is time to question the high standards we have in Switzerland in e.g. construction just to build houses that cost a fortune and last for measly three decades, after which they are torn down because we don’t like them any longer, creating tons of special waste, just to then build something new again.
But it also feels very inspiring to see these simpler ways of how things like construction are done. Materials are relatively cheap and there seems to be very little regulation so basically every problem that is holding us normal people back in Switzerland is eliminated here.
It also fascinated me how the workers there seem motivated for their work. From my understanding they are provided with housing for their families next to the guest houses, food, and some money in exchange for their work. I also witnessed very short planning horizons of maximally one day and rather little appreciation for their work but conversely they seem to have a lot of freedom on how they do their job. While their relatively low wage and bad management would make every employee quit instantly in Switzerland, they do work hard, efficiently, and still have fun while working. This should really make a Swiss fellow wonder… (I’m open for discussions ;))Leia mais
Vang Vieng
2–7 de nov. 2024, Laos ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
We spent five nights in the charming town of Vang Vieng, staying at the Vang Vieng Remember Hotel. The town and its surroundings offered a mix of breathtaking nature and adventurous activities, making it an unforgettable part of our journey. The city is very much geared towards adventure tours which immediately becomes evident as literally every 20m you will see a place that cells tickets for all sorts of activities.
During our time there we visited Tham Chang Cave which you can reach within a short ride over a river with a small boat ferry. The cool thing about it is that it does not have an engine but uses a rope and the river’s current to make it from one side to the other. For further sightseeing and hiking in Vang Vieng we rented a scooter. Besides getting around, riding a scooter is a great way to see how people live in the countryside but also spotting some peculiar things we are not used to at home.
On our rides, we saw many cows strolling on the road, people who washed themselves in a river or with a hose in their backyard, and a bridge that is still used frequently but is broken to a point where it is borderline safe at best. While crossing this broken bridge on our scooter, Marina had to get off the scooter to rearrange some loose boards on the bridge such as to close some gaps too big to ride over. For our first hike, we went to Pha Ngern Silver Cliff View Point and got some breathtaking views from its two viewpoints. There is one with a motorcycle to take amazing pictures with and another one with a small hut.
After this sweaty activity we needed to cool-off, which we did at the Blue Lagoon 3, a place where you can swim, eat and relax. The cool thing about this place is that there are various rope swings and other equipment for a fun time in the water.
Our highlights in Vang Vieng though were a sunrise balloon ride, a sunset paramotor flight, kayaking at Nam Song River, and getting to know a German couple named Elena and Justin. The funny thing is that we ran into them about four times during our stay in Laos. The fourth time Elena started a conversation with us and asked us if we wanted to have dinner together. So we did and had an amazing evening. The day after, we also met for coffee and had some great talks.
Vang Vieng gave us adventure, beauty, and plenty of stories to take with us. It was a truly memorable stop on our journey. Leaving Vang Vieng, we traveled to Nong Khiaw by train and a bumpy minivan ride. The minivan frequently hit potholes, causing jolts. An experience we won’t forget anytime soon!
There were some good restaurants, cafés and bars we can recommend:
- Il Tavolo (Great italian food)
- Happy Mango (Excellent curries)
- Kiwi Kitchen (Try the pineapple and coconut smoothie)
- Golden Bamboo Restaurant (Good food but a bit expensive compared to other restaurants)
- Bon Appetit (Delicious food made by French)
- Napolitean Pizza (A small choice of pizzas but delicious pizzas)
- Naked Espresso (Coffee place)
- The Big Easy Bar Vang Vieng (A lively spot for drinks and socializing)Leia mais
Nong Khiaw
7–11 de nov. 2024, Laos ⋅ 🌙 24 °C
Nong Khiaw is a picturesque town in northern Laos. It’s famous for its stunning limestone mountains, the Nam Ou River, and peaceful village life. It is a gateway for treks, caves, and traditional Lao village visits. We stayed four nights at this beautiful and quiet place, three nights at the newly opened Amanda Boutique Hotel (no homepage) and one night at the Nong Khiaw Floating House (https://nongkhiaw-the-float-house.luangprabangh…). During our stay in Nong Khiaw, we visited the village, went on a boat trip to Muang Ngoi and stayed one whole day in our beautiful floating house to relax.
Our day trip by boat on the Nam Ou River from Nong Khiaw to the charming village of Muang Ngoi was very nice. From there, we hiked to the Phanoi Viewpoint, where we had great views over the village Muang Ngoi and the surrounding mountains. Continuing onward, we reached Sop Keng, a peaceful village surrounded by rice fields. Walking through the fields, we arrived at Yensabai Organic Farm, a tranquil oasis where we enjoyed the simplicity of rural life. On the way back to Nong Khiaw our boat’s propeller suddenly decided to go swimming on its own, leaving us adrift on the river. Just as we began to wonder what to do, another boat appeared, and by luck, the guy on the boat had a spare propeller onboard. Within moments, the new propeller was installed, and we were back on track right on time to watch the sunset.
In hindsight, we think that it would be worth spending some more time in Nong Khiaw as there are really nice tours available including hikes or motorbike trips, including camping in a tent up on a mountain. Maybe next time…
Going back to Luang Prabang by bus was again an experience in itself. Along the way, we noticed that some locals casually tossed trash out of the windows, a habit that left us reflecting on cultural differences. Sitting at the very back of the bus (thankfully not a minivan this time), we were in for a bumpy ride. The uneven roads caused the bus to sway and bounced so much that we were occasionally lifted right out of our seats.
Here are some restaurants, cafés and bars we can recommend in Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi:
- Mr. Wan (Great Massaman Curry)
- Gustoso Cantina (Delicious food)
- Ping Moo (Traditional Laotian food)
- Home Coffee (Cheap and delicious drinks)
- Muang Ngoi → Cheu Lola (Try the Vegetarian Laab)Leia mais
Luang Prabang 2.0
11–13 de nov. 2024, Laos ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Before we flew from Luang Prabang to Vietnam, we wanted to enjoy Luang Prabang for one last time because we liked it so much. That’s why we stayed here for another two nights in the centre of Luang Prabang in a hotel called Kosy Villa (http://kosyvilla.com/).
The first day, we went to have a delicious breakfast at our favourite breakfast spot called Zaori, followed by dropping off our laundry at a local service. In the afternoon, we were strolling around and enjoyed a late lunch at Khaiphaen, savoring its unique flavors. At the end of the day, we watched a stunning sunset over the Mekong River, a moment of pure serenity. Later, at the vibrant night market, we unexpectedly ran into the Swiss couple Jeremias and Melinda who are travelling the world by bicycle. Jeremias grew up in the same place as Matthias, just two houses farther.
On our last day, we went to have another lovely breakfast at Zaori. Then we picked up the laundry. We were a bit disappointed because the laundry was not the cleanest and best work at all, but the most expensive so far. Marina had another yoga session at the Jungala lounge and did a pedicure and massage that day which was good and very cheap. Matthias was working on some private projects on his laptop. As the day came to an end, we took a Grab (an app like e.g. Uber where you can order cheaper taxis), headed to the airport, left Laos in direction of Vietnam.
Some general impressions of Laos:
Overall, life in Laos feels remarkably relaxed and unhurried. People often take naps while waiting during work. Tuk-tuk drivers lie in hammocks, shopkeepers rest on loungers or even on the floor or tables, like at reception desks. Stress seems almost nonexistent here. The many dogs in Laos reflect this calmness too. They almost never bark or run at you but simply stroll past without a care. Private parties bring a sharp contrast with their booming, incredibly loud music. People are very friendly and seem happy and children can be seen everywhere. Homes often seem spacious and minimalist, with few furnishings and large open areas. It’s not unusual to spot a motorbike parked right inside a house! Butterflies in vibrant colors flutter everywhere, adding beauty to the surroundings. Interestingly, we spotted much fewer animals than expected, and we noticed that even birds are much more rare than what we are used to.Leia mais
Hanoi
13–18 de nov. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is a vibrant city where you can find a lot of history, temples, architecture, busy street life, and rich cultural heritage. We stayed five nights at the Skyline Boutique Hotel (no website) in the middle of the city center.
One of the more memorable visits we did was at the Train Street where every tourist in the city seems to come to watch trains pass incredibly close to cafes and houses. During times with no trains you can walk around on the tracks or have a drink right next to the tracks. Once the train is about to roll in, they move the tables and all the people back to let the train through. However, “moving back” means just by the necessary amount, you could still touch the train while sitting there.
We also paid the Army Museum a visit, which they just recently moved way outside of the city. When going there, we expected to be about the only ones in a small location with a few war planes because of its location and just being newly opened. Boy were we wrong! We arrived at probably one of the most massive buildings serving as a museum and one bus after the other dropping off visitors. While the place was still being developed, it was interesting to see some old planes, helicopters, and other vehicles and of course the impressive building itself. After our visit, we took a taxi (Grab) back to the city but came to an abrupt stop on a highway about midway to the city. The reason: the car ran out of gas. And when we said the museum was way outside of the city, it’s not like one full tank is not sufficient but an empty one sure isn’t. So we got out and waited for a bit before our driver could stop a delivery driver on a scooter whom he gave a couple of empty pet bottles and asked him to get some gasoline. Sure enough, after a while he showed up with full bottles and our trip continued. This time with a short detour to a gas station before dropping us off.
A unique cultural experience was the Thang Long Water Puppet Show, which is impressive to watch even without understanding much of the story being told (ask us how we know).
Speaking of culture, Christmas was getting closer and the related sales were also happening in Hanoi. There are at least a couple of streets that only consist of shops selling Christmas decorations. This felt kind of surreal given that we were wearing T-shirts and shorts and still sweat our asses off. Also, unlike what we are used to, some of the Christmas decorations in Vietnam seem to be a bit more shiny and of different color than what we are used to. But if you are into pink Christmas trees, this is the place to get one.
One of the personal highlights for Marina was meeting her Yoga friend, Julie, whom she had met in Laos.
Besides that, we went to “The Note Coffee”, a charming spot covered in colorful sticky notes. We were also writing some notes and pinned them on the wall. That was great fun!
Nearby, St. Joseph’s Cathedral impressed us with its neo-Gothic architecture. At Hoa Lo Prison, we learned about Vietnam’s complex history. We visited various temples such as Chua Quan Su Temple (not so touristy, a lot of locals praying), Ngoc Son Temple (very touristy) and the Temple of Literature. Further places we visited were the Tran Quoc Pagoda, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and the One Pillar Pagoda.
Overall, the city of Hanoi felt a bit too oppressive and noisy for us. There were quite a lot of people and always tons of scooters which all seem to be out to get you. It sure didn’t help that all the sidewalks are typically blocked forcing you to walk in the streets. So we were looking forward to going to a more rural area again.
Here is a list of good restaurants & cafés and in Hanoi:
- Katze Vegan and Vegetarian (traditional Vietnamese food, you get a lot of plates of food even though you didn’t order them)
- Paolo and Chi Pizzeria Old Quarter (yummi Pizzas)
- Ivegan (great vegan bowls, burger, fries)
- Always Café (Harry Potter café)
- The Note Coffee (Café where you can write a note and pin it at the wall.)Leia mais
Sapa
18–22 de nov. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Early in the morning, we took a VIP sleeper bus from Hanoi to Sapa. Instead of regular seats, a sleeper bus contains compartments similar to bunk beds where passengers can lie down (at least if you are not taller than 1.8m. As always, size matters, but shorter is better in this case). It took us around 7 hours to get to Sapa but the time passed by quickly as the bus was very comfy. You even get a pillow, a blanket and a bottle of water. We really recommend trying it out if you are in Vietnam.
Sapa is located in the mountains of northern Vietnam at 1600m altitude, not far from the Chinese border. It's a place that feels like the St. Moritz of Vietnam in that some rich people have invested a lot of money to create this nice vacation resort in the mountains.
It features rice terraces, high mountains, special attractions, a lot of art, and tons of hotels and restaurants. Once we got there, we realized that the difference in temperature compared to Hanoi was huge. Every day of our stay we had to wear long pants and a jacket. Also, the hotel room got quite fresh during the night. It was the first time where we used the AC for heating instead of cooling. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our stay at the “Cherry Sapa Hotel”, a budget-friendly hotel near the center of Sapa. The stay was incredibly affordable, costing only 10 CHF per night, including breakfast. The owners were very welcoming and the breakfast was quite good.
On our first day we just strolled around Sapa to get to know the place a bit. The second and third day we did a trekking tour (see separate footprint: Sapa - Trekking) through beautiful rice fields and villages where we met people from different tribes. Moreover, we visited Fansipan Legend (see separate footprint: Sapa - Fansipan) on our fourth day, which offered beautiful views from the top of the tallest mountain of Indochina. On our last day, we spent our time at Moana Sapa and Cat Cat Village. Moana Sapa is a scenic tourist spot near Sapa featuring stunning mountain views, artistic photo zones, and Instagram-worthy spots. We enjoyed the landscape up here and captured some beautiful photos. Cat Cat Village, near Sapa, is a traditional Hmong village (at least before it became a tourist trap) known for its scenic waterfalls and local crafts. We explored its charming wooden houses, Hmong culture, and enjoyed stunning mountain views. Marina got some nice bracelets in this village which she is still wearing to this day.
Great restaurants in Sapa:
- Anise (delicious and a huge portion of curry)
- Thong Dong Vegan Kitchen & CaféLeia mais
Sapa - Trekking
19–20 de nov. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Starting on our second day in Sapa, we did a two day trekking tour through the many rice fields through a valley down to Ta Van where we spent the night in a homestay. The tour was guided by a local woman who could tell us a lot about life in the villages of this valley. Basically, every village is home to a different tribe and it’s only about 20 years since people from different tribes can marry each other.
The tour started in Sapa where we were picked up by our tour guide. When leaving Sapa, there were many local women with baskets on their backs waiting to “join” all the trekking groups that left in the morning. In their baskets they carried handmade (or not) products like scarfs, bags, wrist bands, towels, etc. The women tried to be helpful on some “difficult” passages on the path and would use their minimal English to ask for our names and where we are from. They walked alongside our group for several hours where we made a stop and they tried to sell us their products before returning back to their villages. Buying something is optional but it is still awkward to be put in this position where you feel like you are supposed to buy something.
But the tour led us through nice areas with great views onto the seemingly endless rice fields which were stunning, despite not being the best time of the year where the fields are either flooded or the ripe rice shines in a golden color. Each family in the valley owns some rice fields and grows the rice for their own consumption, hardly any rice leaves the valley. The land of a family is handed down to their sons, which, with a growing population, leads to the problem of families having less and less land available to grow rice. Women in the valley can face a hard life as they are typically not inheriting any land. Also, if a family has only girls, it is common for the husband to leave his wife and start a new family. Women who are divorced or never married can have a tough life and may end up with nobody looking after them once they get old.
After walking for most of the day, we arrived at our homestay in Ta Van towards the evening. While we expected a sparsely furnished room in a house of a local family, we only had dinner in the main house, not together with the family though. After dinner, we chatted and played games with David, a German guy who was the only other tour participant who stayed overnight. Then we got to spend the night in one of two quite nice rooms in a tiny house separated from the main house. It very much looked like this was only built for this purpose and that this whole homestay thing with tourists pays off. Housing in the valley is an interesting topic in general as we were told that people who want to build a house continuously buy the required materials whenever they can afford something. Then, for the actual construction, they invite people from the village to help build the house in exchange for food. So it seems like there is not much formal training in construction but rather learning by helping others out. Also, spending while you can afford seems like the way to go in the valley. Our guide explained to us that if they earn some money they spend it on the things they need right away and if they don’t earn any money on a particular day they just don’t buy anything and live off of what they have.
After a good night's sleep, we had breakfast on the terrace of the main house, and then continued our tour through the bamboo forest, passing a nice waterfall, and some more villages. Finally, after lunch, we were brought back to Sapa by minivan.Leia mais
Sapa - Fansipan
21 de novembro de 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C
Fansipan Legend is a spectacular complex located on the summit of Fansipan, Vietnam’s highest mountain, often called the "Roof of Indochina." Built by Sun World, a leading developer of entertainment destinations in Vietnam, this site blends natural beauty with spiritual architecture, offering visitors a breathtaking journey above, or, most often, in the clouds. The complex includes majestic Buddhist temples, giant statues like the iconic bronze Amitabha Buddha, scenic gardens, and panoramic viewpoints.
To reach Fansipan Legend, visitors can take a modern cable car system - one of the world’s longest and highest and made in Austria and Switzerland - which departs from the Muong Hoa Valley and ascends directly to the peak in about 15 minutes.Leia mais
Ha Giang
22–25 de nov. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Late at night, we took a VIP sleeper bus from Sapa to Ha Giang. This was already included in the three day motorbike tour package - the so-called “Ha Giang Loop” - we’ve booked. This time, our VIP sleeper bus was very different from our first experience since its beds were much more narrow. Anyway, after a six hour ride, we made it to Ha Giang where we checked into a hostel named “Hong Hao” and could sleep in a normal bed for the remainder of the night. After a short night, our tour started at the lobby where breakfast was served and many others were already waiting to get their motorbike tour started. The guides handed out colorful wristbands so we would know which biker gang we belonged to. Before setting off, we got a quick crash course about the route. And off we went, each one of us on the back of a motorbike steered by local drivers, straight into the breathtaking landscapes of Ha Giang! There were quite a lot of wonderful stops we made for taking pictures. Absolutely epic was the Snake Road, which is a famous mountain road with sharp curves and dramatic switchbacks. After this stunning stop, Marina suddenly started to get a migraine followed by nausea, and then, just to spice things up, diarrhea. Luckily, a German couple named Maggy and Ricardo were doing the same tour but by car. Fortunately, they had extra space in the car for Marina so she could switch over. Also, they were prepared for their journey and brought a mini-pharmacy with them. So Marina could get some medicine from them which helped. True heroes! Because Marina still wasn’t feeling well in the evening of the first day, she had to call it a day. She stayed in the hotel while Matthias spent the evening in Ten Minh, eating delicious Vietnamese food and watching others doing karaoke like rock stars.
After a crazy and terrible night, Marina felt better the next morning, but unfortunately by far not good enough to continue the motorbike tour. That’s why we stayed at the hotel until the afternoon and then took a taxi all the way back to the starting point. 70 Swiss francs lighter and five hours later, we arrived in Ha Giang, checked into the lovely hotel “Silk River”, and spent the rest of the day relaxing and recovering before taking yet another sleeper bus to our next destination.Leia mais
Ha Long
25–27 de nov. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Our sleeper bus arrived in Ha Long at 03:30 instead of 06:00 as expected. When arriving, there was already a pack of taxi drivers eagerly waiting to rip off the people arriving by bus by charging them horrendous prices to get them to their hotel. But with the Grab app it is very easy to get at least an understanding for how much a certain ride should approximately cost. And having spent some time in Vietnam already and, thanks to google maps, knowing exactly how long the ride to our hotel would take, we were prepared to not be fooled.
The first driver approaching us wanted 150k VID but as we tried to bargain to get at least below 100k, he immediately turned to another couple who was willing to pay the 150k. A second driver wanted 200k whereupon we just opened the Grab app to get a taxi there. He immediately reacted by saying that there is no Grab service in the area. Miraculously, it did not take long for us to get a Grab taxi and as soon as he saw that we had one, he offered to drive us for 100k. Note that once you start searching for a Grab, you get a pretty accurate estimate of how much it’s going to cost so we declined and waited for our Grab, which ended up costing us 37k. Unfortunately, this is not the only time in Vietnam where we felt like tourists are just viewed as cash cows ready to be milked.
When we arrived at our hotel “Thái Hà Boutique”, the place seemed dead but after some knocking on the door, luckily someone got up from a couch in the lobby and opened the door for us. To our surprise and gratefulness, it was no problem to just pay for an additional night, check-in and go to our room immediately, which we happily did.
The next day we slept in and then went for a walk on the beach including some food. Ha Long almost felt like a ghost town as there are many business and entire quarters that are abandoned. So walking through the streets was a bit strange at times. There were restaurants and bars, which were open for business, surrounded by abandoned houses with barely any customers or anyone walking by. Still, there were employees waiting for customers to come in all day.
While walking on the beach there were several groups of teenagers in multiple locations who wanted to take pictures with us as if they had never seen a European person before. They were either messing with us or it was some kind of challenge. But we thought it was funny so we just played along.
We ended the day with some delicious Indian food and went back to the hotel to rest before starting our next tour the morning after.
The only restaurant, but a pretty good one, that we have visited:
- Vanakkam Indian Family Restaurant - Taste of India (tasty food and huge portions)Leia mais
Ha Long Bay
27–29 de nov. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
By taxi, we went from Ha Long to the pier where all the cruise ships were waiting to get their tours to see the famous limestone of Ha Long Bay started. Our Ha Long Bay cruise experience started with a ride in a small boat to our main cruise ship called La Casta Cruise. After boarding, we enjoyed a seafood lunch on board and spent some time relaxing in our room, which looked very beautiful. The best thing about the room was that there was a hot tub in our bathroom facing the sea. What amazing views having a bath! Besides the view, each room inadvertently also offered the opportunity to buy beers and snacks from little dinghies, which chased after the cruise ships to sell their items by handing them to you in a net attached to a long stick and taking your money back the same way. After relaxing, we again boarded a smaller ship which brought us to one of the many small but beautiful beaches in the bay for some swimming and kayaking. Back on board the main ship, we enjoyed the sunset ambience in the outdoor Jacuzzi. In the evening, we had dinner and tried our luck at squid fishing. Unfortunately, we didn’t catch anything. The next day, we had an early breakfast and we were picked up by a day tour boat for a trip to Cat Ba Island. There, we explored a small village by bicycle and electric car. This included a visit to a place where we got our feet cleaned by little fishies. There were so many fishes and they literally rushed to your feet as soon as you got them in the water to start going to nibbling-town such that we almost couldn’t take it. Back on the day boat again, we went kayaking in a peaceful lagoon and enjoyed a ride in a traditional coconut boat. In the evening, once we were back on the main ship, we watched the sunset and enjoyed a relaxing bath in our room’s hot tub. Right after dinner, we tried our luck again and voila, Marina caught a squid (stealing it from Matthias who was working that spot first!). She could have had it prepared for breakfast the next day but chose to set it free again (Probably for someone on the next tour to get lucky as well). What a special way to end the day. On our last day on the ship, we had another lovely breakfast buffet, followed by some time enjoying the sun in a deck chair on the top deck. Around lunch time, this unique experience was unfortunately over and we headed to the airport in Hanoi. There, we did not only look forward to our next destination but also to having some visitors from back home.Leia mais
Da Nang
29 de nov.–9 de dez. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
We flew from Hanoi to Da Nang, arriving very late on November 29, 2025. Tired, we hopped in a cab, headed to our budget friendly (10 CHF per night!) Sea Near Me Hotel and went straight to bed because the next day was a very special one. The next morning, we were happy to reunite with Marina’s sister, her dad, and his girlfriend, who had flown all the way from Switzerland to spend a week with us in Vietnam. How nice, isn’t it?!! It was an emotional moment for Marina.
For the rest of the week, we all stayed at the Mercy Emerald Hotel. Clean, comfortable, affordable and very central. We can definitely recommend it. And it also served as the perfect base for our planned activities such as relaxing at the nearby beach, eating at various restaurants in the city, and visiting sights in the city and its broader region.
One evening, we strolled across the romantic Heart Bridge, lined with glowing red heart-shaped lanterns where couples hang love locks and people take a lot of pictures. Just around the corner is Da Nang’s most iconic sight: the Dragon Bridge (Cầu Rồng). It features an impressive steel dragon stretching all across the river, which lights up in vibrant colors at night. On weekends, the dragon even breathes fire and water.
We also visited the Lady Buddha in Chùa Linh Ứng, which is a short ride north of Da Nang. It is 67 meters tall and overlooks the sea and city below. A truly impressive construction!
When we weren’t sightseeing, we took time to relax spa-style. Massages, Vietnamese hair washing (which is an experience in itself), manicures, pedicures... all super affordable and absolutely worth it. And of course, we went to some of the many restaurants in the city for lunch and dinner every day. We also had fun playing billiards where Matthias' team always won or singing karaoke where everyone was shouting their souls out.
We furthermore spent two full days outside of the city, one at the Ba Na Hills and one at the Marble Mountains and in Hoi An. These places were quite special and nice and hence deserved their own footprints, which you can find after this one.
Almost every day, we made a visit to Bread & Butter, a nearby bakery, for dessert, which became our little ritual. But not everything was sugar and sunshine: Da Nang is also home to a lot of rats. More than we saw anywhere else in Vietnam. We spotted them regularly in the streets, near restaurants, and even running across the beach.
One small but noticeable thing during our time in Vietnam, which started to become evident in Da Nang, was that in shops and restaurants, staff occasionally struggled returning the correct amount change. Sometimes it felt like simple calculations caused real problems. It remains unclear if this was due to a lack of training or a generally lower level of education than we are used to.
After an activity-packed week, we first had to say goodbye to our visitors and, after spending one more night, also to Da Nang before taking a Grab taxi to our next destination.
Some good café, food and drink options in Da Nang:
- Caribou (Beach stall with yummy fries and the best smoothies ever. The tropical fruit smoothie is the one to try.)
- Cafe Phuong (They have a pond with kois in the middle of the café surrounded by tables and chairs. Also, a fog machine which makes the atmosphere very mysterious. Try the salted milk chocolate - it is truly amazing!)
- B & B Bakery (best pastry in town)
- Bottega5 - Fusion Italian Restaurant (great pasta and pizza)
- Roots Plant-Based Cafe - Healthy vegan restaurant (delicious bowls)
- Thai Market Restaurant (Curries, pad thai or tum yum soup are delicious.)
- Bikini Bottom Express (fancy name & burgers)
- Golden Meat House (Korean place where you can grill the meat at a grill in the middle of the table. Great experience!)
- Bep Cuon Da Nang (Best Vietnamese food in Da Nang. Try Banh Xeo!)
- L’italiano Riverside Terrace Restaurant (Lovely Italian restaurant with authentic Italian owners, food and even live music. Try the gnocchi, pizza and the tiramisu (best ever)! They have a second restaurant called L’italiano Restaurant in Da Nang. )
- All Seasons Buffet Da Nang (This is an all-you-can-eat Seafood buffet. It is a bit pricey compared to the other Vietnamese prices but we really recommend it.)
- Section 30 (good place for drinks and live music)Leia mais
Da Nang - Ba Na Hills
1 de dezembro de 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
We did a day trip to the Ba Na Hills which are a sight close to the city of Da Nang. They are essentially another crazy amusement park on a mountain created by Sun World, just like Fansipan (see our Sapa - Fansipan footprint). To get there, we took a taxi and happened to have a driver who had to talk so much that he had to slow the taxi down occasionally to finish a point. But we did eventually get there and made our way up to the mountain by cable car. Shortly after arriving up there, we made our way to the brewery where they were looking for participants in a competition. Marina then convinced Josef that the guy was calling him up and whereupon he made his way to the front without realizing what was happening yet. Once he was there, the field of contestants was complete and the competition began. Every contestant was given a Mass of beer and the one who drank it the fastest would become the winner. Josef obliterated the, at best mediocre, competition and was named beer king, had to take a seat on a throne and was given a cape and a crown. Also, he won 1 kg of french fries, which, together with the 2 vouchers for a beer we each got at the entrance to the park, served as a little lunch for the five of us. After that, we spent the rest of the day walking through the park and the many photo ops for taking pictures before making our way back to Da Nang.Leia mais
Da Nang - Marble Mountains and Hoi An
5 de dezembro de 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
From Da Nang, we ventured on a second day trip by taxi to visit the Marble Mountains and the nearby city of Hoi An. Our trip started with a visit to a stone carving business just next to the Marble Mountains where we saw many impressive statues and figurines made from stone as well as how they were made by hand. In their gift shop we were then accompanied by a sales lady who followed us at every turn and then essentially kicked us out with an “OK, bye!” once we said that we don’t want to buy anything. After that, we visited the Marble Mountains, which is a hill that we climbed with a big cave underneath, which we also visited.
Then we headed to Hoi An where we started with a ride in a coconut boat. These are little half spherical boats fitting about 3 people. The ride in these boats brought us through canals between bamboo forests and some preposterous tourist attractions. The first one was a little stage where a guy was blasting Gangnam Style from big speakers and singing Karaoke terribly. The purpose of making a fool of himself was to get tips from all the coconut boats that stopped by during their ride. The second one was a stop where you could pay to hop into a different coconut boat which would then spin around quickly for a bit. At the end of what could have otherwise been an idyllic ride, our “drivers” seemed to push us to give them tips on top of the already expensive fare for the ride, but it was unclear what they wanted as they did not speak a single word in English. It certainly did not sound like a “thank you for riding with us” though.
Subsequently, our driver dropped us off as close to the city center as cars were allowed to go where we were greeted by heavy rain and a swarm of old locals who used this opportunity to sell every tourist an umbrella or a rain coat. Obviously, they wanted to charge ridiculous prices and did not take no for an answer. After a ton of bargaining, we headed into town with some new umbrellas and rain coats. In the city, we enjoyed lunch and dinner and did some sight seeing in between before heading back to Da Nang in the evening.
Fun fact, Matthias’ rain coat would serve him well on many occasions in the months to come, so money well spent.Leia mais
Hoi An
9–15 de dez. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage gem in central Vietnam. When going there, we felt like stepping into a living postcard. During the night, Hoi An transforms into a magical wonderland with colorful lanterns everywhere, which it is also famous for. Also, one can find many places with live music. In the old town, you find plenty of shops where you can have your dress made by a tailor (what Marina did) or do various types of workshops. For culinary enthusiasts, the city offers cooking classes where you learn how to prepare authentic Vietnamese dishes.
In this charming town of Hoi An, we spent six nights at a place called “An Nam 68 Homestay”. It was just a 10-minute walk away from the old town. The home stay was well located, affordable, and surprisingly modern for its price of 12 CHF per night. But, as it is the case for a lot of hotels in Southeast Asia, the bathroom’s is significantly different from what we are used to at home. Bathrooms in Vietnam are typically quite small and showers are usually built without a shower screen or curtain. So when taking a shower, water splashes everywhere, often directly onto the toilet next to it and all over the bathroom floor. It also often drains poorly because the floor has no or too little slope. As a result, hair, dirt, or soap can easily remain on the bathroom floor. But nevermind, we got used to this little annoyance by now. Another thing we got used to while travelling from place to place is that doors and windows always leave some space for little wildlife to crawl into the room. Once while watching the movie “To the Moon” in bed, a big cockroach crawled over Marina.
Nevertheless, our homestay also offered positive surprises. The owner, a very friendly elderly lady, invited us one morning to have vegetarian noodles for breakfast with her, despite not speaking a single word of English. How kind! Right? She even gave us umbrellas because it was raining most of the time we were there.
Due to frequent rain that sometimes flooded parts of the city during our stay, we had to adjust our plans a little. Instead of long outdoor adventures, we focused on activities that allowed us to explore Hoi An in a more relaxed and creative way. One of our absolute highlights was a leather workshop. We spent a full day at a local leather studio learning how to craft our own items from scratch. Matthias made a passport holder, and Marina created a cat-shaped coin purse. Both made with love for our goddaughters back home. It was a special handcraft experience that allowed us to learn something new while staying dry and productive. If you ever want to do the same, we can recommend “Blue Lotus Leather”.
Besides this, Marina had a custom dress made by a tailor and we visited many restaurants or enjoyed some beers with amazing live music at a bar.
When organizing a ride to go to the airport on our last day, we learned a new trick on how to get discounted Grab taxi rides. On the Grab app, the fare to the airport was 900,000 Dong, but according to the internet, Grab takes about a 35% commission from this price. So a couple days prior to our departure, we approached a Grab driver directly and were able to negotiate a price of 700,000 Dong without using the app. Win win for both us and the driver!
Places we liked eating, drinking and listening to music:
- Rosie’s cafe / Coffee & Brunch (great breakfast with big portions)
- Olivier Coffee (only a coffee place but with a nice interior, but not right at the city center - it was close to our hotel)
- Buttercup by Rosie’s cafe I Coffee & Brunch (best breakfast in town)
- Nourish eatery Café & Restaurant (vegan place with good food and also great for working on your laptop, but a bit out of the city center)
- Secret Garden (lovely hidden location)
- MAAZI Hoi An (good but pricy Indian food)
- Nostalife (springrolls, delicious chicken cashew or curry)
- Rasoi Indian Pure Vegetarian Restaurant (great Indian dishes)
- The LyLy Irish Pub & Sports Bar Hoi An (live music)Leia mais
Phu Quoc
15–22 de dez. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
It was pouring down again when we took our pre-arranged Grab taxi to the Chu Lai airport south of Hoi An. But after a short flight to the very south of Vietnam we arrived in Phu Quoc which enjoys much better weather than central Vietnam around that time. Our plan was to relax a bit after the very packed itinerary we had during the weeks prior in northern and central Vietnam. We stayed a total of seven nights in the Maison D’Rose hotel close to the Khem beach in the south of the island. While the hotel was in a quiet area and in a great location for spending some relaxing days at the beach, our bed made us feel absolutely whacked when we got up in the morning. On top of that, we got a little surprised by the hotel’s breakfast which seemed to be whatever the owner’s grandmother put together. On our first morning that was lettuce with mayonnaise and Pho with beef - not exactly our favorite but OK ;) They were open to adapt for us a little bit and leave out what we don’t like so things were fine for us. And we could also change rooms after four nights and ended up with two single beds with better mattresses than we had before so things definitely improved over our stay.
The area was very quiet as besides a giant resort, there were mostly unoccupied buildings as we have seen them e.g. in Ha Long. And close by was the beautiful Khem Beach, which was perfect for relaxing and having drinks and snacks in one of its beach clubs. And that’s exactly what we did for several days. One day we went to do the same routine at the Sao Beach, which is located a bit north of Khem Beach. There, we found mainly one beach club besides some smaller operators that also rented out sunbeds. Unfortunately, we found the beach and shore to be littered with trash as soon as we walked outside of the beach club’s property. It was still a nice beach with fewer people than on Khem Beach but it was not as clean and did not offer as many options for food and drinks so Khem Beach still remained our favorite in the area.
To compensate for all the lying around on beach days, we usually went jogging in the evening. Additionally, we spent one day exploring the nearby Sunset Town and the related park on Hon Thom Paradise Island, which, you probably guess it already, is another enormous tourist attraction created by Sun World (see our Sapa - Fansipan and Da Nang - Ba Na Hills footprints). Sun Town is built in a Mediterranean style and it almost feels like being in an Italian village when walking through its streets. The main difference was that most of the buildings seemed to be unoccupied and unused. From there, we took a cable car to a small island south of Phu Quoc, which contains a waterpark and fun park among other attractions. But for us, the main attraction was probably the cable car ride over the ocean that gave a great view of the beautiful surroundings. Included in the ticket were vouchers for free beers at the brewery in Sun Town, which we redeemed to enjoy a couple of beers after a hot day. While we were at the brewery, we could even watch a Jetski and Flyboard show in the adjacent bay. Our sightseeing day then ended with a stroll over the Kissing Bridge, which surrounds the bay, during sunset.
For our last day we booked a snorkeling tour which brought us to some of the small islands in the south of Phu Quoc. On our way there, the sea was quite choppy for our taste but in hindsight we were probably just not used to riding small boats on the ocean yet ;) The water at the snorkeling spots was rather deep with poor visibility, which is why Marina decided to stay on the boat. The only acceptable ocean water to go into is where she can stand and see the sea floor. Keep that in mind when reading some of our footprints in the not so distant future! But compared to some of our future snorkeling trips, this was not at all a spectacular one so we anyway didn’t miss much ;)
We ended our last day relaxing at Khem Beach and some video calls with family members back home. The next day it was already time again to board a plane back to the mainland to get to our next destination.
Restaurants in the south:
- Istanbul Beach Club (Good for breakfast! Try the coconut caramel smoothie.)
- The Deck Phu Quoc - Kitchen & Beach Bar (Lovely restaurant at the beach.)
- Thai Papaya Restaurant (Delicious Thai food, especially the red thai curry. We have been here about three times.)
- Jo’s Cucina - Italian Restaurant (Homemade pasta - nothing more to say ;-)Leia mais
Ho Chi Minh
22–26 de dez. 2024, Vietnã ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
We spent four nights in Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon), which is a relatively short time but it was enough for us to understand that it is similar to Hanoi in that it is a big and extremely busy city, especially in traffic. As in Hanoi, the streets are full of scooters and cars and during rush hours even the sidewalks become additional traffic lanes for scooters. We spent two nights each at the Park Hill Hotel and The Royal Vista, which were a bit outside the city center in a less busy area.
During the little time we had in the city, we took care of some organizational tasks but also visited a few places as part of the mandatory sight seeing. We visited the war museum, the Notre Dame cathedrale, the Cafe Apartment (really recommended when you are there), and the Saigon Skydeck in the Bitexco Financial Tower to catch a great view over the city during sunset. We also wanted to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels (tunnel system from war times) located outside of the city but the limited time we had did not allow for it. Besides the sight seeing, we of course checked out various restaurants including a Burgermeister, which reminded Matthias of his favorite restaurant at work with the same name in Zurich Oerlikon. The burgers were decent but not the same.
On Christmas Eve, we visited the Moon 1984 rooftop bar for drinks and snacks. This bar is noteworthy because of its reception including a Christmas themed photobooth and gifts we received before even going to the bar. Marina got a blinking Reindeer hairband and Matthias some Christmas socks. Why not, right? After having drinks there, we went straight to the restaurant called Truffle & Co. to enjoy some of their amazing truffle dishes.
The most notable organizational task we had to do was to visit the Saigon Central Post Office to send a customized Vietnamese lantern to Marina’s goddaughter. This post office was built in 1891 and is still in operation today, so it was at least as much a sight to see as it was a place for us to get one of our tasks done.
And just as fast as we came here, we went to our next and previous destination, Phu Quoc.
Another two restaurants a bit outside of center Ho Chi Minh:
- Margheri Pizza (Great Italian food! Try the tiramisu.)
- Roti Mojo - Indian Restaurant (Huge portions of Indian dishes)Leia mais
Phu Quoc 2.0
26 de dez.–4 de jan. 2025, Vietnã ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Back on Phu Quoc, we now stayed in the western part of the island. This part seemed to be even more dominated by Russian tourists than the south, which immediately became obvious by the Russian menus in restaurants or even entirely Russian restaurants. We booked the first four out of nine nights in the Phuc Thang Hotel, which we liked a lot because it was nice and quiet. During our second stay on Phu Quoc we went to the beach to cool off during the extremely hot days, jogged along the main road in the evening, and went to a restaurant or beach club for dinner and drinks. We even did two beach days in the south of the island because we liked the Khem Beach there a bit better than the ones in the west.
After the fourth night, we switched hotels to one that was not very far in the same village. When we arrived they said that our room was not available because the hotel was overbooked. They then offered us a different room which was not ready yet so we just went to do our laundry and work on our computers for a while. Once we went back to the hotel we could go to our room, which did not look like the photos that made us book this hotel and was full of mosquitos. Also, in our opinion, the bathroom was not clean, which is why we reported this to the reception. The guy at the reception then came to our room and said that to him the bathroom looked clean. Since we did not agree, he got rather angry but agreed, with a shake of the head, to clean it again. Once we returned after dinner, there was now a Russian guy at the reception explaining to us that our reservation was cancelled by the booking platform but we could still stay in this room that was even cheaper than what we booked. We decided not to take that offer and instead went back to the Phuc Thang Hotel, which, after one poor night under our mosquito nets, luckily still had a room available. All’s well that ends well!
Speaking of ending well, it was now December 31 and time to say goodbye to the year that brought so many changes to our lives. Our New Year’s Eve night started with a great dinner and ended in a ridiculous story. Here is that story:
After consuming a delicious red snapper, we headed to a club where Marina previously got us a reservation. This reservation was valid if we arrived between 23:00 and 23:30, which we did. Once we arrived there, the old security guard who did not speak a single word of English just crossed his arms indicating that the club was full. After a while of trying to change his mind with the help of the reservation confirmation and Google Translate, he started to understand that we had a reservation and welcomed us in.
We were then shown to a booth and given a single page menu which was for wines and liquors only. Not feeling like wine or liquor, we asked if they had a different menu, e.g. for cocktails. They did and after some time we did get a page from the menu with cocktails. Again after some time we managed to ask if they also had some non-alcoholic options, after which we were given yet another page of the drinks menu. Now that we somehow had a reasonably complete menu and selected our drinks, nobody showed up at our booth to take an order. It was now 23:50 and we wanted to get a drink to toast with before midnight so Marina went to the bar, where our waiter now was, to place an order. However, the waiter replied that they cannot serve drinks because the fireworks were about to start and that we could order later. So we just waited for the fireworks to happen. At midnight, the DJ was still playing music and only stopped about one minute later to ask the crowd if they were ready. Well, did he really think none of us had accurate clocks on our phones and hadn’t already been waiting for this? He then started to count down to light the fireworks, which consisted of a handful of Roman candles. Clearly, this must have occupied the entire staff, so they could not serve drinks during the 15 minutes leading up to midnight.
Once the show and commotion was over, it was about 00:15 by then, Matthias went back to the bar to ask if we could order a drink. In hard-to-understand English, the bartender replied that they cannot serve drinks now. So Matthias asked when he could order drinks again only to get the answer “tomorrow”. Matthias then tried to confirm when the club would close and the bartender replied “maybe in 10 minutes”.
At around 00:30 we started our last attempt at getting a drink at the outside bar. The bartender there told us that “the last round had passed”. Matthias then explained to him that we had been at the club for an hour and did not manage to get a single drink to which he replied “yeah sorry, we are closed now!”. What a joke!
So imagine this: there is this club that organized a New Year’s Eve party but stopped serving drinks before midnight, without calling last round, and the whole club shut down shortly after midnight. This must have been the only time in Vietnam where we went somewhere and nobody even wanted to take our money. Regardless, we still managed to have a good start to the new year by lying on the beach in the sun during the next few days.
On one of these days we went to the Starfish Beach in the very north of the island. To get there, we first took a Grab taxi which brought us to the beach and then we had to take a boat to get to the part of the beach with starfishes. Taking a boat is necessary since they blocked the walking paths to get to the other part of the beach, likely just so that they can make some money with the boat rides. But the beach is worth the trip as it features clear blue water and white sand. We spent a lot of time there in the water before having lunch on a raft to which we had to swim while transporting our belongings on a surf board. We could even spend some extra time at the beach on our way back since our taxi driver blew a tire and therefore took a long time to pick us up.
Our second stay on Phu Quoc also marked the end of our time in Vietnam. We took a plane that brought us via Hanoi to our next destination and our next country on the list.
Cafés, restaurants and bars we can recommend:
- O Bon Pain - French Bakery (Freshly made bread stuff - Heavenly!)
- Nora’s Cafe - Restaurant (They serve yummy breakfast. Their bowls and egg options are pretty good.)
- Rome Cafe or La Place Coffee Eatery (Breakfast spot)
AM PM - Specialty Coffee and Wine bar (Amazing breakfast, but be there early because sometimes they run out of some breakfast plates.)
- Pizzamo (We went here twice because everything is so delicious.)
- Pizza Camia (Great pizzas!)
- The Tipsy Taco (Best chorizo taco ever!)
- Maharaja Lounge (Authentic indian food)
- Ocsen Beach Bar & Club (Cool location to watch the sunset and get some drinks and food.)
- Z Coffee Family Restaurant (Delicious food! Try a red snapper or a curry!)Leia mais
Siem Reap
4–11 de jan. 2025, Camboja ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Our flight starting in Phu Quoc brought us via Hanoi to Siem Reap in Cambodia. This of course seems ridiculous given that Phu Quoc is closer to Cambodia than the Vietnamese mainland. However, we unfortunately were constrained a lot by the very few exit ports we could use with our E-Visa to leave Vietnam, which made these flights the most reasonable way for us to get to Cambodia.
When we arrived in Siem Reap - Cambodia, we were warmly welcomed by a stunning sunset. Our first impressions were pretty good and certainly much better than our expectations after reading that Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in that corner of the world. But it sure did not feel like a poor country at all. We were totally impressed by how nicely built and modern the airport was and that the people seemed to speak English very well. Also their infrastructure looks generally very good, from well built roads up to European-like supermarkets. From the beginning on, besides the much better infrastructure, Cambodia reminded us of Laos which we liked a lot due to the people being very kind and always having a smile on their faces. The only thing that seemed a bit odd to us was that it is recommended to withdraw US Dollars instead of Cambodian Riel as not every place accepts Riel but they all accept US Dollars.
Siem Reap is known for being next to Angkor Park with its world famous temples but the city itself has much more to offer than just being a gateway to the park. It is full of markets, from the Old Market to the Center Night Market to many more to explore. And if you’re up for some nightlife, don’t miss Street 08, packed with bars and blasting music from every corner.
In Siem Reap we spent one week in the Sabara Resort, which is a five star hotel that we could get for only about 20CHF per night. While it did not at all provide what you would think of in an European five star resort, we had a nice room and pool area and their staff was very friendly and helpful. For this week, we bought a three day pass to the Angkor Park, which allowed us to visit the park and its famous temples during any three days of that week. We decided to do alternately one day in the park and one day relaxing and doing some sports, which ended up being a great plan because the park days with early sunrises and visiting one temple after the other in the heat are tiring.
After our first relaxing day, we booked a whole-day tour through the Angkor Park by remourque, which is basically a trailer with seats attached to a motorcycle. On this tour, we visited the world famous and gigantic Angkor Wat, the Bayon Temple, Ta Prohm which is well known from the Tomb Raider movie, and two smaller temples. The day after we relaxed at the hotel’s pool and apparently took the relaxing part a bit too seriously such that we missed our opportunity to rent a scooter for the next day, which we wanted to start before dawn. So the next morning, we took a Tuk Tuk to go see the sunrise at the Srah Srang lake before taking a Tuk Tuk back to have breakfast and a nap at the hotel. By that time, it was finally late enough that we could rent a scooter and visit the Phnom Bakheng and Neak Poan temples and also enjoy the sunset on top of the Ta Som temple.
A little side note on remorques: Cambodia was the only place where we have seen this type of transportation. But as it seems typical in southeast asia, people know no limits to what loads can be put on small vehicles. In the case of remorques, we have seen small motorcycles pulling trailers with an entire room worth of furniture and, Matthias’ favorite, a roughly 125cc motorbike pulling a trailer loaded with four cows.
Another day, another relaxing pool session, but this time without missing our opportunity to rent a scooter for the next day, which we wanted to start again before dawn. So we started our last day in the park, together with thousands of others, by watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We then visited the Pre Rup temple before returning to the hotel to enjoy breakfast and a nap. After this, we went to the city to have lunch and enjoy a back massage at “The Spa” from which we even got a voucher for a free 30 minute massage because we did not state that everything was perfect on their post-massage survey. All of this still left us time to visit the park one last time which we did by walking through Ta Prohm (aka Tomb Raider) again and watching the sunset over Angkor Wat.
The next day was also going to be our last day in Siem Reap. After checking out of our hotel room, we could still spend time at the pool for most of the day. We then headed to the city to redeem our massage voucher and have dinner before taking a sleeper bus overnight to get to our next destination.
Restaurants we can recommend:
- Nick Restaurant (They have traditional dishes, good curries and a huge variety of other dishes.)
- Street Three Eatery Siem Reap (Big portions! Everything is delicious!)
- Angkor Indian Restaurant (Authentic Indian dishes)Leia mais
Kampot
12–16 de jan. 2025, Camboja ⋅ 🌬 26 °C
As we did for longer travel distances in Vietnam, we took a sleeper bus to get from Siem Reap to Kampot. It was not as comfy as in Vietnam but it was still fine. We were basically laying ass to ass next to each other as if we were sleeping in a tiny double bed. Cozy, tight, but not so restful. Anyway, we got to Kampot safely, that’s all that matters, right?
After a sleepless night, we went straight to our hotel and took a nap. Fortunately, the room was already prepared so that we could check in already in the morning. We stayed for four nights at “The Square Kampot Hotel”, which is ten minutes away from the city center. The rooms were modern, the breakfast was tasty, and the staff was very friendly and helpful.
Kampot itself is a little riverside town without many attractions so it was easy for us to explore the city by foot on our first day. The number one attraction in the city center is a giant seahorse statue spitting water out of its mouth. Also, the railway bridge over the river is a sight to see and a walk along the river with its floating bars is a must. The real adventures, however, start outside the town.
The day after visiting the Kampot city center, we rented a scooter for the coming days from a laid-back American guy named David with whom we had some interesting talks before getting on our way. Our first stop was “La Plantation”. Kampot’s most famous pepper farm. The plantation is huge. They have 150 employees, 22’000 pepper plants, a restaurant, a café/bar and a shop. We booked a paid tour which gave us more insights into pepper production than their free tours. A young guide walked us through the fields and explained the difference between green, black, red, and white pepper. Actually, they all come from the same plant, but are harvested and processed differently. We even tried pepper straight off the vine. They are surprisingly fruity and spicy at the same time. After the tour, we had a tasting of pepper in different aromas. The pepper with salt was so delicious, we couldn’t resist buying some to send home for our families. After our pepper education, we drove to Kep where we were lucky enough to see some people harvesting salt from their salt fields during sunset, which made for amazing scenery.
The second day, we drove a long way up to the Bokor national park where we enjoyed lovely views over the sea. You can even spot Phu Quoc from there. Up there we found a Buddha statue, waterfalls, temples and a lot of abandoned buildings. On our way up and down we have seen plenty of monkeys sitting around, eating, and jumping around on the road.
On Marina’s request, the hotel organized a school visit for us by calling some friends. On our last and third day in Kampot, we visited the Chum Kiel school. Chum Kiel is a Cambodian NGO. Their mission is to give children from poor rural families education and a brighter future. Mr Soti, the passionate school director, took us around the school and showed us everything. We were very impressed by the big but generally simple facility with a school garden, a sports area, a computer room and a lot of classrooms. Everyone from pupils to teachers was so friendly and always smiling at us. It was inspiring and the perfect way to wrap up our time in Kampot.
Cafés and Restaurants we can recommend:
- Epic Arts Café (Good & healthy food options. A place where people with disabilities work. When you eat at the café, you help to fund education and training for children and young people with disabilities.)
- Dany’s Pizza (The restaurant is very simple and doesn’t look like a place you would go and eat but the pizzas and the garlic bread are pretty good though.)
- Masala Twist Indian Halal Restaurant (You get big portions. Try the “Veg Thali”. We went to this place twice because it is so delicious. )
- L’Osteria in Kampot (Italian food)Leia mais
Koh Rong
16–25 de jan. 2025, Camboja ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
To get from Kampot to Koh Rong, we first took a bus to Sihanoukville. We could only understand why this bus ride was scheduled to take such a long time for a relatively short distance once we were on our way over mostly very bumpy gravel roads. But we arrived well in Sihanoukville where we enjoyed lunch before boarding a speed boat that brought us through very choppy waters to Koh Rong. On Koh Rong we stayed for a total of nine nights at the Lanting Villas, which are located at the west end of the stunningly beautiful Sok San Beach. At that end of the beach, there is a small village with several restaurants and hotels. In general, the entire island is not well developed and only has a few small villages with a few roads in between them. But the lack of much infrastructure with mostly untouched areas including the most beautiful beaches is what gives this island its charm. At least until now! The Chinese have started building an airport and it’s probably only a matter of time before this island will change drastically. So our mission was to enjoy the island in its current state as much as we could.
Out of the eight days we had available, we spent four at the Sok San Beach. This beach is more than five kilometers long, features the most beautiful fine white sand and turquoise blue water, and, best of all, almost no people on it. Each time we went there it really felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves. But since words probably fail to describe its beauty, just check out our photos and videos and you will understand why we spent half of our time on the island at this beach.
For two days we rented a scooter from the hotel to explore the rest of the island. While most of the main roads between villages are made of concrete slabs in good condition, there are also many paths that are either gravel roads with holes and bumps or even worse just dirt roads or sand. Also, there are no gas stations on the island. Instead you just buy gas in pet bottles that people sell along the street, as it is common in Southeast Asia. So riding a scooter on Koh Rong is really an adventure we can recommend.
On our first scooter day we headed north with a first stop at the Lonely Beach to get breakfast at the Lonely Resto. This was already an adventure in itself as we had to traverse many sandy patches, ditches, and holes in the long dirt path leading to the beach. For the last bit we even had to park the scooter and walk since that section is considered unsafe for scooters, at least when ridden by tourists. We then headed to the Preaek Svay fishing village where we saw an otter that wanted to play with a dog by grabbing him by his legs. However, the dog was not up for playing and rather afraid since he was on a leash and couldn’t just run away. We then stopped at Palm Beach for some drinks before heading back to our hotel and enjoying dinner in the village.
On our second scooter day we visited the beaches on the eastern side of the island. We started at Pagoda Beach and then headed via Coconut Beach south to Long Set Beach and Kaoh Touch Beach. While Long Set Beach features many hotels and restaurants, Kaoh Touch Beach is more about parties and BBQ which attracts most young backpackers visiting the island. The two beaches are connected by a small and often steep gravel path which made for an interesting scooter ride again.
On one of the days, we did an afternoon boat tour with fishing, barbecuing, and watching the sunset. We were given reels of fishing line to try our luck in catching fish. While some of the group did, the two of us only thought once that something bit our hook but we were eventually never able to get a fish to the surface. The crew then prepared the fish and grilled them for us to try. With their very simple cooking setup on the boat, they also prepared chicken, rice, and vegetables to make dinner independent of our luck in fishing. We could then enjoy the sunset on the boat before heading to a spot with bioluminescent plankton. Some of the group jumped into the water to see the bioluminescence up close but the effect was minimal so we decided not to get wet again just for this. We’ll instead be waiting for that moment where the sea lights up with every wave before jumping into bioluminescent plankton.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and it was time for us to board a speed boat back to Sihanoukville, this time over a very calm sea, where we again enjoyed lunch before boarding a bus that brought us to our next destination.
Restaurants we can recommend:
- Déja Vu Restaurant and Bar (We came here for breakfast several times. They have very good bowls. Also, Turkish eggs are good to try.)
- Panorama Bar and Restaurant (This bar & restaurant belonged to our hotel where we stayed. They had good breakfast options such as muesli, eggs and pancakes but also delicious and freshly made dinner plates. We really enjoyed a dish with chicken on a pepper sauce. Can’t remember the name ;-)
- Totò Pizza (Small place with authentic Italian food such as pizza and pasta.)
- Island Restaurant & Bar (Here you can find the authentic Khmer curry. If you want to try it, this is the place for it. You can even share it because the portion is so big. The Chicken Cashew Nut and the Pad Kra Pao are also great. )
- The Moon restaurant (A place with not really good reviews but we enjoyed the food with sea view.)
- White Sand Ark Resort (Good food but pricey!)
- Lonely Resto (This place is at Lonely beach. They serve really good food. We were really impressed.)
- Palm Beach Bungalow Resort (A great place for a drink in the evening.)Leia mais
Phnom Penh
25–27 de jan. 2025, Camboja ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
After a long trip by speed boat and bus, we arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We initially did not intend to visit Phnom Penh but it made sense for us to take a plane from there to our next country on the list, so we decided to spend a couple of nights at the Times Hotel at Bassac Lane to also do a quick tour through the city. The hotel near Bassac Lane is a great starting point for sightseeing. In the evenings, Bassac Lane really becomes alive with plenty of great restaurants and bars with live music. Our two main stops were the Tuol Seng Genocide Museum and the Royal Palace of Cambodia. The Genocide Museum gave us some insights into the brutal, disturbing and to us surprisingly recent history, given that we found Cambodian people to be very friendly and happy and the country much better developed than we initially expected. In contrast, the big Royal Palace with its many buildings offered very beautiful sights.
After our minimal sight seeing in the city, it was time for us to get a Remorque taxi and head to the airport in the most reckless driving experience we had so far. At the airport, we took a plane to our next destination and our next country.
Restaurants we can recommend:
- Gorkha Palace (Delicious Indian food)Leia mais
Viajante
… schön ordentlich 🙃