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Category: Asia

  • Visit Türkiye in 2 weeks

    Visit Türkiye in 2 weeks

    We only had 14 days to visit this HUGE country which is both European and Asian (other fun fact: it recently changed his name from “Turkey” to “Türkiye”). I regret we didn’t have more time for our road trip in the South, but the rest of our rhythm was ok!
    We landed in Istanbul where we passed 3 days, took a flight to Nevşehir to discover Cappadocia by car for 3 days, and a night bus to Antalya where we rented an other car and drove to Izmir, following the Mediterranean, and the Egean coasts!

    Istanbul

    Istanbul is a wide city where you can easily spend a week! Traffic is also a big issue (it took us 2h from IST airport to the city center) so first tip is to use the public transportation, second is to choose what you want to visit depending on the time you have. Here is an idea of what you can visit in 3 days:

    Day 1:

    Flight to Istanbul, visit of the Blue Mosque and Cisterna Basilica.

    Day 2:

    Topkapi palace visit and its harem (2h), Grand bazar, Egyptian (spices) bazar, boat to Kadikoy where we had lunch, end of day in Galata!

    Day 3:

    Visit of the archeologic museum (around 1h30), Balat area and dervish show (Hodjapasha, 1400TL).

    Sultanahmet:

    Blue Mosque

    Saint Sophie

    Cisterna

    Topkapi palace

    Archeologic museum

    Balat

    Probably our favorite place, more quiet than the center, cute coloured streets, nice terrasses… You can reach it by tram easily.

    Galata

    From Taksim you can enjoy the main walking avenue crossed by a cute tram. Best view from the Galata tower, perfect for sunset!

    Kadikoy

    The asian side of the city, full of restaurants and bars, not so asian but nice to see if you have time and wish to enjoy a boat trip.

    Transportation:
    – From the airport the cheaper way is to take the bus to Aksaray where you have a direct Tram to Sultanahmet (only 204TL).
    – Mega Pass Istanbul: Card you need to buy 5€ and then recharge, it works with all the transports, including the boat (28TL Aminonu-Karakoy / 38TL Karakoy to Kabatas).
    – Taxi: We paid 1500TL to go to the airport (6am on Sunday, no trafic). Use Taksi app to order and get an estimation of the price.
    Museum cards:
    – Istanbul card: 105€, valuable with all the sites except Cisterna basilic (900Tl until 6.30pm and 1400TL until 11.30pm) and Saint Sophie (25€).
    – Turkye museum card: 165€ with all the main site of the country included, for 15 days.
    – Cappadocia museum pass: 65€ for 3 days.
    – You also have the Mediterranean Pass (90€) and Egean one (95€) both 7 days.

    Cappadocia

    You can pay for the Museum pass, but if you travel on a budget, you also have a lot of free sites where you will see quite the same stuff. I totally advise you to rent a car to avoid the mass of tourists (even in low season it was crazy in the main places!). Every day we decided what to do, and there is no “must do” as everything is beautiful, but here is what we did:

    Day 4:

    From Nevşehir airport we rented a car (AddCar – 37€/day) and started our discovery with the visit of Gülsehir (only 20TL for the car). We stoped by Avanos, a cute city with nice restaurants nearby the longest river, and visited for more than 1h Zelve. We ended this first day with a wonderful sunset at the Red Valley (60TL access) with a quick stop at the 3 beauties (50TL).

    Day 5:

    We woke up at 5.30am to start a 10km trek crossing the White valley to reach Love valley where the balloons start their journey. Lot of companies will sell you this trip (around 250€/pers) but the view from the valley is just fantastic!

    > Check the details of our trip on AllTrails

    As the rest of the day was pretty cloudy we decided to visit the underground cities of Derinkuyu (the most famous) and Kaymaklı (our favorite).

    Day 6:

    We finally visited the most touristic sites: Göreme, famous for the paintings in the churches, Paşabağları and its beautiful “towers”, and we had lunch in front of the old city of Çavuşin.

    Zelve

    Göreme

    Paşabağları (Devrent)

    Underground cities

    Sunset at red valley

    FREE PLACES:
    – Architecture: Gülsehir, Orthisar or Çavuşin
    – Natural places: Pigeon, pink and sword valleys

    Sunrise at white valley

    Mediterranean sea

    Day 7-8: Antalya and around

    We took a night bus (with FlixBus company) to arrive directly to Antalya where we rent an other car to visit the archeological sites around and drive until Izmir. We didn’t sleep well but at least we arrived first in Aspendos (15€) to enjoy the most conserved theater of the country (where you can still enjoy shows)! The same day we also visited Perge (11€) and the beautiful old center of Antalya (recommended restaurant: Route Burger).

    Second day we drove to Termessos (only 3€), probably the most amazing archeological site of our trip (1h to get there but totally worth it – only by car)! Back to the city, we visited Antalya museum (not really worth it but you can stop for a drink crossing the road with beautiful view from the cliff. We skipped Duden Waterfalls but you should probably take a look at it…

    Aspendos

    Perge

    Termessos

    Antalya museum

    Day 9: Çirali and Yanartas Milli Park

    Real cute village on the sea, far from the resorts in the East of Antalya, you’ll find here a nice trek to see stones on fire: Yanartas. We wish we had more time to chill there… Also we didn’t visited Phaselis and Olympos, Patara beach: instead we directly went to Kalkan where we stood in probably the most beautiful hotel and room: Fidanka!

    Egean coast

    Day 10: From Kalkan to Marmaris

    On our way to Marmaris, we stopped at Butterfly valley, had lunch in Ölüdeniz (Paradise beach restaurant) and finished our day enjoying the ambiance of the port.

    Day 11: Marmaris to Milas

    The day after we headed to Bodrum, with lunch break at Silent beach and a great evening in Milas, a quiet bird reserve where we saw Flamingos!

    Road trip conclusion: We spent a lot of time on the road, 4h/day average, and even if some parts were cute along the coast, it was mainly on a national road limited to 90km/h. Try to have more time than us!

    > Check our Polarstep

    Day 12:

    We dedicated this day to archeology with Didymes ruins (6€), a nice lunch by the beach (Kumsal Restaurant) and visit of Ephesus, the most famous (and crowdy) one. Sadly the main places were in restoration, and paying 40€ seems a bit expensive in my point of view… We arrived in Izmir in the evening, directly in the Old Bazar town hotel.

    Didymes

    Ephesus

    Day 13:

    For our last day we went to visit Sığacık: a cute city with small mediterranean streets. Izmir is the 3rd biggest city of the country, but the center kept a traditional vibe we really enjoyed! Full of old caravanserails, the bazar is a must do, so is the peer where you have nice restaurants perfect for the sunset!

    Sığacık

    Izmir

    WHERE WE SLEPT:

    – Istanbul: Villa Sofia
    Capaddoccia: Fairz Chimney Selfie hotel
    – Antalya: La Paloma
    – Kalkan: Fidanka
    – Marmaris: Sunway hotel
    – Milas: Yali Capkini Akyaka Boutique
    – Izmir: L’Agora old town bazar
    PRICES WE PAID:

    – Turkish Tea: between 25TL and 150TL
    Hooka: between 250TL and 750TL
    – Natural juice: between 20TL and 150TL
    – Gas: Around 40€ a full
    – Kebap: around 150TL
    – Glass of wine: between 250TL and 400TL for 20cl
    – Beer: around 150TL a pint

    Our best of

  • Our travel book

    Our travel book

    4 months after coming back, here is the full tale of our World Trip! We used Polarsteps as our journal, writing down all our adventures for our friends and family. We now have printed a book (332 pages) with some photos and graphics. Just a small teaser:

    (more…)
  • Budget for a World Trip

    Budget for a World Trip

    We travelled for 14 months and gathered all the prices thanks to TravelSpend application: Here is the detail of how much did we pay the planes, accommodations, activities, transportations, food… You will know all about what you should expect to spend on a World Trip!

    (more…)
  • Thailand

    Thailand

    During our Travel around the World we passed a total of 45 days in Thailand. First from the North to Cambodia in September: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and the amazing ruins of Sukhotai, Kamphaeng Phet, Ayutthaya, Buriram and finally Khao Yai national park. Second time in the South in December where we enjoyed the beach in Koh Chang, Koh Phayam, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan before going back to Bangkok.

    Arrival from Laos, we crossed the border and passed a first night in Chiang Kong (Baarimtaling guesthouse, 350THB) as we missed the last bus to Chiang Rai.

    Note: You can use Bookaway to get the timetable and book your transportation.

    Chiang Rai

    We took a bus from Chiang Kong (70THB, 3h) and arrived in the center of Chiang Rai. In the afternoon we rented a scooter to go to Wat Rong Khun, the White temple (30min), and Wat Rong Suea Ten, the Blue Temple (others 30min, to end our journey at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, the Giant Buddha (15min from the Blue Temple).

    – To sleep: Baan Bua guesthouse (320THB double room)
    – Bike rental: 200/day + 60 gazoline
    – Entrance White Temple: 100THB
    – Entrance Blue temple: Free
    – Elevator to Giant Buddha top: 40THB

    Chiang Mai

    We took a bus from Chiang Rai (195THB, 2h30), a TukTuk (120THB) to the hotel located in the North of the city, and started the visit of this busy city and its various temples.

    Second day we walked to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep hoping to enjoy the way but it wasn’t worth it. The only nice part of this walk is when you cross Wat Pha Lat, a nice temple lost in the nature.

    – To sleep: U2 and Smile (380THB double room)
    – Grand Hall: 50THB
    – Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep: 30BHT, Tuktuk to the center 80THB
    Enter to Thailand from Laos:
    Our first idea was to take the slow boat as i did in 2017, but because of CoVid there is only few boats oparating the transfert now. So we took a train from Luang Prabang to Luang Namta, passed one night there and took a bus to Muay Xai and cross the border there.

    From the North to Cambodia

    Sukhotai

    We arrived and booked directly 2 nights in an hotel nearby the bus station. We rented there a moto to go to Si Satchanalai historical park (1h30 driving) in the morning, and Sukhotai historical park during the afternoon:

    • Wat Phrapai Luang
    • Wat Si Chum
    • Wat Chetuphon
    • Wat Maha That, ideal for the sunset!
    • Wat Srasri
    • Wat Si Sawai
    – Bus from Chiang Mai to Sukhotai: 445THB
    – To sleep in Sukhotai: Ruengsiri 241THB
    – Historical Park entrance: 100THB + 100 THB
    – Motobike rental: 250THB + 30 for the gazoline

    Kamphaeng Phet

    We took a short bus ride (45min) and arrived in this small city, free from tourists! We walked to our hotel and rented there bikes to visit the historical parks.

    One day was enough to see everything, as everything is close.

    – Bus from Sukhotai: 80THB
    – To sleep in Kamphaeng Phet: Three J 300THB
    – Park entrance: 150THB
    – Bike rental: 50THB
    – Tuktuk to the bus station:

    Ayutthaya

    Same program as the others: bus, hotel, bike rental (motorbike would have been welcome!)

    In one day we visited:

    • Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon
    • Wat Chakrawat
    • Wat Ohu Khao Thong
    • Wat Lokaya Sutharam
    • Wat Chai Watthanaram (the most beautiful)
    • Wat Phra Ram (nice for sunsets)
    – Bus from Kamphaeng Phet: 362THB
    – To sleep in Ayutthaya: Brickhouse 323THB
    – Bike rental: 50THB
    – Entrances to the Wats: 50each temple

    Khao Yai National Park

    First day, we took a train to Pak Chong and rented a scooter for 3 days. First one we stayed in a nice hotel with swimming pool before the entrance of the park.

    Second day we started with the trail number 3 to the through the jungle to Nang Phak watching tower. After lunch, we found the camping to stay and prepared our camp. We went to Haew Su Wat waterfall, famous from the movie ”La Plage”, and it started to rain. We saw the sunset at Pha Trom Jai Cliff.

    Third day we went to the very south of the park, to find Haew Narok waterfall closed! Same for Pha Diao Dai point of view, also closed…

    – Train from Ayutthaya to Pak Chong: 173THB
    – To sleep: outside the park in Pak Chong Tharapana 1250THB, inside the park in the Camping 355THB
    – Motobike rental: 250THB+210THB for the gazoline
    – Park entrance: 210THB

    Buriram

    We took a train to Buriram and rented a scooter to go visit Prasat Phnom Rung and Prasat Muang Tam (between 1h and 1h30 from Buriram).

    – Train from Pak Chong to Buriram: 40THB
    – To sleep: 450THB
    – Motorbike rental: 200THB+90THB for the gazoline
    – Entrance to the temples: 150THB combined

    From Buriram to Angkor

    We took a night in Aranyaprathet to cross the border of Poipet in the morning (30USD + 100THB “corruption tips”)

    – Bus to Aranyaprathet: 200THB, 3h30
    – Tuk Tuk to the border: 100THB, 10min
    – shared taxi to Siem Reap: 500THB, 3h

    Bangkok

    We are not big fans of big cities, so we didn’t spend much in Bangkok:

    • Golden Mountain (100THB)
    • From the imperial Palace to the flower market
    • Kao San Road area
    • Chinatown and it’s market

    After 2 weeks in Thailand, we visited South Korea, Japan and Philippines. We came back to Thailand for our last month of our World trip:

    Mu Ko Chang national park

    Koh Chang

    From Bangkok (eastern terminal in Ekkamai metro station) we took a van to Trat and slept one night there. The day after, a tuktuk took us to the peer and we bought the ferry ticket there. After 30min sailing, we took an other tuktuk to our hotel located in the middle of the island (prices look fixed).

    – Tuktuk to peer: 80THB
    – Ferry: 80THB
    – Tuktuk to hotel: 150/pers
    – Tuktuk to the south beach: 200THB
    – To sleep: Kohchang7 405THB, or Yak bungalow 427THB

    Koh Kood

    After 3 nights on Koh Chang we took a boat to Koh Kood. Again, a very chill island with nothing to do but to rest!

    – Taxi Boat, ferry and transfert to the hotel included: 700THB
    – To sleep: Koh Kood Garden house (700THB)
    – Motobike rental: 250/day + 150gazoline
    – Transfert to Bangkok: Tuktuk, boat and bus to Kao San Road: 1100THB all included (even snacks!)

    Koh Phayam

    After a quick night in Bangkok (Kaosan Station 484TBH), we took a night bus to Ranong from Sai Tai Mai terminal, and a speed boat to Koh Phayam island. We rented a scooter on the arrival and get to our first hotel located on Ao Khao Kwai beach (visit the Hippie Bar). As it was raining we only did one day tour to Hin Talu beach.

    After 2 nights in the North, we decided to change for 2 other nights in the South, on Aow Yai beach.

    – Bus from Bangkok: 80THB
    – Tuktuk to the Fast Boat peer: 70THB/pers
    – Fast boat: 350THB
    – Ferry: 200THB (only one at 3pm)
    – Motobike rental: 150/day + 40 gazoline
    – To sleep in the North: Goldkey bungalows (450/night)
    – To sleep in the South: Rasta Baby (446/night)

    Surat Thani province

    Koh Tao

    Much more touristic than the other islands we’ve been, Koh Tao was the one where we decided to chill. We found a paradise hotel far from everything, view on the sea, with a nice and cheap restaurant, snorkelling and sunset from the room.

    To stay: Char Bungalows (600/night)
    Motorbike rental: 280/day + 100 gazoline

    Koh Phangan

    We only been there for the Half Moon party, so we arrived the day of the party and left right after to end our trip (flight from Bangkok).

    – To stay: See Sea (250 a dorm), Echo Echo beach hotel (450 a double room)
    – Ferry from Koh Tao: 600THB, 1h30 (twice a day: 9h30 or 15h)
    – Tuk Tuk to the hotel: 100THB
    – Transfert to Bangkok: 1200THB all included (tuktuk, ferry and night bus)
    Summary of our trip:
    – 1 night in Chiang Khong
    – 1 night in Chiang Rai
    – 2 nights in Chiang Mai
    – 2 nights in Sukhotai
    – 1 night in Kamphaeng Phet
    – 2 nights in Ayutthaya
    – 1 night in Pakchong
    – 1 night in Khao Yai
    – 2 nights in Buriram
    – 1 night in Aranyaprathek
    – 3 nights in Bangkok
    Flight to South Korea
    Back from the Philippines:
    – 1 night in Bangkok
    – 1 night in Trat
    – 3 nights on Koh Chang island
    – 3 nights in Koh Kood island
    – 1 night in Bangkok
    – 1 night bus to Ranong
    – 4 nights on Koh Phayam island
    – 1 night in Ranong
    – 8 nights on Koh Tao island
    – 2 nights on Koh Phangan island
    – 1 bus night to Bangkok
    – 2 nights in Bangkok

    Read also:
    > End of our World Trip!

  • Tips & itinerary in Philippines

    Tips & itinerary in Philippines

    As we traveled one month in the Philippines I’ve gathered here all the useful information and the itinerary we followed. How to go and what to do in Boracay, Bohol (and Panglao), Siquijor, Palawan and Coron islands! You can also check the summary of the 4 Island Hopping tours we did.

    To get useful information about how to get to each location, please click on the step and its details in this map:

    Trip map created with Wanderlog, a trip planner on iOS and Android

    Note: we always booked last minute flights (on the websites of CebuPacific and Philippines airlines), so we didn’t get very good prices (total 220€ per person, 4 flights):

    • Manila – Caticlan/Boracay (Godofredo P Ramos airport): 38€ each
    • Caticlan – Cebu: 34€ each
    • Cebu – Puerto Princesa: 65€ each
    • Coron/Busuanga (Francisco B Reyes airport) – Manila: 84€ each

    We left one of our bag in Manila’s airport (locker service in Terminal 3) to not pay check in luggage – 120€ the whole month.

    Tip for your trip: use Bookaway to book your ticket or to check the timetable of your bus, ferry, or plane !

    What to do in Boracay?

    Arrived from Tokyo to Manila, we took directly a flight to Caticlan airport on Panay island to start with Boracay! After almost 24h traveling, we took the easy way to go to our hotel: the transfer from the airport (see details on the map).

    Sadly we arrived right for the beggining of a typhoon, so the first 2 nights we stayed in our hotel, only seeing quickly Ilig Iligan beach (nice and quiet) nearby, then we moved to the center, near the D Mall.

    We’ve been stuck in our hotel 24h because of the storm. After that we had few hours with no rain to visit station 1 and station 2 and the Bulabog beach.

    • The station 1 is full of restaurants and tourists, with a narrow beach.
    • The station 2 one is more quiet and large.
    • Bulabog beach is full of boats but less clouded!
    – To sleep in Boracay: Oasis resort and spa, far from everything but only 1318pesos with massage included!

    What to do on Bohol?

    After a flight, 2 buses, a ferry and a van and a tricicle trip (see the detail on the map), we arrived in Batuan. First day we rented a scooter to do a nice loop from Batuan to Loboc, visiting Pangas waterfalls, a Tarsier conservation center, having lunch at the Nuts&Hutz lost restaurant. We followed the coastal road until Tubod passing very nice rice fields, to finally see the sunset on the Chocolate Hills.

    On the second day our host “invited” us for a small trekking on a hill and wild waterfalls. The he took us to the bus station to go to Panglao island.

    – To sleep in Batuan: Lhoyjean Garden hotel 500pesos/night
    – Trekking: 300pesos for 2 people + 200 for a half day motorbike rental
    – Pangas waterfall: 30pesos
    – Tarsier center: 100pesos
    – Motorbike rental: 400 pesos + gazoline: 200pesos

    Panglao / Bohol island hopping tour

    We chose to stay in an hotel far from everything in Bingag. I get sick so we didn’t do much more than chilling in the hotel with swimming pool!

    Once I get better we rented a scooter to go to Tagbalaran and book our ferry tickets to Siquijor. Last day we joined a hopping island tour (nice but too many boats and tourists).

    The general offer of island hopping is 1500pesos for a group tour (or private boat for 2 from 2000 to 3000pesos).
    Not included:
    +300 entrance fee on Balicasag island (only 100 if you don’t do snorkeling) with a guide, turtle watching and fish sanctuary
    +100 naked island entrance
    +150 for the mask
    +100 for the general environmental fee
    So: 1650pesos per person
    => We paid 900 per person a group tour all included with negociation via Facebook!

    – To sleep on Panglao: Blue Moon (800 pesos per night)
    – Motorbike rental: 500 pesos for 24h + gazoline: 200 pesos
    – Parking fee on Alona beach: 20 pesos
    – Tuktuk to the ferry: 150 pesos for 2 people
    – Island hopping: see the details

    What to do on Siquijor?

    Nearby the ferry arrival, we rented a scooter for 3 days and we first chose an hotel far from everything: La Villa Alta. If you have a better budget I advise you to choose San Juan area where you can enjoy the sunset and a lot of restaurants.

    You can easily pass one week there, as we did, but the minimum I guess would be 2 days:

    • One day to visit the waterfalls (Cambugahay with the funny rope, or Lagaan but with a guide) and the nice points of view in the center of the island.
    • The second one doing snorkeling on Tubod beach and enjoying the beach on the same spot, or Solangon Beach full of restaurants (like Coral Cay Resort), or Paliton Beach, more quiet.
    – To sleep on Siquijor: Villa Alta (684 pesos a cottage) or Royal Cliff (850)
    – Cambugahay Falls: 20 access + 10 parking + 50 if you want to use the rope
    – Lagan Waterfall: 50 access, 10 parking + tips to the guide
    – Paliton Beach: Free
    – Tubod marine sanctuary: 100 access and 50 to rent snorkeling kit
    – Scooter rental: 300 per day + 400 gazoline

    What to do on Palawan island?

    As explained on the map, the main entry of the island is Puerto Princesa. From there you will have various options:

    • Sabang where you have one of the 7 natural wonder: the underground river (2h drive)
    • Port Barton, very quiet and nice area (3h drive)
    • El Nido, the most touristic area (6h drive)

    Note: you could also do a quick stop at Taytay, a fisherman village which looks pretty (we skipped it).

    Sabang & the underground river

    Sabang is a very cute place, with amazingly friendly people who chill on the beach with beers and music, and go to sleep early as the sunset is around 5.30pm.

    There if you want to visit the famous underground river you will need a permit: you can get it in Puerto Princesa (nearby Mendoza park – not anymore at the Coliseum), or directly in Sabang. As it was low season we bought it when we arrived there for the day after.

    We found an hotel directly on the beach, tried the local food on the harbour and the beach (cheap but small portions).

    Next day we woke up at 7am to take a breakfast and start the tour at 8am, the opening hour! The full tour duration is around 2h, including 40min in the cave.

    – Where to sleep in Sabang: Why Not ghuesthouse, in front of the beach (700 pesos).
    – Underground river visit: First you buy a permit (740 pesos) and the boat tickets 1100 pesos with return, devided by the number of people (6 persons max, so 183 per person).

    Port Barton

    After a long and hard road from Sabang, we arrived in this charming little town with nice spots on the beach (careful with the sandflies, they killed me after the sunset!)

    You have a nice waterfall to visit (Pamuayan, 1h walk) we didn’t do: instead we enjoyed a kayak half day to go to Coconut beach, White beach and Starfish island (you also visit during the island hopping tour).

    Second day we did one of the best island hopping tour (see the details).

    – To sleep in Port Barton: Ohlala guesthouse (600 pesos a double room)
    – Environmental fee on arrival: 50/pers
    – Island hopping: see the details
    – Kayak rental: 500 pesos a full day

    El Nido

    Again, El Nido is a noisy place you can’t escape without renting a scooter! After 5h drive from Port Barton, we took a tuktuk to the center (50pesos) and rented a scooter to get to our hotel with an amazing view on the bay. This same day we had lunch in the Mango tree restaurant and waited for the sunset on Cabanas Beach (nice spot where you can also do canopy).

    Second day we went to the famous Nacpan beach (40min from El Nido), and the last day we went to an other island hopping tour.

    – Hotel in El Nido: Tree Camp (1500 pesos)
    – Scooter rental: 400 pesos a day + gazoline: 100 pesos
    – Island hopping: see the details
    – To go to Coron from El Nido: Ferry booked via Bookaway
    – To sleep in Coron:     Kokosnuss resort (1980 pesos per night)
    – Environmental fee on arrival: 200/person
    – Island hopping: see the details

    What to do on Coron island?

    Tours and… tours! Here is the best of Coron island, as the main one (Busuanga) is not so really interesting appart from climbing to the Cross hill… We rented a scooter to go to Victoria in the North, but nothing to see there…

    We did only one Island hopping tour, but I guess with more time and budget you could do much more!

    It was our last island, we took a flight directly to Manilla (transfer hotel to Busuanga airport: 250/pers) to leave for Thailand, the last step of our adventure…

    Summary of our Island Tours in Philippines:

    IslandTour typePriceHourSpots visitedNumber of peopleSnorkeling materialKayak
    Panglao (Bohol)Panglao Island hopping900From 6.30am to 3pm-Dolphin Watching
    -Balicasag Island 
    -Snorkeling @ Fish Sanctuary
    -Turtle Watching
    -Virgin Island White Sand Bar    		12IncludedN/A
    Port BartonIsland hoping1250From 8.30am to 4pm– Snorkeling place
    – Turtle Watching
    – Maxima & Exotic islands for lunch
    – Snorkeling spot
    – Virgin island    		8IncludedN/A
    El NidoTour C1600From 9.30am to 4.30pm– Secret Beach
    – Matinloc Island
    – Talisay Beach for lunch
    – Coral reef
    – Cadlao Island lagoon
    – Helicopter island    		10100300
    CoronSuper Ultimate1500From 9.45am to 5pm– Kayangan lake
    – Twin Lagoon
    – Lunch on mini beach
    – Coral near Atwayan Beach
    – CyC beach
    – Baracuda Lake    		22150300

    Summary of our itinerary in Philippines:

    • Boracay: 6 nights
    • Bohol: 2 nights
    • Panglao: 3 nights
    • Siquijor: 6 nights
    • Sabang: 1 night
    • Port Barton: 3 nights
    • El Nido: 3 nights
    • Coron: 3 nights

    Take note that this is our personal feedback, yours will depends on what you want to do: visiting, chilling?

    It will also depends on the weather: sometimes because of the rain you won’t be able to enjoy and may prefer to stay one or two days more in a place…

    Conclusion: it’s hard to give you an ideal program, the best advise I could give you is to stay flexible

    Our Best moments:

    Station 1 in Boracay
    Bohol Chocolate hills
    Panglao Virgin island (island hopping)
    Siquijor
    Sabang
    Coconut beach in Port Barton
    Long beach in Port Barton (island hopping)
    El Nido island hopping friends
    Camp Tree in El Nido
    Twin lagoons in Coron (island hopping)
  • 2 weeks itinerary in Japan

    2 weeks itinerary in Japan

    While we were in South Korea, Japan finally re opened its gates after 3 years of Covid interdictions. It was a great occasion for us to visit this country. Our budget kept us from staying too long, so we only had 13 days to visit Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo and the Mount Fuji.

    CoVid restrictions for travellers in Japan

    To enter in Japan since the 11th of october 2022, no need to have a guide (as it was during CoVid crisis), you can enter freely in the country if you are fully vaccinated. We had our 3rd dosis in Chile, so for us it was easy: only need to fill in a form on arrival with the staff helping you. The masks are still worn everywhere (people here are very respectful about rules).

    About Japan:
    – You can rent traditional kimonos everywhere (between 2000 and 3000¥). It’s very common in touristic places to see japanese with those nice costumes.
    – Toilets are not a legend: the most clean and modern I have ever seen…
    – 3 ways to say hello: “Good morning” = Ohayo Gozaimasu, “Good afternoon” = Konnichiwa, “Good evening” = Konbanwa. They say ”Hi” to say a little bit everything: thank you, ok, you’re welcome… But the real “Thanksl is Arigatô gozaimas.
    Transportation in Japan:
    – You can use Bookaway to get the timetable and book your transportation.
    – To take the metro you first need to check the fare of the station you want to go to. Then just select it from the screen of the machines (you can pay by cash or credit card). Note that you can buy 1 day tickets, could be useful if you intent to travel a lot and walk less!
    – We booked our bus between Kyoto and Tokyo on Willer website, and the one from Tokyo to Mount Fuji on Highway buses website. You can also use Bookaway Updating failed. The response is not a valid JSON response.

    Osaka

    From Busan we arrived in Kansai international airport, on an island in south west of Osaka. It was easy to get to the center: direct train to Namba station (1h – 940¥), in the heart of the city nearby Dotonburi. We walked few hours in the area, passing through Shinsaibashi-Suji Shopping Street, visiting the Tsutenkaku tower (900¥) and having lunch on the Tombori River walk.

    Second day we visited the castle of Osaka (entrance 600¥) and walked all day long around Tenjinbashi, with an other huge shopping street, Nakanoshima park area, and went back to Dotonburi to enjoy the lights and nightlife!

    osaka
    osaka
    dotonburi
    osaka
    osaka
    osaka
    To stay in Osaka: I recommend the Mystays Otemae hotel, nearby the castle, the subway, supermarkets, and not so expensive (we paid 4360¥ per night for a studio with kitchen)

    Kyoto

    Only 45min from Osaka Umeda train station (570¥), we left our bags in the hotel nearby Kyoto train station, and went directly to Fushimi Inari, a temple famous for its 1000 gates. As the borders recently opened, we were not 1000 of tourists, but still on a saturday there was a lot of people!

    Second day we visited the Bambu Forest (metro to Uzumasa Tenjingawa and tram until Arashimaya). Very touristic area with a nice river, the pouss pouss and lot of restaurants (we recommend Akamanma and its nice terrasse – even if it’s italian cooking and they accept only cash). We took back the tram until Kitanohakubaicho station to visit the Golden Palace (400¥), really made in gold and shiny walls!

    Third day was rainy, so we only visited Nishiki Market.

    4th day we went to Kurama, a very nice mountain with temples lost in the nature (300¥). After coming back we wanted to visit the imperial palace but we discovered you need to book in advance… Still the garden around is huge to visit, and the river path nearby is a pretty place to eat and rest.

    Last day we went to the Philosopher path, a nice walk by a river surrounded by cherry trees. It lead us to the Silver pavillon and its nice garden (500¥). Then we joined the most touristic but also most beautiful area of Kyoto: Gion. It’s a huge place, and the interesting part is a bit far from the metro station.

    Best places to visit Gion: Yasaka pagoda, Kiyomizu temple, Yasaka jinja, Kodaiji, Ryozen Kannon temple, Chishaku-in temple and the southern parallel street of Shirakawa river.

    If you have more time: Visit Nijo-Jo, and Sento imperial palace (do not forget to book in advance online as its only guided visits).

    To stay in Kyoto:
    – Pocket Hotel, maybe the most futurist hostel we’ve been (28€/night for a tiny double room).
    – If you want to experience a traditional accommodation in a century house and sleep on a futon: Waraku An guesthouse (50€ a double room).
    Transportation in Kyoto:
    – Metro: between 200 and 260¥ depending where you go.
    – Bus: 230¥ (you also can take day cards)
    – Train to Kurama: 430¥ from Demachiyanagi.

    Tokyo

    Arrived at 6am in an uncomfortable night in the bus, we left our stuff in a locker and discovered the Hoppy street, the Kaminarimon gate and Asakusa sanctuary still asleep! It was kind of magic… After that we walked to Ueno park and visited the National museum (1000¥). We finished the day in Yanaka Ginza, a small and cute area, before ended in our hotel located in Oji.

    Second day we wanted to visit the imperial palace garden but it was closed on Fridays (as well on Monday). So we walked through the financial district to Ginzu, famous commercial area.
    The same day we visited Hama Rikyu garden (300¥) and Shinjuku, a very animated place where we visited an other garden (Sinjuku Gyoen park, 500¥) to wait for the sunset and the lights by night. Don’t forget in Shinjuku to pass through Omoide Yokocho where you can have a traditional dinner in mini restaurants!

    3rd day we went to the Tokyo tower area in the morning, and Shibuya in the afternoon and evening. There you can find the largest crossing of the World (don’t miss it, it’s a living show nearby Shibuya station). You also have a park with a lot of animations and music: Yoyogi Koen.

    Bus from Kyoto: 5500¥, 6h booked on Willer
    To stay in Tokyo: Oji guesthouse music and lounge, 3726¥ per night a double room

    Mount Fuji

    Mount Fuji is visible from various towns around lakes. We chose Kawaguchiko: only 2h from Shinjuku with a direct bus.
    Nearby the station you can rent bikes (1500¥ a day from 9am to 5pm) and make a nice loop around the lake to enjoy the beautiful view on this old volcano. We also went to Iriguchi ropeway with its cable car, walking down by ourselves. Tip: do this tour counter clock wise, as the Mount can be cloudy in the afternoon.
    End of the day we climbed to Chureito Pagoda where you can enjoy an amazing sunset.

    To go to Narita airport from Tokyo: we took the JR line from Oji to Nippori (169¥ per person) and the direct train to the airport (45min, 2620¥).
    Budget: We spent 87€/day for 2 people. Accomodation represent 30% of our spendings, with an average of 30€ per night for double rooms with always a kitchen with microwave. Transportation represents 17%.
    Restaurants were not so expensive: 1700¥ for 2 people in a suhsi restaurant, around 1200 a full meal, 500¥ a draft beer, and again a lot of supermarkets with sandwiches from 200¥, prepared meal from 300¥ to 500¥ with microwaves or hot water for instant noodle soups.
    Summary of our trip:
    – 2 nights in Osaka (2 full day to visit)
    – 4 nights in Kyoto (3 full days to visit + one rainy day)
    – A night bus to Tokyo
    – 5 nights in Tokyo (3 days to visit the city, 1 to go to Fuji, 1 last rainy day to prepare our trip to Philippines)

    Our best of

    osaka
    osaka
    kyoto
    golden palace
    silver pavillon
    kyoto
    kyoto
    gion
    gion
    tokyo
    Mount fuji
    Mount fuji
  • South Korea after CoVid

    South Korea after CoVid

    Visiting South East Asia, we saw that South Korea and Japan reopened their gates without any CoVid restriction, so we took a direct flight from Bangkok to Seoul. We only had 12 days to visit the country as it wasn’t really in our plan nor our budget!

    I share with you all the details, budget and itinerary in South Korea, from Seoul to Jeonju, Busan and Gyeongju.

    CoVid restrictions in South Korea

    To go to South Korea you first need to apply to the online visa K-ETA (only 50k won), we received ours in less than 24h! In term of CoVid restrictions in South Korea, since the 1st october 2022 they opened its gates without any PCR test or other requirement related to CoVid. We only had to fill in a form (you can also do it online and get a QR code which is faster), they took our temperature and that’s it! Masks are still recomended in the streets and mandatory in public transports.

    General prices (in won):
    – Food in supermarkets: sandwich around 2500, sushis around 3000, instant noodles from 1200
    – Can of beer: between 2000 and 4000 in supermarket, 5000 a draft beer in bars
    – Korean Barbecue: between 9000 and 15000 per person
    – Dumplings: around 8000 per person
    – Street food: 5000 chicken stick, 4000 a sausage
    – Coffee: 5000 a hot americano
    – Waffle: 3000
    Transportation:
    You can use Bookaway to get the timetable and book your transportation.
    Budget:
    We spent a total of 90€/day for 2 people. The biggest expense comes from our accommodations (average: 35€ per night for a double room with private bathroom). FYI you can pay everywhere with your credit card, we only withdrawed the equivalent of 150€ for the markets and the metro (you can only pay by cash).
    Small tip:
    To save money once per day we ate food from the supermarkets: They all have microwaves, hot water and sometimes tables to eat in!
    For the smokers:
    Smoking in the street is not really well taken by locals. You should find discrete smoking areas or check where people smoke and join them!

    Seoul

    From Incheon or Gimpo aiports: You have a train connected to the metro (around 1h, 4250w only by cash).

    We arrived in the evening and enjoyed Hongdae area (Metro Hongik university), a great nightlife with a lot of games and karaoke, and groups practicing K-pop in the street (and filmed like stars).

    The day after it was raining so we focused on the inside visits: Museum of war and National museum (both free). You can easily reach them by metro. We also visited Gyeonbokgung palace (3000W).

    Second day we went to Ihwadong area and fortress, Changdoekgung palace (3000) and its secret garden (5000w guided visit). We had lunch in Bukcheon Hanok village, nice traditional houses. Then we climbed to Namsan where you can find the Seoul Tower (if you are lazy you can still take the cable car for 14000wons). The tower cost is 16000wons, we chose to stay on its feet!

    – To stay in Seoul: Hotel Dongdaemun Hwashin (45000w double room with free washing machine and dryer you can use).
    – Price of the Metro: between 1400 and 1600w (you have machines to buy a card, with 500w deposit you can get back when you leave the metro).

    > More videos on my YouTube channel

    Good to know:
    – You can use the T-Money card, a card you pay 3000 and can recharge with cash in any 7 eleven. You can use it as metro card, for the bus or in any supermarket.
    – To check the bus timetable (and supposedly book online): Kobus.co.kr
    – Most of our hostels had a kitchen available which was very helpful to save money.
    – You have supermarkets everywhere (GS25, CU, 7 Eleven) with sandwishes, sushis, instant noodles and many other surprises, cheap and correct!

    Jeonju

    We took a bus from Seoul (2h40, 14000w) to visit Jeonju. In one day we had time to visit everything, no need more:

    Pungnammun Gate

    Hanok village

    Jaman mural village

    Nambu market

    Omokdae

    Gyeonggijeon palace

    Entrance: 3000w

    Jeondong cathedral

    Only from outside as the doors were closed
    To sleep: Happy Memory (35000wons a double room)
    To go to the center from the bus terminal: The bus stop is located nearby the river, on the other side of the road when you leave the station, on your left. You can take line 102 or 5002. Ticket price is around 1500won, you can directly to the driver or use your T-Money card.
    Tip: Use Google map to find the perfect transportation.

    Busan

    We took a VIP bus from Jeonju Express bus Terminal (3h, 27500wons) and arrived at Nopo metro station. First day we visited the harbour area close to Busan Tower (metro Jagalchi): Gukje market, the book street (very small), the Biff square and around, and of course the fish market. We passed the evening at Seomyeon where we had our hostel.

    Second day we visited the famous Gamcheon village, famous for its coloured houses and view on the sea (metro Toseong). Then we had lunch on Gwangalli Beach (metro Geumnyeonsan) and visited Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.
    2 options to go there from Gwangan metro station: You can take the line 2 until Bexco station, change for the train to Osiria station and walk 25min – 1600+1400won / Option 2: Bus number 1001 and walk 10min, 1400wons).

    We finished the day at Haeundae Beach and Bay 101 to enjoy the beautiful nightview on the buildings and Gwangan bridge.

    Third day was dedicated to Beomeosa Temple (2,5km from metro Namsan). We didn’t do much more than walking through Bujeon market and Jeonpo area to enjoy a good traditional Korean BBQ.

    To stay in Busan: K Guesthouse in Seomyeon (45k a double room with breakfast included)
    To travel: Metro is almost everywhere, you can buy a day card for 5000wons or pay single tickets between 1400 and 1600wons.

    Gyeongju

    Only 1h from Busan, Gyeongju is an open sky museum: once the capital of Silla kingdom, you have plenty of archeological sites to visit there!

    As the first day was rainy and very croudy (try to avoid the week-end if you like quiet visit), we only visited Daerungwon ancient tombs (impressive tumuli).

    Second day was sunny, so we took the bus 11 in front of the bus station (bus number 10 also works fine), to go to Gyeongju national parc. We met there the monks of Gulbulsa temple who kindly invited us for the tea. You can also stay with them for free (only need to contact them in advance using Talk App: +82 010 8660 1009 or by email: koreazen@gmail.com). We crossed the mountain from the East to the West side and took a bus to go back home.

    Last day we walked to Cheomseongdae observatory (the oldest in Asia), to Gyochon hanok village (don’t miss there the Woljeonggyo Bridge). We waited the dusk to visit Donggung palace (3000wons, opened until 10pm).

    To stay in Gyeongju: Hanjin hotel (64000wons for a double room – note that you can find cheaper, but the location was perfect, close to the bus station and the touristic area).

    Summary of our 12 days itinerary in South Korea:

    Seoul: 2,5 days, 3 nights
    Jeonju: 1 day, 1 night
    Busan: 2,5 days, 3 nights
    Gyeongju: 3 days, 3 nights
    Busan: back for one night before our flight to Japan! We slept at ”Airport guesthouse”, 30€ a double room, 15min walking to the airport or 5min by train.
    Looking back…
    – As we visited very quickly the cities, we could have use 1 more day in Seoul and visit the demilitarized area, or even 2 days to visit Sokcho or Andong.
    – To visit Jeju island you need at least 3 days so it will be for our next visit!
  • Visit Laos after CoVid

    Visit Laos after CoVid

    After 2 weeks in Vietnam, we found Laos little bit more quiet than what I remember from my previous trip, and the prices seem to have raised (we also upgraded the level of confort, while before I was mainly sleeping in dorms).
    We arrived in Savannaket, did the Thakhek loop, Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang before going to Thailand from Louang Namtha to Houayxay.

    Coming from Vietnam

    We started with a bad experience crossing the border: we had a night bus from Ninh Binh to Vientiane, but at 7am when the border openned they requested a visa we didn’t have and they didn’t deliver it in Cau Treo border. So we had to go to Bao Lao, taking a first van to Vinh which left us on a crossing to take an other bus to Dông Hoi. There we changed for a van to Dong Ha and finally the one to the border in Lao Bao.

    Conclusion: dont think as I did that all the border deliver visas ! We spent 85k dongs, 8h trip…

    Arrived by night in Dansavan (100.000kip), we stayed at the first guesthouse and took a bus the day after to Savannaket (100.000kip, 6h).

    Note: You can use Bookaway to get the timetable and book your transportation.

    Savannaket

    As I was sick we didn’t do a lot, just resting in the beautiful hotel with the view on the Mekong: Pilgrim’s hotel and kitchen (309k a night).

    thakhek loop map
    Hotels of Thakhek loop:
    – Konglor: Spring River resort (255k double room)
    – Thalang: Phosy Thalang guesthouse (180k a double room with breakfast)
    – Thakhek: Inthira in the center (240k), or Xaychalern guesthouse (100k) nearby the bus station

    Thakhek loop

    Arrived in Thakhek with a mini van driven by a teenager (!), we found a lot of hotels closed… We rented a scooter for 3 days at Mad Monkey (do not hesitate to contact them by WhatsApp if their door are closed). The German owner gave us a lot of advises, many places being closed during the rainy season (rise of the water means caves are flooded, and a lot of hostels haven’t reopen yet).

    • Instead of following his advise to stop the first night in Thalang and 2 nights in Konglor, we drove the first day until the end of the loop, stopping by Song Sou waterfall (not really accessible), nice points of views and crossing the beautiful valley of Konglor.
      Note: We started at 9am and arrived at 6pm, around 250km.
    • Second day we visited Konglor cave (2h, 130k one boat for us two, 5000 to access with motobike), went to the Limestone view point and headed to Talang. We could have stop at the Dragon cave but we preferred to keep going.
    • Third day we visited Tham Nang Ene cave – 30k entrance (nice and you can also do a boat tour), the Buddha cave – 5k entrance (disappointing), and went to see the Great Wall.
      We were back in town at 5pm.

    We spent a total of 450k for 3 days motorbike rental, and 245k for gazoline.

    We slept nearby the bus station (tuktuk from the center: 50k) and bought our ticket to Ventiane one hour from the departure.

    Vientiane

    From Thakhek to Vientiane: it took 7h in the VIP bus starting at 9.30am from the regional bus station. You also have common buses at 7.30 and 8.30.

    This capital located at 6km from the bus station (tuktuk: 100.000kip for 2) has a very small city center with a nice night market. We visited there Si Saket temple (30k), Vat Phra Kèo (30k) and rented bikes (20k a day) to go to Pha That Luang (closed at 5pm), passing by Patuxai (with a nice water show).

    Hotels in Vientiane:
    – Mixay guesthouse (200k a double room negociated)
    – Mixok Inn (180k a double room)

    Vang Vieng

    Located in a beautiful region full of mountains and limestones picks, we enjoyed relaxing days in our hotel with swimming pool, and rented for one day a scooter to go to the train station and visit

    • Kaeng Nyui waterfall
    • The Blue lagoon 1 and the amazing Tham Phu Kam cave (don’t forget good shoes and light). Entrance: 10k.
    • We finished the day with the most amazing view of the valley: Nam Xay top view. The climb is quite an experience, but it really worth it (access: 10k).
    To sleep in Vang Vieng:
    Surana Homestay (150k with breakfast and swimming pool)
    To eat and chill:
    Full Moon bar

    Luang Prabang: See the post “Laos from North to South”

    From Luang Prabang we took the Train (158k per person) to Luang Namtha where we passed the night before heading to Thailand via Houayxay – Chiang Khong.

  • Northern Vietnam in 15 days

    Northern Vietnam in 15 days

    With our free 15 days visa we decided to focus on the Northern part of Vietnam (I already visited the South in 2017). We arrived to Hanoï, went for a cruise on Ha Long bay, then to Sa Pa and its amazing ricefields, did a 3 days loop around Ha Giang, and finished our trip in Ninh Binh, the terrestrial Ha Long bay!

    After travelling 8 months in Latin America, where everything was easy (I speak Spanish so it helps a lot) and the travel system is a bit like we know, our arrival to Vietnam after a 30h trip from Mexico was quite hard. So we mainly asked the information and fees to the hotels where we were, without knowing if it’s a good or regular price.

    Also, because of our jetlag, we chose not to take night buses in the beginning, but we could have definitely get faster (with a nightbus between Hanoï and Sa Pa, and an other between Sa Pa and Ha Giang).

    Looking back on this trip, the most relevant itinerary would have been Hanoi – Ha Long Bay – Ninh Binh – Ha Giang – Sapa and cross the border in the North of Laos.

    Tip: You can use Bookaway to get the timetable and book your transportation.

    Hanoï

    Arrived by night at Hanoi, we visited the city in only a half day as it was raining as hell… We booked a tour in Halong Bay the day after (through our hotel).

    Note: we paid 350k a taxi from the airport to our hotel

    What to visit in Ha Noi:

    • Imperial city, and don’t forget the exhibitions and the bunker to visit (entrance: 30k)
    • Ho Chi Minh memorial (nearby you have Môt Côt pagoda – not really worth it)
    • Train street (we sadly missed the train but it’s a fun stuff to do: take a coffee and wait for the train)
    • Đền Thủy Trung Tiên temple on the lake (entrance: 30k)
    • You also have a water Muppet show which looks fun but we didn’t have time to watch it
    • National history museum (again no time but looks interesting)
    To stay in Hanoi:
    We chose to be in the center, for the amazing ambiance during the weekend and the proximity with all the sighseeings
    – Gia Tinh (320k a double room)
    – Rising Dragon (487k a double room)

    Ha Long bay

    Details of our 2 days 1 night tour in Halong Bay

    • 8.30am: leaving from the hotel, did a 20min stop on the road at a shopping center
    • 11.30 arrived in the Harbour where we took a small boat to get to our 3 stars boat. We had a welcome drink, did the check-in, and had lunch while the boat was entering into the bay
    • 2.30pm visit of Surprise cave
    • 3.30 small island with a very nice point of view (400 steps) and a small beach where you can swim
    • 5pm way back at the boat stationed for the night. Happy hour (1$ off on any cocktail)
    • 7pm small cooking lesson, Diner and then karaoke until 10.30!

    2nd day:

    • 6.15am the boat started a small cruise to an other bay where you can use kayak to visit the Skall cave
    • 7am kayak tour all alone
    • 8am breakfast while the boat was taking the way back
    • 10.45am lunch at the harbour
    • 12.30 we left the boat and get back to Hanoi
    • We arrived in Hanoi at 5pm.
    How much is a cruise on Halong Bay?
    We paid 115$usd for a 3stars cruise (not included the beers, 30k and cocktails 50k).
    You can also take a 5 stars for a bit more but I guess the only difference is the confort in the cabin, not the program.
    I also have seen agencies in the street proposing 75$ for the same 2d/1n but I don’t have the details.

    We could have taken a night bus to Sa Pa, as there are plenty leaving at 10pm (but arriving at 4am). We chose to take a hotel in Hanoi and a bus in the morning (ours was at 8am with Sa Pa Express from the city center but you have many other agencies starting earlier).
    Hanoi – Sa Pa: 6h (we paid 18$usd)

    Sa Pa

    6h from Hanoï (with 2 stops of 20min), Sa Pa is located in the mountains with amazing rice fields terrasses. We arrived at 1pm, had lunch and went in our Homestay: Mintu. From there we did a small trekking to Cat Cat the first day. It was Sunday and this village was full of beautiful people wearing traditional dresses, a paradise for Instagramers!

    Note: Moto taxi from Sa Pa to Cat Cat is between 20k and 50k. The entrance to Cat Cat was 90k and I heard you also need to pay for the other villages, but as we passed by the rice fields I guess we avoided it.

    The second day we walked to Lào Chai and Tavan. With MapsMe you can easily do it by yourself. It’s totally ok to walk without a guide there. We started at 7am, avoiding all the tourists groups who start later and from Cat Cat. We took a coffee at Family H’Mong where we met Mimi who told us a lot of stories in a perfect English. She invited us to visit her home without asking any money while an other woman who started following us insisted A LOT to sale us stuff…

    We also crossed a lot of children who almost cryed asking to buy them their bracelets. We arrived in Lào Chai around 11am and stopped for a lunch while again a group of woman was harassing us (but not so long and nothing crazy).


    After a total 18km walking around this beautiful countryside, we went back to our hotel by moto taxi (60k).

    Note: If you prefer to take a guide instead of walking alone, please contact a H’Mong woman guide (like Soon Yang or Chai trekking on Facebook) as the community doesn’t profit from the Tourism when you book tour with Vietnamese. It will be between 20$ and 50$ per day per person with accommodation and food.
    OCHAO means thank you in H’Mong

    Ha Giang loop

    Ha Giang was a start of a 3 days roadtrip we made with a semi automatic scooter. Here is our program:

    First day

    • 6.45am we left the hotel to avoid the cops posted 9km from Ha Giang (they might ask for your international moto driving licence but are supposed to be there only from 7am to 11am). After 45min it started to rain and we stopped 1h in a house of very friendly vietnamese people who offered us “happy water”…
    • 9.45 we stopped to take a coffee with the view on the Heaven gate
    • 12h30 we had lunch in Yen Minh
    • 14h we’ve been stuck 1h by the rain
    • 16h we arrived in Dong Van and took the North road until Lung Cu
    • 18h30 we arrived at Ma Pi Leng homestay where we were all alone! We shared the diner with this nice family but didn’t sleep well as some neighbour put music at 3am…

    Second day

    • We left at 7.30 am and went back to take a coffee at Happiness museum (no breakfast as they only had shrimp noodles) and went to the skypath road (only if you are good driver without vertigo)
    • 10h30 we took a breakfast in Meo Vac before starting the “hard” part: bumpy road during 1h (nothing to be afraid of, if you need you can just push the moto)
    • 15h we arrived at Du Gia where we had lunch at Du Gia Garden and took rest in the beautiful Du Gia Panorama homestay (we were dead!)

    Third day

    • 9.30 we left Du Gia after a great breakfast and after visiting the waterfall nearby the hotel (not crazy but if you want to swim there it’s ok) to go back to Ha Giang
    • After Tung Nun we took the road on the left to cross beautiful mountains
    • 12h45 we had lunch at Quan Bia Chum Vang nearby Ha Giang
    • We finished our trip in Thanh Thuy close to chinese border and went back to the hotel at 3pm
    map Ha Giang loop
    Semi Automatic moto rent: we paid 180k per day + 5$ per day for full insurance via our hostel, Lila Inn (very nice, they let you us take a shower and arrange the bus to Ninh Binh)
    Gazoline: between 200k and 250k for the whole trip
    Ma Pi Leng homestay: 150k a single room for 2, 80k per person for dinner
    Du Gia Panorama homestay: 300k with breakfast, 120k dinner per person (to go there ask Du Gia Homestay nearby the river in the city center)

    Ninh Binh

    Our night bus took us directly from the hotel in Ha Giang (400k) and took 9h to arrive to Ninh Binh. The bus left us at 5am in the middle of nowhere but only 4 km from our hotel. Taxi was here to pick up us offering 200k (way to expensive: we prefered to walk).

    We rented a bicycle and went to Mua Cave, Bich Dong pagoda and Thung Nam (didn’t visited the bird parc but it was 150k entrance including a boat tour). We also asked in Thung Nang how much was a tour: 150k for 30min cruise). We preferred to do the Tam Coc boat tour: 120k each + 150k a boat for 2, 1h40 cruise.
    Note: The paddlers often ask for tips so keep some cash in your pocket (around 50k).

    Second day we rented other bicycles to go to Hoa Lu (20k entrance). You can also do a boat tour in Trang An: 250k for 3h cruise.

    Rental: 40k bike, 100k motorbike
    Bicycle parking: 5k
    To sleep: Cherry homestay (330k per night for 2)
    To eat: Bambou homestay (around 70k a meal)
    To book bus tickets or get information: Review Ninh Binh

    We left Vietnam to go directly to Ventiane, Laos (990k per person a night bus). One advise: be sure to have your visa before your arrival.

    Summary:
    – 2 nights in Hanoï
    – 2 days boat trip in Ha Long bay
    – 1 night in Hanoï
    – 2 nights in Sa Pa
    – 1 night in Ha Giang
    – 3 days 2 night on the Ha Giang loop
    – 1 night bus to Ninh Binh
    – 3 nights in Ninh Binh
    Usual prices:
    – Water: between 10k and 15k (sometimes small bottle, sometimes big…)
    – Beers: between 15k and 25k
    – Juice or smoothie: around 50k
    – Coffee: between 20k and 25k
    – Food: between 40k and 90k a meal
    – Cigarets: 15k local cigarets, 30k a Marlboro
    – Laundry: 40k per kg (in Cherry Hostel Ninh Binh)
    Note: Hotels often take 3% charges when paying by credit card
  • Video library

    Video library

    Discover now the videos of my trips! Can be short magical moments, but also nice movies “best of”! They’re all stored here and on my

    Youtube official playlist

  • [VIDEO] Thailand 2018

    [VIDEO] Thailand 2018

    A little souvenir for my friend Mathilde who joined me in Thailand during my asian trip, three years ago now! We only had two weeks so we first visited Kanchanaburi (sadly we haven’t grab any image), Bangkok, headed up to Ao Nang bay (Railay Beach and Chicken Island), and finished our trip on Thailand gulf: Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. I didn’t write about this trip (yet) but at least we have those beautiful images:

    Music by Nick Lesta: Let’s do it (one more time)

     
     
     

  • New book!

    New book!

    In 2007/2008, while I was travelling through Asia, I wrote to my mom every single day of my journey. With the current CoVid and quarantine situation, I decided to look back again to those old emails and to turn it into a book.

    Two years after the photo exhibition, I’m proud having edited those memories, to protect it from disappearance!

    The first pages are available only here:

  • 7 days roadtrip in Jordan

    7 days roadtrip in Jordan

    I now live in Lyon, and Transavia had the good idea to open a new airline directly to Amman. To be fully free to travel, I rented a car and during 7 days I’ve crossed the country. I had an amazing time and felt welcome everywhere. I began by the North, Amman, the desert castles and the Jordan’s valley to the Israely and Syrian border. Then I took the King’s Road from Madaba to the famous Petra, and finished my trip in Wadi Rum Desert before going back North by the Dead Sea road.

    Amman and desert castles

    I arrived a Friday evening and rented my car from the airport. The road to reach Amman city center is quite easy, only 30min to the roman theatre (but check my feedback on “driving in Jordan”. Arrived in the hotel, I’ve been upgraded for free: private double room right in front of the theater.

    So I woke up quite early (7 am), and left directly for Qasr el Kahana, taking the desert road to the East. At 8.30am I was the first arrived, even the guard was sleeping. At 9am I finally met him: he was preparing a tea, and told me to open myself what looks like an old fortress. It wasn’t a castle but a caravanserail and I passed a magic moment there.

    Second castle, old terms this time, with amazing frescoes on the wall: Qasr Amra. Classified by Unesco, it was a royal retreat built some time between 723 and 743. The third “Desert Castle” I visited (but there are others!) was Qasr al Azraq, a crusader castle built around 300AD (but the remaining parts are from the XIIIe century). It was also the house of Lawrence of Arabia during the Arab Revolt in 191!

    Back to Amman, I had time to visit the roman theater, the citadel, to have a great shawarma and follow a tour for tips into downtown starting 2 times per day from Jordan Tower Hotel. Perfect way to learn about the city but also tradition, history, to taste a little bit life in Jordan and meet other travelers.

    Hotel: Zaman ya Zaman Boutique Hotel (13€ a night for a dorm)
    Citadel and theater: included in the Jordan Pass
    Shawarma and water: 1,75JD
    Restaurant: The Amman Pasha with rooftop, live music, and foreign exchange
    Amman, Jordan
    Amman, Jordan
    Amman, Jordan
    Amman, Jordan
    Amman, Jordan

    View from the theater:

    Qasr El Kabana
    Qasr El Kabana
    Qasr Amra
    Qasr Amra
    Qasr Al Azraq
    Qasr Al Azraq

    Jordan’s Valley

    Second day, I pack my stuff and take the road on the way North, with no booking for the night as I didn’t know where I would lend, and wanted to give me the chance to follow the moment.

    Jerash, Jordan
    Jerash

    My first strop was Jerash, also called Gerasa. I left my hotel at 7.30 and was there at 8.30. The earliest evidence of settlement in Jerash is in a Neolithic site known as Tal Abu Sowan, where rare human remains dating to around 7500 BC were uncovered. The rest we can see today are mainly greco roman.

    Pella, Jordan
    Pella

    Pella is a treasure for archeologists! The research haven’t been fully finished, and you can visit the hills of this uncovered with an history extending back into the Bronze Age. Pella grew to its largest size during the Roman period. Sadly the site is really not indicated and seems to be forgotten by the tourists.

    Ajloun, Jordan
    Ajloun

    After almost two hours of visit I left at 10am and went to Ajloun castle, the only existing muslim medieval fortress. It really worth the detour if you have enough time, for this XII century buiding but also for the view on the hill!

    Umm Quays, Jordan
    Umm Quays

    Located on the border of Israel and Syria, this 3rd century BC city was huge, with theaters, a colonade avenue and terms. It’s now lost in this countryside, and visited only by few people.

    King’s Road

    Madaba, Jordan
    Madaba
    King's Road
    King’s Road
    King's Road
    King’s Road
    Umm el Rasas
    Umm el Rasas
    King's Road
    King’s Road
    King's Road
    Karak
    Karak
    Karak
    Karak
    Karak
    King's Road
    King’s Road
    King's Road
    King’s Road
    Dana Valley
    Dana Valley
    Road to Little Petra
    Road to Little Petra
    Road to Little Petra
    Road to Little Petra
    Little Petra
    Little Petra
    Little Petra
    Little Petra
    Little Petra
    Little Petra

    Named after Moses, who took his people to reach North of the country. This road between Madaba and Petra is one of the most beautiful I ever seen!

    I left Madaba after a quick look on the oldest map in the World (also known as the Madaba Mosaic Map, it is part of a floor mosaic in the early Byzantine church of Saint George).

    I first made a stop to Umm er Rasas, a bunch of ruin. In 2004, the site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is valued by archaeologists for its extensive ruins dating to the Roman, Byzantine, and early Muslim periods (wikipedia).

    After 2 hours driving I reached Karak fortress. This crusader fortress still has its subterranean paths! I’ve speed up a little bit this visit to be able to make a quick stop in Dana’s Valleyand to see the sunset at little Petra. Known as the small version of Petra, with a Siq and a main tomb drawn in the mountain, this site is really magical!

    Hotel: Queen Ayola (8JD a dorm, if you doesn’t care about the morning prayer call!)
    Restaurant: Haret Jdoudna
    Other tip: if you have time, a half day trekking is possible in Dana’s Valley, and as far as I saw it really worth it!

    Petra

    I took the 2 days pass with the Visa, and was ready the first day at the entrance on opening time (6.30 am)! As described in my guidebook, guys try to make you ride their horse, and take advantage of the walk to sale you something. Probably still blurry in my head, I accepted the ride. It was included in the ticket, but the guide started to tell me about the best walk ever to reach the best spots. This secret path is indicated on the map, it is called “El-Madras trail”. It’s really easy to reach, but the guide convinced me it was absolutely needed to pay for his services. He offered me 10JD instead of 50 (like he said) and passed approximately one hour with me. It’s not a dead end like the map indicates. After an easy walk which lead you to the top of the Treasury, you will get a crazy view on the Theater. Then the guide left me to go to the Sacrifice place: down and up to the Sacrifice place, and down and up again to stairs going back to the ground, at the Soldier’s tomb.

    Once you get down there it’s pretty easy to get to Qasr el Bint and the Cathedral. Don’t forget to make a stop to the Tiger Tomb. I must admit I was quite tired, and at 2pm I decided to go back to the city, change money, and buy some souvenirs for my friends.

    Second day I was the first arriving on the site, and wanted to climb to El Khubtha trail and assist to the sunrise on the Treasury from above. It took me and my new slovenian friend Uros only 35min to go up from the Treasury. After almost 2h waiting and drinking tea, we went to the discovery of the North part, Urqub-al-Hisha where we were totally alone. We went back by the Ridge church and Blue church. I said goodbye to my new friend and went to visit the Royal tombs. At 12 I went back to the Siq and enjoyed some moments alone. It was nothing compared to the night show. Only 3 days a week they light up the dark way with small candles, and perform a light and music show in front of the Treasury (nothing special in term of special effects, but if you’re aware on magic and peace, then you should definitely experience it!).

    – Jordan Pass of 2 days (see current price on their website)
    – Night Show: 17JD
    – Hotel: Neighbors Hostel (30JD double room for 2 nights)

    > Check my videos of Jordan

    Tips:
    – First if you don´t have a map and good sense of orientation, don’t exit the main paths or don’t go to the following paths without a guide! I did have Maps.me application, but the connection can fail, so be very careful.
    – Al-Madras trail: starting behind a guardian’s box before entering to the Siq, then get down to take back the Sacrifice trail, and take the direction of Wadi al Farasa to arrive to the Soldier’s tomb and reach Qasr al-Bint.
    – Organize your time to visit the Royal Tombs in the afternoon to have the sun lighting it!
    – You can climb the big rock behind Qasr al-Bint to have an amazing view on the main avenue of Petra, to Al-Habis.
    – I took only 2 days entrance, which is quite sufficient if like me you like to walk fast.
    – If you have extra time you can go to Little Petra from the Cathedral, or take the oposite direction and Jabal Aroun Trail
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan
    Wadi Rum, Jordan

    Wadi Rum

    I arrived around 9h30 to Wadi Rum, and before passing the official entrance, I tryed to find the french fortress. I had booked a night in a bedouins camp, with a 2h tour in the desert, but I wanted to live and feel the loneliness, the silence and the peace of the desert. I managed to drive a bit closer to my target, but as I didn’t have a 4×4 I had to stop quickly. I looked for my fortress during one hour, before going back to be at the meeting point ontime. I’ve been stoped by some bedouins who yeld at me because I was alone, before offering me a tea…

    I went back and met xxx after a quick stop at the entrance to stamp my ticket. He brought me to the main spots of this part of the desert: the bug Dune, Nabateen petroglyphs, the small arch, the big one. We finished the day smoking a chicha and waiting for the sunset. When we arrived to the camp I met my italians friends I met the first day in Amman!

    Infos:
    – Wadi Rum Fire Camp (40€ a night with 2h Jeep Tour included)
    – From Wadi Rum to Dead Sea: 5h
    – From Dead sea panorama to Amman airport: 1h15

    Dead Sea

    The last day I lived at 8am the camp, with other tourists who had to take their bus at 9. After 30min we arrived to the car park where my car was expecting me. I took back the Desert Highway to the South. I arrived quickly to Aqaba and took North the Dead sea road. Here you have some spots to go swimming, but I prefered to go up and visit Macheronte (nice view but don’t worth to waste time there) and to have a nice lunch at Dead sea panorama complex.

    Drive alone in Jordan:
    Well, after living 1 year in Panama, and crossed craziest asian cities, driving in Amman was pretty easy, but still challenging! The rest of the roads were really easy to drive and perfectly safe. It is not recommended to drive by night, because people use to forget to switch on their lights (true). There was quite a lot of security stops, a lot of speed bumps, and I’ve been controled 4 times by the police. People were very friendly, finishing the quick control by a traditional “Welcome to Jordan”.
    Days 1 & 2
    kings-valley
    J7: South to North

    Amazing people I met:

     

    Jordan's Family met in Pella
    Jordan's Family met in Pella
    Evening with bedouins of Petra
    Owen
    Guide in Petra
    The blue church
    Jahred
    Ahmed, bedouin of Petra
    Evening with bedouins of Petra
    Mohamed, bedouin in Wadi Rum
    Saïd, our egyptian cook
    View on the Treasury
  • [VIDEO] Best of Asian trip

    [VIDEO] Best of Asian trip

    Some images of the beautiful landscapes, the amazing people, and the crazy experiences I lived for 6 months during my trip « alone » through South East Asia. (more…)

  • [VIDEO] My visit in a Rohingya’s camp

    [VIDEO] My visit in a Rohingya’s camp

    In december 2017 I had the chance to pass a couple of days close to Cox’s Bazar, in Bangladesh, where hundred thousands people installed their camp to leave a dangerous situation in Myanmar. (more…)

  • Indonesia: From Java to Bali

    Indonesia: From Java to Bali

    After a nice break at La Reunion Island, I finished my 6 month trip through Asia by Indonesia with my mom. I joined her in Java where we visited Borobudur, Prambanan and the mont Bromo. Then we visited Bali, various temples as Tanah Lot, Ceningan island, Ubud and the temples and sites around, Amed and its places to do snorkeling, Lempuyang and Besakih, and finished this amazing trip in Kuta.

    Borobudur

    We both arrived in Yogyakarta and took a cab to Megalang where we had an hotel booked, 15min from Borobudur. We woke up early to fully enjoy the sunrise on this incredible buddhist piramid. Full of mysteries, Borobudur is the world’s largest Buddhist temple. It consists of 9 stacked platforms, 6 square and 3 circular, topped by a central dome. It’s decorated with 2 672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa (kind of bells). They estimate its construction from the 9th century, but there are no known records of construction or the intended purpose of Borobudur.

    Transport:
    – Taxi from the airport to Megalang: 500.000 Rps for 2 people (1h30)
    – Moto Taxi from the hotel to Borobudur: 40.000 Rps (15min)
    – Taxi from the hotel to Prambanan and Yogyakarta train station: 400.000 Rps
    Borobudur
    Borobudur
    Borobudur
    Borobudur
    Borobudur
    Borobudur
    Hotel in Megalang: Jolan Jalan, 300.000 Rps for a double room
    Sunrise entrance to Borobudur:900.000 Rps
    Prambanan

    Prambanan

    After visiting this amazing buddhist temple in the morning, we went to the other side of Yogyakarta to visit the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia: Prambanan (the biggest is Angkor Wat, in Cambodia). The site has suffered many earthcakes, but it’s still a beauty with crazy statues.

    Informations:
    – Entrance to Prambanan: 338.000 Rps
    – Night train from Yogyakarta to Malang: 250.000 Rps

    Bromo

    We took a train from Yogyakarta to Malang where we arrived at 5am and met a taxi who agreed to pass the entire day with us, to go to Bromo and to leave us at Ketapang to take the boat to Bali. We arrived around 11am in a village close to Bromo, and met a jeep driver (you can also go there by horse or bicycle). There wasn’t so many wind so the smell of sulphur wasn’t so bad.

    We had lunch in a small shop and left for Ketapang. We arrived at the end of the day, and finished our day in Ketapang to wait for the Ferry to Bali, a paradise on earth…

    Taxi Malang / Borobudur / Ketapang:1.000.000
    Jeep to Bromo: 700.000 Rps
    Hotel at Ketapang: 250.000 double room

    Bye Java, Hello Bali!

    Seminyak and Tanah Lot

    We took the boat with a new driver who wasn’t so friendly. We asked him to left us at Sanur and went by colectivo in Seminiak. We enjoyed a nice sunset on the beach, and rented a scooter to visit the day after Tanah Lot in the morning. The afternoon we booked a transfert from Seminiak to our hotel in Ceningan Island (with a taxi, boat, collectivo and scooter !).

    Transfert from Ketapang to Sempidi:500.000 Rps for 2 people
    Taxi from Sempidi to Seminyak:150.000 Rps
    Hotel in Seminyak: Seminyak (300.000 Rps double room)
    Scooter: 50.000 Rps
    Tanah Lot

    Ceningan

    My mother had booked a magical hostel with a gorgeous room and swimming pool. We rented a scooter to do a snorkeling tour:

    After this tour we decided to visit the entire island (take approximately 1h). The day after we did a second tour with our hotel owner, and he showed us the Mangrove, devil tears, blue lagoon and other beautiful views of the island.

    Transfert Seminiak – Ceningan:1.100.000 Rps
    Hotel in Ceningan: Twilight
    Snorkeling: 600.000 Rps
    Scooter: 80.000 Rps
    Tour of the island: 150.000 Rps

    Snorkeling Tour:

    Ceningan best spots:

    mangroves ceningan
    devil tears ceningan
    blue lagoon ceningan
    ceningan best view
    ceningan best view 2

    Ubud

    In Ubud we enjoyed some of the temples in the heart of the city, the market very traditionnal, and the Monkey forest. Be very carrefull of your stuff, and follow the instructions, my mother has been bitten because one of the monkey wanted to steal her a bottle of water, and when you look at them in the eyes they can just attack you !

    Time to go back to Bali, we booked a transfert to Ubud from our hostel. On the way the driver invited us to stop to a Luwak Coffee plantation, and to see a show of traditionnal theater.

    The next day we booked again a scooter to visit all around Ubud.

    Show: 200.000 Rps
    Monkey forest: 50.000 Rps
    Water temple: 50.000 Rps
    Gunung Kawi: 30.000 Rps
    Goa Gajah: 30.000 Rps
    Scooter: 50.000 Rps
    Hotel: In Da Garden: 300.000 double room
    Legong Dance
    cafe
    monkey forest
    Ubud Market

    Around Ubud:

    rice fields

    Tegalalang Rice Terrace

    Situated 20min in the North of Ubud, you can just stop on the road and walk around, take a drink or even use a swing.

    Tirta Empul

    Tirta Empul

    Only 15 minutes from the terraces you can find this magical place with holy water where you can wash a bit your soul!

    gunung kawi

    Gunung Kawi

    It’s a funerary complex very close to the water temple, but you’ll go down 300 steps to appreciate this site!

    elephant cave

    Goa Gajah

    On the way back to Ubud you can make a stop at this Elephant cave, half Indu half Buddhist…

    Amed

    We found a taxi at the end of the day to go to Amed where we arrived by night. We did a nice tour in scooter and found very nice diving places like Tulamben and the USS Liberty, or the underwater temple in Pantai Jemeluk beach.

    Transfert Ubud-Amed: 400.000 Rps
    Hotel in Amed: Putra Lebah Amed 580.000 Rps
    Scooter: 50.000 Rps
    Amed-Candinasa: 280.000 Rps

    Lempuyang

    lempuyang

    The day after we took the scooter to go to Lempuyang, one of the most beautiful temple I’ve ever seen. You have there a first temple with 3 main doors, and two others hidden on the top, 45min from the first one. Lost in the nature, delivered to the monkeys, those temples are really magic. I had the chance to join a group of prayers carrying their donations.

    Tirta Ganga

    tirta ganga

    We also went to Tirta Ganga, a water parc very nice but also very touristic. We had lunch there but it was very small and very expensive…

    Padangbai and Bezakih

    Back to Amed we found a transfert to Candinasa where we just stood for one night (nothing to see there). We went to Padang Bay to fully enjoy the sea. It’s a small city full of touristic shops and with a nice port (you can go to Gili islands from there). We rented an other scooter to go to Bezakih, the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali.

    Candinasa- Padangbay: 100.000 Rps
    Hotel in Candidasa: Bungalow Geringsing
    Padangbay-Kuta: 150.000 Rps
    Hotel in Padangbai: Made Stay 170.000 Rps
    Pura Besakih
    Pura Besakih
    Pura Besakih
    Pura Besakih

    Kuta

    At the end of the day we took a transfert by mini bus to Kuta.

    Kuta is like Seminiak a touristic city, not much to see but big malls and restaurants with nice cocktails. We enjoyed a nice traditionnal Kecak dance show, and finished our trip by visiting Uluwatu, a temple on a cliff at the very south west of the island (nice but not so impresive).

    Hotel: Pendawa Gapura (300.000 Rps double room)
    map bali
    Summary:
    Day 1: Transfert Yogyakarta – Megalang
    Day 2: Borobudur and Prambanan (night train from Yogyakarta to Malang)
    Day 3: Bromo Volcan and transfert to Ketapang
    Day 4: Boat to Bali and transfert to Seminiak
    Day 5: Tanah Lot and transfert to Ceningan island
    Day 6: Snorkeling in Ceningan
    Day 7: Tour of Ceningan
    Day 8: Transfert to Ubud
    Day 9: Around Ubud and transfert to Amed
    Day 10: Snorkeling around Amed
    Day 11: Lempuyang and Tirta Ganga, night in Candinasa
    Day 12: Rest in Padangbai
    Day 13: Bezakih and transfert to Kuta
    Day 14: Uluwatu temple

    Best moments:

    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Bali
    Mom
  • 2 weeks in Cambodia

    2 weeks in Cambodia

    We arrived at Kep from Vietnam to pass just one night before going to Kampot or Phnom Pen. But our plans changed a lot, first because my credit card has been grabbed by an ATM (connection troubles) and then because I found on Koh Rong island the Paradise on Earth! I finished those two weeks passing by Sihanoukville and visiting the amazing Angkor Temples before joining a friend in Bangkok.

    Kep and Rabbit Island

     
    So the first day we arrived during the afternoon in the city center with a nice market all along the beach, and went to our hotel close to the port to go to Rabbit Island. This area has a market, some restaurants included the one of our hotel, on our nice rooftop (perfect place to see the sunset).

    The second day we took a boat to go to Rabbit Island. Our hotel booked us the tour but you can buy your boat ticket directly to the harbour. After 30min crossing we arrived on the west part of the island, where all restaurants and hotels are. We decided to go look for a beach without tourists. We walked during 40 minutes to go to the oposite side. You can find quiet beaches and quiet places before, but with the (courant) it was all polluted at this time. So instead of swimming in plastic, we prefered a nice small beach behind a fisherman place, and passed all day there. To go there the way was okay, with just a small lake full of mud to cross. But to go back it was an other story. The shortest way was to finish the tour of the island, but we had to pass through the water with rocks and waves, and to find the path which arrive behind the restaurants. It was a very funny day. We arrived right on time for the boat to go back at 4pm.

    The day after we were waiting in the hotel to get news from the bank and get back my credit card, but nothing happened.
     

    Informations:
    – Hotel: Kep Guesthouse (4$ USD per night, friendly indo/french family)
    – Boat to rabbit island: 7$ USD with return (20min crossing)
    – Van to Kampot: 2$ (one hour)
    2 weeks in cambodgia
    Coming from Vietnam:
    We took a tour directly from Phu Quoc in Vietnam. We left the hotel around 7am, had our van to the ferry at 8am and were at the border around 10.30am. In the agency desk they asked us to pay some strange fees: 1$ for the medecine if you didn’t have a document to justify all your vaccins, 1$ for a stamp… So check the official price on internet, I refused to pay anything and nothing happened. Same trouble to change the money: they wanted us to deal with their friend, but it was cheaper after the border!
    Download the boat timetable

    Kampot and the fireflies

    kampot

    On Tuesday I called first and the finally had received my card in the headquarter, in Kampot. Hopefully we wanted to go there… We booked a van from our hotel. Kampot is just at 30min from Kep, and 2h from Sihanoukville. To fully enjoy the hot weather, we found an hotel with swimming pool! During the afternoon we went to the port and found a tour to go see the fireflies by sunset. It was like a Christmas tree shinning!
     

    Informations:
    – Hotel: Two Moons
    – Boat tour: 5$ USD with one free drink (2h tour)

    Party on Koh Rong island

    On our 5th day we took a bus to Sihanoukville port where we took a boat for Koh Rong island. There are 2 islands : Koh Rong and Koh Rong Salem more quiet and more familial. I think choosing Koh Rong has been the best choice of my life! I discovered there all that I needed : small and bigger white beaches, a perfect temperature, a transparent water and magic sunrises. There are plenty of hostels and restaurants, from the more luxurious to the roots ones. The two first nights we stood on 4k beach, in the Nest. Each Wednesday and Saturday there is an electronic party on Police beach, with great fire shows and lightning games on a statue above the DJ.

    Koh rong island
    Informations:
    – Boat: 10$ USD in the agencies, only 5$ USD if you pay directly to the boat!
    – Hotels: you can find dorms with 5$ USD

    Rest in Sihanoukville

    I met there a french guy, Max. He was living in Sihanoukville and made me a full tour of the city. The first day we enjoyed the really nice beach full of restaurants and activities, and a nice “creek” at the end of the path. We went to the Corner to enjoy a very nice electronic party. The second day we went to the market full of local people and not so touristic and the waterfalls full of chinese tourists (celebrating the new year). We finished the day with a nice sunset on the coast and I already had to leave to visit Angkor and be on time at Bangkok to welcome my friend Mathilde coming from Paris to visit Thailand with me!

    Sihanoukville
    Informations:
    – Entrance to the waterfalls: free officially, but the guards can ask you money for the scooter or your car
    – Night bus to Siem Reap: around 20$ USD

    Siem Reap and the Angkor temples

    Prasat Kravan
    Banteay Kdei
    Ta Prom
    Ta Nei
    Angkor Thom
    Angkor Wat

    Arrived from Sihanoukville by night, I found directly in the bus station plenty of tuk-tuk ready to lead me wherever I wanted. But instead of finding an hotel, I prefered to go directly to the archeological sites. I managed to pay 10$ for the small tour which include 3 most famous temples, and 3 others smaller but also more quiet! The taxi left me to an hotel in the city center he knew, and I decided to walk a little bit more and find myself a place to finish this cambodgian trip and plan to go to Thailand! It was close to the night market, maybe one of the most touristic place I’ve been…
    > Download the map

    Informations:
    – Entrance fee for 1 day: 37$
    – Tuk Tuk: 10$
    cambodgia
    Summary:
    Day 1: Kep
    Day 2: Rabbit island
    Day 3: Back to Kep trying to get back my credit card…
    Day 4: Kampot and the Fireflies
    Day 5 to 13: Koh Rong island
    Day 14 to 15: Sihanoukville
    Day 16: Siem Reap and the Angkor Temples

    Great people I met, great moments I lived:

    Koh Rong island
    Koh Rong island
    Koh Rong island
    Koh Rong island
    Koh Rong island
    Koh Rong island
    Kep
    Siem Reap
    Sihanoukville Party
    Sihanoukville Party
  • South of Vietnam in 2 weeks

    South of Vietnam in 2 weeks

    Arriving from Laos, Vietnam is the 6th country of my Asian trip, and I really felt there for the first time in the border between South East Asia and China. Sadly I didn’t have time to visit the whole country (included Hanoi Bay) but I experienced in two weeks a lot of great times with amazing and very different landscapes.

    GO TO:

    Hué

    Hoi An

    Da Lat & Bao Loc

    Mui Né

    Ho Chi Minh

    My Tho

    Can Tho

    Phu Quoc

    Hué, palace and tombs

     
    We (me and my friend Rafica I met on the Mekong 2 weeks ago) decided to go south as soon as possible to avoid mass of people but also the bad weather! So we just had a half day to visit this city full of sightseeings…

    We asked to our hotel what was the best to do, and he selected for us the Imperial City, the tomb of Khải Định and the tomb of Tự Đức.

    You can easily pass 3 hours in the Citadel (UNESCO World Heritage Site), but we made it in 1h30, arriving for the opening! Then we found a taxi and negociated with him to wait for us while we were visiting the tombs.

    Khải Định Tomb (approx. 20min from the city center) is really impressive but fast to visit (30min). Tự Đức tomb stay in a bigger site and takes around 1 hour to visit everything. It took 15min to arrive from the other tomb, and around 30min to go back to our hotel in the center.

    Hué has been a perfect start to visit Vietnam, with a big mix between modernity and tradition. You can find there a walking street by night with a lot of international restaurants and big bars full of lights and music!

    Hotel in Hué: FA Backpackers, 70.000 dongs in a dorm
    Entrance in the emperial city: 150.000
    Taxi to the tombs: 100.000 with return!
    Bus to Hoi An: 110.000 (3h)

    Hoi An, asian romantism

     
    Hoi An was really close from Hué, we arrived in the afternoon, and the majority of the hotels were full but we found one close by the old city center. We passed our evening there, enjoying like children the beauty of the lanterns. We went out even if it was complicated to find a place open after 10pm, and enjoyed our hangover on the beach the day after!

    We wanted to visit the places around (Marble Mountain and Mi Son temple) but it was raining too much to rent a moto, and we didn’t want to be in a tour full of tourists. So we took a night bus to look for the sun in the south…
     

    Informations:
    – Hotels: Lucky Hotel, 700.000 double room, then 300.000 Hoi Pho hotel
    – Bus to Dalat: 350.000 (14h)
    – Taxi to go to the beach: 70.000› More pictures on Facebook!

    Da Lat Pagoda

    Dalat

    We stopped at Dalat just to check the cherrytrees (but already dead mainly), and the Truc Lam Pagoda. It’s famous for its active monastery, its amazing garden and bonzais, and the view of the forest and lake from the quiet stroll, best way to access on the Pagoda!
     

    Informations:
    – Cable car: 150.000 (careful: closed between 11.30 and 1pm)
    – Bus to Bao Loc: 90.000 (3h)

    Bao Loc and Dambri waterfalls

    Bao Loc

    We already visited a lot of amazing waterfalls in Laos, but here is an other level: the entrance include the elevator to the main waterfall, an alpine coaster and a pedalo tour on the lake. We also wanted to check the view on the mountains from Linh Quy Phap An temple, but didn’t have enough time, and we really wanted to go to the beach!
     

    Informations:
    – Hotel in Bao Loc: Huynh Gia Bao, 200.000 double room
    – Entrance to the Waterfalls: 100.000
    – Price of the taxi: 150.000 (with a hard negociation!)
    – To Mui Né: 100.000 a van to Phang Thien, then a local bus to Mui Né:15.000/pers + 20.000 for the bag pack!

    Mui Né: beach, dunes and fairy

    This small city hide a very nice heart, behind all the resorts and the tourists…

    The first day we only enjoyed the beach all along Mui Né, between the city center and the port to enjoy a nice sunset.

    The second day we rented a scooter to visit the White Dunes and have an amazing tour in Quad. We took rest enjoying a lunch and a nice walk into the fairy stream. You need to go in the end of the road to access to the best part, walking in a small river in a colourful canyon. We finished this magic day in the red dunes, to enjoy the sunset (full of tourists).

    Corruption:
    We’ve been arrested by the cops on the road to the white dunes. They had a picture of us in the city at 50km/h speed (the max you can go is 40!), and I forget my driving licence in the hotel… They had a very clear book with the infractions and the prices traduced in every languages. Total: 1 million something, but as they “wanted to help us” they accepted 400.000 cash…
    Informations:
    Hotel: Bien Dua, 330.000 a double room with sea view!
    Scooter: 60.000 a day + 75.000 gaz for 2 days
    White dunes: 15.000 entrance and 50.000 for the quad
    Night bus to Saigon: 110.000 (6h)
    Muine harbour
    White Dunes
    Red Dunes
    Fairy Stream

    Ho Chi Minh, fiesta and war tunnels

    The capital of Vietnam received us with lights and music all around the streets, at 5am! We found a 24h bar/cafe to wait for our hotel to open. We finished our night we passed in the bus (way to short), and went in District 5, to see the Vietnam loose the final of the asian cup of -23yo! The party this night was equivalent to a World cup celebration.

    The day after we were anable to do nothing. We just enjoyed the walking street, that’s it. The day after we took a tour to Cu Chi Tunnel, with a friendly guide who explained us every thing you need to know.

    cuchi tunnels
    Cuchi
    Informations:
    – Hotel in Saigon: Lee Hostel, 100.000 in a dorm
    – Tour for Cu Chi: 90.000 + 110.000 entrance fee
    – Bus to My Tho: 60.000 (3h)

    My Tho and the mangroves canals

    After our Cu Chi tour, we took directly a bus to My Tho to enjoy one last time the Mekong. We found an hotel and walked up early to take a boat before the tourists bus arrivals! At 10am you will cross the first boats. We negociated the price and reduced the price from 750.000 per person (with the transfert to Can Tho included), to 400.000 for 2 people! We did the traditional tour: you arrive on Unicorn island, take a carriage to arrive to a port full of small embarcations. You do a 15 minutes tour inside a canal, enjoying the view on fishermen houses. Then you are welcome in a bee farm to try the honey tea and buy (or not) some homemade sweets, and you finish in a big canal with mangroves.

    It last 2 hours and really worth it, especially for us to say goodbye to the Mekong we met in Laos!
     

    Informations:
    – Hotel: Tan Loc 2, 320.000 a double room
    – Bus to Can Tho: 100.000 (4h)
    – Tour Arroyos: 400.000 for 2 people
    My Tho

    Can Tho and the Floating Markets

    Arrived at midday, we decided to buy ourself a luxurious hotel with swimming pool and rooftop bar, for 35€! We had diner on a nice balcony in front of the floating market pier, with a live show in the street, and walked up early to see the famous floating market. The tours from our hotel and in the pier were expensive, so we decided to go there by ourselves and took a taxi… and a bad direction! We lost time, and we had our bus to Phu Quoc at 8am, so we negociated a 30min tour which left us on the other side of the river, where it’s easy and surely cheaper to take a tour. We found two moto taxi to leave us to the bus station, and took the one of 9am. This one arrive right on time at the Ferry of 1pm (10 minutes more and we would have miss it).
     

    Tip: best way for a cheap tour is to go by taxi (or moto taxi even cheaper) to Cai Rang and pass through a restaurant to get a boat.
    Hotel: TTC Hotel, 500.000/night double room
    Market tour: 130.000 for 2 people
    To go to Phu Quoc:Bus to Rach Gia 110.000 (4h) + 350.000 the fast ferry
    Can Tho

    Phu Quoc, paradise island

    Phu Quoc
    Phu Quoc
    Informations:
    – Hotel: 300.000/night for a bungalow
    – Scooter: 350.000/day + 70.000 the oil
    – Laundry: 20.000/kg
    – Trip to Kep (Cambodia): 16$USD

    Phu Quoc is known to have one of the most beautiful beaches in the World. Well, it’s right, but the most beautiful and fully cleans are owned by huge resorts where you pay three time the local food prices, and the rooms between 200 and 600$ a night. Well we found a cheap hostel close to the Sky Bar on the main road in the south of the main city. The only way to fully appreciate the island is to rent a scooter. For 2 days we had a nice Honda one, but you can find Yamahas cheaper I guess.

    First we visited the North, and found a nice resort where we had lunch but also where the deck chair were booked by the clients of the hotel (160$ per night, I can understand). So we’ve been a bit further on the right and found a bar where you can enjoy a fresh juice on their deck chair all day (they also have food, and a swimming pool you can maybe use, if the transparent and warm sea is too salty for you…).

    We’ve been to the north were we heard there was a nice sunset, but we couldn’t see the sun, so we went to a very new and very high level hotel! Same way: “where is the restaurant please?” And you land on a bar with fires around you, an amazing swimming pool, a bar with foot on the white sand, peace and happyness.

    The second day we tryed our famous restaurant technic, but this time it didn’t work: to enter to the beach of Marriot resort, you need to buy at the entrance a voucher of 500.000 to use in the bar or restaurant. We didn’t want to pay so expensive to do nothing on a beach, so we’ve been a bit further, to Sao beach. We stopped at Coconut prison, a weird and a bit savage demo of the tortures made on communist prisoners… Not for children! There is two side for this Sao beach: on the right the wild part, and cheap deck chairs but a bit of garbage and sand not so so white. And on the left lot of people in different resorts’ restaurants.

    Our 15 free touristic visa was ending, so we took a tour which organize the trip by boat and van, to cross the border at Ha Tien.

    Summary:Day 1/2: Hué
    Day 3/4: Hoi An
    Day 5: Da Lat
    Day 6: Bao Loc
    Day 7/8/9: Mui Né
    Day 9/10: Ho Chi Minh
    Day 10: My Tho
    Day 11/12: Can Tho
    Day 13/14/15: Phu Quoc
    Looking back…
    – First I want to talk about what I heard about vietnamese people: Very friendly! They talk more english than their neighbours, and sometimes even french.
    – We’ve lost time because of the few buses from Bao Loc to Mui Né… There is a lot of buses from an to Saigon, and I think it’s not really necessary to visit Da Lat and Bao Loc.
    – Hoi An is really nice, and if you have time I think you should visit the old houses (paying a general ticket).

    Our best moments…

    Rafica and our vietnamese guide
    Bao Loc waterfalls
    Mui Né white dunes
    Mui Né Fairy Stream
    My Tho canals
    Ho Chi Minh party
    Football game in Ho Chi Minh
    Irish friend in Saigon!
  • Laos from North to South

    Laos from North to South

    Laos is an amazing country where I met Rafica, a french girl I will share my travel with from Luang Prabang and its nice waterfalls. We went to the North in Nong Khiaw, before taking the South direction, to go to the plain of Jarres, Na-Hin and its 7km cave, Paksé and the Bolaven plateau, to finish our trip in the 4000 islands.

    I also went back there in 2022 and started by the South and Thakhek loop, Ventiane and Vang Vieng: See “Visit Laos after CoVid“.

    Luang Prabang

    Arrived in Luang Prabang after a 2 days boat trip from the Thai border, I met Rafica and we passed the night taking drinks in one of the Mekong river side. Every evening there’s a market on Sisavangvong Road full of clothes, “artisanal stuff” and other touristics items. The hotel where we stayed also offer a relaxing view on the river and on the small wooden bridge. We enjoyed one day around the city and its temples, including the most touristic sunset I saw in my life : on the Mount Phou Si.

    The day after we rented a scooter to go to the famous Kuang Si waterfalls in the south. Our hotel offered a tour for 40000kip but we prefered to have our freedom and pay 110.000 the scooter (90.000 the semi automatic). So after 1h ride, we arrived to the entrance where you pay 5000 for the parking and 25.000Kip the entrance. You have access to a bear preservation center, before discovering the shinning blue waters of the river. The minerals of the stone give to the water this magic colour, and you can find different swimming areas and a trek way to go up the biggest waterfall. After more than one hour walking there, we took back our scooter to go to the « cave and spring water restaurant » we saw on our way.

    The road to go there is pretty sleepy, and most of people prefer to walk until this peacefull place beside a river where we had a great lunch. We paid the entrance of the cave because we were there, but I’m not sure it really worth it, it’s just a small tunnel in total darkness (they pass you a lamp) with small bouddha statues inside.
     

    Infos:
    – Hotel in Luang Prabang: Chill Riverside Hotel, 50.000 Kips in a dorm, or Y not Laos, 35.000 in a dorm
    – Bus to Nong Kiaw: 70.000 Kips (2h30)
    Update 2022: Motorbikes are rented 120k for 24h, and you can reach Luang Prabang by train from Vang Vieng or Vientiane (35k tuktuk to the city center). We slept in Soutikone hostel for 150k a double room with breakfast. We also discovered Tad Sae waterfalls, wilder and smaller than Kuang Si. The place was deserted but had nice installations, probably the best before CoVid (15k the boat, 15k the entrance).

    Nong Khiaw

    The day after I followed Rafica to the north, in Nong Khiaw. From there, the original plan was to take a boat to Muang Ngoy, a small village lost in the jungle, sleep there, enjoy a full day in the middle of the jungle, and go back the day after to go to the South.

    Nong Kiaw, Laos
    > See more pictures one Facebook

    Arriving to the bus station, we saw a direct bus to Fonsavan every day at 10am (it was printed on a paper dated from november 2017, so few months ago). So we’ve been to the port to check at what time the boat was leaving, and the way back. So there was two boats : one at 10.30am, the other at 2pm. But to go back there was only one boat at 9am, arriving too late for our bus (the boat takes 1h30). So we found an hostel and tryed to find a way to go there by ourselves, but the private tour was expensive, and it was so raining that we decided to stay just for one night.

    A guy from an agency told us Phonsavan bus didn’t exist. So we’ve been to see by ourselves : Yep, no direct bus, you need to go back to Luang Prabang. So that’s what we did, waiting to the bus to be filled in before going at 2pm. It was arriving right on time to take the bus to Phonsavan at 6pm, but Rafica thought she forget her passeport at Nong Khiaw, so we stood one night there, and finally took the bus in the next morning (her passeport was in a pocket of her bag). So we took the bus in the morning, but good to know: you also have one at 6pm to travel by night.

    Infos:
    – Hotel in Nong Khiaw: Bamboo Guesthouse, 60.000 Kips a double room
    – Bus to Luang Prabang: 50.000 Kips (2h30)
    – Bus Luang Prabang – Phonsavan: 115.000Kip (9h)

    Phonsavan

    You don’t have nothing to see in Phonsavan, we arrived in the evening and rented a scooter to visit the area and famous Plain of Jarres. There are 3 diferent sites, and after visiting the first one which is supposed to be the more interesting, we decided to pass the rest of the day looking for the Old Town and an ethnic village we saw on the map of the agency. We lost ourselves in the small towns and finally found the ruins of the Old Town. We don’t really know if we saw the ethnic village, but we saw lot of villages!
     

    Spendings in Fonsavan:
    – Hotel in Fonsavan: Dokkhoun, 60.000 the double room
    – Scooter renting: 60.000/day for a semi automatic
    – Bus to Lak Sao (we stopped at Vieng Kham): 15.000 Kips (8h)
    – Tuk Tuk from Vieng Kham to Na Hin: 15.000 Kips (30min)
    Fonsavan, Laos
    Na Hin, Laos
    Copyright: Rafica Malki

    Na-Hin

    To arrive to this small village close to the cave we wanted to visit, we had to take a bus to Lak Sao which left us at a crossing where we waited a tuk tuk. We arrived at the sunset and found an hotel. The day after we had a tuk tuk leading us to the cave. When you arrive you just pay a small fee for the entrance (20.000) and then pay the driver for a boat, the price depending on how many people you are. We paid for 2 people 110.000 and started a trip inside the mother earth in a total darkness. At one point you jump off the boat to walk a little in very nice formations lighted by colourfull lamps. Then you have a second ride to the exit, where you need to jump off again and help, foot in the slippy water, the boat to pass the rapid pulling it ! It was fun… and you arrive on a nice river, all green again, and have a break on the riverside where you can find shops and restaurants. Then you need to go back to the same way, for a 30min ride in the darkness ! It was an amazing experience!
     

    Spendings in Na Hin:
    – Hotel: Sanhak GH, 50.000 for a double room but bad wifi, we’ve been in Inthapanya hotel for the second night
    – Tuk Tuk to Kong Lo Cave: 50.000 kips with return
    – Kong Lo cave: 20.000 to enter, and 110.000 to rent a boat for 2
    – Bus to Paksé: 25.000 to the main road + 90.000 bus to Paksé

    Paksé

     
    From Na Hin we took a bus to Vieng Kham and an other to go to Takhek and changed here for a bus to Takhnek, and changed again for Paksé. It took 8h30 hours! We arrived dead and by night again at 8km from the center, with no negociation possible with the tuk tuk (10.000 per person)… We found a room and enjoyed the day after preparing our trip to the Bolavens plate, and went to see the sunset in “Le Panorama” restaurant.

    Bolavens loop

    The agency to rent a scooter gives you a map with the most important (and touristic/commercial) sightseeings. So we first went to a waterfall which was’nt on Maps Me: Tad Champee, and swam there all alone! It was gorgeous but without beach, just the stones to dry before going back on the road… We made a small stop to Mr Vieng coffee plantation, as it’s the region, and arrived at 3pm in Tad Lo waterfalls where we just took some pictures (but I think it’s a great place to swim), and we went to Tadlo Lodge to see the daily elephant washing show! At 4.30pm the two young masters lead the elephants to the river where they slowly dive into the water. They looked happy… So was my friend Rafica, elephant lover!

    We took a bungalow and had rest for our second moto day. We first went to Paksong, passing through a devil road made of stones and dust, and arrived at a first waterfall: Tad Yuang. It’s the most impressive to me. Then we went to Tad Champi, the most famous because you can actually swim and pass under the waterfalls ! And we finished with Tad Fanwhere you can do canopy!

    Tad Lo
    Infos:
    – Hotel in Paksé: Bounphythuk, 50.000 double room
    – Hotel in Tad Lo: Tim Guesthouse, 50.000 double room
    – Scooter: 50.000/day + 40.000 for the gaz
    – Bus to Don Deng: 55.000 (3h)

    Waterfalls on the way:

    Tad Champee

    Tad Champee

    Not on the map, so no tourist and free! To get there it’s the road to Tad Lo, next left after Tad Pasuam road!

    Tad Lo

    Tad Lo

    Entrance 5.000 for the scooter and 3.000 to get closer, on the wooden bridge.

    Tad Yuang

    Tad Yuang

    The biggest of the trip, 10.000 the entrance + 3000 for the scooter.

    Tad Champi

    Tad Champi

    Small but nice and there you can swim! 5.000kips the entrance + 3.000 for the moto.

    Tad Fane

    Tad Fan

    The deepest one, impressive but far. You can do Canopy though (around 50$usd). 10.000kips for the entrance and 3.000Kips for the scooter.

    Don Det and the 4000 Islands

    From Paksé we took a bus to Nakasong and then a boat to Don Det. We found a room with Hammoks and direct view on the river. We passed two full days enjoying the island and its sister, Don Khon. We enjoyed there the Li Phi waterfalls and the small beach right behind, where you can swim in the nice Mekong! We also found a very small and private beach and enjoyed the sunset on the west coast.

    Don khong
    Don khong
    Don Det
    Infos:
    – Hotel in Paksé: Bounphythuk, 50.000 double room
    – Hotel in Tad Lo: Tim Guesthouse, 50.000 double room
    – Scooter: 50.000/day + 40.000 for the gaz
    – Bus to Don Deng: 55.000 (3h)
    Summary of my 18 days in Laos:
    D1-2 : Mekong cruise from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang
    D3-4 : Luang Prabang
    D5 : Nong Kiaw
    D6 : Trip Luang Prabang to Fonsavan
    D7 : Fonsavan and Bolavens loop
    D8 : Trip from Fonsavan to Na Hin
    D9 : Na Hin Cave
    D10 : Trip from Na Hin to Paksé
    D11-12-13 : Paksé and Bolavens plate in moto
    D14 -15-16 : Don Det
    D 17 : Back to Luang Prabang to take a early bus to Vietnam
    Laos map

    So many nice people met on the way… Thank You!

    Jacky and JC
    Close to Phonsavan
    Na Hin cave
    Tad Lo and its elephants
    Tad Lo
    On the road on Bolaven plateau
    Laos
    Laos
    Don Det
    Tad Champi, Bolaven plateau
  • Visit Myanmar for 2 weeks

    Visit Myanmar for 2 weeks

    Myanmar is a country where you can find everything! Nice landscapes, old ruins, buddhist temples, trekkings, good and cheap food and drinks, and a lot of people talking english (locals but also many tourists). I felt everything was simple, and I enjoyed good times with great people from everywhere! I only regret that the tourism seems to kill a little bit the authenticity of some places. In two weeks I only had time to focus on the main sightseeings: Yangon and its temple and street 19th, Bagan and its fields of ruines, Mandalay and its famous U Bein bridge, Hsipaw and the Shan community, before going south to Inle Lake and Hpa An.

    Yangon

    I arrived in Yangon after India and Bangladesh and I felt I was back to life! People don’t stare at you, you can drink and smoke everywhere, and find backpackers hostels in every main town. Yangon is a big city full of people but very quiet in comparision to other asian cities where I’ve been. I found an hotel (Four Rivers, 10800 Kyats the night in a dorm with breakfast) street 19th where food and drinks are very cheap, and the day after I was so hangovered I just walked around the south of the city (not a lot to see but I love the ambiance of the streets with the mini tables and chairs where people take a tea, meat sticks or a soup).

    The day after I was fresh and new and I walked during hours around the city with Beno, a german I met street 19th. We visited the Shwedago Pagode, main one expensive but really gorgeous (first I saw in Myanmar, I was impressed but there are many more everywhere), Nga Htat Gyi Buddha Temple and the big lying Buddha (Chauk Htat Gyi) before going to the Bogyoke market. After this I had a bus in the night to go to Bagan (the bus was at 8pm but I had to leave the city center at 4.30 to avoid the trafic).

    Myanmar
    Shwedago Pagode
    Nga Htat Gyi Buddha Temple
    Chauk Htat Gyi

    Bagan

     
    Bagan is a huge region full of temples EVERYWHERE! We arrived around 5am, right on time to go to see the sunrise. I met in the bus two mexicans, Juan Carlos and his mother Maria, so we shared a taxi for 30.000 to go to a temple full of tourists to see the sunrise and then to find a hotel. Sadly it was cloudy and we haven’t seen much of the sunrise, neither the famous globes… So we went to New Bagan and we found a 3 beds private room for 36$usd. This day was raining so I just went in a spa to relax, and the day after it was raining again so I just went to walk close by the city, visiting some temples around the center (Ashe Peitek and Sitanagyi pagodas).

    The third and last day we finally decided to rent a scooter to go to see the sunrise in Low Ka Oushang before starting a round trip to the main sites.
     

    Infos:
    – To go to Bagan: Bus from Yangon 20h-5h: 18000 Kyats
    – To go to Mandalay: 9000 kyats (around 5h trip)
    – To stay in New Bagan: Central Bagan Hotel, 26$usd for a triple room
    – To see the sunrise: Low Ka Oushang
    To stay in Bagan you have 3 options:
    – Old Bagan, the most beautiful and central (and expensive) city
    – New Bagan, just few kilometers from old Bagan (perfect location for me!)
    – Nyang U close to the bus station and airport

    Zone entrance fee : 25.000 Kyats

    How many days to visit Bagan?
    If you’re not so unlucky with the weather as I’ve been, you MUST see the sunrise trying to find a nice unknown point because everybody do the same. Then you have all day to easily visit the main sightseeings. I would recommend you to stay at least a couple of days to enjoy the sunrise and main temples, but it’s also a nice place to stay more time, enjoy the area more deeply, go to Popa mountain, or lost yourself in the west, territory of local communities!

    > See more pictures on Facebook

    Mandalay in 1 day

    Mandalay

    After this nice last day in Bagan, I took a local bus to Mandalay at 4pm and arrived by night. I just had one day to visit this huge city, so I first took a moto taxi to lead me to the Yankintaung Hill (very high, lot of stairs, really worth it, I think the best time to go there is for the sunset) where they ask you once on the top to pay 1000 Kyats, and then close by to Kuthodaw Pagoda. I wanted to go to Shwenandaw Kyaung but they told me you had to pay 10.000 Kyats so I prefered to go directly to Mahamuni Pagoda (I first paid 5000 Kyats to go to the north side of the city, but only 500 to go to Mahamuni… Just negociate!) I decided not to visit the Palace, as a lot of tourist told me it didn’t worth the entrance fee… From Mahamuni I took a bus who left me at 1km from the famous U Bein bridge. This biggest teakwood bridge is really nice, but the amount of tourists for the sunset really kills the magic of the moment.
     

    – To sleep in Mandalay: Four Rivers (10.800 in a dorm)
    – Bus from Bagan: 9000 Kyats (van, around 5h)
    – Bus to go to Hsipaw: 11.000 Kyats (bus, 8h)

    Hsipaw and Shan villages

    hsipaw

    Then I went to Hsipaw to find a trekking inside of the lands and visit Shan villages. It was a long trip by van (8am-2pm), and when I arrived I just found a two days trekking starting the day after (depends if they have enough people). The trek was very nice but nothing really special. We ended after a small walk of 6 hours through the rices plantations and mountains in a small village where we had a traditional music show and dance by night, with the famous “demon”: a dragon made with two people eating the money you left on a plate. The second day we kept walking passing really nice landscapes, and finished our trek to a nice waterfall before coming back to the city by taxi.
     

    – To sleep in Hsipaw: Yee Shin (9800 private room)
    – Shan village tour operator: Mister Shoe (25000 for 2 days 1 night)

    Nyaung Shwe and Inle Lake

     
    I took the bus at 4pm (the last one) to Inle Lake and arrived by the morning (around 7am) after paying 13.500 Kyats the zone entrance fee.

    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Inle Lake
    Infos:
    – To sleep in Nyaung Shwe: Gipsy Inn (9800 Kyats in a dorm)
    – To arrive from Hsipaw: 15.500 night bus (14 hours)

    > See more pictures on Facebook

    You have there plenty of boats going to the lake with a kind of touristic road passing through a lot of shops showing you how people make their silver jewels, lotus clothes, umbrellas, visit Hpaung Daw U Pagoda (I didn’t pay the entrance as I visited before many pagodas before) and a Monastery.
    My guide was alone with me, and as I didn’t pass a lot of time in the shops, just had a quick lunch (only accepting to pay a coffee 3 time the normal price) and refused to pay for the entrance of the Pagoda, he lead me to his family house where I took tea watching TV with his mom and aunt during an hour. When we arrived to Phaung Daw Oo Monastery, last stop before the sunset, he told me we had to wait 2 hours there! It’s nice but not as big, so I asked him to go in an other place, and he accepted to go to the Small U Bein bridge where I found “normal” restaurants and had lunch at 3pm. We finished the day by a nice sunset with a fisher my guide called to do his nice figures for some Kyats.

    The day after I met a french guy and we went together to a great vineyards where they do degustation. At the end of the day I had my night bus to Hpa An.

    Looking back…
    You can also do the 3 days trekking starting from Kalaw, I would have done that if I didn’t came back from mine in Hsipaw!
    You can see during this trip the long neck woman but it really looks like a zoo…

    Hpa An

    From Inle Lake it took around 9 hours. We arrived right on time for the checking in a hotel found by two frenchies I met on the way. We took a nice breakfast and rented a scooter to visit the sites around. The first day we rented it for a half day.

    We went on the east part to Kaw Ka Taung cave and the nice baths and restaurant area where we rented a Kayak for a tour in the rice plantations (nice but small) and we finished the day at Dayan cave where you take a boat for the way back.

    The second day direction south to climb the mount Zwegabin and his temple. But when we arrived at 11am, saw the mountain, and heard it was 1h30 to go and 1h to go back we abandoned the idea… I think the best way to go there without the hot is in the morning, starting to climb the stairs at 3.30am! I truly prefered to pass the day with my two friends than climbing there but if you can do it go for it! We’ve been to a mini temple on a mini stone, Kyauk Kalat Pagoda, enjoy the market around, saw a football game, and visit Yateak Pyan cave and temple before waiting for the sunset at the bat cave. Really worth to wait, enjoying the view on the river before waiting with the other tourists the show! We told us Kawgun cave wasn’t worth the entrance fee so we passed it.

    Infos:
    – To stay in Hpa An: Soe Brothers 2 better location than the first 36.000 Kyats a room for 3 + an other bed (so 4 people)
    – Rent a scooter: 8000 a day
    – Rent a Kayak: 9000 the kayak for 2

    Our program in pictures:

    Kaw Ka Taung cave
    Dayan cave
    Kyauk Kalat Pagoda
    Yateak Pyan cave

    Summary of my trip:

    – Day 1-2-3 Yangon
    – Day 4-5-6: Bagan
    – Day 7: Mandalay Day 8 Hsipaw
    – Day 9-10: Trekking
    – Day 11-12 Inle Lake
    – Day 13-14: Hpa An
    – Day 15: direction Thailand border!
    Conclusion: 
    I really had a great time in Myanmar and totally recomend to go there, with more time than me! I think one month is perfect to have time and fully visit the sites and discover other places I couldn’t. I only regret I hadn’t many interactions with locals, as the only one talking english were working at agencies or hotels. Every landscape is awesome but I had a big crush on the south, close to the Thailand border.

    Thank you Myanmar!

    Two children in street 19th
    Beno, my german great friend
    Juan Carlos from Mexico
    Maria and Juan in Bagan
    Groups met in Shan Village
    Traditional shan show
    Super group of trekkers in Hsipaw
    French represent
    Les soeurs sourire
    Les soeurs sourire
  • Visit Bangladesh for 12 days

    Visit Bangladesh for 12 days

    After three weeks in India, I passed the border from Kolkata to Bangladesh where I discovered the less touristic country where I’ve been, and where the people made me live ones of the best moments in my trip! In almost two weeks I just had time to visit the south, from the doors of the Sunderbans to the East part in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar where I met the Rohingyas, to finally finish my trip in the capital, Dhaka.

    Woman travelling alone in Bangladesh

    Bangladesh isn’t in the top list of the country you think about to visit in south east Asia. Well, I didn’t really have any preferences as it’s a continent I didn’t know and I was interested to discover everything! Bangladesh sounds sadly unsafe, and unpopular maybe due to the last troubles in 2016 in Dhaka where five militants took hostages and opened fire in the Holey Artisan Bakery. There’s also a red hair french guy of my age who mysteriously disappeared there this year. But hey, I already travelled alone in Colombia or Mexico where there’s also bad stuff happening…

    You just need to take care of where you go, trying not to go out by night, and when you’ll meet banglas people and see there benevolent look and smiles, you will forget every a priori you could have about this country. It’s true that, like in India, people will stare at you (and not discretely), and ask for selfies, because they’re not used to see tourists, but in exchange you will be treated like a prince (or princess) by them.

    Visit bangladesh

    It’s an experience I wish to everyone who’s willing to meet local people and see nice landscapes more than historic monuments or nice cities.

    Arriving in Bangladesh from India

    Old Dhaka
    Old Dhaka
    From Chennai to Bangladesh border:
    Chennai => Kolkata: 665 Roupies (29h train)
    Kolkatta => Border: 300 Roupies (3h bus)

    First I arrived to Bangladesh after a very long trip. I started my journey taking a train from Chennai to Kolkata. 29 hours in a sleeper train sharing my seat during the day with other travelers, and during the night with a guy sleeping sited on my feet… It was an experience I really don’t regret. I haven’t seen the time passed, starting on Wednesday night at 11pm and arriving Friday morning around 5am in Kolkata. During the trip a lot of food saler will pass with great samossas, drinks, teas… I shared time with a nice indian couple who didn’t really speak english but with who I shared food and lot of smiles.

    Arrived on Friday morning in Kolkata (more precisely to Howrath train station), I asked to the train station how to reach Bangladesh, and they told me to go to the Kolkata station where there is an express train to Dhaka. Well I didn’t want to go directly to the capital as I already planned to finish my trip there, and anyway there was no train on this day. So I went to Markar street (taking the bus 13 from Kolkata railway station) where I finally found an agency to go to the border. They also had different buses to go to Khulna or Dhaka, but I was out of Roupies so I decided to pass the border and find there a place to stay!

    And that’s what I did. I already had my visa that I get from the bangladesh’s embassy in Paris (just didn’t have an address to stay, but I had the chance of being helped by a bangla guy who will be my guardian in Dhaka and who shared his address to the policeman and told me to contact him at the end of my trip when I’ll reach Dhaka… So be sure to have a booking before arriving, even if you have the visa !

    After the border I asked the people where I could stay for the night (it was already dark and I was tired of this huge journey). They told me to go to Jessore. I must recognize I haven’t seen much of this city, I was more occupied to program my next days and to reconnect with the world after more than one week without wifi! But during the afternoon I decided to go to Khulna to try to find a way to visit the Sunderbans. So I took a first local bus and started to pray! (you must know the drivers are just CRAZY, think the buses has the priority, even with the others coming in front of you, on small and shitty roads… It’s fun though!).

    From the Sunderbans to Barisal

    I took a local bus from Khulna to Mongla, and met two guys who sold me their tour for 2000 takas (they started the price at 4000 but the guide of Khulna told me not to pay more than 2000). They brought me to Karamjal forest, crossing a huge river and stopping at the entrance of the Sunderbans where there’s a kind of zoo with a 345 Takas entrance fee. You’ll see there babies crocodiles, and deers and a nice walk through the jungle. But that’s it. It was nice but a bit disappointing for me to be true. If you really want to enter inside of the Sunderbans you will need to pay more, for the boat right and for a guide with a gun (because of the crocodiles and tigers).

    This tour supposed to be a 4 hours tour last 2h so instead of staying in Mongla I took the road for Barisal which seemed to be a nice city. On my way, waiting for the Ferry to cross a river, I met Rana, a bangla searcher in agriculture who offered me to make me visit Barisal the day after. So we went together to the river border, a nice parc and the place of the city. Rana also introduced me his boss, Amrita, and they both invited me to follow them in the countryside! We went to various farms and finished the day in Kuakata to see the sunset.

    Mongla
    Mongla
    Sunderbans
    Talamjal forest
    Talamjal forest
    Barisal area
    Barisal area
    Barisal area
    Kuakata beach
    Kuakata beach

    About tigers my guide was working there for 6 years and just saw one once…

    Looking back…
    From Khulna you can probably find some tours, but it’s less touristic than it was before, and a lot of agencies closed, but I found a old guide who told me you have different ways to go there :

    – From Dhaka with a one (huge) day tour
    – From Mongla where you can find private boats and have a look to Talamjal forest
    – Booking a 3 days tour and stay on a huge boat with a lot of people (croisiere)

    I think the third option is the best to really discover this biggest mangrove forest of the world, but I hadn’t book nothing and didn’t want to waste so much money (around 200$usd) to be alone on a boat…

    Chittagong

    Ship breaking yard in Chittagong
    Ship breaking yard in Chittagong
    Bangladesh road
    Bangladesh road
    Boat to Lakshmipur

    From Barisal I had diferent options to go to Chittagong :
    – A direct bus (leaving at the end of the day)
    – A boat to Dhaka and then a direct bus
    – A boat to Lackshipur and then a bus
    The last option was the faster and shorter way. I started at 7am and arrived at 5pm in Chittagong where I’ve been hosted by Tristan, a french guy working there I found on Couchsurfing.

    Tristan recommended me two sightseeings to do in one day : The ship breaking yard and the port (the old city). I just did the ship yard as I met a nice family who invited me to take tea with them in their village.
    To go to the boat yard you need to go to Shadargate and to cross the village to the ship breaking yard where you can see the destruction of the big ships, and the cemetery.

    Cox’s Bazar and the Rohingyas’ camps

    Tristan invited me to join him and his friends from Dhaka to go to help he Rohinga’s for a week end. So we took a night bus from Chittagong and a CMG (Tuk Tuk) to Kutupalong camp where we visited a bit the camp, meeting the people on the way and playing with the children. It was a really great experience to see their smiles back on their faces after what they lived and where they’re staying…

    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp
    Rohingyas Kotupalong camp

    If you also want to go and help you can contact the Facebook Group “Aide aux réfugiés Rohingyas“, a community of people living in Bangladesh who has all the contacts and informations needed to go there!

    > Watch the video of the visit

    Dhaka

    This capital is the most cloudy I saw in my life. You can easily pass more than 2 hours to do 15km… But the old Dhaka is a treasure, full of shops and small streets, including Indian street, the nicest, and the Pink Palace you can visit. I passed an amazing time there, visiting the city center with Mathilde I met in Cox’s Bazar, and meeting Nafiz’s family, the friend I met in the border who invited me for my last night to have dinner with them and who passed hours in the trafic to show me the city and to escort me to the airport.

    Transports:
    The distances really don’t matter, the time you will pass in transport is HUGE and the drivers are crazy! I recommend you to use the boats and trains when you can…
    Bus border – Jessore: 50 Takas (1h)
    Bus Jessore – Khulna: 80 Takas (2h30)
    Bus Kulna – Mongla: 80 Takas (2h)
    Bus Mongla – Barisal with a change at Katakari: 30 + 200 Takas (4h30, but depends on the ferry)
    Barisal – Chittagong via Lakshipur: 305 Takas for the boat and 350 Takas the bus (4h each)
    Bus Chittagong – Cox’s Bazar: 350 Takas (3h30)
    Bus Cox’s Bazar – Chittagong: 250 Takas (4h)
    Bus Chittagong – Dhaka: 480 Takas (6h)
    Hotels:
    I only booked in advance the hostel in Dhaka, and found the other ones arriving in the cities, where the taxis know where to lead you as you can only stay in international hotels (at least when you’re a woman travelling alone).
    – Jessore: Hassan International (1200 Takas double private room)
    – Khulna: JH International (1000 Takas double private)
    – Barisal: Arena Hotel and it’s huge rooftop restaurant (1000 Takas double private room)
    – Cox’s Bazar: Muscat Holiday Resort (800 Takas per person for a private apartment with 5 people and 3 rooms)
    – Dhaka: Golpata BnB (1400 Takas in a dorm)
    visit bangladesh
    Summary:
    Day 1 – Border to Jessore
    Day 2 – Jessore to Kuhlna
    Day 3 – Mongla
    Day 4 – Barisal
    Day 5 – Countryside and playa
    Day 6 – Travel to Chittagong
    Day 7 – Chittagong
    Day 8/9 – Cox’s Bazar
    Day 10 – Back to Chittagong
    Day 11 – 12 Dhaka

    Thank you Bangladesh!

    You don’t visit Bangladesh for the huge historic monuments, or the culture, but you’ll see there great landscapes everywhere! I wish I could have time to visit Sylhet and the North West but I definitely recommend to live the experience of this country and discover the traditions, people, transports and cities!

    In the bus
    Rana from Barisal
    In Barisal
    Kuakata sunset with Rana and Amrita
    On the boat
    Family in Chittagong
    French team in Cox's Bazar
    Nafiz Family
    Nafiz's sister, Priyanka
    Nafiz's mother
  • 15 days in South India

    15 days in South India

    After a first week in the north of Mysore, It took me almost two weeks to discover the green and nice beaches of the Kerala, and the collection of temples of the Tamil Nadu before finishing my indian trip on the nice Bay of Bengal

    Kerala

     
    After a first week full of surprises, I arrived from Mysore in Kochi, recommended by all the guides as a very interesting city. Well I haven’t found the great interest, it’s a nice small city but without any big activity to do, you will see in a half day the chinese fisher nests, and can also enjoy a Kathakali dance show during the night.
     

    Kochi:
    Ferry from Ernakulam: 4Rs
    Hotel Green Tree: 400Rs private room + 150 breakfast (eggs, bread and fruit salad with coffee)
    Kathakali Show: 350Rs (1h30)
    Bus to Munnar: 99Rs (5h)

     
    So after just one night there I decided to take the road for Munnar. I lost more than 10 degrees in those green cloudy mountains, but I could enjoy a nice trekking offered in the hotel I found (both quite expensive but I think it worth it):

    chinese nest kochi
    Munnar:
    Hotel SMM: 700Rs private room
    Trekking: 600Rs (7am – 1pm with breakfast)
    Bus to Kottayam: 116
    Kottayam – Changanassery: 18Rs
    Changanassery – Alleppey: 24Rs
    Munnar
    Munnar
    Munnar
    Munnar
    Munnar

    The Backwaters

    Backwaters alleppey

    Right after the half day trekking I took an other bus to go back to the coast in Alleppey and its great backwaters.
    After 3 buses and 6 hours I finally arrived in an hotel I found on Hostelworld and definitly recommend : Sea Shore hotel, in front of the beach. The owner there, Faizal, will treat you like a part of her family. She arranged me a nice ayurvedic massage for the day after, and I also booked a full day tour in the backwaters through a friend I met in Hampi. We passed the day between frenchies enjoying the peacefull canals and passing through the fishers’ villages.
     

    Alleppey:
    Sea Shore Hotel: 200Rs dorm + 150 breakfast (eggs and toasts)
    Tour backwaters: 900Rs (from 8.30am to 5pm, with breakfast and lunch)
    Ayurvedic massage: 1000Rs (45min)
    Train Alleppey- Madurai: 140Rs (11h)

    Tamil Nadu

    After 3 nights there I took a night bus to Madurai. It was an experience ! I made the mistake not book in advanced my sleeper place, so I finished in the general indian wagon, trying to sleep with a fully booked train ! I finally arrived safe in my destination : Madurai. It wasn’t my plan to go back to a big city, but I made a small break there to check the temple and took back the train for Trichy.

    Arrived at night, I just found an expensive hotel (but with wifi and breakfast) and went to discover the city with a local bus the day after. I visited the Rockfort temple, on top of the hill, and the huge Sri Rangam temple. The third one, Sri Jambukeshwara temple, was in construction so I skept it.
    Photo rockfort temple and srirangam

    At 3pm I was back in my hotel, and took a local bus to Thanjavur and found a cheap hotel to stay in, without wifi and with a massive cucaracha fight during the night… Anyway the day after I visited in the morning the Big Templeand the Palace and its museum (totally don’t worth the price). By noun I took a local bus to Chidambaram, passing by Kumbakonam (5h total) and enjoyed the sunset in the gorgeous Sri Natajara temple.

    Trichy:
    Train Madurai-Trichy: 80Rs (2h)
    Hotel Victoria: 800Rs private room with breakfast
    City bus ticket: around 10Rs
    Bus to Thanjavur: 35Rs (1h)
    Thanjavur:
    Hotel: 300Rs
    Palace: 200Rs
    Bus to Kumbakonam: 30Rs
    Kumbakonam- Chidambaram: 33Rs (5h total)
    Chidambaram:
    Hotel Mansoon: 350Rs
    Bus Chidambaram – Kumbakonam: 30Rs
    Bus Kumbakonam – Pondicherry: 33Rs (2h total)

    Main Sightseeings

    Madurai

    Madurai

    Second biggest city in Tamil Nadu (after Chennai), Madurai is famous for its huge Mînâkshî temple (closed between 1pm and 3pm).

    Rockfort temple

    Rockfort temple

    Situated in Trichy, also called Tiruchirappalli, the entrance steps are hidden behind a huge bazar

    Sri Rangam temple

    Sri Rangam temple

    Also in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), this temple is the cloudest I’ve visited, you’ll discover an entire city inside, very impressive!

    Thankjavur temple

    Brihadesvara Temple

    In Thanjavur (or Tanjore) this amazing stone temple is also called Râjarâjeshvaram. It hasn’t the paintings as a lot of temples in Tamil Nadu, but is really amazing and with a main limestone cow as main statue!

    Thankjavur palace

    Thankjavur Palace

    Expensive price for a basic castle, which the main attraction is the small museum and the colourfull Durbar Hall. The access to the other parts – including the belltower – were closed.

    Sri Natajara temple

    Sri Natajara temple

    Dedicated to Shiva as the king of the dance, this last temple I’ve visited in Chidambaram is really amazing, full of colours, music, and nice people!

    Bay of Bengal

    Pondichery

    The day after I took a bus to Pondicherry where I found a very nice old colonial center. The streets are quiet and full of (expensive) shops and restaurants. You also have a nice bay walking way, and a muslim quarter with a nice Mosqueeand market! I really appreciated this city, maybe because it reminds me the colonial streets of Panama, or maybe because it was full of french restaurants… After one night there I took the direction of my last real stop: Mahabalipuram.
     

    Pondicherry:
    Hotel Valentina: 400Rs
    Bus to Mahabalipuram : 65Rs (2h30)

    Mahabalipuram, or Mamallapuram is a small seaside town where you can enjoy nice restaurants or hotels on the beach (with a great sunrise if you’re courageous to wake up), with a nice temple at its end! Behind the local bus station you will also discover a huge archeological site full of temples and with the famous Descent of Ganges‘ rock relief (also called Arjuna’s Penance). The city doesn’t have much more to offer, the streets and beach are quite messies, but I must recognize I was there more here to take rest, enjoy the sun, read and write, than going more far in the visits… (I heard you have a nice Tiger cave 6km in the North, or an other temple on a hill at 15km in the west). I preferred to stay and take force for my last journey in India, and not least: Chennai to Kolkata, a 29 hours train journey!

    Mamalapuram
    Summary of my 15 days:
    Day 1: Cochi
    Day 2 and 3: Munnar
    Day 4-5-6: Alleppey
    Day 7 – 8: Madurai and Trichy
    Day 9: Thanjavur and Chidambaram
    Day 10-11: Pondicherry
    Day 12-13: Mahabalipuram
    Day 13-14: Train Chennai – Kolkata
    Mahabalipuram:
    Hotel Flip Flop: 500Rs
    Bus Chennai: 45Rs (2h)
    Train Chennai – Kolkata: 665Rs (29h)

    People met on the way…

    Indian english and french playing together in Kochi
    Lisa, a german and our guide in the Munnar tea plantations
    In the bus
    Playing baggamon in Alleppey
    French and belgium in the backwaters
    bus
  • First week in India…

    First week in India…

    After one week in India, it’s time for a small report of my journey from Mumbai to Mysore, passing by Hampi (1180km km, 22h in buses)!

    Welcome to India

     
    I must recognize the beginning has been quite hard. This country has nothing to do with what I lived before. I thought 4 years in latin america would have help me to resist to the men harassement, the poverty or the chaotic organization, but here it’s an other level! You don’t eat, wash yourself, walk, dress in the same way. Once you get that, and get rid of the fear or hanger you can have, I think you can start to like India, and it’s where I am now, enjoying every smile, every color, every smell of this magic country.

    > Check my pictures on Facebook

    India

    Mumbai

    Gateway of India
    Gateway of India
    Taj Mahal Palace
    Taj Mahal Palace
    Mumbai
    Mumbai
    Elephant Island
    Elephant Island
    Marine Drive
    Marine Drive

    So I arrived to Mumbai by night, where I saw entire families sleeping on the streets, and found a dark hotel at 2.30am where they put me in a dorm on a mat without sheets. I couldn’t sleep and thought « what the hell am I doing here ». The day after, a golden sun was lightning up this same hotel, and it was gorgeous! I discovered a busy and noisy city, where you risk your life everytime you want to cross the road, but with a so special light and so beautiful people you can forget the bad sides.

    The first day I just walked around the city, visited Victoria Station, went to the Indian Gateway place to see the nice Taj Mahal palace, walked down Oval and Cross Maidan parcs, Crawford Market (I booked a bus there for Hampi), and saw a gorgeous sunset on Marine Drive with Kohulan, a south american I met in the hotel. Then we took a local train just for fun, and arrived to Grant road and enjoyed a nice street market by night.

    The second day we’ve been together to Elephanta island to breath and to discover very nice temples built inside of the mountain.

    Hampi

     
    I took a night bus to Hampi, a countryside city where I thought it would be more quiet. But when I arrived there was a celebration, and a loooot of people. I visited the ruins alone the first day, where I was bothered every 10minutes by people asking for a selfie. With families and women it was ok, but the guys have an insistant way to ask very annoying. Even if you say « no » they will take it, or worse : they’ll do it discretly while you’re walking (I must recognize I also love to steal portrait of people in the street, but I don’t take selfies!)

    Hampi

    Anyway I passed the first day trying to visit the ruins around the city, and enjoyed the celebrations with the owner of the hotel and his friends. A first very local experience I really enjoyed !

    The second day I shared a bicycle guided tour of the south sites with a couple of english travelers, and finished the day invited by the guide to see the sunset in a temple while a monk was singing. A magic experience I strongly recommend, even if I don’t remember the name of this temple!

    The third day I crossed the river to visit the north side of the river, renting a moto.

    I’ve been amazed by the visit of the ruins in Hampi. You find in the same site a pyramid as the mexican one built by the mayas, walls like the inca’sones in Cuzco, arabic architectures, and roman columns and viaducs. You also find temples which looks exactly like cambodian’s (I heard they were built by the same people, and the cambodians destroyed the indi statues to replace them by buddhist ones).

    Infos for Mumbai:
    Prepaid taxi from the airport to the center: 800Rs
    Hotel: New Vasantashram boarding and lodging house (350Rs / night in a dorm)
    Boat to the Elephanta Island: 180Rs with return
    Elephant Island entrance: 500Rs
    Infos for Hampi:
    Bus from Mumbai : 1200Rs for a sleeping (so with beds), started from Sion Circle (I took a Rickshaw from the Crawford market – I paid 300 but it’s usually 150Rs) – Takes 13 hours to reach Hospete
    From Hospete to Hampi : 300Rs for 3 people, and 100Rs to go back with 2 people (me and an indian who knows the price). You can also take a bus for 20Rs.
    Hostel : Shambu Guesthouse – 900Rs a night (expensive but it was because of the festival)

    Mysore

     
    I took an other night bus to go to Mysore (it wasn’t a sleeper one and I couldn’t really sleep because of the crazy driver), where I finally found peace in a gorgeous hotel, a house built in 1907!

    The city is not so big, there’s trafic but it’s ok, I walked around a lot of streets full of traditional dress shops, and a huge market where you can find oils, spicies, fruits and vegetables. I also took time to visit the fantastic palace of Mysore. I was the only foreign tourist, but there was a lot of indians doing the tour without shoes, a great experience to live!
     

    Infos:
    Bus from Hospete to Mysore: semi sleeper 700Rs (it was actually 550Rs but I passed through an agency which took its commission)
    Hostel : The Mansion 1907 – 500Rs + 100Rs for a breakfast in a dorm, fully recommended!

    People I’ve met during this week

     
    Meeting other travelers helped me a lot to share my feelings and see they were thinking the same. I’m thinking about Kohula, from South Africa, Joe and Jack from London, Jeanne and Pascal from Perpignan (in France), Melis from Turkey, and many other great indians who helped me a lot on my way! You don’t choose India to have a fun experience or to relax like you would go to Ibiza or the south of France. People are here for a spiritual reason. They’re looking for peace, or answers about themselves or their life. It really feel good to meet so interesting people !

    Kohulan
    Kohulan
    Cheka
    Jack and Joe
    Shambu and his friends
    One selfie
    Melis
    Krishna

    CHECK HERE THE REST OF MY TRIP IN INDIA!

  • Asian Project

    Asian Project

    Discover here my new challenge, my original plan, estimated calendar, how to follow me and the posts about this travel in Asia…

    (more…)