Hot Springs and Roller Coasters
When planning our Japan trip, we wanted to buy a rail pass and travel through Japan by train and busses. Our dear friend Manuel then came up with the excellent idea of renting a camper van instead, avoiding overbooked hotels and enabling us to travel more freely. We got one, and hit the road with Mount Fuji in mind. The beauty of this mountain has inspired a lot of people; the Japanese even call it “holy”. I clearly saw the picture before my inner eye: Majestic Mount Fuji with a snow covered top, blue sky and a sea of blooming cherry trees...
read moreNo Tokyo Hotel
Tokyo – a place that in my mind is somehow associated with an equal amount of tall shiny buildings, people in crazy dresses and tons of raw fish. Oh, and right now, funky pink trees. Turns out the two days we spent there was enough to see all four. Plenty of all four, actually. It seems that the term “Tokyo Hotel” is actually sarcasm: It took us over 5 hours to find a place to sleep (yeah, booking.com had warned us that 97% of all hotels were booked out). After we finally find a place to catch some zzz later on, we headed...
read moreA Weekend in Taipei
The cherry blossom season just started in Japan, and since Cherry Blossom Viewing in Japan is a point on our bucket list, it is about time we headed to Tokyo. But instead of flying directly to Tokyo, we decided to stop over in Taipei. It costs about the same as flying directly, so nothing speaks against visiting Taiwan. As we were looking for a couch surfer to host us, we found out about a long time family friend of Scharnowski’s who was in town for a few days. He invited us to stay with him and his family and it turned out to be a very...
read moreGood Morning Vietnam! Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly and probably better known as Saigon, is the second-largest and most southern city of Vietnam. Usually either the first, or as in our case, the last stop on a typical backpackers route through the country, it offers heaps of things to do and buy, as well as cheap flights to just about any city in Asia. We compensated another ridiculously-early-morning-arrival of our bus (3.50AM) with 1.5 nights in a pretty fancy hotel. Looking back on our trip through Vietnam, we realised just how much we liked this place. While...
read moreGood Morning Vietnam! Da Lat
Da Lat, also known as Vegetable Garden of Vietnam, City of Eternal Spring and City of Thousands of Pine Trees, lies 1’500 meter above sea level and is a popular place for honeymooners and nature lovers. The bus ride to Da Lat was rather horrible, mostly because of the 1’000 construction sites we had to cross, but all the pain was gone in the minute we arrived: We inhaled the fresh air and the sun was shining on our faces. So far is this our favourite place in Vietnam. Do: Get active! There are so many things to do like mountain...
read moreGood Morning Vietnam! Hoi An
Although we were hesitant to leave the beautiful beach at Hue, doing so using motorbikes did make the decision a bit easier. Knowing that we’d be doing a route which Jeremy Clarkson called “one of the best coast roads in the world” in the Top Gear Vietnam Special sure did help a lot, too. And he was right (he usually is, when he’s not busy hitting people). What a nice ride, even though our bikes probably sucked even more than those used by the guys from Top Gear. We got to Hoi An (yeah, Hanoi, Hoi An… we’re...
read moreGood Morning Vietnam! Hue
Sometimes, life as a traveler can get too overwhelming. All you need at this point is a cozy bungalow and a beach. In case this happens to you around the middle of Vietnam, as it did to us, we highly recommend staying a day or two at Beach Bar Hue. Although the city of Hue surely is nice, we preferred staying at the beach and doing nothing (well, almost). Do: Go for a run at the beach, read a book, have a glass of wine, eat seafood and get tanned. Don’t: Hurry. Random fact: In Hue it rains once every...
read moreGood Morning Vietnam! Phong Nha
Phong Nha – a spot on the most narrow part of Vietnam. Home to the largest cave in the world (no, we didn’t actually see it, since a) it takes a 7-day trek to get there, b) it costs USD 3’000.- and c) it’s booked out for all of 2015), which could actually fit all of Manhatten inside. And still have enough room for a chopper to fly over. But even if the big guy remains on the wish list for most ordinary people, there’s still an abundance of impressive caves to see. See: Caves, caves, caves. They’re impressive. Like, huge and...
read moreGood Morning Vietnam! Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay is one of 7 Nature Wonders of the World and features thousands of limestone islands in various sizes and shapes. Do: Book a two-day-one-night-cruise and don’t choose the cheapest offer (we got a good deal with Lemon Cruise). The cruise company will pick you up in Hanoi and bring you back the following day. See: Caves, the beautiful island scenery and pearls growing in oysters. Don’t: Expect to be the only tourist in Ha Long Bay, although this was the best mass-tourism solution we experienced so far. Random fact: The...
read moreGood Morning Vietnam! Hanoi
We survived the “bus ride from hell” and made it to Hanoi, Vietnams biggest city – and it sure has to offer a lot. The old quarter buzzes with life, consisting of hundreds of shops and stalls, and thousands (or millions) of scooters. Crossing the street is an adventure, every single time. Do: Walk around the Old Quarter and try random street food. Another Do: Take a bicycle onto the small island off Cau Long Bien bridge, and experience jungle just a stone throw away from the city. See: The Water Puppet Show. Supposedly for...
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