One of the highlights of a trip to Vietnam is a boat tour to world famous Halong Bay. We were really sceptical because of how popular the limestone islands are and the prices suggested in the lonelyplanet. The most common tour recommended is a 2D1N trip and that one should expect poor quality when booking something for less than 130 USD. Because 260 USD was way over our budget we looked for alternatives and found Cat Ba Island. Here´s our trip … [Read more...] about Cat Ba the best way to see Halong Bay
Veggielife
Epic Travel Fail Trying to Enter Vietnam
Getting to the border In our Asia tour we planned to go from Luang Prabang to Hanoi. To save some money and have the experience we decided to take the 24 hour overnight bus. It is a special bus, instead of two rows with seats the bus has three rows with narrow bunk beds which makes the ride actually quite comfortable. We thought we had everything prepared for the trip. We got our evisas approved several days before, printed and filled out all … [Read more...] about Epic Travel Fail Trying to Enter Vietnam
River cruising in Laos
After crossing the border from Thailand we got a Tuk Tuk to Huay Xai, our starting point for the two day slow boat trip to Luang Prabang. There's not much to do in Huay Xai, it's the starting point for the famous Gibbon Experience tour, but that was way beyond our budget so instead we enjoyed some epic meals. The next morning we headed early to the docks and off we were. The first one or two hours we enjoyed the boat ride with the view … [Read more...] about River cruising in Laos
The Cheapest Way from Chiang Mai to Laos
When traveling from Chiang Mai to Laos it is quite easy to go into a travel agency and they arrange everything for you. However, if you are on a budget this is not the cheapest option. There are basically two common packages the agencies offer. Bus to Chiang Khong Semi individual travelers can choose just to take the bus from Chiang Mai to the border city, Chiang Khong. From there you have to make your own way to the Laos border and into … [Read more...] about The Cheapest Way from Chiang Mai to Laos
Free Things to do in Chiang Mai
When arriving in Chiang Mai the amount of tours the travel agencies offer can be overwhelming. There are plenty of tours to elephant sanctuaries, ziplining, cooking classes, etc. In case you just want to explore the city and its culture here are some recommendations which are free or super cheap. Walking around The best way to see Chiang Mai is just to explore it by foot. It helps if you book an accommodation close to the old town and … [Read more...] about Free Things to do in Chiang Mai
Short Trip to Chiang Mai
We landed pretty late in Chiang Mai, our only stop in Thailand on this trip. Our hotel, the Teeraya Boutique Hotel (which was a hostel and definitely no Boutique Hotel), was perfectly located just a short walk south of the old town. On our first night we only had time to grab some street food before going to bed. The next day we planned to get up early to do sightseeing in the morning and chill and organize stuff with internet connection … [Read more...] about Short Trip to Chiang Mai