China - part 2

Hello and Nǐ hǎo, welcome back.
We arrived in Bejing after a rather uncomfortable flight, as it was bumpy all the way through. We even got offered a full meal, but Raf refused - this shows how bad we felt, 2 nights no sleep and a bumpy flight.
Bejing is really overwhelming. When we arrived we only managed to buy our train tickets to Xian and go to Tianmen Square - the biggest square in the world - which took us 6 hours in total - is this normal?? It was impressive though, with big screens, thousands of people and massive monuments. One the second day we went on another tour (are we tourists or backpackers??? Hello??) as it sounded good value for money, to see the Great Wall of China, Badaling. We bought the ticket and walked away happily, when Raf noticed that we actually booked a tour, which meant to go to a Palace, jade factory and have lunch before we are heading to the Great Wall. Oh dear - maybe we should stick to our backpacker`s technique next time! In the end it was not too bad though. Well, the Wax Museum of the Ming Dynasty turned out to be the most boring thing we have ever paid for during our 4 months travel, the jade factory was nice to look at, but who needs jewelery as a backpacker?? and the food was horrible. In the end, we arrived at the Great Wall at 2pm and only had 2 hours to discover a few kilometers out of 8882km in total! - not that we were trying to do them all..;) It was very touristy as expected but in the end we have seen what we wanted to see and it is a very uplifting experience, walking along one of the most stunning world wonders that exist on earth. Oh my Buddha!

Later this afternoon we decided to check out some of the night markets that are supposed to sell weird food stuff. Weird? This is definitively underestimated. You walk through the market and think "WTF? IS THIS REAL?" They eat snakes, spiders, beetles, worms - anything that moves. It is unbelievable. If you are bored with the stuff we eat at home, come along and help yourself here!


On the second day we went to the Summer Palace, not expecting very much other than a palace - we were pleasantly surprised by this massive and beautiful setting of lakes, temples, pagodas, rivers, boats - just like in a movie. Not really astonishing that it is also on UNESCO`s World Heritage List. Situated on Longevity Hill, it took us more than 4 hours to check out the main buildings such as The Cloud-Dispelling Hall, the Temple of Buddhist Virtue, the Sea of Wisdom Temple and many others. We also managed to find a nice and affordable restaurant, so we did not collapse in the heat. All in all, we were really surprised by the beauty of the Summer Palace and had a very nice, less-hectic afternoon. On the third day, we headed to the Forbidden City (so-called, as it was forbidden to enter this area for more than 500 years. Everybody who tried got executed straight away!). The masses of people meant it is another one of "must-see" attractions in Bejing and it did not disappoint. Not at all. Nobody can imagine how big it really is unless you were there. It is a city within a city and the buildings, especially the Garden and the Hall of Harmony are masterpieces of architecture.
Raf did not feel too well, so we tried to be quick and squeezed through all Chinese tour groups as fast as we could. On the same day, we took an overnight train to Xi`an and we realized that it`s such a long time ago since we last took any overnight buses or trains that we were slightly demotivated to get on it! In the end it was one of the best journeys we had, also because we invested a bit more money this time to have soft seats rather than hard seats (what a difference it makes!!) and we arrived in Xi`an.

For the first time in ages somebody was actually waiting for us outside the train station...it is such a great feeling to see your name on a piece of paper - oh yes, I am Melanie Groeber and please pick us up!! The hostel, Xiangziemen Youth Hostel in Xian is just great. The rooms are clean, the atmosphere is amazing and the food superb. Yes, we are happy. The main attraction here is, of course, the Terracotta Warriors: world-famous and listed as the 8th World Wonder. We decided to go by our own this time, so no tour that drives us to places we don` t want to see. And it the end we had an absolute great day, no stress, no guides, just us and the army;) There are three pits in total, however, the first pit is the most impressive one. The terracotta figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers. The figures include warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. After discovering around 8000 warriors and restoring some of them, many archeologists believe that there are many pits still waiting to be discovered. Definitively worth checking out in the future!

The second day was also called "the-day-we-did-nothing-absolutely-nothing", also the day called "oh-my-Buddha-we-are-slightly-bored!". And we could not believe it, we had no plans, only a great English breakfast which was definitively our highlight of the day.

And there they went: heading back to Shanghai on a 15-hour-train...to see the Expo! What were we thinking?? Are we sure we want to ge queuing up with half a million Chinese?? Well, we expected queues and lots of people but...not quite THAT! As we found out, it was even in the news that they had a record number of visitors on that day. Of course, it cound not have been any other day. And of course, we had 2 really bad nights in our hostel, due to very persistent and incredibly nasty mosquitos who bit you everywhere even when you also stuck your nose out the blanket! They even managed to bit me so my face looked like somebody punched me...
The Expo itself was great and a truly overwhelming idea to create a few dozen buildings and invest millions of Euros to promote and represent your country. A few pavillions looked rather odd but a few were absolutely stunning. Our favourite was the UK pavillion (not too impressive inside but the outside was really great!) and of course, the Italian, German and also the Swiss one. So after 8hours of queuing - including 2 hours for the Chinese pavillion, for nothing, as we did not even see the tickets we were supposed to get for the entry as they were "sold out" in seconds...- 30 minutes for India, 1,5h for Switzerland, 40 Minutes for Italy, 2h for Germany - amongst the most popular ones OF COURSE hehe - 30 Minutes for France and another 40 Minutes for UAE) - we were rather exhausted. Not only that waiting under clear blue sky and a hammering sun is not the most fun thing to do, also, the Chinese behavious or MASS behaviour makes you feel even more warm or..angry. Queuing really isn`t their thing. They try to sneak through whenever, wherever they can. Once you turn round you notice that you look at the person`s hair, who was behind you a minute ago. In the end, we were really impressed about the effort that went into the design and planning of this Expo. Denmark even brought the original Mermaid, that has not been moved for more than 100 years!! Crazy stuff...

We were actually really glad that we took a 20 hours train to Guanghzou (towards Hong Kong) at 11am, so we could lay down in our hard sleepers...And we cannot wait to stay in a place for a few nights..even Hong Kong is said to have the tiniest rooms ever...

Raf and Mel aka. Peoplemania!

Korea - It`s all about Soju!

With tears in our eyes, leaving Japan was not easy...but hey - the journey must go on!

The so-called "Beetle-ferry" ride from Fukuoka to Busan was really smooth. We arrived after a non-bumpy 3 hours-ride and took the metro to find our hostel. The hostel was okay, nice room, but unfortunately it stank like a public toilet, as the drains were broke or something. Anyway, we tried not to breathe in the toilet and used lots of Airwick to get rid of it. Still - we felt like we were back in "Sulphur-Rotorua" in New Zealand.
Busan is a really nice harbour city. We checked out the surroundings, the harbour bridge, the market streets with nice food stalls, Pitt Square, the (quite disgusting) fish market and a one day exkursion to the Geumjeong Fortress, an easy bus ride away from town. We did not plan any hiking on this day but once we arrived it said "6km to East Gate" - WHAT? A lovely Korean showed us the way as we got lost in the first place, then went on the 1,5 hour walk.

The landscape was absolutely stunning and although we were a bit annoyed at first place cause we did not intend a hike with jeans and one bottle of water in the bags, we realised it was the best thing we could have done. Lovely nature, the fortress seemed a bit like the "small" wall of Korea. After 3 lovely days in Busan we took a bus to Seoul.
The first impression was not quite what we expected, mainly because it was raining and it looked pretty grey and dusty. We checked in in our hostel, Mr. Kim`s Guesthouse - looked a bit like a big flat-share, and it was quite how it worked. No real rules, but everybody made you feel welcome. We stayed there for 4 nights in total, as we managed to get a pretty cheap flight to Bejing on the 22nd of May. 4 Days in Seoul is more than enough if we look back, well - at least we had to time to slow down a bit and just enjoy a few sightseeing bits, nothing else. We checked out a few places such as Hongik area (very studenty, lots of bars, nightclubs etc.), the Prison that was built by Japanese who tortured countless Koreans during the 60`s - a very bittercold truth about what happened between Koreans and Japanese, especially strange if you just left Japan...We have also seen two temples, Gyeongguksa - a massive complex of different temples, where we have also seen the guardian change ceremony on this day, as well as Jogyese Temple during Buddha`s Birthday (we happened to be there, AGAIN, when it is national holiday....), which had thousands of little laterns. Besides, we went to the War Museum, which was really interesting and explained a lot we did not know as well as Namdaemun`s Market, where you can buy tasty dumplings and lots of different accessories. We also had great food and one night we had a big BBQ at our hostel, where they filled our stomachs with beef, salad leaves, lots of sauces as well as vegetables and rice - they cooked the beef in a pan on the table, really tasty! Of course, drinking Soju, rice whiskey, contributes to a satisfied evening...However, we soon realised that this hostel is more a party place a la "spring break" for college students, rather a nice little place for couples. So the second night we got a bit annoyed of snoring girls and boys, druken and puking guys and people who just thought they are great because they are partying every day. No thanks, "go back to your room". ...The last night when we left, a friend of Mr.Kim happened to be a fortune teller (he inherited his gift/technique from his grandfather he said). Of course, we gave it a try and he read Mel`s fortune. With only birtday and time and your name he started to ask a few questions and hit it every time. We were impressed, scared and stunned. Overall, it`s looking good;)
So, the last 2 nights we slept for about 3 hours in total, which means that we boarded the plane to Bejing as two zombies, but hey - a backpacker`s life is not always fun and easy, that `s why we don`t call ourselves tourists.

Raf and Mel aka "please, no more sightseeing!"

Japan - travelling is actually fun!

Konichiwa!
As we entered the ferry we could not believe our luck - the stewardesses were smiling at you, you could see the movie list on the right, the restaurant on the upper floor and even a laundry for free! We felt like we are just about to go on a cruise a la Titanic (well, hoping it won`t sink!). We really enjoyed it - apart from the little bumpy bit where I felt sick for hours and only considered the toilet as my best friend - and although 46 hours sounds long, it was necessary for us to do NOTHING else than eating, sleeping, watching movies. We were only a few people on board so we had lots of space in our Japanese style dormitories (on the floor - real Japanese style!) and we arrived on time (wow - nothing compared to Vietnam or China!) after 46 hours in Osaka. The people on the ferry were amazing, everybody was talking to us, Rafi played table tennis with a 78-year old Japanese champion it looked like, we had a nice chat with various people, a nice lady from my room gave me a lovely present and we had about 5 mobile phones more and everybody said if you need help, call me! IS THIS REAL??? The first impression we had was truly amazing and so welcoming, we could not believe their hospitality.

In Osaka we had a really nice hotel as well and at night we checked out the busy Den-Den Town district. We loved it - it` s a whole new world, with lots of different colors, giant neon figures on the walls, Japanese lamps decorating the alleys and arcades, stylish Japanese teens showing off their latest fashion gadgets - and you can see a lot more: porn everywhere and old vhs videos. Well, bit of a controversy to the "shy" and modern Japan, but even that made it a bit more mysterious.

We took the bullet train (the coolest train on earth!) to Kyoto, which took less than one hour and stayed there for 3 nights. Kyoto is great - probably the best city in Japan, with 3000 temples, shrines, palaces, castles, ... - oh there is lots on your agenda. We managed to see two temples (Higashi-hongan-ji), Nijo Castle and the Manga International Museum (well Raf did, as I am not into comics that much, but he went out and felt like a little boy during Christmas!) on the first day.

We walked for about 7 hours, had lunch in our newly discovered supermarket chain Family Mart (cheap and good take aways!) and were destroyed after we came back.

Our highlight was Nijo Castle though - really astonishing when you enter the palace with the golden paintings all over. You really get into the Japanese culture in the old days. The hostel we stayed in was great as well, K`s Hostel is a chain and we tried to book it for other cities too.
Day two: Another long day of sightseeing - we started with the Golden Temple, quite impressive setting, but unfortunately you can only admire it from 20 meters away.

We then went to see another temple complex 20 minutes away, really giant garden with a few pagodas, shrines and temples inside. We then took the bus back to the city, where we went to see Nishiki food market where we also tried a typical "wagashi" (sweets) - not so much our taste though! It was great what there was on offer, colorful, tasteful and really different to what we normally put on our plates. We went shopping at the endless Kawaramachi-dori district and took another bus to Gijon district - THE highlight of the day. Gijon is the oldest district and reminds of the old Japanese days, with little alleyways, dark brown wooden buildings and Geishas walking around as if you turned back the clock a few hundred years. But we can say that we have seen many many Geishas, so it` s still alive and hopefully will be the next hundred years as it is a really amazing culture. We have even seen trans-Geishas and men dressed in Geisha costumes - one cannot really say they do not adapt to the new days!:) We also went to see Ponto Cho, the most famous street in Kyoto, full of little shiny lamps, tea shops, restaurants and you really feel like in a different world. We were so tired though that the only thing we could think of was BED, so we went back home, trying to relax after another long day...
Day 3: Slightly tired of sightseeing we hardly got up to go to Nara, but managed in the end. However, due to our physical and mental instability (haha) we only checked out one place, Todai-ji also called The Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden). Absolutely unbelievable - these giant wooden figures and the biggest wooden complex in the world. Really breathtaking. And it literally was, as we could hardly stand on our feet (maybe because we exaggerated a bit the last days...). So, back to Kyoto, we really relaxed a bit this time - hot coffee, nice meal and nothing else than "Charlie`s Chocolate Factory" on TV, oh yes....

Heading to Mt. Fuji, we arrived in our hostel and had a nice walk around Mt.Fuji - very impressive mountain and we felt so relaxed just looking at it! The highlight of the day was something else though - we had spaghetti a la napoli for the first time in months!!!!!!!! And we managed to eat half a kilo of it! It was delicious, nothing could ever top that.

Back to Tokyo, we were still in the "I just want to chill out -phase" but managed to get up and check out Shibuya station, the busiest crossing worldwide, and it really feels like thousands of ants crossing the 4 different sections. Hungry but not in the mood for another supermarket meal we decided to eat at McDonalds and it was great;)The next day our super-fantastic-japanese-experience started:

We met up with Hiromi, an ex-student/colleague of Mel, who offered us to show us round Tokyo and spend two nights at her parents home. The first day she showed us Asakusa market and the temple nearby and we got a really nice souvenir, a japanese lamp, which will decorate our new flat in Munich! We then went to see the Royal Palace/Garden and also the garden of Meji Shrine. She took us to a really nice Japanese restaurant where we filled our stomachs til the end - it was great! The highlight of the day was about to follow, as we tried to check out a sumo tournament. They are only on for 3 months in a year in Tokyo so we could not miss this chance!! The first time you see a REAL sumo is quite exciting.

We have seen our first sumo fighter coming out of a taxi - BIG guy, looks quite scary at first, wearing a colorful kimono. Hiromi asked if we could take a picture and they nodded trying to smile a bit - just great, you feel like next to a cupboard but it s actually breathing!;) The sumo fight itself was our personal highlight of Japan. Entering the stadium and the first impression you have is really overwhelming. Then - there they are: 20 Sumo fighters entering the "stage", bowing and stomping. The first fight was quite abrupt, it only took him 10 seconds to throw his opponent from the circle. These guys are really big but you can see the tons of muscles and really are amazed by this strange, mysterious and traditional sport - if you can name it this way! We then took the train to her parents home and they welcomed us as if we were old friends and her mum cooked a special meal for us: slowly cooked and thin slices of beef, with mushrooms, vegetables and tofu accompanied by rice. Absolutely delicious! We also slept like queen and king - Hiromi s room was really comfy and her mother even offered to wash our clothes, we really felt like home! The next day, her parents took us to Nikko, a famous place of sacred temples and shrines. After a 2-hour ride we arrived at Nikko s national park, where we were stunned about the colourful and densely built temples. We also got to try the "fortune cards", a bit shocking but might be true, who knows, one day we will find out! Her parents then took us out for lunch, and we could try "tempura", a typical Japanese dish with fried seafood and vegetables, absolutely delicious! In the afternoon they took us to try some wood carvings. At first we did not quite know what to do, but then we realised: you can choose one wooden material such as mirror, plate etc. and an object that you want to carve in the wood. Mine was a monkey, Hiromi choosen a cat and Raf a dragon - it was great. We felt like children trying to handcraft something for their parents, really really nice idea and a great souvenir! Back in their home, I got to try the Japanese kimono and after 30 minutes I became the German Geisha;)

It was a wonderful day that ended with another real highlight named running sushi - we loved it! The plates were towering up and we felt like in heaven. We really had a great time and the Japanese hospitality is far superior than the European we must admit. They really know how to make somebody feel welcome and home and we will never forget this special day, THANK YOU HIROMI!!!

We were then let alone and made our way to Hiroshima, where we stayed for one night. The peace memorial park and museum are really astonishing and a great way to discover the shocking past. We spent a few hours there before heading to Fukuoka where we are taking the ferry to Korea tomorrow...

Japan, we will miss you and we will hopefully see you again!!!!!

Mel & Raf aka "can we stay in Japan forever??" or "how can we face India after Japan??"

China - part 1

Our first impression of China was - GREAT, it` s so clean (well, the spitting kind of ruins this picture) and compared to Vietnam it`s heaven. The people seem nice, the mentality seems quite European and they do not try to rip you off every 5 seconds.

Guilin is a great city with lots to see. Lakes, bridges, lots of Chinese weddings. The first day we met a lovely lady called Lin, 30 years old, working for a 4Star hotel. She just wanted to speak English as she needs to practise she said. At first we were a bit sceptical but in the end, it was one of the best experiences in terms of foreign hospitality we ever encountered. She showed us nice and cheap restaurants were we ate together and told us much about Chinese culture. In the end we booked our train ticket to Shanghai, a one day tour to Dragon` s Backbone Rice Terraces and decided to go on a day trip to Yuangshou. Yes - lot`s to do in 3 days.

Later this night, we had a very different encounter with the Chinese - police - They stopped and circled us in an Internet Cafe and asked for our passport/visa. The big boss aka "I-treat-you-like-shit" was a 50 year old woman who made us think that we will end up in prison or we did something wrong. I already thought "What is possible in this country? Can they arrest you just because they don `t like you?" Anyway, in the end it was all good and "cleared", they also called our hotel and asked us many questions. When we came back to our hotel, they strangely removed the name of the hotel - coincidence or not??:)
Our two day trips were amazing though - The rice teracces and the little minority villages we met was a real experience.

Although they try to sell you anything, we were stunned with their 2 meter long hairs that they are binding together on their head.


Our trip to Yuanghshou was another highlight as we met a "fisherman" (who probably was only a sales man) who offered us a bamboo boat tour along Li River until Yuangshou. We thought - great, this is what we wanted to do anyway. But as all the normal tours started too late for us we made our own way. So this guy took us to Yangdi, from where the boat started. We gave him 200 CNY and waited for our 50 CNY change. Well, in the end, he put us on his brother`s boat and waved at us, while we slowly moved away. We just shouted "HEY, what about our cash?? Who will bring us to Yuangshou and who is paying for the bus from Pinxing to Yuanghsou??" We can tell, we are just a bunch of trustworthy (stupid) Europeans. The guy only said "But cheap-very cheap", ignoring our deal that we had. After lots of shouting and fighting (not literally, however I was in the position to punch him in his face) he finally gave us back the change, although his promise of taking us to Yuangshou, paying for the buses and showing us how to fish in Cormoran style was not fulfilled.

Slightly annoyed, we calmed down during the absolutely astonishing river cruise, a mix of Halong Bay and Mekong River, seeing water buffaloes, farmers etc.

We arrived in Yuanghsou 1,5 hours later - only had 2 hours to spend but it was one of those places where you want to come back. Very touristy but beautiful location and surroundings.

Back in Guilin we went on another cruelling 24 hour journey on a hard seater train....We started to regret not having taken a sleeper for twice as much very soon. In the end, after our backs felt like a crashed car, we arrived in Shanghai and the madness went on.

Of course, we were lucky enough to get to Shanghai on the first day of the world-famous Expo (millions of visitors were expected) plus national holidays (and you know how many holidays they get in China!), which meant mayhem. Like true backpackers, we did not book any accomondation and soon realised that it was a very very stupid idea not to. After 1 hour of walking around, blindfolded (not literally!) we found an expensive dormitory in a youth hostel, THANK GOD, and went to see The Bund with approximately a few millions of other people. Shanghai is a very vibrant city, and the Expo looks like a real big thing - so we decided to come back after Japan to check it out! After one day of walking around for about 24km our feet and stomach went on strike but we did our best to see Shanghai in 12 hours - a KILLER!

On the second day we decided to go to Suzhou, a really nice city called "the Venice of the East", however, for us, it was a bit like "Madness of the East". We could not book a train ticket as the whole of China was about to do the same as we did - sightseeing, so we needed to go with the slower bus. At 1pm we arrived there and needed to go to the train station by taxi (another 45 minutes drive) only to find out that there were only return train tickets from 11pm left. GREAT! Slightly pissed off (I had troubles not to bang my head against the wall!) we needed to walk for another 45 minutes to go to town. At 3pm we finally sat down for lunch and also were able to book a train ticket at an agency for 8pm. Halleluja! The city seems like a nice place to have a coffee, check out some of the 1000-year old gardens (we have seen the "Master of the Nets", really beautiful) the "Master of the Nets", really beautiful) and do a little boat cruise round the river, but we did not have enough time and unfortunately my mood was flushed down the toilet, so not a good day for romantic cruises. Anyway, back in Shangai we went to the 48-hour ferry ride to Osaka on the next day...

Raf & Mel aka. Gimme a break!

Vietnam - same same, but different.

And there we are - a few hours later and we already arrived in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. The border crossing was less painful but you feel a little bit unease when somebody takes away your passport and you cannot see neither your passport nor the person you gave it to. But all worked out and we arrived in Vietnam!

The first night we stayed in Saigon in a nice hotel and the city vibe is great. It is well developed and seems very different to Pnomh Penh. We we only have limited time we decided to take a motorbike (which means we have a driver and the two of us are on the same motorbike, which makes 3 people and one helmet - everything here is about Heath & Safety!). Our driver aka Speedy Gonzales took us round the city and we have seen all we wanted: The Notre Dame, a few monuments, the markets, the seafront, the Palace and the War Museum. We had a really good time and it was funny looking at the three of us: All hand in hand with our driver, crossing the street! We felt like little children trying to learn how to survive in a big city like this without being under the wheel. Unfortunately our very nice driver proved to be a bit of a criminal as we charged us twice the price as agreed. Lesson 1: Even if they say "yes" they don `t understand a thing. So even if you think you made it clear, don`t bother, pay what they ask you to.

After our short stay we headed straight to Nha Trang, although we did not plan to. But the bus to Hoi An stops here and after 10 hours in a sleeper bus (which means a bed rather than a seat!) we decided to stay overnight there. Good decision as it proved to be one of the best beaches we have ever seen and we really want to come back one day!
The next day we headed straight to Hoi An, a long journey on another sleeper bus. Which means, uncomfortable and smelly, but hey! That `s what it`s all about (is it??) Hoi An is a great old and historical city and the buildings are a mix of Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese style. We felt like in an old movie and yes, sometimes we were in the centre of attraction and people took pictures with us/of us. Not sure if they really thought we are Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes but we kind of enjoyed those seconds of stardom.

Next stop was Hue, only 4 hours away and one of our favourite places in Vietnam. Hue was the previous capital during the Nguyen dynasty and it was really impressive to stroll around the old city walls and imagining how it was a few hundred years ago. Other than that there is not too much to do in Hue, but this historical site is a must-see on any Vietnam itinary.

After these two amazing historical cities we headed to Hanoi, the capital!
Hanoi is a nice city with a little lake, a nice old town but honestly, the people are really trying their BEST to get to your money. One day we walked along the streets of Hanoi and a market woman put her pineapple carrier on Rafs shoulders. He tried to say "no, I am okay, no thanks, no, no noooooooo" but it was too late: He already took over her job and with her hat on his head, he could really be a Vietnamese market boy selling pineapples. Of course this was not a nice gesture of her and once we took the picture we had to buy the slightly overpriced pineapples. Oh well.
Anyway, after a few organisational things such as getting the japanese railpass (where we walked for 3 hours to get it!!) and sorting out Halong Bay we left for our trip to Halong Bay the next day. It all seemed wonderful: 2 days, 1 night -everything organised, food included etc. Good times! Well, the reality was, of course, a bit different. Once we arrived in Halong City we waited for over one hour until we could go on one of the boats. We realised, that they did not split the 3 groups (one day, 2 days, 3 days) so we were all in one boat, literally. We also realised that our guide sucks. Not only he admitted that he is "not really intelligent" and his name is "from his Grandfather who wanted him to be intelligent (quote by himself!)" but he did not get the simplest things right. After we boarded, we needed to disembark after 30 mintes, as there were problems with the boat. Of course, the people who booked only a one day tour were slightly pissed off, as they were supposed to see the beauty of Halong Bays island, and not just the pier. Anyway, after we boarded the second boat, we had lunch (3 hours too late, but hey!) and - in the end, the people who were expecting a 4 hours full day tour, were asked to leave the boat. People started to get really angry, shouting at the guide and wanting their money back -a perfect start!

After 4pm we finally moved away from the pier and got to see this beautiful landscape of more than 1000 islands. No wonder it is a UNESCO world heritage site - it is really amazing.
After we headed to some lovely floating villages - they even have their own bank! - we had dinner on the boat and got our keys for our cabins. At first, there was a little "misunderstanding" as they offered as bunk beds instead of twin or double beds (bunk beds aren`t as romantic for couples I would say, and when we booked the tour they said we ll get a double OF COURSE), but we fighted for it and in the end got a twin. However, one girl needed to share her bed with 3 guys as the tour operators could not count til 16 (that s the number of beds on board). Well, it` s Vietnam. The second day was very chilled out as well, we sat in chairs on deck and looked at this amazing natural spectacle. In the end we had a good time and we just needed to accept that Vietnam would not be Vietnam if it was organised. Oh, another pineapple story (don t worry, I will finish here, but it s a good one:))One English guy bought a lovely looking fresh and fruity pineapple from one of the market women who got on and off the boat. He tried it and his face looked like a squeezed peach - he said "It` s pure vinegar". Unbelievable - they basically put the pineapple in vinegar to preserve the "fruity" colour but in the end you cannot eat it. Another ripp off, and it seems they make all the money with pineapples!

Back from Halong City to Hanoi and another cruelling ride to Sapa, North Vietnam - We had a really comfy bus and we never slept that well in an overnight bus before - or maybe we get used to it so much that one day we only can sleep in busses? Maybe.

Sapa was great - you see different hilltribe women and children selling handcraft and food. Sometimes they follow you - FOR AGES - until you make it clear that you don t need another bag/purse/gloves etc. At one time we had 2 women who would not leave us for more than one hour, we also planned our espace through another door, but no, it seems they can split into a few of them! We stayed there for only one night, but got to see Cat Cat Village (a sweaty walk, but worth it as the views are amazing) and downtown Sapa including Ham Son - a short walk up the mountain with nice gardens, lakes - very nice views indeed!

The next day/night we took the bus back to Hanoi, as the border crossing to China seemed best from there. It was another "painful" decision, knowing you are only 40 km from the border to China but to get to where you want it`s easier, less expensive and simply better to go all the way back to Hanoi (with a very uncomfy bus!) and from there 4 hours to Lang Som, 30 minutes to Dong Dang and another motorbike ride to the border. OMIGOD!!Once we crossed the border to China there were no ATMS whatsover and because of 50p we could not take a bus directly to Nanning but needed to take ANOTHER taxi ride to town to get cash. After buying the bus ticket to Nanning from there we thought, great - at least we can get some food now, as we are starving! However, we suddenly realised that we need to change the time to one hour ahead - so AGAIN, no rest, no food, and another ride....After 3 hours we arrived in Nanning like zombies, but - the next bus to the final destination was in - ONE HOUR - pressing our teeth together, we managed to find a kind of Burger King (oh yes, after 24 hours of madness, junk food!) and went on ANOTHER journey of 6 hours....However, we finally arrived in Guilin at midnight, after 30 hours of travelling, changing busses, taxis etc. OH YESSSSSSSSSSSS

Raf and Mel aka. "Rien ne va plus"

Laos & Cambodia - prepare yourself for a long journey!

LAOS
Where can we start? Laos is amazing, sad, shocking and peaceful. It`s a rollercoaster of good and sad but it`s probably the best or most interesting country we have seen.
We arrived after crossing the border from Thailand to Laos in Chiang Kong/Houei Xai, which was fairly easy after a bit of ride. We decided to take a public bus (backpackers always try it the local way...) and after 6 hours and a bumpy ride we arrived at the border. Seemed like in the middle of nowhere but in the end the crossing and visa on arrival was very easy. We needed to cross the border by boat which was quite amazing, as you can literally see both countries. We arrived in Houei Xai and were already greeted by a tour guide who recommended a guesthouse (most probably his mum`s!) and organised the boat ticket to go to Luang Prabang.

So we stayed one night in this little village in Laos and had a nice dinner at the Mekong River at the Riverside Restaurant. Food was great and the beer too! Laos Beer is almost as good as Bavarian beer so I felt like home (almost!). The next day we got picked up by a tuk tuk together with a few other foreigners and loaded with pillows (as we were told the boat has the most uncomfortable wooden seats!) and sandwiches. After a short introduction and advice from our driver ("don`t let anybody carry your bags as they just take them and run away" etc - we felt very safe!) we went on the boat and luckily got VIP seats (well, basically old bus seats that were used for the boat but practically much better than the wooden benches). The journey itself (day 1: 7 hours) was actually not too bad and the view / landscape was absolutely stunning. Let alone the feeling of sitting in a slow boat, cruising along the Mekong River was not too bad!

A few drunken Englishmen with a bottle of whiskey, but apart from this, not too many embarrassing moments (as in: I am embarrassed to be European!) and we arrived and stopped in a small village called Pak Beng, all is made of hostels, guesthouses, restaurants and anybody who has been living in this village owns a shop, hotel or restaurant, so around 20 people awaited us to check their accommodation. In the end we chosen a small guesthouse but probably not the best option, as they managed to rip us off twice - not giving the right change and pretending to have heard the double amount of breakfast we ordered, of course we paid the whole bill. But it was quite nice to stay in this VERY rural place! Day 2: We were told to go on another boat, which seemed smaller and we thought, oh they will split us in groups but no - EVERYBODY went on again, so people were sitting on each other, but again, we managed to get the better seats (well done italian-german punctuality!).

This time it was dragging a bit, as you have already seen it all - people washing themselves in the river, children playing and trying to sell you all kind of stuff, women washing / searching for gold, fishermen, dead cows and a few other things. Some nice, some not. But in the end, we arrived in Luang Prabang, a really nice village, with a french style (great baguette!)and a great night market. We only stayed there for one night, checked out the market, the main streets and the mekong riverside and took the first bus to go to Vang Vieng.

After this nice rest we went to Vang Vieng, the journey was uphill and very curvy so I had troubles in keeping my breakfast where it should be! But the surroundings and small villages were simply stunning. Very green, lots of small villages, some supported by UNESCO and a lot of happy faces (well a few of them threw water at us, which is normal here, so we learned to watch our camera!). We arrived in Vang Vieng after 7 hours drive and we loved it straight away. Although it s mainly famous for tubing and partying (for which we are considered to be too old, but hey!) it s much more than that. A totally cool place, lots of nice restaurants, pancake and sandwich huts and a cosy atmosphere overall. We met a lovely couple from Norway and had a few drinks in a "river bar". Although we felt - again - a little bit misplaced as we already reached the age of 25 (BOTH!), we had a lovely night. The next day we then went tubing. Oh , this is GREAT fun. At first we were unsure if we liked the generally "tubing-and-get-drunk" attitude, BUT we just loved it:) You swing around and jump of ropes, you can have a drink at one of the bars, chill out, playing volleyball and sit in your tube floating down the Mekong River. It`s great - and the nice thing about is that you contribute towards their communities in renting one of those tubes. So all in all, a great thing! But it s still a bit of work to paddle down 4 km and in the end we gave up and walked back:)
After the last night in our beloved guesthouse (we felt like king and queen!, big bed, balcony and bathroom inside....what a wonderful world!)we then went on the EPIC journey in crossing 2 countries in one go. As we wanted to go to Siem Reap/Cambodia as soon as possible we decided to take the challenge and go as fast and far as we can.

CAMBODIA
So then, there we go: various busses and a few tuk tuk s later we finally arrived in Siem Reap, a journey of 36 hours!
1) Bus from Vang Vieng to Vientiane (4 hours)
2) Tuk Tuk from Vientiane city to bus station
3) Public Bus from Vientiane bus station to friendship bridge/border to Thailand
4) Bus from Thailand Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai Bus station
5) Bus from bus station to Korat (6 hours)
6) A Long 5 hours wait from midnight to 5am at Korat`s busstation
7) Bus from Korat to Aranya Prathet (border to Cambodia) (4 hours)
8) Border crossing, long queue but we finally reached Cambodia!
9) Bus from border to bus station
10) Bus from bus station in Poipet to Siem Reap (3 hours)

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS and WE NNEEEDD A SHOWEERRR!!

So we arrived in Siem Reap, the main point to explore the temples of Angkor Wat. We checked in at our guesthouse and realised that the climate here is unbearable, over 40 degrees!

Day 1: We rented a tuk tuk for 2 days and Jumro drove us round to see 8 temples in total. Our hightlights were Banteay Srei and Banteay Samre as well as the waterfalls (which were dried up so yo ucould only see trees but amazing carvings where the waterfall is normally during wet season).

Because of the heat and our european immune system, we were sweating like pigs (Raf managed to change the colour of his T-shirts 3 times, naturally!). After 14 bottles of water and 2 ice teas later we arrived back in our guesthouse, exhausted. The temples are amazing though, something we both have never imagined. Well it s not called on of the 7th world wonder for nothing!

However, seeing all those poor children, who smile at you and want to sell you accessories, food, drinks and ask you for money to go to school, makes you think how good you have it actually. And it s very hard to say no thanks, when they look at you with their big eyes and cute voice. On the first day we returned with 2 books, postcards, bracelets and thought - right, maybe we just buy water next time.

Day 2: Absolutely amazing day. Although Raf had a bit of a weak moment (when we lied down at Angkor Thom and spilt a bottle of water over his head), we really enjoyed the second day too.

We had three hightlights: From all the 7 temples we have seen we really liked Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm - where they shot Tomb Raider!, and of course Angkor Wat.

It is simply unbelievable those 1000 year old temples, with hundreds of meters of carvings and stones. We walked through Angkor Wat and tried to understand how they could have built such a thing, but it s truly a world wonder and hard to describe.
Back in our guesthouse, we just fell in our beds...over and out.

Because of our physical exhaustion we decided to "take a day off", where we basically just ly in our bed, with air-con in the room, watching one movie after the other. And it was great! We just smiled all day long...:)

The next day we headed to Pnomh Penh, another 7 hours drive in the bus. By the way- It`s Khmer`s New Year`s celebrations, so all shops are closed (not the best timing for us!) and most people celebrate with their families or public places. Although it is said to be the biggest event in the year, we did not notice anything, other than closed shops - GREAT! We also did not really Pnomh Penh as a city itself, really creepy areas, smelly and lots of traffic. We did not want to stay in the streets later than 6pm when it s getting dark, as we have seen many poor areas and most people don`t let you go unless you buy something. We also went to Choeunk-Ek Killing Fields - a shocking reality story of their past, when Khmer Rouge soldiers wept out 2 million Cambodians for nothing but pure power - and this happend only a few decades ago, in 1976. My eyes were filling with water when we saw the mass graves and the video that described their horrible death. All this made us even more sad about the country and its people and it also did not make us feel more comfortable, as we knew they lost everything. It gives you an awkward feeling when you are walking along the streets with your lonely planet guide "budget travel through southeastasia" in your hand. We also checked out the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace (from outside). This area is really beautiful and the seafront is not bad either.

This is it - bye bye Cambodia and hello to Vietnam!

Mel and Raf aka sweat-shirts

Thailand - where you go?

And here we are - after a long 12 hour journey to Phuket we are finally there. Apart from our hostel, Tulang Guesthouse - which seems more like a 4 Star accomondation in Europe - our impression is less impressive than Malaysia...We already experience a bit of a challenge not get bitten by dogs, as it was 5am in the morning when we tried to walk to our hostel and a gang of dogs waited for us. With shaking knees we decided to back off and waited until the sun was rising...(cowards!)
After Phuket we headed to Ko Phi Phi and felt like real tourists (for a change!). The boat was packed and full of Europeans and Chinese and when we arrived at the pier in Ko Phi Phi 1000 s of people tried to sell you accommodation (starting with "where you go") and everybody told you that it s SOOO expensive to stay here and this is the price to pay etc. Of course, after 2,5 months travel we know that everybody is lying. Therefore we headed with a taxi boat to Long Beach, apparently one of the nicest and affordable beaches at Ko Phi Phi - and we found out there IS accommodation even for backpackers budgets!

All in all, YES -it s worth a trip, you also start to feel like Leonardo Di Caprio in THE BEACH as soon as you do another boat/snorkeling trip to Ko Phi Phi Don, where you will find the famous Maya Bay/Beach. However, the amount of boats and tourists force you to wake up from your dream: No, you are not Leonardo di Caprio, you are just a backpacker trying to get a nice picture! Anyway, the snorkeling was amazing and the tour with our private little taxi boat was definitively worth it. The island itself is of course overpriced and we tried to find out the cheap places to eat - that don t really exist.

After Ko Phi Phi we headed straight towards Bangkok, after we checked out Phuket beach for a few hours. Again, VERY touristy and it does not really feel like Thailand, apart from the cheap markets. The journey to Bangkok was alright, 12 hours in a really comfy bus, with toilets (oh yes - this was shouting out "Halleluja" - especially after our slight problems with diarrhea!) etc. We were a bit concerned as the situation in Bangkok seems to be a bit dangerous at the moment, as the "reds" try to dissolve the government and there were a few bomb attacks where nobody was hurt. But of course, not the best circumstance to travel there. In the end, we did not see anything at all and everything was peaceful. However, Bangkok is not a city where you want to stay more than a night. Again, overpriced and it takes ages to go from one place to the other, well, if you take local busses as we did. The short journey on a riverboat was nice though and we have seen the famous Wat Pho - temple of the reclining Buddha. Really impressive, definitively worth a visit.

We then decided to take a local bus (we learnt our lesson afterwards!) to the Nothern Bus station to get a ticket for Chiang Mai for the next day. It took 2 hours to get there and we were more than exhausted and annoyed as we thought that 4km should not take more than 20 minutes. Well, not in Bangkok!

After our slight mental breakdown in Bangkok we arrived in Chiang Mai - Oh my Buddha! What a great city! Not just that you feel safe and comfortable, with loads of nice little cafes, restaurants but also, you can do more than a few activities, such as elephant tour, rafting and visiting tribal villages. This is what we did.

We stayed in Julie s Guesthouse, a good decision, as we had a lovely and spacious room, a great atmosphere and good food. We felt great and relaxed. Yesterday, we had a really good time with the elephants and rafting. They brought us to an elefant camp where we went on the back of an elephant - at first it felt a little bit weird and you always thought you hurt the poor guy, but in the end you realise, their skin is like leather and they are so huge and heavy that you don t need to worry about touching them. It was great, you wish you could take them home! In the end we also paid the elphant directly - he picked up the 100 Bt with his trunk & also gave back the change, amazing! They even played a little concert at the end, 2 elefants with an instrument and the other ones dancing. You thought you are in a movie or something. After that, we headed to the rafting point. And it was so much fun!

The first part, white-water rafting was a good laugh and the second part, bamboo rafting, which meant you are more underwater than above, was more for the Thais to laugh at us Europeans:) In the end, we also visited a small village (a bit smaller than Unterwangenback where I come from and a bit less civilised, but pretty similar:)) This tribe was called "Lisu" and the people basically live of handicrafts and agriculture. Amazing how simple you can live your daily life and the houses they are living in are about 10sq meters for a family of 4.
What we also discovered is that most people say they speak English, but the majority of those does not understand and reply what they think they understood - a few nerve breaking conversations but now we know to be a bit more patient and to ask 3 people instead of one person.

Mel & Raf aka. lost in translation