During my travels around the world earlier this year I was always fascinated about multi-day trekking adventures, be it in Vietnam’s caves or Borneo’s jungle. But living in Switzerland, we actually have one of the best hiking environments right in front of our doorstep. And because the weather here in Switzerland is wonderful these weeks, […]

As we had to leave Vietnam anyway and we were still left with almost two weeks until our flight back home from Hong Kong, we decided to fly to Japan where spring and with it the cherry blossom season is about to start. A Cold Welcome to Tokyo We were both aware that cooler temperatures […]

Our last stop in Vietnam was Ho-Chi-Minh-City. With a population of over 8 million it is the largest and most important city in Vietnam. While Vietnam’s capital Hanoi in the north welcomed with rather cool temperatures around 20°C, we were welcomed in Ho-Chi-Minh-City by baking hot temperatures of up to 35°C, and the heat amplifies […]

After our visit to Huế we took a train south to Da Nang, one of Vietnam’s larger but not very attractive cities. As there is not much to do in Da Nang apart from looking at countless luxury beach resorts that had either been built recently or were still under construction, we moved on to […]

After my caving adventure in the remote mountains of Vietnam, I was looking forward to reuniting with Ilinca and spend a few calmer days in the city of Huế. Historical Sites in Huế With a total population of less than half a million, Huế is only the tenth largest city in Vietnam and does not […]

After some city sightseeing and a rather comfortable way of travelling in the past few weeks, I had the urgent need for some action and adventure again. And it did not take me long to find something suitable. The mountains and cave systems around Phong Nha have been in my mind for quite a while, […]

Halong Bay is probably one of the most beautiful natural sceneries in Vietnam and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the middle of a bay with usually calm sea, there are literally thousands of limestone rocks emerging vertically from the water. Ilinca and I explored Halong bay with a one night cruise along […]

Until now we did not have to worry about winter because we were travelling in tropical countries so far. Having landed in Hanoi however, it was the first time that we were confronted with cooler and wetter climate. In winter, Northern Vietnam is often cloudy and there is drizzle every now and then, and temperatures […]

When we decided to move on to Vientiane, we did that mainly because it has an international airport which permitted us to continue our travels to Vietnam. And as we were still missing the visa for Vietnam, it was also a good opportunity to organize it while staying in Laos’ capital. The center of Vientiane […]

After our visit to Luang Prabang we took a bus south to Vang Vieng, which is on the route to Vientiane, Laos’ capital. On the map, the distance between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng is not that large (180 km), but because the north of Laos is quite inaccessible due to the mountains, the bus […]