Travel Journal
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El Nido (Philippines): dream beaches
2 hours flight from Manila and we are in Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island. This city is only a stopover because we take a bus directly from the airport to El Nido. Part 1: Travel Diaries Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diaries We had to wait a little while before the bus left. Indeed, we are first dropped in a restaurant by explaining to us that they will come to pick us up after having picked up two other passengers at the airport. During this long wait, the guy of the restaurant has enough time to push us to the consumption: you have to have lunch, you have…
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Manila (Philippines): the city that scares people
The Philippines: the country of the French nomads with Thailand. We came here (1) to understand why there are so many nomads here (2) to support financially this country which has done a service to the whole ASEAN by facing China which is invading all the maritime space of ASEAN (the Filipinos filed a complaint before an international court and won. BRAVO friends!!). Yes, we were supposed to spend 1 month in Mainland China but after the Chinese government made its c$nnard to the neighboring countries (including Vietnam, my country), we preferred to spend our money elsewhere. Choosing the Philippines was an indirect (and silent) way to fight against China’s…
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Hong Kong (China) – A crazy city
OMG! I don’t understand why NO ONE suggested I spend MY LIFE in Hong Kong. I am too much in love with this so special city, so small but full of activities. Unfortunately JB doesn’t share my opinion, he hates it! Part 1: Travel Diaries Day 1: Discovery of the district of Mong Kok After 10 days with mom and dad in Hanoi, I leave, with a heavy heart, for Hong Kong without knowing exactly what to expect. 1h30 at the Hong Kong airport is enough for me to tell JB: at least one week in Hong Kong, there are TOO MANY things to do! Arrived at the airport of…
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Macau (China) – the Las Vegas of the East
Macau/Macao has always been on my to do list, for one simple reason: I fell in love with Macau while watching a Korean series. And I’m not the only one, because after the broadcast of this series, Macau became one of the top destinations for Koreans. I remember, the heroine was visiting The Venetian Hotel, where there was a fake Venice canal with a fake blue sky. My goal in coming to Macau: to visit this hotel, and incidentally to celebrate my birthday with dignity Excerpt from the series in question (the big part where the heroine discovers the hotel lobby is missing) There is a one-hour ferry from Hong…
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Sầm Sơn (Vietnam) – Seaside resort where JB is the only foreigner
I found it fun to take JB to places I used to go when I was a kid. It makes me feel like a pilgrimage, and for him, an opportunity to get to know me a little more Sam Son is one of those places that marked my childhood. My parents are civil servants and it is customary for each department of the ministry to organize inexpensive vacations for their employees and their families. This is still the case today and I still enjoy it sometimes When I was little, Vietnam was very poor and suffered from the American embargo. Going on vacation was unaffordable. Flying was unimaginable. Each department…
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Hanoi (Vietnam) – How to live like locals?
What a pleasure to return home (at last to one’s parents) in the middle of the world tour. What a luxury to be able to rest, recharge your batteries and eat the food you love When arriving at the Hanoi airport, we take a metered cab like everyone else, but I think that the prepaid cabs offered in the airport stores will be cheaper. Indeed, we paid 350 000VND or 14€ My parents prepared a great dinner and a huge birthday cake for JB who just spent his birthday in 3 countries (Burma, Thailand, Vietnam) Part 1: Travel Diaries Day 2: The excellent Vietnamese services In Hanoi, we visited it…
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The Inle Lake (Myanmar) – an exceptional place
The Inle Lake only confirms my love for Burma. This destination, unavoidable for any traveler, fascinates, thanks to its exceptional landscapes, and its markets, gardens, floating houses We start from Bagan at 8 am for Nyaung Shwe, the entrance door to the inle Lake The trip will last 6 hours, breaks included. The mini-van is quite comfortable, even if the air conditioning does not seem to work. We stop at noon at a restaurant where a very demanding cat meows to ask us for chicken (and no noodles… don’t exaggerate either). I have to refrain from caressing him <3 As for Bagan, we have to pay a conservation fee (12,500…
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Bagan (Myanmar) – Burma’s must-see
Arriving at our hotel after a long boat trip (told here, and practical advice here), we are greeted by a receptionist with impeccable English. It’s a change from Mandalay where we had difficulties to communicate! Of the blow we take advantage completely to ask him all the questions which we want Our hotel is located in the Nyaung U district, not expensive, 10 minutes by e-bike from the temples. Here, neither walking nor cycling is recommended. Electric bicycles (e-bike), which look more like scooters than bicycles, are very popular and convenient to visit the beautiful pagodas of Bagan. Rented for 8$/day for two (or 6$ for one person), the battery…
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The boat / slow boat from Mandalay to Bagan: 12h to observe the local life
Our boat leaves Mandalay at 5:30 am for a long trip of 12 hours to Bagan. It is a “slow boat” (vs. “express boat” which refers to private and tourist companies), taken by Burmese merchants to transport mainly food to their distant villages. We booked the tickets directly at the Inland Water Transport office (click here for more info) Update November 2018 : Attention, this boat isn’t proposed by the government since December 2017, and this, temporarily (well, it’s already been a year). However, you can still opt for the 42$ tourist boat (which I have not tested): http: //www.mgrgexpress.com/ The Mandalay – Bagan trip is faster than the trip…
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Mandalay (Myanmar), way bigger than you’d think
Burma has always been a dream destination for us. For years, we have been telling ourselves that it has to be on our top list before it becomes too touristy. Here we are, finally. Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary We arrive in Mandalay after 2 hours (I think) of flight from Bangkok. Why we go directly to Mandalay instead of Yangon? Why don’t we do like everybody else? Simply because I never heard about Yangon before (oops). I did my research wrong and didn’t realize that Yangon was better served than Mandalay. This mistake “cost” us the addition of Thailand to our itinerary…
