Travel Journal
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Krabi (Thailand) – false airs of Halong Bay
Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary The “joint ticket” bought via our hotel allows us to reach Krabi from Koh Phangan in 5h30. We get up early, the cab of the boat company waits for us at 6 am. On the way, we cross a Canadian who stops the cab. She is in her fifties, she travels alone, she goes like us to Krabi but has reserved neither cab nor boat. A true adventurer! In front of so much nerve, a Swedish woman next to us asks her how she would have done if there was no cab, to which she answers that there…
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Koh Phangan (Thailand) – a little piece of paradise
The boat Koh Tao – Koh Phangan is late. It’s always a bazaar at the port, people leave Koh Tao to go to a dozen of tourist sites, but somehow, as if by magic, all these people still manage to get on a boat that arrives safely We sit at the very top of the boat, our hair in the wind. It rains a little bit, it’s windy. We see very threatening clouds which finally remain far from Koh Phangan, our new paradise Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Arrived on Koh Phangan island, we take a mini bus (called a cab anyway) for…
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Koh Tao (Thailand) – the snorkelling paradise
The trip from Bangkok to Koh Tao takes 11 hours, including waiting. We wait for an hour for our night bus at the station, without worrying too much however because it is raining and the delay is foreseeable. However, the organization is far from being their strong point. We have to harass several people to know which bus we take The ticket we have is an all inclusive ticket: bus to Chumphorn + boat to Koh Tao. The bus leaves Bangkok at 8pm with only one rest stop at midnight. It’s very comfortable, quiet but it’s very cold (air conditioning in Asia is always a big problem). Luckily we took…
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Enjoying Life in Bangkok (Thailand)
The last time I was at the Bangkok airport was in 1997. I was very small and my 2 hours of stopover there seemed magical because the airport was so huge and full of toys. In spite of the proximity with Vietnam, I have never yet visited Thailand, neither has JB. Part 1: Travel DiaryPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary We leave our hotel in Kathmandu at 6:30 am to arrive at the Bangkok airport at 8 pm. The day was long: the stopover at the Delhi airport made us understand that nobody wants our Nepalese rupees. At the Bangkok airport, same scenario: money exchanges do not buy…
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Nepal: Our itinerary, Country Travel Guide & Budget
Here is our itinerary in Nepal for 21 days (July 2016, in full monsoon). As we are around the world and have a lot of time, we aren’t looking for the shortest way, nor the ideal duration of visit, but according to the weather and what makes us want at the moment t Kathmandu (2 nights at World Heritage Hotel & Apartments overlooking Durbar Square): we visited Durbar Square and its local market, Pashupali Temple, Buddha Temple Bhaktapur (2 nights at Namaste Bhaktapur Guest House overlooking the beautiful Nyatapola Temple). 1h cab ride from Kathmandu. We just visited Durbar Square, Pottery square, Nyatapola Temple. The city is as if frozen…
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Pokhara (Nepal) – the city of excitement
Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Day 1: Patan -> Pokhara Departure from the hotel at 6 am to take our “tourist bus” at 7 am near Thamel. It’s a tourist bus because everyone has a seat unlike the “local bus”. The bus is very comfortable, air-conditioned, free Wifi, electric plug, free bottle of water, … For 700 rupees per person, the bus brings us almost to the center of Pokhara Contrary to the Kathmandu – Birgunj route where we wondered at each bend if we were going to die, the road that leads from Kathmandu to Pokhara is much bigger, and more touristic…
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Patan (Nepal) – an ancient Newar kingdom
Due to the delay on the road from Birgunj to Kathmandu, we only arrive at Balkhu, bus station south of Kathmandu at 8:30 pm. Under a torrential rain, we try to bribe our Jeep driver to take us to the hotel but he calls us a cab, preferring to bring back another passenger living close to his house Balkhu is in the south of Kathmandu and as we did not go to Patan yet, not far from there, we took care to book a good and comfortable hotel in Patan However, the hotel does not have a restaurant and arrived at 21h, we have no choice but to wander around…
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Birgunj (Nepal) – one week of volunteering in a Nepalese school
Birgunj is a Nepalese city, on the border with India, where we will spend a week of volunteering in a Nepalese private school. The aim is to make the students discover other working methods and to arouse their curiosity. We heard about this project through Couchsurfing and we answered present Day 1: Nagarkot -> Birgunj The hotel in Nagarkot reserves us a car with driver, 8 seats from Nagarkot. Departure at 8 am to Balkhu (where the bus station is located). We regret bitterly our choice because the car makes us feel every imperfection of the road whereas the cabs, smaller, are more advantageous on this point. We note to…
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Nagarkot (Nepal) – head in the clouds
The trip from Bhaktapur to Nagarkot via muddy or half-broken roads again justifies our choice to take a cab instead of a scooter. After 1 hour drive, we arrive at the Mount Paradise hotel which bears its name well. The air is pure and the view promising, even if the mountains including Everest are hidden by clouds. The boss of the hotel tells us that the view was very clear this morning for 30 minutes so we should not lose hope.Sitting on the tree trunks sipping a good hot tea with honey and ginger is one of those unplanned joys that make the charm of the trip. I take advantage…
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Bhaktapur (Nepal) – one of the best-preserved medieval cities
To dive into the past, go to Bhaktapur!
