Travels

The trek through the Abel Tasman National Park is one of the most famous in New Zealand. Now that we are all trekking-addicts (this goes with a sarcastic touch), how could we miss it? It is actually a trek that needs several days to complete, its total distance is more than 50 km, although it is possible to reach somewhere in the middle of a taxi boat from where to return, but the prices of these are quite careless.

Imagine any Tuesday, in any city. It's 12.51 noon. Many are eating, others are still in the office, some are walking down the street and a few are inside their homes. Insurance But suddenly something changes. The earth, which always offers us support and stability, begins to shake.

Have you considered going to some paradise island of Malaysia? Have you decided on Tioman but don't know how to get there? Let's see if we can clarify a bit the ideas with this post ... How to get to Tioman from Kuala Lumpur by bus. The destination is Mersing. There are many companies that make this journey, the most famous is Transnasional.

When I traveled to Malaysia alone last year I fell in love with an island: Tioman. Rober became very jealous and to show him that between this little piece of Malay paradise and I there was only platonic love, as soon as we set foot in Malaysia, I took him to meet my little island. But apart from falling in love, what can you see and do on Tioman Island?

Bathed by the North Sea, covered with flower fields, dotted with windmills, picturesque villages and cosmopolitan cities. Holland is like that, pretty, ecofriendly, progressive and ... small. Because more than country, Holland could well be considered a great city. A city rich in history, culture, nature and fun, a place of bicycles, colors, crazy about cheese and friendly, enterprising and smiling neighbors.

The truth is that it is not difficult to find wonderful things on an island lost on the east coast of Malaysia, but if you are one of those who prefer to see than believe, here I give you my illustrated reasons to go to Tioman Island. A few days where the pure and hard routine does not exist: forget about alarm clock, office, appointments and clock.

Dreaming is free, and as Rober learned during his Erasmus in Italy: "tutto quello che é gratis é buono". But dreaming is also comfortable: when you idealize something you create a comfort zone where you are entitled to make excuses ... ”It would be great but…”, “I would love only that…” And the day comes when the stars align, Uranio is in conjunction with Venus, and although Belén Esteban is still on TV and the chips are still fattening, you don't care because your dream is no longer an illusion, it ceases to be desire and becomes fact.

We will leave for our adventure on September 29 from Paris and bound for Kuala Lumpur. In our route plan of our trip through Southeast Asia we want to visit Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia ... With 3 big unknowns ... since we are there we will stop seeing China?

The border crossing of Chiang Kong (Thailand) with Huay Xai (Laos) is peculiar ... the two countries are separated by the great Mekong River and the only way to get from one place to another is to venture into a mini wooden boat. The long and hard journey lasts about two minutes. Once set foot on Laotian land and issued the visa for 35 dollars (plus one dollar because it was Sunday?

Below we detail what our expenses were in a 25-day trip in Myanmar, detailed by different concepts, for those who wonder how much it costs to travel to Myanmar. Our expenses were these: In total we have spent € 675.05, which divided by the 25 days of stay in the country are € 13.52 per person / day thus broken down: Food: € 3.34 (most of the time we have eaten in cheap restaurants with dishes about 1500 kyats or in street stalls) Accommodation: € 4.18 (almost always in a double room with private bathroom ... the budget can go down if you want to share a bathroom).

As good lovers of mystery, a stop in Phonsavan to contemplate the "Plains of the Jugs" was mandatory. But the first mystery was presented to us as soon as we arrived in the city when, looking for accommodation, the hotels were either full, or their prices were in the clouds. In the fifth or sixth hotel where we asked, they explained that they are celebrating the end of the year!

If it had been for us we would have stayed more days in Muan Ngoi Neua, enjoying its beautiful sunset over the balancing of the hammocks, but there is much to visit in Laos, and one of the stops par excellence is the city that many consider most charming in all of Southeast Asia, which was the capital of Laos in the past: Luang Prabang.

Who would think of going down a river with a tire? We do not know who had the idea ... but it has been to put the tires to the river, add a teaspoon of unz unz music, mix everything with alcohol and ta-dan! The recipe for Lao Disneyland was already made! Simply put, if you are a backpacker who travels through Laos 99% you will pass by Vang Vieng!

After spending the night in a beautiful bungalow in Nong Khiaw (city that we will remember for having eaten a snack after two months of travel!) We caught a boat that will take us in Muang Ngoi Neua in an hour. Caressed by the Nam Ou River and protected by sweet Carpathian mountains, this village has a special charm and it is difficult to understand that this paradise was one of the most bombed areas by the Americans during the Secret War.

We decided to divert our route to visit the Kong Kor cave, and in the end it was worth it. From Vientiane it is not complicated to arrive, because there is a direct bus, but to follow our itinerary from the cave to the south we knew that we would have more difficulties. We arrived at the town of Kong Lor at about 5 in the afternoon, the bus that left Vientiane full of people, was gradually emptying along the way, to the point of arriving with only three people!

We arrived in Vientiane with a clear preconception: it is an ugly city and without more. And as always happens ... we are wrong! We would not say that it is the prettiest city in Southeast Asia, but we have found ourselves very comfortable. So backpackers traveling to Laos ... don't miss Vientiane! The sunsets that Vientiane has given us have been unforgettable, and very fun have been the walks on the shore of the great Mekong where we have crossed dozens and dozens of people of all ages doing all kinds of sports: young people who play soccer, skating girls, running grandparents, bike races and even have aerobics classes for only 30 cents an hour ... and very busy!

We could not have imagined her prettier. This year's last night was a dream! We moved to the beach, and surrounded by coconut trees, white sand and crystal clear waters we lay on the mats of a bar having a few beers ... at 50 cent! Perfect ... Suddenly a guiri approaches us and gives us a flyer for the party of the year: beach party, fireworks, cheap alcohol and to remix the best hits of the year the best DJs!

If you want to visit the Bolaven Plateau for free and with a backpacking budget ... this post is perfect for you! Getting to the southern city of Pakse from Kong Lor's cave was a mini odyssey that lasted about 15 hours. After changing the van twice we take a bus from the old ones, which took its half hour at each stop, because to lower the load of travelers who get off the roof of the bus is not easy, and the luggage is of the most varied ... from boats of 20 or 30 kg of paint to 3 tractors in parts, motorcycles, mattresses ... We arrived at Pakse at 4 in the morning busted, with a scraper and with the Guesthouses closed, except one, where we lay in the bed and sleep like little lambs.

We had read something of the “legal traps” at the border crossings towards Cambodia. We can say that we were already notified and that we had a kind of plan not to fall into the hands of corrupt border police. Everything was useless, first to be stamped in our passport in the Laotian part, after the last ones refusing to pay the 2 dollars per head that the kindly corrupt man asked for made a 50% discount (or a 2 × 1), is it because Christmas is coming?

There are places that have the power to give unique moments, which will always remain engraved in your memory. Angkor temples are one of these. In it the union of devotion, faith, art and creativity is perfect. Today we are going to tell you how to visit Angkor in backpacking: yes… get ready to pedal!