Other questions in Vientianne

How can you visit a city and its surroundings when the temperature is higher than 40 degrees Celsius? That was our question when we arrived at our hotel, after walking for almost 2 km from the bus station, carrying all our luggage. We were completely wet, full of dust, thirsty and nervous! But after a […]

Around Luang Prabang – being childish and having life questions at the same time

Elephant riding? Elephant feeding? Someone said elephants? When I heard there was an Elephant camp in the area I was like a small child asking her parents (her Bear in this case) to go there. So there we went at the Elephant Village where 14 elephants are kept away from abusive work and cared by […]

A stop in time…or in Luang Prabang

The time has almost stopped almost a century ago during the French colonial occupation…or did we lose it somewhere? Quiet, calm, heat, slow moves and smiley faces that do not speak loud, cleanliness…this is how we found Luang Prabang and it was a big contrast with neighboring Vietnam. It is the former capital of Laos […]

Vietnam to Laos by bus – the ultimate experience

Journey in Vietnam finished! So how could we get to Laos if not by bus? The ultimate experience… We started in Sapa at 7 pm when we boarded on a sleeper bus. It was not without screaming and fighting that we left this country (apparently you cannot really survive here otherwise). When we arrived, I […]

Trekking in Sapa

Old traditional area in the Northern Vietnam, Sa Pa is a beautiful mountainous region on the border with China. It is host to many hill tribes, as well as rice terraces and lush vegetation. As soon as we arrived at 5 am we were “hit” by the traditions: all girls and women were dressed in […]

Excellent time in Hanoi

Yes, I liked it! It’s the first time I really feel this in Vietnam. Big city, agitated but in an energetic, positive way, cleanest so far, with lots of young people, modern nightlife…a real capital! As soon as we arrived we met a couple of French friends we’ve known in Hue. We had traditional Vietnamese […]

Halong Bay – same same, but different

After more than 12h in a sleeping bus we reached the harbor of Halong Bay. Our first intention was to spend one day in Halong before going on a 2-3 days tour of the bay. But as everyone was boarding on different ships and many guides were chasing us to buy a tour with them, […]

Going underground… and loving it

Phong Nha – Ke Bank national park, one of the world largest karst regions is situated in the central part of Vietnam and it’s home to more than 300 caves and grottoes. We arrived there after a 8h long sleeper bus trip from Hoi An. It was the first time we used the sleeper bus […]

Hoi An, the Asian Venice

Imagine a place full of colors and lights, with beautiful canals, small streets populated by bicycles and people only, 7th-17th century buildings mixing Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese architecture styles and classical music being played on the streets. That’s the picture you get when you enter the old town of Hoi An, listed as UNESCO World […]

Hue, the Vietnamese Imperial Capital

It was quite cold and rainy during the 2 days spent in the former imperial capital of Vietnam. But that didn’t stop us from visiting the surroundings on a scooter, covered with plastic capes. It was quite fun for the Bear and extremely stressful for me…traffic in Vietnam does not seem to be supported by […]