We’re waiting for our connection from Vienna to Brussels. Sipping a coffee from Starbucks. 4 EUR for a coffee??? That’s like 160 Baht or 80.000 Dong. Are you crazy? I’ll give you 2 EUR for it! And then we notice that Europe is not the same as Asia. No more bargaining, no more cheap food and with temperatures at about freezing point, no more sun…

So what did we learn from our 6 months trip to Asia? Here are some interesting thoughts for those considering to do the same. (Continue…)

North-East Thailand, locally known as Isaan, is a lot less touristy than the rest of the country.  The region is bordered to the East and North with Laos and to the South with Cambodia, making it a fascinating mix of new and old cultures. The main attractions are old temples, dating back to the Angkorian period (think Angkor Wat) and National Parks. We decided to focus on the latter. (Continue…)

It is rather ironical that the end of our trip should bring us to a city such as Pattaya. Those who know a little bit about Thailand will surely know Pattaya’s reputation as a sex paradise. It is indeed the exact opposite of what we have been looking for the last couple of months and in that is might just be the right back-to-real-life place after a long trip. (Continue…)

Yep, we’ve reached the end of our Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand cycling trip. The last 2 days haven’t been too easy as we climbed to 1000m high in Kao Yai National Park and passed Tigers, Cobra’s and Elephants (at least according to the signs). (Continue…)

First of all, let’s get one thing straight: Laos is not the land of a thousand elephants it used to be! It’s now the land of a million goats and probably as many buffalos, but we only saw 2 elephants and those were at the tourist elephant center of Kiatnong. We did however ride next to hundreds of goats and buffalos each day (did you know there are also a lot of white albino buffalos?). So with this misunderstanding out of the way, let me tell you about Laos. (Continue…)

Travelling for 6 months means that you’ll sleep in a lot of different towns and different beds. One of the first things to do when you arrive at your new destination, is finding decent accomodation. It’s usually not the most pleasurable activity as it involves carrying around your heavy backpack across many streets (or putting getting on and off from your bicycle).

So how can you evaluate a hotel room as quickly as possible. Here’s the 5 step plan. (Continue…)

 Vietnam has long been the wildcard in our asia trip. It remained unsure whether we would go right up until january. As we decided to cycle from then on, we also decided that we would visit (South) Vietnam and we’re very happy to have done so. Vietnam is a lovely country, in the middle of evolution from a war-wrecked nation into a capitalistic empire. (Continue…)

After coming down from the mountains, it was time for our last stop in Vietnam. We hesitated a very long time if we would go to these 2 cities as it would be a detour on our way to Laos. The fact that Ine was sick made the choice easier: visiting some cities and indulge ourselves in some culture would give I the rest I needed. If we would have known that it was THIS cold (they warned us that it could be a little bit colder here), and that on top of it, it was raining we might have considered another option. But nevertheless… (Continue…)

After the South Coast it was time to head into the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
Everybody we heard was very excited about it so we left with very high expectations for our first stop, Dalat. (Continue…)

Backpack travelling has never been so popular as it is right now. Everybody is throwing out their Samsonite trolley and heading into the A.S. Adventure shop for an 80 liter piece of stitched North Face nylon and preparing for an adventure into the unknown and the undiscovered regions of the world. They are ready to spend hours on busses to get to that fabulous secluded village, that lush jungle, that amazing vista… only to find that they are sharing it with a thousand other backpackers and tourists alike. They all come for an individual journey, a unique experience but end up at the same place all tour groups go to. This is a story about what we call The Lonely Planet effect. (Continue…)