• Asia,  Vietnam

    Unexpected 24h in Hoi An

    Ha Long Bay. I’m lying in the sun. In just a few hours I’ll be back in Hanoi and the next morning I’ll be on my way to Ninh Binh. And it will be exactly like in Ha Long, but with rice fields instead of water and bikes instead of a boat. I’m lying in the sun, daydreaming about these rice fields and I’m checking my mailbox. Long story short: our hotel cancelled the reservation, there’ heavy flooding in Ninh Binh, actually it’s a natural disaster, our hotel in Hanoi forbids us to go to Ninh Binh, it’s serious, over 40 people died. October is perfect for Northern Vietnam, they…

  • Asia,  Vietnam

    Vietnam: Ha Long Bay

    You can’t go to Vietnam and skip Ha Long Bay. You just can’t. Maybe I’ll forgive you if you’re going only to the south. Maybe. “Ha Long Bay” translates to: the bay where the dragon descends into. How romantic. Because Internet is full of “where a dragon descends” titles, I will stick to Ha Long. It’s shorter. But why is this dragon descending? Of course there’s a story. There always is (remember the one about Three Sisters? Click here). And it goes more or less like this: long, long time ago, Vietnamese people where fighting with an invader and gods sent dragons to help them. Dragons which were spitting jewels…

  • Asia,  Vietnam

    Walking in Hanoi

      We landed in Hanoi on Sunday, when sun was setting, so it was around 5pm. 30 hours of traveling? Lack of sleep? No way, I’m staying at a hotel. Quick shower and we were ready for a short walk. Short walk ended up being 8 km long walk. Our goal: Hoan Kiem lake, probably the most popular place in Hanoi – a lake with an island with a temple. How surprised we were, when we saw that the road which goes around the lake was closed for vehicles and it was crowded. People were walking, playing games on the ground, dancing, singing. Wow. Vietnamese people know how to entertain…

  • Asia,  Vietnam

    Vietnam – expectations vs reality

    It’s time for another expectations vs reality battle. In this episode we’re in Vietnam (last year it was Thailand). Apologies for some stereotypes which may or may not occur.   Expectation: October is the best month to visit northern Vietnam. Reality: yeah, sure… It was supposed to be dry and nice, especially in Sapa. The weather should be perfect for trekking. It was supposed to be really pretty in Ninh Binh. But instead we got neverending rain in Sapa and flood in Ninh Binh. On the other side, Ha Long Bay is usually cloudy, but we had THE BEST weather ever. So all in all we won. Kind of. Apparently…

  • Asia,  Thailand

    Koh Phi Phi – internal organs & Leonardo Di Caprio

    I don’t remember how old I was when I have first heard about Phi Phi, but for sure I was a child. Since then, Phi Phi islands (or island, I was sure there was only one island), where a synonym of exotic things. I simply had to go there during my trip from Thailand. There’s one problem with islands: how to get there? I googled all possibilities before going to Thailand: boat, ferry, organized trip, teleportation. And I found a solution in Ao Nang. Organized trip. Outside of the high season it’s the best price to quality ratio which you can find, with all the pros and cons of organized…

  • Asia,  Thailand

    Railay Beach – paradise on Earth

    In the search for perfect Thai beach we’re heading to Railay. Twice. And it’s not enough. We’re going by a wooden boat with engine taken straight from a car and we’re landing on a beautiful, amazing, picturesque beach. These trips by long-tail boats made me realize why everywhere in Ao Nang you can buy waterproof bags. And I have no idea why I haven’t bought one. Long-tail boat stops not directly on the beach, but few meters before sand starts. Even if you try to stay dry, a wave will come and you will end up with wet butt, wet backpack and generally you will be wet. Everywhere on the…

  • Asia,  Thailand

    Ao Nang – postcards from the seaside

      Krabi airport welcomes us with rain. The world is wet and so are our backpacks. We’re getting on a bus to the seaside and after 1 hour of being squeezed with knees right under the jaw, we’re in Ao Nang. And it’s not raining anymore. Ao Nang is a typical tourist destination by the sea. It has everything you need in a place like this: Boulevard by the sea? Checked. Stalls selling everything you can imagine? Checked Hotels, hotels and more hotels? Checked Lots of food, from street food to posh restaurants? Checked Stalls selling trips every 2 meters? Checked It’s a little bit tacky, the beach is not…

  • Asia,  Thailand

    Elephants everywhere -Chiang Mai

    Chiang Mai. A city in the north of Thailand, where you wouldn’t probably expect anything special, but it’s really great. It has mountains, it’s green, air is much fresher than in Bangkok, you can find good coffee everywhere and you can actually walk everywhere. To the market and to the store with used books in English and to 300 temples. But what’s the best in Chiang Mai? Elephants. Amazing Elephants. Caution, you’ll see a lot of elephants here. So let’s take a look at subjective list of the best things in Chiang Mai, random order: Wat Chian Man. A temple next to Wayside Guesthouse, where we stayed (which also should…

  • Asia,  Thailand

    On a bike around ruins – Ayutthaya

      7:00 – alarm goes on. In Bangkok it hurts less than in Wroclaw. 7:30 – we’re leaving to Hua Lamphong train station. I really like early morning walks. At 7:30am pavements are empty and only obstacles are big oven-like things baking something on the pavement. Apparently they didn’t fit inside a bakery. And huge gas canisters didn’t fit too. Safety first. 8:00 – we’re arriving at Hua Lamphong train station which doesn’t look Asian at all. It makes sense once you read that it was designed by Italians. We’re getting inside and… Something’s going on. In front of us there’s line of people in uniforms, standing ramrod straight. Travelers…

  • Asia,  Thailand

    One day in Bangkok

    Bangkok. The first and last place I visited in Thailand. Spoiler: Bangkok didn’t have me and let us go in the end. Sightseeing and not getting wet in the afternoon rains were my priorities, so I was waking up early and didn’t go out at all. I have to admit, I like getting up early in the morning on holidays, when streets are still empty and I can walk easily without bumping into tourists all the time (ok, ok, I know, I’m a tourist myself). Frankly speaking we spent more than one day in Bangkok, but only one involved walking around the city. The most popular tourist attractions are popular…