After another pleasant train ride (3 hours-ish from Mui Ne) we arrived in Nha Trang. Like Mui Ne, Nha Trang is a coastal resort town. Unlike Mui Ne, Nha Trang is very busy and not that relaxing. The beaches are beautiful but are dominated with tourists, again lots of Russians (even more than Mui Ne) but also a lot of locals. All of my friends who had given me advice on Vietnam had told me […]
From Ho Chi Minh City we caught a 3 hour train to Mui Ne. This place was heaven after the hustle and bustle of HCMC. Mui Ne is a coastal resort town which has a beautiful beach. Kite surfing is really popular here due to the strong breeze. You will find a lot of Russian tourists here, many of the restaurants and resorts are Russian owned. If you want to get to know Vietnam, here […]
Our first stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formally known as Saigon. HCMC is in the south and it is the biggest city in Vietnam. When we arrived it was really overwhelming. Before we even got off the bus there were taxi drivers yelling at us from outside the front door. We were warned of this. We were also warned not to carry any valuables on us. If you took a bag out […]
After a few hot and hectic days in Siem Reap we decided it was time to do some relaxing by the beach. We headed down south to Sihanoukville. This was not an easy trip. We caught an overnight bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (7 hours), waited at the station (3 hours), then hopped on a bus to Sihanoukville (5 hours). After 15 hours of travel we were more than happy to reach our […]
Our first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap. It is situated in the North and is most popular with tourists because of the Angkor Wat Temple Complex – this is a must do in Cambodia. There is plenty to do here and we managed to squeeze a lot into three days; party on Pub Street, go to a cooking class, explore the temples and plenty of eating out. We stayed at Mad Monkey Hostel which […]
Our final stop in Indonesia was a small island called Nusa Lembongan, just a 30 minute boat trip from the mainland of Bali. Some people may find Nusa Lembongan a bit slow compared to the mainland as there aren’t any malls or locals on the street trying to sell you things. It’s a relaxing kinda place, and I hear this is what mainland Bali used to be like. The main activities to do here are […]
Third stop on our OE, Ubud. Ubud is situated in the centre of Bali about an hour from the chaos of Kuta. Ubud is surrounded by scenic rice fields, small villages, art and craft communities, ancient temples, palaces, rivers, cheap accommodation and unique luxury hotels. You can find the most delicious healthy food here; great for vegans. gluten free and lactose free people. Julia Roberts filmed some of her movie Eat, Pray, Love here.
Second stop in Indonesia, Gili T! To get here you take a fast boat from the mainland of Bali. They claim that it is an hour and a half – realistically this can take from 1 hour and a half to 2 hours and a half since we’re on island time. This back packer island takes only 3 hours to walk around or 1 and a half hours on bike. You won’t find scooters or […]
First stop on our OE – Seminyak, Bali! Seminyak is one of the main tourist hubs in Bali. It is full of ex-pats (Australian’s mainly). In amongst the windy roads which are full of construction, are high-end boutiques, plenty of luxurious spas and resorts, clubs and last but not least restaurants. It is no wonder that land and accommodation prices are amongst the highest in Bali.
The hardest thing about saving for my OE (which I depart for tomorrow) was to curb my addiction to EATING OUT! Wellington is crammed with more bars, cafes and restaurants per capita than New York. As a self proclaimed foodie it is no wonder that my weekend normally revolves around food – after work vino’s, brunch, coffee dates, dinners and sunday markets. Although I am super excited to move to London I will miss all the […]
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