Travel

Snapshots of Hanoi

Travel

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam filled with the hustle and bustle of street vendors, crazy traffic and the constant ‘beep beep’ sounds from people on motorbikes. I was told by a local that sometimes even when you’re walking on the side of the street, they will still honk their horn but there’s no need to walk out of the way, it’s just something they ‘do’ 😉  I must admit it did take some time getting use to.

I wanted to share some images I snapped whilst walking everywhere on foot of the places and the people of Hanoi. Enjoy  🙂

In the midst of traffic

Traditional Vietnamese hats all hand made 

Snapped this whilst people watching on the side street 

Red Bridge by the lake 

People of Hanoi working in the gardens of Ngoc Son Temple   Temple of Literature, entrance fee of 30,000 Dong 
Carrying or Shoulder pole made from Yoke or Bamboo used to carry loads 

Water Puppet Theatre was fun to watch, even though I had no idea what was going on the whole time. Here’s a snap of the people behind the puppet doing it under water! 

Hope you enjoyed these images, where I just love to wander around and capture everyday moments. Have an amazing week. x

 

 

 

Places in Luang Prabang

Travel
Hello everyone

The beautiful acquainted town of Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the former capital of Laos. It is a great place where time just slows down and there is not a whole lot to do but definitely worth exploring, very easy to walk around on foot or you can opt for a tuk tuk.

In Luang Prabang you will be able to visit golden roofed museums and temples with the influence of colonial French buildings encompassing the fusion of traditional and urban structures, delicious food markets, stalls of clothes and souvenir and monks walking around.

Here are some images I snapped, adventuring on foot…

NATIONAL MUSEUM (FORMER ROYAL PALACE OF LUANG PRABANG) 
oh, darling lets be adventurers…

The Bamboo Bridge is built by families of the community and is open for 6 months of the year after the rain season is over, with an entrance fee of 5,000 kip which contributes to the maintenance and the salary of the families who built the bridge. It is built over the Nam Kahn river and it is removed during the rainy season due to strong current. Across the bridge is even a more small and quiet town, a great escape from the hustle and bustle…

bamboo bridge 
nam kahn river 

its actually a strong bridge, with this rubber type material being used to tie the bamboo bridge together..wow! do you know the material name?

some street market food 
some street captures…

Mount Phousi is a great place to watch the sunset with an entrance fee of 20,000 kip. You just have to embrace several steps to enjoy a 360 spectacular degree outlook of the town centre, landscapes and mountains and the Mekong River. It was a humid day and I was running out of clean clothes..love it.

Hope you enjoyed this edition and have a lovely week. 🙂

 

Vientiane – Wat Si Saket and Patuxai

Travel

Hello All

My next adventure in Vientiane was spent wandering around Wat Si Saket, a place filled more than 6,800 Buddhas of all sizes made from wood, stone and bronze all seated in rows. There is an entry fee of 3,000 kip for locals and 10,000 kip for foreigners. Vientiane is a small city and it’s easy to explore by foot or you can opt for a tuk tuk and taxi.

I walked from the city centre of Vientiane to Wat Si Saket which took about 20 mins, but if you’re not up for it, a tuk tuk would be a great way of getting there.

wat si saket

image of buddha 
rows of buddha

need to stop throwing tickets in bags 😉

I’ve really had to pull out my price negotiation skills in Laos 😉 The only thing I wouldn’t bargain on was food but for everything else…yesss! And why not? All these little amounts all add up. I normally would ask my hotel how much things would cost like say for a tuk tuk to take me to Patuxai from the hotel and how long it will take? I would be told it should around 30,000 – 40,000 kip. Ok, so I would ask a tuk tuk driver ‘how much to go to Patuxai round trip?’ One tuk tuk driver said 100,000 kip and that it was a good price but will offer me a special price of 80,000 kip. I offered 30,000 kip and without an agreement, will walk away to go to the next. The next tuk tuk driver said 50,000 kip and showed me a price list.. which I don’t really buy into. I said 40,000 kip determined that was my number, no no 50,000… yes 40,000 kip trying to look very serious and confident 😉 50,000 kip.. no 40,000 kip and about to walk away.. Hey Ok.. 40,000 kip! The tuk tuk driver waited about 40 mins for me.

tuk tuk

Patuxai Victory Monument built between 1957 and 1968 features four arches facing North, South, East and West is a great place to stroll, sit down to read a book and watch the people. There is an entry fee of 3,000 if you would like to take the stairs to the top viewing floor.

patuxai victory monument
CEILING OF PATUXAI
patuxai just before the sunset 

ending the day watching the beautiful sunset across the Mekong River. take delight in the simplest things – Bo Sanchez 

Laos, first day adventure in Vientiane

Travel
Happy New Year Everyone!!  🙂 
Arrival:

Just before Christmas on Dec 22nd I flew from Sydney to Laos via China into the capital city called Vientiane, a brand new city never seen before. yassss! First thing after checking into my hotel at Ali Backpackers which cost 25USD a night, I set off for food and tried the papaya salad with vermicilli for the first time, normally I just have papaya with sticky rice which is a traditional Laotian dish.

This is the vendor where I bought the papaya vermicelli for12,000 kip.

Papaya salad with vermicilli, it is tastier than it looks 😉 I said yes to chilli having a pretty high tolerance but my mouth was burning.. still nice though 🙂

the next day:

I didn’t have an itinerary with the intention of just winging it I went to reception of the hotel and saw a picture of Buddha Park and decided thats where I am going to go today, then asking what was the cheapest way to get there, with a traveller responding 6,000 kip by bus. OK!  I was given quick direction by the hotel to find bus #14 at the Central bus stop, and along the way I asked about 2-3 people who spoke no english but understood ‘bus stop’ and would use hand gestures to point in which direction to go, about 30 minutes later I found the Central bus stop. hooray!!

But I still had to find bus #14, asking another 2 people ‘bus to Buddha Park’ and with more hand pointing gestures I saw bus #14. and I knew an adventure was about to begin 🙂 It was packed and a little hot inside but I managed to get a seat. So you don’t pay the driver when you board, a lady (normally) goes around just a little after the driver begins and collects payment for the trip.

bus #14
Buddha park: 

The bus journey took approximately 50 mins and there is an entry fee of 5,000 kip.

when you throw the ticket back into your bag and it scrambles up 😉

Buddha Park (Xieng Khuan) has hundreds of religious sculptures including a reclining Buddha, you can also go up on top of the pumpkin sculpture for the best view of the park. Below are some images of Buddha Park (will soon put up a video of the park).

pumpkin sclupture
Reclining Buddha 
religious Sculpture climbed narrow stairs inside the pumpkin sculpture to get to the top with this view

The adventure was worth it! The bus stop to get back to Vientiane Central bus stop is right across the park and it cost 6,000 kip.

In the evening, I caught the sunset at about 5:20pm, the perfect end to an awesome day!

sunset right across the mekong river

Hope you enjoyed this post and have a great week. x

Short getaway to Byron Bay

Travel

Hello All

Another year wiser and on this special day I try to always to do either of the below:

a). travel somewhere new
b). visit a new place such as a new museum, restaurant or beach
c). do something different which I have never done before such as trying new food or outdoor activities such as paragliding
d). reflect on the year and future goals
e). have some ‘me time’ stop, rest and reset
f). take my shoes off and dance the night away

This year I chose to spend at the beautiful Byron Bay where you get the most glorious beaches and you just can’t simply go wrong with food. EVERYONE was so chilled and relaxed, that you kinda have to do the same. Stop walking so fast like you do in Sydney, take your time and yes just be chilled 🙂

In saying that, that is exactly what we did, it was a 7 minute walk from our accomodation at Byron Holiday Park which was about a 7-10 minute walk to Tallow Beach. Disclaimer: there is a walkway which you have to pass with  warning sign of brown snakes. Nevertheless, it was fine and the beach was breathtaking! Also spent time at Byron Beach and you can see some of the images taken below. Hope you enjoy them!

Heres a little fun video please click here to check it out, Gracias!

Image 1: Spotted this Kombis, haven’t experienced one…yet 🙂 

Image 2: Byron Bay Lighthouse 

Image 3: Byron Bay Beach 

Image 4: Myself at Byron Lighthouse 

Image 5: No adventure is without breakfast at Bayleaf Cafe…yum! 

Image 6: Tallow Beach 

Hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year! Will you see then where I will be spending in Laos and Vietnam and will create some more content. Happy holidays and stay safe 🙂 x

Exploring New Zealand

Travel


South Island in New Zealand is truly one of the most beautiful and stunning places …being the perfect backdrop with breathtaking sceneries everywhere.

The first image was a pitstop venturing out from Queenstown to Fox Glaciers as seen in image 2 approximately a 7 hour drive. I didn’t read the tour guide properly and make these mistakes so that you don’t have to but about 15 mins away from arriving at Fox Glacier I realised this was not a day tour going back to Queenstown! I had 15 minutes to try and book a room in a backpackers and jump on the last shuttle to see Fox Glacier (since I was leaving the next day to go back to Queenstown) … it’s all part of the adventure.

The moon and mountain made me to do it as seen in image 2 of Fox Glacier. Images 3 to 6 was my exploration upon returning back to Queenstown 😉 Jumped off a mountain and went paragliding… was nervous but really great! Lot’s to explore around Queenstown with shops and the most spectacular lakes around… hope you like the visual snaps!

And hope you have a lovely week 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the 7 Wonders of the World… The Great Barrier Reef

Travel

Adventure Is Out There

This post is a little late but rather late then never! On May 6th 2017, I headed for an adventure to The Great Barrier Reef which is truly an amazing beautiful gem and I am so happy and proud it is in Australia. How lucky! I have been wanting to go there forever since I can remember and in search of nemo… From Cairns, I joined Sightseeing Tours Australia and spent the whole day exploring the magnificent Reef and first time snorkelling. Here are some images I snapped of me and the sea. I also created a Youtube video which you can watch by clicking here.

Hope you enjoyed this and have a lovely week! x

 

 

 

 

Uluru the Australian Outback Adventure

Travel

 

Just do it. You will be very glad that you did. 

A World Heritage Site, Uluru (Ayres Rock) is really a magical and spectacular on Earth, an impressive Australian landmark, sandstone and a monolith in Uluru-Kata Tjuta. There are free transportation from Ayres Rock airport to your accomodation and it is free to get around from your accomodation into the small town. Here are some images I snapped of the beautiful Uluru.

Enjoy and hope you have a lovely week x

 

Solo Travel Adventures in Cambodia…

Travel

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Adventure is out there…

It has been one year since I embarked on a journey to Cambodia, a truly magical place on Earth. The Angkor Wat temple which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited and I can’t wait when I get to go back. Here are some images I photographed, with the first being  Angkor Wat, second image are hundreds of years old tree roots, just remarkable! Overtime, pieces have broken and fallen as seen in the third image which are protected as part of UNESCO. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go inside a local village home shown in the last image and got to see how they lived, it really was an eye opener experience.

Never stop exploring.

Hope you enjoyed this edition and have a lovely week. x

Tasmania part 2 – Cradle Mountain

Travel

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Nature fills my soul. Because when you stop and look around this Earth is pretty amazing.

Tasmania will always have a place in my heart. The beautiful Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park, is a place which should be added to your bucketlist, one of Tasmania’s natural attractions. We did the Dove Lake circuit walk which took about 2 hours, 6kms long and board walked for most if its part all around Dove Lake and underneath the peak of Cradle Mountain, passing through the stunning temperature rainforest known as the Ballroom Forest.Here are some images I snapped, aside from the one’s Im in, snapped by my partner in crime.

It’s been a great year of adventures and I’m looking forward to 2017!!

Hope you enjoyed this edition and i’ll see you in the New Year.

xx 🙂

 

 

Tasmania Adventures – Part 1

Travel

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She flirted with life, and life flirted right back with her, as if all the universe, became more alive just for her, and everything felt her glow, in the dew, in the stars, in the colour of the sky, it all shone for her, bright as it could, in the hopes to catch her eye – Atticus. 

On November 30th, I ventured out to a beautiful island called Tasmania in Australia with a population of just over 500,000 people. The first thing I noticed as soon as I arrived was that the air was much fresher. Ah! It was a pretty cloudy day as my adventure first started in Wineglass Bay, Tasmania’s east coast of the rugged and stunning Freycinet Peninsula. A highly recommended place and there are easy options to walk around this National Park.

Here are some images I snapped in order except the first was snapped by a friendly traveller overlooking Wineglass Bay. The next image are some granite mountains around. Image 3 is a Wallaby very friendly animal!

And of course no exploring is without a good coffee, here is a great joint called Machine Laundry Cafe. 😉

Hope you have a great week lovelies.

x