Tag: nature

Boating and eating in the Mekong delta

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Vietnam5 Comments

Our time in Vietnam was coming to an end, after travelling all the way from Hanoi overland to Ho Chi Minh City, stopping in Ninh Binh, Hue, Danang, Hoi An and Nha Trang. We had two more days left before flying home via Hong Kong, and we wanted to spend them exploring the Mekong Delta. There are numerous operators offering day trips from HCMC to My Tho, the nearest river town, but I had heard terrible things about them. Instead, we decided to take a bus to Can Tho and once there arrange a boat tour. We took a taxi to Mien Tay bus station (on the way back we would take a public bus, it’s quite easy), and bought tickets with Thanh Buoi (VDN 100,000, $4.5). There were many options available, we chose these buses because they took less than 4 hours and had free wifi. They also offered a free shuttle from the Can Tho bus station, in the outskirts, to the center, but I believe all of them did.

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The beautiful landscapes of Tam Coc and Trang An

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Vietnam10 Comments

After a few days exploring Hanoi and Halong Bay, it was time to continue our north-to-south journey through Vietnam. We were planning on visiting the area known as “Halong Bay inland”, but instead of joining a day tour from Hanoi, we wanted to do it independently. So we headed to the Giap Bat bus station and got on the first public bus to Ninh Binh. Continue reading “The beautiful landscapes of Tam Coc and Trang An” →

A 3-day cruise in Halong Bay, Vietnam’s natural wonder

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Vietnam5 Comments

While in Hanoi, we did some research on Halong Bay cruises, and ended up choosing the 3-day/2-night Monkey Island tour. There are a million operators online and in every street of the Old Quarter, and some are dirt cheap… but we read a lot of negative reviews for the budget options (food quality and quantity, group size, crappy boats, number of stops, etc.), and decided we could splurge a bit for one of the highlights of our trip. Continue reading “A 3-day cruise in Halong Bay, Vietnam’s natural wonder” →

Kuang Si waterfalls, a refreshing day trip from Luang Prabang

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Laos2 Comments

After spending a full day walking around the historic town of Luang Prabang under a brutal sun, we decided to head to the Kuang Si waterfalls. We again woke up before sunrise to witness the alms ceremony, and then walked around the fresh produce market on the west side of the center. Continue reading “Kuang Si waterfalls, a refreshing day trip from Luang Prabang” →

The tranquility of Inle Lake

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Myanmar6 Comments

Inle Lake is one of those very special places, of which there are few left on Earth. Local life is simple, slow and pleasant, light and color are strangely unique. In some sense, it is the essence of Myanmar. We arrived to Nyaungshwe, the town on the northeast of the lake and its logistical base, in the middle of the night, via a 9 hour bus from Bagan. After sleeping in the whole morning (most guesthouses will let you check in at 4 am for free), we ate some delicious curry and walked around the market area. We were planning on chilling, but found ourselves at Talk Nan bridge, where most boat tours depart… and couldn’t resist booking a ride to the village of Inthein.

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3 days hiking in Banff

On By Carmen BIn America, Canada5 Comments

I’m lucky to have a group of friends that loves travelling and hiking. Every year, we do at least one epic trip to explore America’s beautiful outdoors. Mount Whitney, Zion, Bryce and Havasu Falls have been some of our previous destinations… and this year, it was Banff’s turn. About 2 hours west of Calgary, Alberta, Banff was Canada’s first national park. Its landscape includes forests, alpine mountains, glaciers and the most famous, intense blue lakes.

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The underground river of Puerto Princesa for the end

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Philippines2 Comments

On the last day of our trip to the Philippines, we had planned on visiting the subterranean river of Puerto Princesa. Opposite to what its name indicates, it is really in Sabang, about 2 hours van ride from the main city. But the tickets can only be bought in Puerto and the trip is almost impossible to arrange independently, especially in high season, so we signed up for an organized tour.

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Hiking through rice terraces in Banaue & Batad

On By Carmen BIn Asia, Philippines9 Comments

We arrived in Banaue by Ohayami bus at 5am, when it was still dark and rather cold. A kid offered to take us to a guesthouse and we followed him… got a double room at the People’s Lodge, in the center of the town, for 800 PHP ($17), and quickly passed out.

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At 7am we woke up and enjoyed the Banaue views for the first time: a mesmerizing green valley covered by rice terraces, carved by the Ifugao people 2,000 years ago. After a quick breakfast, we walked to the main square and hired a tricycle (which apparently works on coke ;P) to take us to the top of the mountain, the so-called Banaue viewpoint. Most people drive the tricycle up and down, but we wanted to be dropped off and hike down on our own. As we got higher, the fog wrapped us to the point that we weren’t able to see much of the rice terraces. But as we were trying to figure out the trailhead, the fog started to dissipate and we were able to see not only the paddies, but even a section of the ‘trail’ we intended to follow.

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A Garden of Eden called Ngorongoro

On By Carmen BIn Africa, Tanzania3 Comments

The Ngorongoro Crater is a volcanic caldera of ~20km of diameter and ~600m of depth. It is not only beautiful but also a unique redoubt of wildlife, with ~25,000 mammals. The name is believed to refer to the sound of bells of the cows that Maasais used to shepherd in the area before being “relocated to protect the ecosystem”. Our game drive in Ngorongoro was too short, as we had to deal with the issues derived from our guide loosing his entrance card (narrated in the post Arriving at Serengeti), but still intense.

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Lions and more in Serengeti National Park

On By Carmen BIn Africa, Tanzania3 Comments

During our first night at Seronera Camp, I had to go to the bathroom and heard some animal noises… seeing a buffalo a few meters away from our tent in the morning made me feel good, like I was not a scared urbanite.

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