Kirsty & Andreas Asia 2009

Luzern & Rigi @ Lucerne, Switzerland

2009-02-28T14:15:18.000Z

Kirsty, Aaron, Siaw and me went on a spontaneous trip to Luzern and Rigi. As the pictures proof, the weather was stunning and I had the opportunity to tryout all our travel gadgets :-]

We used a GPS logger to track our trip and shot the pictures with a Canon Powershot G10.

It worked out quite well - the pictures are all geotagged by the bundled software. Just the traintrip from Goldau back to Thalwil was not recorded.

It can be handy to travel with a geek!

Thalwil: Packing, cleaning & goodbye meal @ Thalwil, Switzerland

2009-03-01T17:27:17.000Z

What a busy week; buying the last equipment, get medicine, see doctors, clean the house for Aaron, goodbye meal with my family and sorting out the last contracts! But finally, we are ready to leave (12.03.2009)!

Here an equipment list what I've taken with me:
- 5x T-Shirts
- 5x Pairs of Socks
- 5x Underwear
- 2x Short Pants
- 2x Long Pants
- 1x Trekking Pants
- 1x Rain Coat
- 1x Long Johns (cold)
- 1x Jacket (warm)
- 1x Jacket (cold)
- 1x Pullover (cold)
- 1x Long Sleeve Shirt (cold)
- 1x Backpack Rain Cover
- 1x Flip Flops
- 1x Trekking Shoes
- 1x Leather Shoes
- 1x Travel Towel

Misc stuff:
- G10 Digital Camera
- Samsung NC10 Netbook
- i-GotU GPS Logger
- Swiss Army Knife
- Cellphone
- Intl Power Adaptor
- Headlight
- Needle & Wire
- 3m Cord
- Medicine (drop me a mail for a full list!)
- Empty Garbage Bags
- Lonely Planet Southeast Asia :)

All together stuffed into a Bach Overland II and a Mammut Aspect 20. Its 15kg on the big one and ~2kg in the small one.

I highly recommend buying small bags from TransaBackpacking to put all equipment into specific bags! This method was very useful when i travelled in Nepal. See the pictures for an example.

Thailand: Bangkok #1 @ Bangkok, Thailand

2009-03-14T23:30:43.000Z

Day 1:
Flying on Friday the 13th is a mixed feeling; but since its a lucky number in Asia, we trusted the faith.

At the airport, AirBerlin refused to issue the one-way tickets if we couldn't proof we're leaving the country again! Awesome!
So we ran around, printed the Myanmar tickets and booked another flight to Phnom Penh...

Day 2:
Anyway; we smoothly arrived in Bangkok, found an overpriced hotel around Siam Square and slept out the jet lag.

Around 8pm we went to meet Ken in the Telephone pub in one of Bangkok's busy district... that was good fun :) Always nice to meet SMARTS staff around the globe!

Day 3:
After sleeping forever we forced ourself to visit the famous Grand Palace. Sadly, the King had the same idea and they closed early.

Kinda impressive what happens before he drives through the streets: there's police everywhere, blocking traffic and pedestrians are forced to stop walking. About 8 cars drive by with high speed and everything returns to normal as soon as he's gone...

So Grand Palace closed but the reclining Buddha was open for visitors. A few pictures attached.

The evening was calm; couple of beers, we didn't go large, jet lag still cursed us....

Cambodia: Phnom Penh @ Phnom Penh, Cambodia

2009-03-16T19:27:30.000Z

Day 4:

The whole day was sacrificed to fly to Phnom Penh. We stayed in the Sunday Guesthouse for 12$, which is fair. The city doesn't have much to offer except the Grand Palace, which we missed :)

There are a couple of great bars on the river. We went to this FCC (Foreign Corespondance Club) where we met a funny young group who works for UN. They have the most amazing job; travelling through Asia and preparing UN offices IT for a migration project... we moved on with them to the Riverhouse Club for even more beer and some dancing! That was a great night and we dropped shattered into the beds...

Day 5:

The Killing Fields (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killing_Fields) are a sad location to visit in Cambodia - one of the places where hundredths of cambodians were slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge; their own people! A horrific genocide only about 30 years ago!

Our guide was an asshole and wanted 15$ for 10mins boring information! On the list to see was also S-21, a former school who was transformed into a torture camp. We only made a few pictures of those horrible locations...

Cambodia: Siem Reap @ Siem Reap, Cambodia

2009-03-18T10:49:04.000Z

Day 6:

If you visit Cambodia, you wont miss Angkor Wat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat). Those ancient temple ruins spread over a big area are simply impressive! We took an early bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (5h for 6$), which is the starting point for all temple travels.

Siem Reap was sooo hot when we arrived! We craved for water to drink and swim but hotel tracking was first on the list. The holy Lonely Planet was our guide; we stayed in "Shadow of Angkor" for about 20$ - too much but the location is great and we could save money on the mototaxis.

A few hours left before sunset and we decided to go and see the temples of Angkor Thom. Really impressive with all the faces staring at us!

There's a small hill nearby where all the tourists go to take pictures of the sunset, and so did we - mainstream tourism. You feel like cattle walking up the hill, loaded with backpacks and camera hoping for a good shot! The temple at the top was so busy, that you had to wait to walk up the steps.... and the reward were clouds & rain!

Day 7:

We had this smart idea to get up at 4:30 to the temples of Angkor Wat and see the sunrise. Our mototaxi driver from the previous day picked us up in the dark and drove to the temples.
About 200 other tourists had the same idea and the place was already packed before sunrise :-)

Anyway, the temples are so rich with figures and stone engravings from the Hindu and Buddhist era around ~1200 A.D. The size of the temples is just amazing. You'll understand why this place is the 8th world wonder.

We spent about 5 hours walking around Angkor Wat alone and continued to the site where Tomb Raider (yea, the silly Lara Croft / Angelina Jolie action movie was filmed...). Those were my favourite temples - just amazing how the jungle absorbed the ruins over the decades.
Kirsty felt more and more ill and wanted to go back to the hotel to relax. I took the cab and went back to Angkor Thom and another random temple - this time around Korean/Japanese lunchtime and I had the site for myself. I didn't meet anybody for 15mins and stumbled across stones by myself.

Vietnam: Saigon @ Saigon, Vietnam

2009-03-20T11:54:48.000Z

Day 8:

Since Phnom Penh is not spectacular and we wanted to meet Kirsty's friends Euan & Duc in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), the direct bus from Siem Reap to Saigon was on the list. The 10 hours bus trip in the luxurious bus passed fast and we had a good view on the Cambodian countryside.
Our busdriver was mental - it rained like crazy and he drove with about 80km/h and no view!! The only orientation were the lights of passing cars he horned at...

In Saigon we stayed at "Saigon Comfort Hotel" for 25$ a night - very expensive again but in middle of the living backpacker disctrict. Theres this awesome "Allez Boo Bar" (yea, they speak French here) just on the corner playing good tunes and serving average priced beer; our location to hang out.

Day 9:

Yea, the word Vietnam reminds most people of the war in the 60s, so its obvious to go and look at the Cu Chi tunnels, where the Vietcong were hiding from the Americans. The whole complex is over 200km long and too narrow if you're not a midget.

We made the mistake and booked a tour with a random agency, paying 5$ each. It's cheap but soo annoying! Our guide just lied the shit out of his face (hes friends with Bill Clinton, his dad is an ambassador etc) and we ended up exploring the tunnels by ourself. Pretty cool and impressive what the locals dig underground.
Theres a shooting-range nearby where tourists can shoot around with AK-47's creating a 60s atmosphere for the other tourists :)
After getting dragged to a random shop on the way back to Saigon, we continued to the war museum to get a bit more background on this ugly war.

In the evening we met Duc, Kirsty's work colleague from Volcafé. What a nice friendly guy who grew up in the highlands around Da Lat, now doing coffee research.
He took us to a typical Vietnamese restaurant (no tourists, yes!!!) and after that to a brand new coffee bar. This bar was _amazing_! The name is "Windows" and it's located close to the Reunification Palace. It's a very modern, well constructed building, very stylish, around an old tree which grows into the 3 floored bar. It's massive and mostly locals hang out to very decent electro & local dance music! Highly recommended place to visit.

Later on we met with Euan, who's another work colleague of Kirsty from her Man times in London. He's one of those guys you meet when everybody is drunk :) I think we never exchanged a word sober, but this is alright, we had a good time in Allez Boo!

Day 10:

We did nothing! Well nothing except heading for a waterpark which was _packed_ with kids! DONT ever go to a waterpark in Vietnam on a Sunday - there was simply no spot to even enter the bath - crazy! We decided to visit the Reunification Palace (big communist palace), going for a coffee in the posh district & enjoying a swim in the Grand Hotel (50'000 VND or consume an expensive drink). It's sooo nice to feel water & swim for a bit after sweating 9 days.

The evening was reserved for a big dinner of Volcafé employees or people who worked there once. Duc, Euan, Richard, Sarah, Johnno, Kirsty and I met in "The Temple Club" and had BBQ on the roof restauarant - great! The food was delicious even tho I never found out what we ate/cooked. The meal was finished with living shrimps who died in front of our eyes - I'm convinced, their souls are still trapped in Euan's body.

Vietnam: Can Tho @ Can Tho, Vietnam

2009-03-23T06:37:04.000Z

Day 11:

The Mekong Delta attracts tourist by its floating markets. We booked a trip south to Can Tho in a cattle bus for about 270'000 VND including a guide and a ship tour.
The trip was ok, but the floating markets were pretty much over at 3pm... lesson learned, markets are in the morning!
We met a nice aussie girl, Ann, on tour and three young swedish travellers; one of them caught Malaria on the second day of his journey :-D haha, bad luck!

We split from the group in the evening and found a nice but expensive hotel. The manager organized an early morning tour and a bus ticket to Rah Gia.

Day 12:

Floating markets are most interesting in the mornings. So we took a boat from Can Tho to the floating markets in Cai Rang 5am! Another early start but we were rewarded with a touristfree market.
Our small boat could easy go trough the trading ships and it was worth the extra money for a private tour :)

After all the travelling we kinda needed a holiday from the holiday. Phu Quoc is exactly the place to have that... we spent the rest of the afternoon travelling to Rach Gia to get onto the 2 1/2 hour fairy trip to the island.
We didnt book in advance which turned out to be a big mistake!! All the hotels we knew of were booked out :-S and the sun was dawning... in the end we found a room in Mai House; 55$, super expensive but a lovely room and gorgeous beach! Ahhh.... beach... we needed it soo desperately!

Vietnam: Phu Quoc @ Phu Quoc, Vietnam

2009-03-25T07:05:23.000Z

Day 13:

Ahhh, waking up on the beach... we got up and scouted for another hotel and got lucky in Sea Star; 55$ again but in a Bungalow directly on the beach.
Phu Quoc is nice

Vietnam: Hoi An @ Hoi An, Vietnam

2009-03-30T11:06:53.000Z

Vietnam: Hue @ Hue, Vietnam

2009-04-01T10:00:58.000Z

Vietnam: Hanoi @ Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-04-03T10:00:56.000Z

Vietnam: Halong Bay @ Halong Bay, Vietnam

2009-04-05T10:00:48.000Z

Vietnam: Sapa @ Sa Pá, Vietnam

2009-04-07T10:00:06.000Z

Vietnam: Hanoi @ Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-04-11T17:00:22.000Z

Thailand: Bangkok #2 @ Bangkok, Thailand

2009-04-13T15:00:54.000Z

Myanmar: Yangon @ Yangon, Myanmar

2009-04-15T08:00:58.000Z

Myanmar: Inle Lake @ Inle Lake, Myanmar

2009-04-16T15:00:46.000Z

Myanmar: Bagan @ Bagan, Myanmar

2009-04-22T12:00:21.000Z

Myanmar: Yangon #2 @ Yangon, Myanmar

2009-04-25T09:00:32.000Z

Thailand: Bangkok #3 @ Bangkok, Thailand

2009-04-27T09:00:21.000Z

Thailand: Koh Pangan @ Koh Pangan Island (Ko Phangan), Thailand

2009-04-30T10:00:40.000Z

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur @ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2009-05-13T10:00:49.000Z

Malaysia: Cameron Highlands @ Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

2009-05-15T10:00:48.000Z

Malaysia: Perhentian Islands @ Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

2009-05-17T10:00:35.000Z

Singapore: Singapore @ Singapore, Singapore

2009-05-21T10:00:42.000Z

Indonesia: Medan @ Medan, Indonesia

2009-05-25T20:57:17.000Z

Indonesia: Tuk Tuk @ Tuk Tuk, Indonesia

2009-05-26T16:00:12.000Z

Indonesia: Bukit Lawang @ Bukit Lawang, Indonesia

2009-06-04T08:00:26.000Z

Indonesia: Jakarta @ Jakarta, Indonesia

2009-06-08T08:00:01.000Z

Indonesia: Yogyakarta @ Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2009-06-09T08:00:46.000Z

Indonesia: Mt. Bromo @ Gunung Bromo, Indonesia

2009-06-11T08:00:09.000Z

Indonesia: Bali @ Bali, Indonesia

2009-06-13T08:00:26.000Z

Indonesia: Padangbai @ Padangbai, Indonesia

2009-06-15T08:00:05.000Z

Indonesia: Gili Trawangan @ Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

2009-06-16T08:00:32.000Z

Indonesia: Lombok @ Lombok, Indonesia

2009-06-20T08:00:55.000Z

Indonesia: Bali @ Bali, Indonesia

2009-06-23T08:00:22.000Z

Australia: Sydney @ Sydney, Australia

2009-06-26T08:00:44.000Z

Japan: Tokyo @ Tokyo, Japan

2009-07-03T08:00:34.000Z

Japan: Mt. Fuji @ Fuji, Japan

2009-07-07T08:00:01.000Z

Japan: Tokyo @ Tokyo, Japan

2009-07-08T08:00:11.000Z

Japan: Nikko @ Nikkō, Japan

2009-07-09T08:00:30.000Z

Japan: Nagano @ Nagano, Japan

2009-07-10T08:00:24.000Z

Japan: Obuse @ Obuse, Japan

2009-07-11T08:00:19.000Z

Japan: Matsumoto @ Matsumoto, Japan

2009-07-12T08:00:00.000Z

Japan: Kyoto @ Kyoto, Japan

2009-07-13T08:00:50.000Z

Japan: Naoshima @ Naoshima, Japan

2009-07-15T08:00:04.000Z

Japan: Osaka @ Osaka, Japan

2009-07-16T08:00:44.000Z

Japan: Hiroshima @ Hiroshima, Japan

2009-07-18T08:00:09.000Z

Japan: Miyajima @ Miyajima, Japan

2009-07-18T22:00:39.000Z

Japan: Hiroshima @ Hiroshima, Japan

2009-07-19T22:00:53.000Z

Japan: Nagasaki @ Nagasaki, Japan

2009-07-20T08:00:27.000Z

South Korea: Busan @ Busan, South Korea

2009-07-23T13:00:27.000Z

South Korea: Seoul @ Seoul, South Korea

2009-07-24T13:00:26.000Z

China: Beijing @ Beijing, China

2009-07-27T13:00:20.000Z

China: Xi'an @ Xi'an, China

2009-07-31T08:00:42.000Z

China: Jiuzhaigou @ Jiuzhaigou, China

2009-08-01T08:00:50.000Z