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We met again! After being separated for more than one week, with Britt taking care of stuff in Germany and Alex spotting orangutans in Sumatra, we met again in Kuala Lumpur on the 16th of July, our wedding anniversary day. Good timing, huh?!

 

In this post we summarized our experiences of our last days in South East Asia. If you consider Kecil island being part of your next Malaysia itinerary, we have some tips for you. Never heard of the Perhentian islands or Pulau Kecil?! Then this read is a good inspiration for sure.

Continue reading “Reunion in Malaysia – Our Last Days in South East Asia”

When Britt left for Germany I was left alone in Banda Aceh. A little reminder: Britt had to fly back to Germany to finalize university registration and wanted to come back to South East Asia after one week. I (Alex) was left alone in Banda Aceh with 7 days to myself.

 

There were still so many things we wanted to see initially in Sumatra and one week was not enough, considering that one has to travel vast distances between the points of interest we  picked. So I had to decide what to do.Our change of plans came rather suddenly because of Britt’s departure. So I spent the first days undecided staying in Banda Aceh, which was interesting…

Continue reading “Alex alone in North Sumatra and Britt’s short trip to Germany”

There are some bucket list items that one always wants to achieve but keeps on postponing in life. When one is finally ready to go for it something pops up and one has to postpone it  again. For us this bucket list item was diving. We wanted to do our PADI Open Water Certification for so many years, yet we never managed to find the time. When we finally had the time one of us caught a cold and we had to cancel. Then when we started travelling in 2018 we decided now is the time! However when we reached the Andaman Islands in Spring 2018, with the PADI Open Water licence at the very top of our list, the government put a ban on all diving activities for a couple of weeks (to regulate the market or something). We personally believe they did it to screw us over.

 

Not this time, not in Indonesia! We decided to go to Sumatra with just the mission of going diving. We were recommended by many other travellers to go to Pulau Weh in particular. (Pulau Weh is so far North in Sumatra that it could be one of the Andaman islands). And so we went. This blogpost is about our time on Pulau Weh and Britt’s bad surprise after the course. 

Continue reading “Indonesia, Pulau Weh (Finally we are Underwater Ambassadors)”

After Laos we flew in to Malaysia. Britt has already been here for a couple of days. For me it was the first time. I had zero expectations. For me it was just a cheap flight and gateway to Sumatra (our next stop). Still it turned out to be again a great venue.

We decided to spend a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and a couple of days on an island. After some research we picked Pulau Kapas because it was small, easy to get to from KUL, less touristy (because of its size) than some neighbours and still affordable for budget travellers. In this post we have summarized our experiences in both Kuala Lumpur and Pulau Kapas. Do not underestimate Malaysia as I did, it was far better than we expected.

Continue reading “Kuala Lumpur and Kapas Island, Malaysia”

A few days ago we left Laos. Well, that was interesting.
It was the first time for both of us and we had some great experiences but also some in your face moments.

Continue reading “Laooooooooos”

After the trekking adventure came relaxing time!

Our next stop, the village of Pai was the perfect place to do so. It is a hippie town with a nice vibe, lots of bars and restaurants, surrounded by bungalows/huts for the backpacker community. Pai is beautifully situated between lush green mountains. Being such a backpacker spot, Pai had tons of activities to offer: hot springs, trekking, visiting serene waterfalls or exploring cute villages nearby. One could attend lots of classes from art, cooking to circus and, and, and. We stayed a couple of nights doing literally nothing. Well we visited a bunny cafe.  When we left after a couple of days we felt weak and exhausted from this motionless lifestyle.

Our last stop in Thailand took us to Chiang Rai.
This place felt more like an authentic city, not a tourism village. Less chic but more character. Though the region is one of the economically less developed in the country, the regions capital Chiang Rai felt like a western town, with busy people and lots of traffic during rush hours.

Continue reading “Pai and Chiang Rai – Our Last Days in Thailand”

Trekking is a big thing in north Thailand. In most towns 1, 2 or 3 day tours are offered. We normally trek alone but this time we hired a guide and signed up for a two-day trek.  It turned out to be the right decision because the trails barely recognizable and sometimes not there at all. We managed to get a good deal (cheap) because Mae Hong Son is not so touristy like other parts of Thailand.  

It turned out to be one of the best trekking experiences we have made so far, taking us to very remote places.

Continue reading “Trekking in Mae Hong Son: The Most Remote Place We’ve Ever Been To”