Tagged: Unesco

Asian backpacker - Sintra - Quinta da Regaleira well of initiation 0

Europe / Portugal

13 Apr, 2016

Daytrip from Lisbon to the mystical Sintra

To be completely honest, I didn’t really research that much about Portugal and Lisbon before coming here. The main goal was to go surfing in Peniche and spend a few days sightseeing in Lisbon. It was Fabio who told me to go to Sintra for sure eventhough he didn’t see all of the sights himself. Sintra and its surrounding mountains (Serra de Sintra) are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a popular destination for day-trippers, and can be easily explored while staying in Lisbon. I myself took the train straight from Lisbon Oriente railway station and took...

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Cambodia / South East Asia

2 May, 2014

Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor

You can’t say Siem Reap without saying Ankor Wat in 1 sentence. This is THE only sight inCambodia that all, but than ALL foreigners go to. You can do the whole site in 1 full dayif you hire a tuk-tuk to drive you around. We bought the 3-day Angkor pass (40 USD) andrented bikes for 3 days to explore Siem Reap and Ankor at our own pace (TIP: There are 2roads going to Angkor from Siem Reap. Take the mainroad on your first day as the only ticketboot is along that road). Ankor Wat is actually only one of the many...

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Laos / South East Asia

24 Feb, 2014

Laos’ first Unesco site Luang Prabang

You can opt to go from Hanoi to Luang Prabang by bus for only 35-40€. This option aka the ’24-hours journey from hell’ option is for sure the cheapest way. I however preferred paying 130€ for a 1-hour flight with Vietnam Airlines than taking this hell ride! My visa on arrival cost me another 35$+1$ administration fee. A friend told me I would really like Luang Prabang as people are very friendly and especially not pushy when bying stuff at eg. the nightmarket. It appeared she was right 🙂 Of course there are exceptions but most of the Lao people...

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South East Asia / Vietnam

6 Feb, 2014

Cat Ba Island and limestone mountains in Halong Bay

Going to Hanoi usually means making a trip to Halong Bay as well. Everywhere in Hanoi you’ll find agencies and hostels offering multiday tours. We instead went by public transport to Cat Ba, rented motorbikes on the island and cruised around for a day, stopping at it’s National Park and playing beachsoccer. I totally sucked but still managed to make 3-4 goals 🙂 It was supercool! We did book a daytrip to Halong Bay throught our hotel. It was the uncle of the hotelmanager himself that guided us that day. We cruised around the karst limestones for 2-3 hours. It...

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Asia / Vietnam

6 Feb, 2014

More honking in Hanoi

It was certainly not the cheapest way to go to Hanoi, but both Tuya and me wanted to try out the train in Vietnam. So we paid 32€ for a softsleeper in the Hue-Hanoi train, leaving at 19.30, arriving around 9.30 in the morning. Knowing the sleeperbusses in Vietnam, I expected something simular, but no a sleepertrain is much better. It’s almost like sleeping in a real bed! A taxi, which we think overpayed, brought us to the Hoi An Backpacker Hostel, one of the best ones I’ve stayed in in Vietnam. It’s such a wellknown hostel that we saw...

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South East Asia / Vietnam

22 Jan, 2014

Biking around with easyriders on the Ho Chi Minh Trail

I never thought of doing it but once Tuya told me about it, I knew I would go for it!Easyriders..I don’t know if you have them in other places but Vietnam, but here it is pretty well known. The idea is to drive through (a part of) Vietnam by renting a motorbike and an easyrider, whome will also be your guide during the easyrider tour. You can choose to drive the motorbike yourself or to be the passenger on the easyrider’s bike. We went for the 2nd option. We initially planned on a 1 day tour Hoi An-Hue, but than...

Colourful lanterns 0

South East Asia / Vietnam

11 Jan, 2014

Colourful lanterns and tailor-made clothing in Hoi An

December 25th, X-mas day! After 15 hours on the bus, I finaly reached Hoi An. Hoi An is known for the more than 200 tailorshops in town. I noticed that quite well. Just arrived in the hostel and Tuya and I were already ‘grabbed’ by a lady that wanted to show us her shop. And we went along! And had some clothes made there! I guess I gave myself a big X-mas present! Of course we had our doubts..would it be made well, how would the finish be? Luckely it turned all well. I even had extra trousers made after...

Interior of The Venetian 0

Asia / Macau

31 Dec, 2012

Checking out the historical Macau and trying my luck at the casino

Macau was the first and last European colony in Asia, it has more visible colonial history than Hong Kong. Walking through the old city you could convince yourself you were in Europe rather than in Asia. One of the world’s most densely populated spots, Macau is best known as Asia’s largest destination for gambling taking in even more revenue than Las Vegas. Although best known for gambling, Macau is extremely rich in attractions and oozing with atmosphere, thanks to hundreds of years of fusion between European and Chinese cultures. Macau is a fascinating place to just walk around as the...

Dahican beach in Mati 0

Philippines / South East Asia

30 Dec, 2012

Skimboarding in Mati and a ride in underground river in Puerto Princesa

Mati was only famous for 1 thing: skimboarding and partly surfing. Other than that, there wasn’t much else worth visiting for the average tourist. That was also the reason why I decided to take a 5 hour slow bus ride from Davao to arrive in Mati in the middle of the night in a rundown hostel with no other guests. The next day I managed to fix a ride and pick up to the Dahican beach where all the action is happening. But the thing is, the waves are only good at certain times during the day. Mainly early in...

Basilica of Santo Niño 0

Philippines / South East Asia

28 Dec, 2012

Dumaguete and diving around Apo Island and 1 day visit in Cebu

Dumaguete as a city was quite energetic for a “small” city. It’s actually known as a university town as a huge college campus engulfs much of its centre. Upon arriving, I didn’t really notice that many tourists around, good thing I blend in seamlessly now. The main reason why tourists come to Dumaguete is to go diving around Apo Island, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. One of the Philippines’ famous diving sites, Apo Island has one of the world’s best known community-organized marine sanctuaries. It is home to over 650 documented species of fish and estimated to have over 400 species...

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