When In Wien

Fall in love.

How could you not? Austria has an air of its own. It breathes love, beauty, art and most of all, it relives history. The minute I stepped into this land, I almost feel like I've stepped back in time. The cobblestone walkway, the horse drawn carriages. So much history, so much story to tell.

I arrived in Vienna on the eve of the new year.

I was really lucky because I had the best guide in the world by my side. My first museum in Wien was the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the museum of fine arts. At first I was a little bit hesitant, you know this is out of my comfort zone, coming from a total science, biology, surgery & blood background...I'm bound to admit that this is new territory for me.

Inspiring. The funny thing though, they had this entire floor dedicated to Egypt. Coins, mummies, etc. It reminded me a little bit of the past.

One of my best Christmas present that I received on this trip (second only to the loads of Chocolates) was a chance to catch an Opera! My very first indeed. It was the Die Fledermaus. I was so excited. It was so good, so funny! I think it was like a musical, a little ballet and opera. Amazing combination. Other than the fact that it was in  German, they at least had subtitles!

We then wandered to Stephansplatz. The streets were filled with people. My guide had the best idea ever. When I asked him where should we go, he said just go with the flow. Love it. 2 totally loss tourists just randomly turning left and turning right at the streets. We followed the crowd. Just like life.

We ended up at the square for the countdown. It was the right place. At the stroke of midnight, armed with plastic cups and a bottle of champagne, we caught the fireworks for a good whole half an hour brightening the skies. New year was perfect. The Rathaus looked magnificent in the background. For the first time in a very long time, I was looking forward to what the new year was going to bring. I was smiling.I was happy.

On new years day, it drizzled slightly. That didn't stop us from walking. The whole day.

The Albertina was my absolute favourite. Some people have the most amazing collection. Before Austria, I only followed Edgar Degas. That was from years of ballet since childhood. Now, I have a range and at the top of it is Klimt. That happened in Salzburg, but that's another story.

We explored Stephansplatz again, St Stephen's was beautiful, enjoyed the amazing hot chocolate and of course went on a carriage ride. That's a must do. We went to the Rathaus and at the Christmas market I had this amazing berries brandy drink. They were showing the orchestra on a big screen there, and the music was beautiful. People were even spontaneously waltzing. It was such a perfect day.

On the last day in Vienna, we went to the Schonbrunn Palace. They lived grandly. I saw 22 rooms, each one special, each one themed. I loved the details on the walls, I loved the blue room, the oriental room. Gosh, I even loved the toilet. The park was quite a sight, however as it was winter I missed out on the flowers which I am sure would have been quite a sight. Vienna, I am coming to you again.

The last thing I saw before leaving was the Kapuziner Crypt. It was quite amazing being in the presence of over 100 royal family member.

The hunt for the ever famous Sacher-torte, you won't regret this

We then headed back to Bern via Zurich on the overnight train. It was quite a ride. The train system was amazing and the service was superb and one-of-a-kind.The bunk bed was a tad small but at least there was a semi spa service available. I found a cure for snoring.

Vienna, I'm quite glad I met you.

Luscious Laos

I arrived Laos via middle of Vietnam crossing at Lao Bao to Savannaket. The crossing was tricky. After we got off at the gate and had my passport stamped, I couldn't figure out the bus that we were supposed to get on. I think we walked around 3 km before some random stranger yelled from across the road and pointed to a nondescript ratty old bus with passengers already there. So I got in. That's Asia for you. And as I am writing about this adventure now, It was the right bus.

The trip to Savannaket took a few hours of slow bumpy road. Do not rush the bus driver (as I witnessed a tourist do) because he Will take offense and yell at you and yell the whole trip after. I was actually afraid he would make the tourist get off!

There was nothing in Savannaket except a dinosaur museum (I joke not) and a few little restaurants and bars. I only stayed the night and the next day made my way to Pakse by bus. I found the Best ever Indian restaurant in Pakse at the two street shop rows. I recommend the aloo palak. It was so good.

I cycled around town. It was a beautiful town right by the side of the Mekong river. The men were playing petang in the evenings. It was a serious game for them.

Rented motorbikes to make the loop road trip to Bolaven Plateau. Two dusty days of adventure. We passed by villages and the kids were so friendly and welcoming. Life was so simple there. The kids played with each other, the woman were by the river washing the clothes. Countless of beautiful waterfalls on the way.

Bolaven Plateau up ahead

At the last part of Bolaven plateau, we had the misfortune of navigating the road at night. A trip that could have taken 30 minutes took 2 hours because there was no street light, and there were ten million potholes on the road! Almost like a video game maneuvering the 'holey' road. At some point I fell off the bike. It was so tiring. Wished we did that stretch in the morning. Oh did I mention it was freezing cold up there!

Next on we left for Thousand Island. Don Khong & Don Dhet (the backpackers island). It was good to be away from the traffic. Living there was fantastic. The chalets were so charming and cheap and they came with hammocks. I spent days on the hammock reading. Bliss! Met an Australian girl who was living next door and she ended up staying for 2 weeks in Don Dhet!

Grand Falls at the border of Laos & Cambodia

Next on was to Vientiane, capital of Laos. Managed to join the Hash House Harriers there as it was the weekend, it was so much fun!

I didn't do much else in Vientiane. I usually don't stay long at cities preferring instead to head to the smaller towns. So I made my way up to Vang Vieng.

Backpackers Haven. As I got off the bus, I noted a girl passing by with a cast on her arm, a few meters after a guy limped by with crutches. Hmm...what is Vang Vieng? And as I held a tube and started down the river, I knew. Countless bars by the river, giant slides, swing ropes,...and drunk tourists holding buckets of alcohol in their hand.

This was what tubing in Vang Vieng was all about.

Town was odd, restaurants showing replays of friends, family man - the whole day. And those who weren't injured were just sitting there with their food hypnotized with the show. They were stoned.

Next on, Luang Prabang. I loved it there. It was just so beautiful. The leftover French influence could be felt when you looked at the buildings and houses there. The markets were endless. Don't forget to try their mixed fruit shakes. Heavenly!

We took our bikes to explore the outskirts as well and came across Angel falls and cave with ten thousands of Buddha statues.

It was so hard to leave Laos.

Vivacious Vietnam! (Part 1)

I love Vietnam.

I started with the north and landed in Hanoi. Make sure to stay in the old quarters. There's so much character there. The traffic is best termed "organized chaos". Do not hesitate when you cross the road, in fact I recommend you to cross blind folded and I can bet you 9 out of 10 you'll make it across in 1 piece as traffic will go around you!

Make sure to walk to the lake just outside the vicinity of the old quarters. There is just so much to see. Taste the street food and do not miss the fresh rolls, drip coffee and their bia hoi (local beer). That makes Vietnam!

 We then made our way east ward to the next town Mai Chau by motorbike. There's no way to travel other than the local way! It took about 4 hours but the views were worth the effort! However, food was a bit of a challenge as the only store that was open had no menu in English and we ended up with a whole very cold dry chicken and beer. It was hard to get that down, so we made a vow to only point at vegetables and eggs from that point onwards.

You never know what you're gonna get on the table!

Another night at an unknown town, 2 flat tires and a little wrong turn, we eventually made our way up to Sapa, North of Vietnam. Not without getting a little lost but the locals were really amazing. Language is no barrier at all. The road map helped though. Luckily the national highway is a single lane road, so it was pretty straightforward.

Getting directions

Our best guides

The road less travelled

 Sapa is an amazing vibrant little town. I loved walking through the wet markets and the craft markets. It was never-ending.  There was always a little alley around the corner to explore and a tiny street where someone would beckon you to check out. This town has character. They also sold a lot of good quality snow jackets, hiking attires, backpacks which you could bargain down to half the offered price (or more even if you're really good at it).

Leaving Sapa was hard but next on was Halong Bay. I was excited to stay on the junk boat.

It was nice for once to get off the bike and just relax on the junk and read. The weather was calm and left me feeling so serene and peaceful after all the honking on the road (it was the Vietnamese way of saying hi!). Accommodation on the junk included all meals, kayaking, a visit to the cave and also to a floating fisherman village. Nights of course was filled with out-of-tune drunken karaoke sessions!

We then made our way down to Historical Hue. It was fun exploring all the tombs and palace of the olden empire. The king apparently had 100 over wives!

That night we were in town and there was a huge football match between Vietnam & Malaysia. Just my luck that I was the only Malaysian in the restaurant. Everyone there was welcoming and even invited us for dinner with them. Malaysia won by 1 very lucky shot and I actually felt a little bad. However, everyone was such good sport they made me wear a Vietnam bandana the whole night! =)

The next day we crossed over to Laos , Savannaket.