After Hoi An we continued South and stopped for a day at Nha Trang, a popular beach. We then went to Mui Ne, a quiet and beautiful white sand beach where we stayed for a few very relaxing days.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Vietnam - Mui Ne - June 26 to 28
After Hoi An we continued South and stopped for a day at Nha Trang, a popular beach. We then went to Mui Ne, a quiet and beautiful white sand beach where we stayed for a few very relaxing days.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Vietnam - Hoi An - June 21 to 24
We continued south to Hoi An, an ancient and beautiful city untouched by the last war.
Vietnam - Hue - June 19 to 21
Hue is the old capital of the kingdom of Vietnam and the tombs of the kings who reigned can be visited.On the picture we are at the Tomb of Tu Duc.
Vietnam - Hue - June 19 to 21
We continued South by bus an arrived in Hue, a lovely town where the Perfume River flows. This river was given this name because of all the medicinal plants that grow there.
Vietnam - Tam Coc - June 18
We left Halong Bay to go t0 Ninh Binh and Tam Coc, a little like Halong Bay but in the middle of rice fields. We let ourselves guided on a small boat by 2 Vietnamese. As we were the only tourists, we could only hear the animals and the water.
Vietnam - Halong Bay - June 15 to 17
After Sapa we booked a tour to Halong Bay where we spent 3 day. We slept on a boat and admired the sunset on the bay. Sea kayaking and swimming were also planned.
Vietnam - Sapa - June 12 to 14
We took a night train to the beautiful valley of Sapa. We discovered villages inhabited by Vietnamese minorities up in the mountains in the middle of rice fields. Farmers were at work.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Vietnam - Hanoi - June 8 - 11
Temple of Literature founded in 1070. This was the first university in Vietnam.
Vietnam - Hanoi - June 8 - 11
The busy streets of Old Hanoi. To cross the street you just have to take a chance, to not stop and pray that somebody will not run over you!
Vietnam - Hanoi - June 8 - 11
We arrived in Hanoi in th afternoon and saw the beautiful sunset on Lake Hoan Kiem in the old town of Hanoi.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
On the way to Vietnam - June 8
From the train we could see those peaks, typical of this area of China.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
On the way to Vietnam - June 8
We took a local train to the Vietnamese border called the Friendship Pass. The ride in "Hard Seat" class does not seem to bother the locals!
China - Nanning - June 6 to June 8
We took the train from Hong Kong to Nanning and while waiting in Nanning for our visa to Vietnam to be processed, we visited a nearby old village. Most houses still date from 500 years ago.
China - Hong Kong - June 3 to June 5
Conversation with Anna and Steve in front of the Hong Kong skyline.
China - Hong Kong - June 3 to June 5
We took the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong where we stayed with our friends Anna and Steve with whom we spent a very nice and relaxing weekend. We can see on the picture that the typhoon season has started ;-)
China - Guangzhou - May 31 to June 2
The food in Guangzhou is really delicious. We savored the traditional Dim Sum for breakfast and had a variety of dishes for lunch and dinner. On the menu for dinner was shark fin soup and pork roasted with honey.
China - Guangzhou - May 31 to June 2
After an 8-hour bus ride and a 24-hour train ride from Kunming to Guangzhou, we spent 2 days if this busy town where you can see quite a lot of unattractive modern buildings but that still has quite a few beautiful and interesting temples, monuments and parks.
China - Lijiang du 27 au 29 avril
In Lijiang, we listened to the Naxi traditional music. Naxi is the name of the inhabitants of the Yunnan province. This music is now played only in Lijiang.
China - Lijiang - April 27 to 29
We left Tibet and flew to Chengdu and Lijiang, a charming ancient little town in the Yunnan province. The old town is more than 500 years old and there, traditions were kept.
Tibet - May 16 to 27
Stupa at the Rongbuk monastery. Here the monks can meditate at more than 5000 meters high at just a few kilometers from Everest.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Tibet - Lhasa May 24 to May 27
Tibet - Freedom Highway - May 21
We started the day with the visit of the Sakya monastery and we heard for the first time the monks pray. It sounded like they were singing. It was really nice to hear. After the visit we drove to Shigatse, also famous for its big monastery.
Tibet - Freedom Highway - May 20
We left the Everest Base Camp to go to Sakya, a town famous for its monastery. Also it once was the capital of Tibet from 1268 to 1354.
Tibet - Freedom Highway - May 19
We left Old Tinrgi and drove to the Everest Base Camp. We slept at the camp at 5200 meters high. We were not cold that night even as we were covered with Yak blankets (very warm). The views of Mount Everest were beautiful.
Tibet - Freedom Highway - May 18
The second day at Old Tingri, we rode horses to a small monastery that was victim of the destructions of the cultural revolution. We were on our horses for about 7 hours that day.
Tibet - Freedom Highway - May 17
The second day, we gained altitude quickly. We drove through a pass at 5050 meters high. Very quickly the trees disappeared and we drove through very dry but colorful landscape. The mountains were ochre, yellow and red. We arrived in Old Tingri where we spent 2 nights to acclimatise to the altitude. The following days we will stay between 4000 and 5200 meters high in the mountains.
Tibet - Freedom Highway - May 16
After a few days in Kathmandou to prepare our trip to Tibet, we started our trip to Tibet by land with a guide and a driver. We arrived at the border after a 4 hour drive. After going through immigration we had another driver and guide (Tibetans). After just a few miles, the car broke down so we slept in the first town after the border, Zanghmu, about one hour away from where we should have stayed the first night. Great first experience in Tibet :-)
In this part of Tibet, the mountains are still covered with trees.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Annapurna Circuit
The valley of Manang, a little town at 3640 meters high where we spent 3 days acclimatising.
The Annapurna Circuit - April 24 to May 12
After a few days of thinking about our next steps here in Nepal, we decided to do our planned trek around the Annapruna region. At least in the mountains, no demonstrations, strikes or curfews were waiting for us. We are now thrilled we went as the situation went better in Nepal not long after we left Kathmandu and also our tour was absolutely fantastic. We trekked for 18 days and went up about 18000 feet high (5416 meters high). Everyday we discovered new sceneries with a different fauna and flora as well as different cultures. We really recommend this trek to anyone who goes to Nepal. The more we gained altitude, the more we could feel and see the Tibetan influence with the presence of gompas, prayer wheels and houses built in stone. We also saw various animals such as yaks, golden eagles... We went through rice fields, tree and pine forestes, through dry valleys and through snow. I could add more and more, but I will stop for now.
We are now back in Kathmandu where life is now back to normal. The noise, the traffic and the evening animations are very much present. All shops are open without any exceptions. People seem to be a lot happier and more relaxed expecially the tourists.
Tomorrow we leave for Tibet.
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