You&meTraveling2

Bangkok, Thailand Stopover in Bangkok? Why not. Bangkok is a huge city which has grown very fast and with little urban planning, the roads are perpetually congested and the subway only operates in some parts of the city (but not where the tourist attractions are). Nevertheless, Bangkok is an interesting city and has that something that makes it special. Do as much or as little as you please Even though we had big plans for our stay in Bangkok – like visiting a floating market, several pagodas and the Royal Palace, having a drink on a rooftop bar – we didn't do much in the end. The floating markets are either way too touristy (30 million tourists visit Thailand every year, and even though not all of them stay in Bangkok, the city still sees millions of visitors), or only open on weekends. Buddha statue at Wat Pho Wat Pho The Royal Palace was crowded with huge groups of Chinese so we skipped it and went straight to Wat Pho temple. The entrance fee is only 100 Baht and the temple is r...

Two cities; so close yet so different In some ways, Hong Kong and Macau were just as I had always imagined them to be. Hong Kong with its skyscrapers with dirty facades and air cons, streets with neon signs and masses of people moving in all directions, and office buildings lighting up the sky and the harbor area at night. Macau, on the other hand, with its huge casinos but also very Chinese neighborhoods – small apartments, Chinese restaurants, street vendors, and small shops – very far from the glitzy world of the casinos. But of course there's much more to these cities and it was very interesting to explore those two very different places. In Macau you can also find a lot of remnants from the time it was a Portuguese colony (it has only been transferred to China as recently as 1999), something I had no idea of, which gives the city a very special character and makes it all the more intriguing. A cook looking out a kitchen's window in Macau's Taipa village Hong Kong How t...

Vancouver Island, Canada Vancouver Island is a 1.5 hour ferry ride away from the mainland. Not very far away but we imagined it would be totally different from southern British Columbia, which is densely populated and very different from central BC. But no, the area around Victoria is just as populated and traffic just as heavy. Victoria Victoria itself is also much bigger than we thought (looks like we didn’t study well our guide book). It’s a pleasant city but I have to say I didn’t like it as much as Vancouver. We didn’t do much in terms of sightseeing; since I took something against motion sickness for the ferry ride (although there was no need since the ride was very smooth), I was completely useless for the rest of the day. Goldstream Provincial Park From Victoria we first went to Goldstream Provincial Park, not to see the Niagara Falls (no kidding, there’s a waterfall called Niagara in the park and it’s almost as high as its famous namesake), but to walk on the (almost equally f...

British Columbia, Canada In less than a week in Canada we’ve already seen three bears – I still can’t believe it! Wait – how come we’re in Canada? Here’s why: After almost five month in Latin America we felt like going to Asia. That’s the great thing about not having a return date nor an around the world ticket; you’re absolutely free to go wherever you want - as long as the budget allows it. The flight from Mexico City (which, by the way, is an amazing metropolis worthy of much more time than the two days we spent there) to   Hong Kong , our first destination in Asia, stops in Vancouver. So we thought, why not prolong that stop to two weeks and discover a little bit of Canada? And here we are now. Vancouver Vancouver seems to be a great city, I instantly liked it. We arrived on a wonderful warm spring day and since check-in in our hotel wasn’t until 3 pm, we had a lot of time to enjoy the lovely weather and walk around the center. There are many cafes, and shops, and restaurants s...