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Hoi An Lantern Workshop – 2024 Update
Internationally Hoi An is probably best known for three things: The yellow buildings of the old town, its tailors and the hundreds if not thousands of colourful lanterns all over the city. You can’t walk down even one street without seeing several of them. Buying one as a souvenir is the first thing that will come to your mind, but…
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Canyoning in Da Lat – Vietnam
I want to preface this by saying I am afraid of heights. So of course I had to go on a 2,4 km long alpine coaster ride at Datanla waterfalls and then afterwards went canyoning in Da Lat where we climbed down waterfalls up to 25 meters and abseiled into a raging river. I can recommend this for thrill seekers…
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Lan Ha Bay Cruise from Cat Ba
To see the beauty of Vietnam's northern coast, without the hoards of tourists, unregulated cruise ships, multiplying hotels, gigantic resorts and all the trash you will find nowadays at Ha Long Bay you can visit Lan Ha Bay instead. Part of me wanted to keep this a secret since the more people know about it the fuller and less beautiful…
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Cat Ba Island – Add this island paradise to your travel plans now
Before "tourism development" takes over. With its serene nature, a bay that isn't yet as overrun as Ha Long Bay and the sprawling national park Cat Ba has been a hidden gem for the longest time. And it still is as of now. However Cat Ba Island has become more of a trend-destination among the rich, inspiring investors to buy…
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Sapa – In between mountains, fog and rice fields
When you follow travel pages on Instagram or TikTok and are interested in south-east Asia you will come across Sapa. Currently there seems to be a hype about this little northern Vietnamese mountain town. I had Sapa on my radar since 2019 and this year I went there. This is my honest experience and an overview of what to do…
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Hmong Batik Workshop – Sapa
While in Sapa I divided my time between the city and a homestay with a Hmong family in Ta Van village near Sa Pa. They offer half-day and full-day trekking tours and two ethnic handicraft workshops to their guests: a Hmong Indigo Batik Workshop and a Traditional Hmong Embroidery Workshop. I choose to do both.
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Silversmith Workshop – Hanoi
Always on the lookout for unique things to do and more things to learn I stumbled upon a silver smith workshop in Hanoi. In the silver crafting village Dinh Cong, about 30 minutes from the Old Quarter of Hanoi inside a community house this workshop takes you back to the time where Hanoi was still called Thang Long (1010).
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Old Dubai Food Tour – Stopover Exploration
Another stopover in Dubai, another 21 hours to fill. This time I got a offered a hotel with a meal included by Emirates, since my stopover was so long. Apart from the inside of a hotel room I wanted to see the parts of Dubai I didn't get to see the last time, specifically the old town of Dubai, the…
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2 Days in Limerick – Ireland
Limerick was admittedly not on my list originally. I had planned to include Cork or the ring of Kerry on this trip but instead decided to postpone that for another time. So I spent my last two days in Limerick.
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Connemara National Park & Kylemore Abbey Tour
From Galway – Ireland, I went on Connemara National Park & Kylemore Abbey Tour for a day, which I probably wouldn’t have chosen if I hadn’t seen the Cliffs of Moher before. If you have to choose between the two it depends on what you are more interested in: Connemara National Park is a lot calmer than the Cliffs of…
