Alex Hurler
I enjoy travelling and meeting new people. I am originally from Germany but have been living in London for the past 10 years. ahurlerabroad
Travel Blog Posts
Cat Ba (Halong Bay) and Hoi An
Published: May 22nd 2012Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Cat Ba Island
May 22nd 2012
After leaving Sapa we went back to Hanoi for one night and then took a local bus to Cat Ba Island. We decided to go to Cat Ba Island instead of Halong because we have heard good things about it and it's basically Halong minus the tourist crowds. It's really easy to arrange the trip by yourself without booking with an agent. Just go to the Loung Yen bus station and there you can buy a ticket for VND220000 that includes the bus, a minibus to the ferry port, the ferry and a minibus to Cat Ba Island. The journey takes about 4 hours door to door and is really easy. All the accommodation is pretty much on the sea front and they offer good deals. We found a nice one for $10 with lovely sea ... read more
May 22nd 2012
After finishing the loop in Tha Kaek it was time to plan my onward journey to Vietnam. My visa for Vietnam started on 1 May and I returned from the loop on 2 May. I went straight to the bus terminal to check the busses going to Vietnam and discovered various options. There is a direct minibus to Hanoi which leaves every other day or so but it takes 17 hours. After having been on one for more than 9 hours previously, I decided that I couldn't do 17 hours one a minibus. There was also a bus going to Vinh which is in the north and not too far away from Hanoi (well not so far means probably about 10 hours). I decided to take the bus at 8pm. I went back to the bus ... read more
May 6th 2012
I travelled from Pakse to Tha Khaek in the hope of finding someone to do the loop with me. I first had heard about the loop from a guy on Ko Chang. I was told that if I go to the Tha Khaek Travellodge I will definitely find someone to do the loop with. To explain, the loop is a motorbike tour starting at Tha Kheak (most people stay and start at the Travellodge, this is also the place to meet people if you are by yourself) and takes anything from 3 to 5 days. The loop is about 340km long and can include the Kong Lo cave. You ride along some of the most amazing scenary I have ever seen. I have done the Kong Lo cave by bus and you can't really appreciate the ... read more
Champasak, Bolovan Plateau and Pakse (again)
Published: May 5th 2012Asia » Laos » South » Bolaven PlateauMay 5th 2012
Two of my friends from London joined me in Laos for 2.5 weeks. As time was limited we travelled the length of Laos from North to South in a short time ending our trip at 4000 Islands. My friends flew back to London and I was left with 8 days before I could travel into Vietnam. I decided to travel back up north again and booked a bus form Dong Det to Champasak. I had been warned that Champasak is a one street affair and that there isn't much happening. When we got there it was only me and another guy getting off at Champasak. I didn't even know that you had to cross the river but luckily he had a guide book for Laos. I only have the Lonely Planet for the Mekong region and ... read more
May 5th 2012
4000 Islands - finally! We got picked up from our guesthouse in Paske at 8am (again no aircon in the minibus). As it is with Laos transport, everything takes a while and you have to be patient. We stopped after about 20 mins to pick up a friend of the driver (as we found out after asking him). The friend was obviously in no hurry and leisurely arrived after 40 mins. She then strolled to the bus and took her time getting into the bus. She was oblivious to the 35 angry and very hot tourists. Oh don't you love travelling in Laos??!! The bus driver then tried to convince us that we are booked to go to Don Kong but we told him that we are going to Don Det. When we arrived near the ... read more
May 4th 2012
After leaving the Kong Lo cave we started what turned out to be the journey from hell (what else can be expected when travelling during the country's most important holiday). With the help of a local who spoke English we thought that the owner of the Eco Lodge in Kong Lo village had ordered us a minivan to take us to the street from where we could catch a local bus giong to Paske. It turned out that he hadn't and we had to take two of these truck style local busses to take us to that road. Each bus took more than one hour and was packed to the rim with locals, luggage, animals (3 puppies in a tiny crate with no food or water - horrible) and sacks of onions and other veggies. Just ... read more
More Laos - Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiene and Kong Lo Cave
Published: April 25th 2012Asia » Laos » West » Vang Vieng
April 25th 2012
After returning from the Gibbon Experience in Huay Xai we took a nightbus from there to Luang Prabang. We got there early morning after an okayish journey and found a nice guesthouse. Our room was big and we had a lovely balcony. Luang Prabang is a really pretty town with loads of nice restaurants and cafes. It's on the Mekong and you can walk down to the shore (no sunbathing!). We wondered around town, got splashed with water (run up to the New Year's celebrations) and found a lovely little cafe which does home made ice cream. They also have nice wine and delicious looking salads. We decided to go there for dinner, as especially I have been craving salads after 3.5 months in Asia. This little cafe was quite a walk away from our guesthouse. ... read more
April 25th 2012
I finally met up with my two friends from London and we crossed over the border into Laos. Surprisingly this was the fastest border crossing I have done so far. The whole thing only took 20 minutes and to make things even better, Germans pay $5 less for their Laos visas than English people. Ha! And we didn't get ripped off. We went straight to the booking office of the Gibbon Experience in Huay Xai and managed to book a two day, one night trek for the next day. It cost us $180 per person and includes all food, drinks and accommodation. When you get to Huay Xai you will notice that every shop sells white gloves (similar to gardening gloves). I thought that gardening must be very popular in that area. These gloves are actually ... read more
Northern Thailand (Chiang Mai and Pai)
Published: April 25th 2012Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
April 25th 2012
Due to my extended stay on Ko Chang I had to change my plans for Northern Thailand. My original plan was to visit Kanchanaburi, Ayuthaya and/or Sukothai, Chiang Mai and Pai. Instead I decided to go to Chiang Mai and Pai. I travelled for about 24 hours by bus and train from Trat to Chiang Mai and arrived there early in the morning. The Thai trains are so different to the Indian ones. I couldn't believe the luxury! They even have toilet paper in the toilets!!! My first day in Chiang Mai was mainly spent with resting and sleeping and on the second day I hired a bycicle to drive around the many sights. I must say I am not a big fan of Chiang Mai. I wasn't planning on going trekking there or spend time ... read more
April 1st 2012
After leaving Cambodia on 17 March I travelled to Ko Chang. We had to change into one of those horrible minibusses at the border and typically for Thailand the minibus driver asked us to pay an extra THB100 because we weren't enough people. We already had paid for our trip from Battambong to Ko Chang but what can you do - argue and upset yourself or just fork out the extra bhat. Finally we left the border and travelled towards Trat where you catch the ferry to Ko Chang. As it is with minibusses we stopped at random intervals at random places. We just had a toilet break when we got caught up in what to us looked like a traffic jam. After sitting in it for 30 mins it became clear that it is a ... read more
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