Nina+Mark
Hola mundo! - We are Nina and Markus. We are from Bern/Switzerland and we are outdoor junkies. Whenever possible we spend our time travelling, climbing, ice-climbing, trekking or snowboarding/skiing. holamundo
In 2008/2009 we were on a RTW-trip around the souhern hemisphere. We visited Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tansania.
In 2010 we discovered Asia for the first time for 3 month: Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia (both, the Peninsula and Borneo) and Thailand. We returned in 2011 to Malaysia and Southern Thailand.
For 2012 we plan on some travelling around Central America.
In between we make shorter trips about which we will blog regularly! Our blogs are bilingual english/german, to give our family the chance to understand everyhting (sorry for the older blogs that are in german only - we try to translate them step by step).
Visit our website: http://www.holamundo.ch/
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Travel Blog Posts
The place where we return and return and return.....
Published: April 12th 2012Europe » Italy » Veneto
April 12th 2012
There are too many places in the world to visit that we normally do not go to a special place twice. But this is different when it comes to our most favourite: the dolomites. It is like our second home, our "fuel station" where we can load up with some energy. We have visited the Dolomites in summer, in autumn, in spring and in winter (mainly in winter). The first time we came here is 16 years ago - to be true, I (Nina) came here 16 years ago. It was still during my studies. I wanted to go skiing but only had little money. Italy at that time was quite cheap - the accomodation and, very important for a student, the wine. I came here and immediately fell in love with the region which spreads ... read more
CNY in Penang - starting the year of the dragon
Published: March 4th 2012Asia » Malaysia » Penang » George Town
January 24th 2012
When we booked our flight tickets in October, we did not even know when Chinese New Year would be. We just decided to take the cheapest return flight. Then, we thought it would be nice to end our trip in Penang. I had been there last year and loved it - but for Markus it was something new. Furthermore, it is a good place for some decent shopping before going back to expensive Switzerland. In December, we told our friend Serena in KK (Malaysia) that we will be in Penang and we asked her to join us - and she told us that it is CNY and she has no time to join us. That was a surprise. Well, we were sad, not to meet her. But, we were up to celebrate Chinese New Year in ... read more
A big island, a scooter, a skyride, monkeys and lots of fun: Langkawi
Published: February 25th 2012Asia » Malaysia » Langkawi
January 21st 2012
Here we go - back to Malaysia. From Koh Lipe we took the slow ferry for 2 reason: we do not like speedboats, especially those where you have to sit inside which is horrible with a rough sea. And second: it is simply cheaper. And it was a good choice! The sea was indeed a bit rough (in my opinion - as you know, I do not like shaking boats). But we could sit on top of the ferry with fresh air and a great view. We met an amazing travel guide - well it was not our travel guide, but we just saw each other and started laughing right away. Let's say sympathy at first sight. We had a lot of fun giggling for 3 hours. She told us that she was from Kuching in ... read more
Have you every had a shower with frogs around your feet?
Published: February 16th 2012Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Lipe
January 17th 2012
Wow, we have just realised that this is already our blog number 101! But do not worry, we will not stop writing some more as we have planned already interesting trips in the future. But let's come back to our short trip to Malaysia/Thailand. Our next island on our "self organised" island hopping tour was Koh Lipe. From Koh Bulon we took a speedboat which brought us to the shores of Koh Lipe in 2 hours. We arrived at Pattaya beach and were really shocked by the crowded beach and the noise. Coming from the peaceful island of Koh Bulon with only few tourists and great nature, this was too much for us. Quickly we took our backpacks and walked away from the beach to a hostel which was recommended to us by a lot of ... read more
Where is the coral reef? - Koh Bulon
Published: February 13th 2012Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Satun
January 13th 2012
It was time to hit the beach - and we were ready for some island hopping. It was quite hard to decide on which island to start. We decided to start on Koh Bulon. Why? We wanted to go to an island that is not crowded with tourists, be it overnight or on day trips and Koh Bulon seemed to be the right choice. We also hoped for some decent snorkelling right off the beach. Off we went by minibus from Trang to Pakbara. From here it is easy to get a speed boat to Koh Bulon at midday. It was a pleasant speedboat ride for 1 hour till we had to change to a small local boat. Koh Bulon does not have a pier and the small local boats brought us right on the beach. ... read more
There is nothing special about Trang - but this makes it special!
Published: February 1st 2012Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Trang
January 12th 2012
Having been warned by a lot of travellers about recent delays of Air Asia and an overcrowded, chaotic LCCT in Kuala Lumpur we arrived quite early for the check in of our flight to Hat Yai in Thailand. And, what a surprise: empty departure halls at the LCCT, a quick check in and a flight that was even 5 minutes earlier! Not bad, not bad. The flight itself was nice and an hour later we arrived in Hat Yai. Being the cheapies we are, we did not want to take a cab to town. So we were looking for some public buses which should take us to the bus terminal in town. And we were lucky. As the buses are some small, blue songthaews, we had to wait for some more passengers which is quite hopeless ... read more
Dr. Fish relieved our aching feet in Kuala Lumpur
Published: January 27th 2012Asia » Malaysia » Wilayah Persekutuan » Kuala Lumpur
January 10th 2012
After our 50 hour journey we finally arrived in KL. Having been here exactly 1 year ago for 5 days it felt like coming home. We do not really know why, but we simply love this city. It is vibrating, colourful, has amazing food, people are (generally) ultrafriendly and it is a great asian melting pot. From the airport, the cheapest way to get into town is by bus directly to KL Sentral, the bus terminal. And that is what we did. From there we took the monorail to Bukit Bintang and it was a 5 minute walk to our hostel, the Rainforest Lodge. We have stayed here before and really liked it. Some rooms are small and windowless, but it is extremly clean and staff is incredably nice - a good deal in the center ... read more
A flight from Switzerland to Kuala Lumpur can take 50 hours - or: a chaotic stopover in Bahrain
Published: January 24th 2012Middle East » Bahrain » Manama
January 9th 2012
Finally, we were ready for a longer trip again. We were happy as hell! After having worked a lot in the last year, it was really time for us to leave our daily lifes in Switzerland for a while. Well, it was just for 2 weeks. But this is better than nothing. Having just made the first steps with our own company our budget and our time was limited. But we definitely needed a break and free our minds of all the business struggeling. Do not get us wrong, we love our business - but nothing can beat travelling. From Bern in Switzerland we took a 1,5 hours train ride to the airport of Geneva. It was our first flight with Gulf Air ever. The flight from Geneva to Bahrain was quite comfortable and short. Happily ... read more
Green christmas in the Black Forest
Published: December 29th 2011Europe » Germany » Baden-Württemberg » Bad Teinach-Zavelstein
December 29th 2011
(Deutsch siehe unten) This year, we had decided with our family that we wanted a relaxed and fun christmas time without the usual hassle and stress. That is why we all met in a very nice hotel in the northern part of the black forest, in Bad Teinach. We are not really used to staying in such a luxurious place but we have to admit that we quite enjoyed it. We - that was my mum Petra and Manuel, my granny Edith, our dear friend Cashlee, Miguel and the two of us. Unfortunately, it was the first christma in a lot of years without any snow. It was kind of strange celebrating green christmas in the Black Forest. Instead of doing some cross country skiing, we went for some nice walks through the countryside. Bad Teinach ... read more
Grindelwald - the famous village - a 1 hour drive from home
Published: September 18th 2011Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Grindelwald
September 18th 2011
Grindelwald, the famous village in the swiss mountains is just a 1 hour drive away from our home. Well, it is indeed a very touristic place, nevertheless we love to spend some time there as the landscape is amazing and there are still places where you can escape from the crowds. With this blog we would like to give other travellers tips where to go and what to do in this area. 1. If you want to go hiking or mountainbiking - that is the perfect place to be. There are a lot of great hikes in amazing surroundings. Even though it is very touristic, the trails around the First are easy and you have an amazing view. The Bachalpsee is a great spot to relax in this scenery. Very recommended is a 4-6 hours walk ... read more
holamundo
| Joined | May 18th 2008 | Trips | 3 |
| Last Login | May 25th 2012 | Followers | 7 |
| Status | BLOGGER | Follows | 40 |
| Blogs | 104 | Guestbook | 44 |
| Photos | 1,948 | Forum Posts | 21 |
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Holamundo!
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Trips
Discovering the southern hemisphere
July 31st 2008 -» July 28th 2009
Southeast Asia for the first time
October 18th 2010 -» January 21st 2011
Holiday break and CNY in Malaysia / Thailand
January 7th 2012 -» January 24th 2012
July 31st 2008 -» July 28th 2009
Southeast Asia for the first time
October 18th 2010 -» January 21st 2011
Holiday break and CNY in Malaysia / Thailand
January 7th 2012 -» January 24th 2012
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