From Koh Lanta we made Trang by minibus employing ferry two times in three hours. Having lunch there we transferred to another minibus and travelled another three hours for Hat Yai. Instead of 3 o’clock they put us to another minibus at 5 pm to Penang. At around 7 pm we were at the border under heavy rain. Almost no formalities at the border. We reached Penang at 10 pm in George Town. George Town is old part of Penang Island where one can feel the British colonial. Malaysia has developed a lot. It is like a western country with her [View Full Entry]

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We were planning to go to The Little Mermaid Hotel on Kata Beach. At the minibus a Swedish lady recommended us the same hotel but she insisted that the hotel was on Karon Beach. By her guidance we dropped at Karon Beach. At the first glance we didn’t like the hotel. But we stayed one week at that hotel and it was perfect with western management. Most of the guests were from Scandinavian countries. We paid 695 TBaht per night additional 200 TBaht for buffet continental breakfast. The hotel is very near to the beach. Try to prefer the back rooms [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everybody, We bought a joint ticket (bus and ferry) at Koh Samui for Krabi (paid 450 TBaht, each) . When we reached to Krabi the bus left us in an isolated port where it was also a bus station. We could’t move anywhere and they forced us to rent a taxi to Ao Nang , 400 TBaht. They tried to sell guest house in the bus station. We refused all and outside we got into a taxi who brought passengers from Ao Nang and we paid only 50 TBaht each. In Ao Nang we stayed in a nice hotel , [View Full Entry]

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Sawas-dii (hello), Leaving Chiang Mai we arrived early morning at Bangkok. We locked our luggage at the train station and went to Qatar Airways to pre-pone our flight early April but unfortinately we could only book for 15th April paying extra 50 euros. Gunay had her hair cut in a beauty salon. She was very much pleased with her hair cut and the price . The care they paid for her was ultimate. In the afternoon we went to Khao San road again to refresh our memories. The same day by night train we reached to Surat Thani and then by [View Full Entry]

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On arrival Chiang Mai we settled in a very comfortable guest house; Mandala House with internet in the room and very clean. In Chaing Mai we took two tours: One was full day tour to elephant camp, bambu rafting, ox cart riding, orchid and butterfly farms. As you will see from the pictures our tour members ; one Chinese, two Canadian, two from U.S.A. and we two Turks had a lot of fun. As for the other half day tour we went to the famous temple on the hill and hilltribe village who settled there 150 years ago from South of [View Full Entry]

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The road between Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang has continuing sharp turns going up and down almost 6 hours.We took this road by minibus.Because of the road stress we had pain on our muscles. Luang Prabang is an old capital of Laos with simple architecture and many tens of temples. Every temple has a different name. The city is full of monks and their pray begins at 06 am. The temple on the top of a hill in the city has 323 steps to reach and when you reach to the temple they charge you 5 USD for a couple. There [View Full Entry]

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Vientiane is a peaceful city,little traffic, less people, quite quality shops,no insist from sellers, no hurry no worry, slowly slowly. Lao PDR stands for ‘Peoples Democratic Republic ‘ has been converted among tourists as ‘Please Don’t Rush’. We wandered around the city two days. We travelled to Vang Vieng on 3rd March by bus . We stayed at a nice resort, Thavonsouk Resort (25USD incl.breakfast). The next day we took a kayaking tour and we left Vang Vieng on 5th for Luang Prabang. This time pictures may express the visits beter than words. [View Full Entry]

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In 12 hours we arrived at Hanoi from Hue by sleeper bus. A very busy and noisy city. But the life is not so difficult, once you learn how to cross the busy roads. Most of the touristic activities concentrated nearby the Hoan Kiem Lake. We stayed at Sunshine 2 Hotel at the very center. We took a city tour the first day, then we wandered around the lake by cyclo; a bicycle like tranport. Shops are very rich in variety and possible to find fakes of the brand marks in very cheap prices. But the real ones are extremely expensive. [View Full Entry]

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The main reason to visit Hue is the citadel of the old capitol, along with the royal tombs scattered around the countryside. In 19th century and untill the mid 20th century Vietnam was ruled by French Authority. In Vietnam war during the 1968 Tet offensive there was heavy fighting in Hue, and much of it was concentrated in the area of the citadel. Consequently much of it was damaged. The Imperial Citadel, along with the splendid tombs of the Nguyen emperors and notable pagodas in Hue city, were recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site since 1993. Hue city was the [View Full Entry]

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The sleeper bus was comfortable enough for 10 hours night journey. We spent three beautiful days in Nha Thrang. The first day we enjoyed La Louisiana, a beach club with a pool, serving western type. We entered our Saigon blog there. The second day we went to Mud and Spring Center on the nearby mountains. They are selling hope there. We thought to have a silky skin after the bath but the reality is not so.They are even selling dried and packed mud. Anyhow we had a very nice time at the hot springs.We went to the hot springs by taxi [View Full Entry]

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