Asia
Last year, we spent 6 weeks in Vietnam as part of our six-month backpacking trip. If we started with the idea of staying within a budget, we quickly realised that we didn’t want our trip to be entirely dictated by money. After Hawaii, we kept our budget loose, without going crazy either, even if it meant that we needed to re-think our itinerary.
As you might know it, Japan has a special place in my heart. Before spending a month there, I had barely wondered what this country would offer me and I truly had no expectations, my mind being busier thinking about how it was one of Simon’s dreams to visit it. I knew I would love Hawaii for example and I did of course, but I had no idea that I would love Japan which made my experience even more intense.
Last year, we spent a whole month in Thailand as part of our six-month backpacking trip. If we started with the idea of staying within a budget, we quickly realised that we didn’t want our trip to be entirely dictated by money. We kept our budget loose, without going crazy either, even if it meant that we needed to re-think our itinerary.
As much of an effort as it has always been for me to use social networks ever since we created this blog, it is undeniable that they have been taking a more and more important place in our lives. We are getting caught in a race to display perfect pictures to show off what we own or experience.
We absolutely loved Vietnam, where we spent six weeks, visiting my brother in Ho Chi Minh and exploring other cities. I have gathered here some of our best pictures from our stay in this beautiful country and which depict slices of life, in other words, moments of the ordinary life through scenes in the streets of Vietnam. These pictures bring great memories to us and represent some of the aspects of life there.
Sri Lanka is one of our favourite destinations. We love the people, the food, the landscapes. We spent close to 3 weeks there and had a blast. Discovering a new culture always comes with surprises and anecdotes that you remember for a long time. Here are some stories that punctuated our stay.
Last year, we spent a whole month travelling Japan. While it had been a dream for Simon to visit the country, I personally didn’t expect too much from it. The idea of swarming streets and giant buildings never sounded so attractive to me. I was eventually won over by people’s kindness and their culture.
Here are some things that we learned while in the country and that you might not know either.
A lifetime wouldn’t be enough to discover everything a country, as small as it might be, has to offer. In three weeks (19 days precisely), we wanted to be able to see a bit of everything that makes Sri Lanka such a diverse country. We came up with an itinerary combining cultural aspects and outdoor wonders from tea plantations to the seaside.
We knew Japan would be expensive so we initially had a budget of $95 per day. We quickly decided that we didn’t want our trip to be entirely dictated by a budget so we kept it loose, without going crazy either. We were able to more or less stick to it, spending close to $110 per day (or $55 per person). We were surprised to notice that we spent almost the same as in Hawaii, where we flew from, but without restricting ourselves as much.
Since we’re travelling as a couple, the averages described below are for two people per day and are actually rounded up.
Kyoto was the first city that we visited in Japan and it became our favourite too. We were lucky enough to arrive just before the end of the cherry blossom season which gives the town some magical tone. We were also especially struck by how kind people were with us. It happened more than once that locals came to help us when we were lost (in public transportation among others!) although they didn’t speak a word of English.
