Nature
Kandy is said to be the only real big city, other than Colombo, in Sri Lanka. Ella, on the other hand, seemed to be a very quiet and relaxing place. It quickly became obvious that we would include them both in our Sri Lanakan itinerary.
We went to the nonetheless nice city of Hanoi mainly as a starting point to explore beautiful Ha Long Bay, both as a cruise and what is called the terrestrial part of it, Tam Coc.
Mui Ne is located in South East Vietnam and it’s a real paradise. It’s a small, quaint but touristic town that’s developing fast and I’m sure if we were to go back in a couple of years, it would look completely different. It’s the perfect destination to take a break from the big city of Ho Chi Minh, where we stayed for a whole month. We spent a weekend there with my brother and his girlfriend and we loved it, we were able to fully relax and just enjoy.
After almost four months of travelling, we were starting to feel some kind of burn out – all the temples looked more or less the same, we were a bit less excited about all the new things that surrounded us and more than anything else, we were exhausted all the time.
When you think of Hawaii, you may think first of paradise beach, clear waters and palm trees. You will definitely find it all on Oahu. You can have a look at our Oahu beach guide to get some ideas. As beautiful as Hawaiian beaches are, you may also want to see other things after a while. And the island has so much to offer, from hikes to water falls and gardens, there is always something new to see.
Diamond Head crater is one of the most famous landmark in Honolulu and is very popular. Although I did have a hard time walking uphill, the hike is not that difficult and is even accessible by children.
We spent 3 weeks on Oahu island while in Hawaii so even if we can’t claim that we have seen all the beaches, we had time to explore a good portion of it.
Simon has been having a lot of fun with his camera since we left and today, I would like to put forward some of his pictures.
Laure and I spent the day at Waimea Valley, a sacred place to the Hawaian natives. Located near the windward side of the north shore of oahu, this short hike includes a 1,875 acre botanical garden filled with native plants, rebuilt huts/cooking houses and several endangered birds. The 3/4 mile trail ends with a beautiful waterfall that tourists are encouraged to swim under once they arrive.
Belle-Ile is an island off the south coast of Brittany. It has a special place in my heart and is definitely one of my very favorite places in France as I spent many summers there with my family since I was a child. Its name in French translates litterally to “beautiful island” and it is often qualified as “well-named” (Belle-Ile la bien nommée in French). Between country side, wild coast and gorgeous beaches, it has nothing to envy to tropical islands… ok maybe the heat!
