We only spent 16 days in Cambodia and thus decided to focus only on two places: Phnom Penh & the Angkor Area near Siem Reap. Heidi also spent two days in Battambang.

There are many other places to see in Cambodia, but we had simply run out of time and had grown weary of changing place every other night after 11 months of traveling. Cambodia surely deserves more time to be discovered in depth.

We stayed one week in Phnom Penh, although three days would be enough to see the major sights. The Angkor area deserves a good week if you plan to see all the major sights at a leisurely pace. To our big surprise, the most famous and most well-know monument, Angkor Wat, did not rank number one among the many monuments we visited.

The highlights of this trip were:

(x) The “Jungle Temples” in the Angkor Area, especi...
Cambodia

We traveled the 30 days our visa permitted throughout China's southwestern provinces: Guangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan. This was definitely not enough! Nevertheless, we now know it can be easily done without a common language. This introduction to China also was an immense eye opener and some of the negative concepts we had of this country we corrected or simply vanished!

What was so different from the image we had and from what we actually expected? When thinking about China, which aspects will stay in our memories?

(x) Chinese people are very friendly, helpful and mostly open towards Westerners. (x) Communication was always possible, even though we do not speak a word of Chinese (ok, "Thank you", "Hello", "Rice"…). No matter where, we always found people eager to communicate, making great efforts to understand us and get...
China

After we first arrived in Hong Kong and moved around for a few hours, we were worried that staying for four days might be too long. Well, we were so wrong, we loved every minute of our stay and this is equally true for Macau

The only turn off was the difficulty and suspense involved in getting a visa for China. Looking back, it was quite funny, but being in thrown into a situation where all of a sudden all rules do not apply anymore was rather uncomfortable. We felt so very lucky to have this piece of paper in our passport, something that should not cause such emotions but should be normal procedure!

Hong Kong is an astonishing mix of an ultra-modern, efficient, squeaky clean city with huge skyscrapers, trendy restaurants and glamorous shopping centres on the one hand and a truly Asian feel on the other: narrow alleys...
Hong Kong

We traveled one month through Laos and truly enjoyed most of the places we visited. What immediately amazed us was how green this country is and that we could travel for hours without passing a village. But above all, it was the genuine friendliness of the Lao and their attitude towards their visitors that we found captivating. None of that pushy & constant “buy from me” business that you often see in other countries throughout the world!

Among the younger backpackers, we repeatedly heard “Laos is what Thailand was 20 years ago”. First of all, we think it is not true. Thailand then had many well known destinations even at that time. On the other hand, Laos only has two places with a fairly developed tourist infrastructure: Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, apart from the capital. Besides Laos should not be compared to Thailand, b...
Laos

We spent the last week of our Round The World Trip in Bangkok, which we both enjoyed and disliked… When thinking about Bangkok, these aspects will always stay in our memories:

(x) Congestions: we stayed at Woraburi Hotel deep down in Soi 4 where it was very quiet, but the intersection Soi 4 with Sukhumvit Road is a nightmare. It is congested with taxis, Tuk Tuks, street vendors, street kitchens, beggars and pedestrians. The noise from all these activities is superseded by the music from the bars. (x) The heat: during the day, it was even too hot to spend some time at the pool, since there was little shade. We felt engulfed by steaming hot air. Apart from the relentless sun, the heat seemed to be coming from everywhere: the car engines, the thousands of street kitchens and the zillions of air-conditioning units sucking hot air...
Thailand

Most of our friends and Gilles colleagues kept asking the same questions: 1) What was the trip like? 2) Which were our favorite places? 3) How much did it cost? 4) Will we organize a DiaShow?

Let’s try to answer them …

1) The first one is the hardest to answer. How do you explain that what we experienced exceeded all our expectations? That it was the best decision we took in our life? It is difficult to communicate that within one year (!) we encountered just a few minor problems, Heidi’s moneyless purse being snatched at a bus station, Gilles suffering from a cold. Any of these inconveniences could have happened to us in Vienna. What also makes it difficult to talk about the “overall experience” is that so few days after our return, the true dimension of our impressions has not really sunken in. Usually, it is in the...
Austria

We spent three weeks on the Cook Islands: altogether 9 days on Rarotonga, 7 on Aitutaki and 5 on Atiu. The Cook Islands were definitely a highlight in our trip and those Pacific Islands that matched our ideas of the South Seas.

The highlights of this trip were definitely:

(x) Riding our scooter around on Atiu on roads surrounded by thick lush primary rainforest and still hearing the waves breaking on the reef. (x) The many attractions on Atiu: to the different caves as well as the eco-tour with “Birdman George”, the historical tour with Papa Paiere or the visit to the coffee plantation with Juergen followed by the visit of the Atelier of Andrea. (x) The Lagoon Cruise in Aitutaki. (x) Riding our scooter on the back road on Rarotonga through the greenest possible vegetation, passing small plantations full of exotic frui...
Cook Islands

This week on the Easter Islands was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. We thought we would have lots of time to rest and do nothing spending a whole week on this island, but were very busy visiting the various events of the festival and the more famous sites of standing Moai. Besides, from midday to late afternoon, the sun is simply too strong for any major undertaking!

Of course, the highlights of the island are the Moai, their history and the many mysteries around them. What really surprised us was that even in the high season, you can enjoy the different sites in total quietness. The Rapa Nui Museum is a must stop before you set out to see the Moai, because there you find many explanations or at least theories as well as many pieces of information about this culture.

The other highlight definitely was th...
Easter Islands

We only spent 6 days in French Polynesia, four of them diving in Fakarava and two stopovers in Papeete. So our summery has to be seen in this context.

Diving in Fakarava is simply amazing, one of the most fascinating diving spots in the world. We marveled at the colorful fish and often felt as if swimming in the middle of an aquarium. However, what makes Fakarava so special are the many grey reef sharks that literally surround you at certain spots.

The Te Ava Nui Diving Center was a good choice: really cool staff but highly professional, security oriented and extremely knowledgeable. What else can you ask for? We are not very experienced divers, but managed with the great assistance of our instructors. There are strong currents and most dives go at least as deep as 30 to 32 meters. With a little more than 20 dives, we...
French Polynesia

Of the 40 days in New Zealand, we spent 4 weeks on the South Island and a little less than two weeks on the North Island. Initially New Zealand was not one of our top 10 destinations, but since everyone was sooo enthusiastic about this country, we felt we should decide for ourselves.

Our arrival was rather unpleasant as described in our first New Zealand entry on this website and it took almost a week until we caught the New Zealand fever. To be honest, it is almost impossible to resist the spectacular scenery: the green pastures dotted with sheep, the glaciers, the temperate rainforest, the fjords, the endless beaches, the volcanoes...

Travelling in New Zealand is easy is every respect: there is an immense choice of different types of accommodation, cheap car rentals and all this is well-organised and very service or...
New Zealand

We spent 74 days in Argentina, Chile & Uruguay and 54 in Argentina alone: since major points of interests are in nearby places in Chile or Uruguay, travelling in Argentina most certainly means crossing the borders into these countries.

In Argentina, we visited most of the classical tourist destinations: Buenos Aires, Misiones, Iguazu, the Andean Northwest, Mendoza, Peninsula Valdez, the Lake District, Southern Patagonia with El Calafate & El Chalten, and Tierra del Fuego. Add to this Chiloe, the cruise between Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine & Punta Arenas in Chile and Colonia & Montevideo in Uruguay, and we can say we almost visited it all!

Arriving in Argentina from Bolivia, were we spent two months, we were almost shocked as how “European” Argentina is! We truly wondered if we still were in Latin ...
Argentina

We simply fell in love with Bolivia … We planned to stay four weeks and spent almost seven there, which forced us to completely change the route for the rest of the trip!

What did we like so much in Bolivia?

(x) The immense diversity you find in a relatively small area (well, only twice as big as France): deserts, cold, wind-swept Altiplano, a hot and humid rainforest, Mediterranean-like cities, wine growing Tarija … The landscape is simply breathtaking! (x) It is surely the country in South America with the strongest and most vivid indigenous traditions. Even in La Paz, especially women wear traditional dresses, all shopping is done at colorful markets and you hear almost only traditional and folkloric music … The east of the country, places like Sucre or Santa Cruz, are quite different in this regard, more modern an...
Bolivia

Those impressions will always stay in our mind when thinking of Brazil:

(x) Its immense ethnic diversity: a Brazilian may look like somebody from Stockholm, from Spain, from Lagos, from Karachi, from Hanoi or from La Paz. Once we were riding the metro in Sao Paulo and looking around we decided nobody could just guess which country they were in! (x) The friendly and open-minded people of Brazil. (x) Some of the most incredible beaches. (x) Thumbs up or two thumbs up, without this Brazilians could not communicate agreement. (x) People are fascinated by cheesy “Telenovellas” (TV-series) just like in Venezuela. TVs can be found everywhere: in shops, in restaurants, in bus stations, at food stalls of street vendors, in doctor’s waiting rooms, at a car mechanics, etc … (x) Despite being some of the biggest cities in the world, Sao...
Brazil

Since we “only” spent 16 days in southern Chile, we do not want to do this country any injustice, but except the spectacular scenery in Torres del Paine and the fjords on the way to Puerto Natales, we have not many unforgettable memories.

There are many things that surprised us and at times even disturbed us. Firstly, the country is really expensive, especially accommodation and shopping for food. Secondly, the weather is rather unpleasant: it rains a lot and it is windy, even when the sun is out. Moreover, it tends to be chilly, far more than Argentina on the same latitude. That is of course the influence of the cold Pacific Ocean…Thirdly, the smaller cities we saw (Castro, Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas) all had rather strange vibes: houses made of wood with thin sheets of metals nailed onto them, ...
Chile

Peru is the third country we have visited in South America, after Venezuela and Brazil. These three countries on the same continent are actually three totally distinct worlds. Differences are huge!

Those impressions will always stay in our mind when thinking of Peru:

(x) Our disgust and anger about what the Catholic Church did in the name of god in South America in the time of Conquistadores, destroying systematically one of the greatest cultures in history! Considering the Pope’s comments during his last visit in South America, saying that the indigenous population desired the arrival of Christianity, the position of the Church remains more than cynical and definitely unacceptable! (x) Coming from Brazil where you find an immense ethnic diversity, Peru has a surprisingly homogeneous population, with a very high perce...
Peru

It was only on the second day that we discovered the real gems of this city when we took the bus all the way through the city to Playa Pocitos. This beach can easily compete with most beaches in Rio de Janeiro like the world famous Copacabana, except that it is less crowded. It has very shallow waters for a about a hundred meters, ideal for families.

After taking photos of the mellow beach scene, we strolled back through the barrio of Villa Biarritz with its nice houses, high apartment buildings and huge palms creating a kind of “Paseo” by separating the two lane streets in the middle.

During this walk an elderly couple saw us studying our map and immediately offered their assistance. Well, we were hungry and in the midst of a residential area, which left us with little options. But the couple pointed out a huge shopp...
Uruguay

We spent 3 weeks in Venezuela in August 2007 and concentrated on the National Parks in the east of the country: the Orinoco Delta, Cainama & Angel Falls and Roraima. Of course like most tourists we were concerned about security but must say we never had any negative experience and never met anybody who had.

Venezuela’s main assets are its national parks and its natural wonders. We would rank Roraima top even though physically highly challenging, then Canaima & Angel Falls, actually a must when visiting Venezuela, and the Orinoco Delta. To visit the last one only pays off if you stay a Warao village and watch the activities all day. Travelling up and down one of the many rivers in the delta is exciting in the beginning but becomes rather boring, since the scenery does not change much. Also there is not a whole lot of wild life...
Venezuela