Websites we like to use

Hello ,

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after we have already made our experiences with corresponding recommendations from the Internet, we can pass on these sites listed here with a clear conscience.

Over time, we will continue to add to this table.

Legend:

=accommodation; =Transportation; =Travel information.

LINKBemerkungen
www.russlande.deRussland; Mehr braucht man für eine klassische Russlandreise mit der TransSib oder einen Russlandbesuch nicht! Schritt für Schritt alles erklärt Visum, Sehenswürdigkeiten,usw. Super!
www.realrussia.co.ukKomplette Zugbuchung von Moskau nach Peking. Sorglospaket. Guter Support.
www.skyscanner.deFlugbuchungen ... bisher unproblematisch und meist die günstigsten Flüge im Angebot.
www.booking.comSilkes Favorit ... durch häufige Buchungen entsprechenden Status mit Bonus. Vergleichen aber auch auf anderen Portalen.
www.tripadvisor.comOrientierung zum Essen aber auch als Info für Ausflugsziele mit Bewertungsportal
www.auswertiges-amt.deAllgemeine Länderinformationen und Reisewahrnungen
www.zugreiseblog.deZugreiseblog; Backpacking, Work and Travel, usw.

Reiner

Hanoi, Water Puppet Theatre, Eggcoffee

Today we had tickets for the Water Puppet Theatre Hanoi. Directly at the entrance there is a ticket machine in English! Series G 150,000 Dong pP. There are several performances daily a about 60 min. The theatre is bigger than I thought. The stage is made of water. Left and right are galleries with musicians and singers.

There was even a dragon boat race to watch! Then we drank an egg coffee. A specialty of Hanoi. Espresso with whipped egg and sugar! Tastes even! Afterwards we did a few more tasks and in the evening we went out for dinner!

Silke

Hanoi, arrival in Vietnam, suddenly millionaire

We arrived by night train from Nanning across the border to Hanoi (Gia Lam). At night we had to get out of the train twice with all our luggage and through the respective customs control. For the time being, we entered Vietnam without a visa. The date for 15 days of stay from entry was stamped on the passport. We have requested an extension to 30 days in our hostel. The passports go to the Immigration Department and will hopefully return to the hostel in about 3 business days. As long as it has to work without a passport or with a copy of it.

 

We also bought Sim cards for our smartphones and booked two excursions. All about our hostel ( Golden Time Hostel 3) where Judy from the reception advised us very competently and friendly in English. We have also taken off several million Vietnamese dong. Course 1,000,000 Dong = 37.80 Euro. Here is almost every millionaire! Only the 5th ATM worked with our VISA Card. Other tourists did the same. At HSBC Bank, you can use up to 8million. Dong per booking. In other institutes only 2 – 3 mill.! Hanoi is lively and warm (28 degrees). After a shower and "tyre change" on sandals we strolled through the city center. In the evening we were eating on the rooftop of a restaurant. At a happy hour beer we got to know a nice Austrian couple and had a good conversation. You will also travel through Asia for 6 months.

Silke

Nanning

Since our night train had only departed at 18:05, we deposited our luggage in the hotel and looked around A Little In Nanning!

In daylight, the impression was much friendlier! Not far from the hotel and train station we discovered a large food market, where there was a lot of interesting things to admire and buy. Up a small mountain and you are in the “People Park” . Admission free of charge. The Chinese feed fish in the lake or ride roller skates in a hall. The children play in the sand, catch soap bubbles or ride a carousel in the small amusement park (10-20 yuan per trip). Or they just walk in the park like we do!

Silke

We are flashpackers!

By the way, we travel as “flashpackers”. Flashpacker?. This kind of traveling differs from the “backpackers” by a slightly higher standard. So e.g. double room with private bathroom, instead of dormitory and plane/train instead of bus. So one takes gladly also times an upgrade if it offers itself and no gigantic price difference makes.

Equipped with mobile network, smartphone and laptop we are usually well connected. We also book organized excursions and like to follow a restaurant recommendation instead of just street food.

Most of the flashpackers are already middle-aged (around Ü30) and have saved up a corresponding budget. Nevertheless, the common goals are almost identical. To get to know different cultures, to experience the country, people, nature and wildlife, or to explore vibrant cities and spontaneously celebrate a party. Every day is a little adventure.

For the sake of completeness, we should mention the campers, who also explore the world for months, with their own 4 walls!

We are in any case happy to have the choice to close the door behind us after an exciting day in the evening to let the experienced pass in review.

More precise definitions can be found on the web, e.g. at Wikipedia.

Reiner

Guilin – Nanning, Streetfood

And once again we moved on. 11:52 – 14:17 Express train D8409. In Nanning we received 26 degrees of sultry heat. From the long-distance station we took the subway to the main station for about 60 minutes. If you spend a few days longer here, you should not look for accommodation in the area. At the moment a high road is being built and everything is construction site, dark and gloomy.

For dinner we bought fruit and Reiner at a street stall a kind of mixture between crépes and roller blind.

Silke

City walk Guilin, twin pagodas Riming Shuang Ta

Today we strolled through Guilin in somenic weather. The city is laid out around the karst hills and you can walk nicely along the river and lake shores. We have climbed the moon and sun pagodas (there is also an elevator), which do not look quite like at night during the day. After sunset, a light show is also ignited here. Buildings, stretches of the banks, the Elephant Trunk Mountain and the pagodas are illuminated in a colourful way. We have been at the Vienna Hotel in the 6th Stock on the terrace of the restaurant a little drunk. The view there is really very good. ( Photo )

On the way to the taxi we watched for a while a training session for a martial arts choreography. Looked quite good.

Silke

Ps.: Yesterday Reiner, by the way, took a night shift and edited our page. If you click on a photo now you get to see a better quality because it is linked to the database!

Guilin Reed flute Cave / Schilfflötenhöhle

Since today it was the purest “washing kitchen weather”, we went to the Reed flute Cave (90 yuan pP.) from our hotel only 1.5 km away. In other weather conditions we would have walked in the rice terraces. We were surprised by a huge cave. Although it is very colourfully illuminated, subtly sonicated with music and birdsong, it is still an overwhelming wonder of nature, with a large lake, and stalagmites and stalagtites created over millions of years, some of which are reminiscent of figures or flowers, and also have names such as.B.” “Snowman”. The cave is also known as “The Palace of Natural Arts”. On the walls you can find 1000-year-old characters! In the large hall, a light show is shown every few minutes on the ceiling, including dragons, dinosaurs and mammoths. On a screen, a pair of ballets dance to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, reflected in the lake.

We were partly alone in the sections and let ourselves be enchanted. But we could have saved the little extra cave with the turtles (10 yuan). In our personal opinion, it is not appropriate to be kindly suited to the species! 

Silke