Laos food and drinks - typical Lao dishes and what to eat in Laos

LAOS food & drinks | typical lao dishes and what to eat in Laos

KatjaFOOD + RECIPES, LAOS Leave a Comment

We were so happy to see FRENCH BAGUETTE, the first thing I ordered when we arrived into Luang Prabang was a TUNA SANDWICH. I would most certainly not do that if we were not already travelling for weeks and I really missed good BREAD for breakfast. Red wine was still too luxurious for our pockets, but 600mL BEER LAO made up for that. We loved STICKY RICE, PAPAYA SALADS, FISH and fresh FRUITS. We even got used to the FISH SAUCE taste. Surprisingly there were lots of INDIAN RESTAURANTS, so when we got sick of rice, we went there for some naan. So, here are a few Lao culinary specials.

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Laos-Asia-travel-backpacking

LAOS | 3 weeks backpacking from the north to the south

KatjaLAOS Leave a Comment

We didn´t know if it´s Tuesday or Wednesday and we did not even care. WE HAD ALL THE TIEM IN THE WORLD, well at least until our plane left from Bangkok. We started our SE ASIAN TRIP in CAMBODIA, travelled through VIETNAM from the south to the north, where we crossed the border to LAOS. We had no plan where in Laos we wanted to go and where we will cross the border to Thailand, so we just took it day by day. Everything was PEACEFUL in Laos – no mad horn beeping, not much traffic on the road, naked children were running around in small villages, sometimes we shared outside bathrooms with pigs, the electricity was often shut off in the evenings. In other words, it was exactly like some other countries were years before. It was great.

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Cambodia backpacking trip 7 days Siem Reap Battambang Angkor Wat Phnom Penh

CAMBODIA | 1 week low budget backpacking from Phnom Penh to Battambang, Tonle Sap lake, Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

KatjaCAMBODIA Leave a Comment

Cambodia was first up on OUR LONGER SE ASIA TRIP on which we also visited VIETNAM, LAOS and a small part of THAILAND. We flew in to Phnom Penh from Europe via BKK and tried to survive the first couple of days not getting hit by a motorbike crossing the road. We learned soon enough the best way to do it is to be patient and wait for the right moment or even better – just follow the locals. Always walk steadily and do not panic. Once you´ve mastered that, you are all ready to go out and explore.

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Vietnam food and drinks - typical Vietnamese dishes and what to eat in Vietnam

VIETNAM food & drinks | typical Vietnamese dishes and what to eat in Vietnam

KatjaFOOD + RECIPES, VIETNAM Leave a Comment

One evening in Ho Chi Minh City we wanted to try something truly Vietnamese. We saw a very nice restaurant, so we decided to give it a try. It was extremely expensive compared to what we would normally pay for food and we were not quite sure what we ordered as the waitress couldn´t speak English so good. She brought us the food and we thought it´s just the appetizer. We even said to ourselves something like “wow, that´s quite a lot of food for an appetizer”. Well, it turned out this was it – this was the main dish, for the both of us. Rice cakes with shrimps, pork paste in banana leaf and something with rice. Hm, tasted good, but we left hungry.

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VIETNAM | 2 weeks backpacking from the south to the north

KatjaVIETNAM Leave a Comment

Coming in to HO CHI MINH CITY from CAMBODIA was a pretty EASY BUS RIDE and the BORDER CHECK was rather quick. After staying in the city a couple of days and exploring the MEKONG DELTA we moved on towards the north. Altogether it was about a month and we ate so many delicious new food, the COUNTRYSIDE IS SO DIVERSE that you almost forget what you have all seen when you come to the end. From BIG TOWNS with GREAT HISTRORY to BEACHES, JUNGLES, RICE FIELDS and LIMESTONE ISLANDS. It´s more developed and more expensive than Cambodia, but still relatively cheap. There are also, much more tourists here. We had some inconveniences with the locals trying to get money out of us, at times being also quite persistent and even AGGRESSIVE. And the officials often did not not know important information. And again, there was the “CROSSING THE ROAD” problem, but it did seem a bit more organized than in Phnom Penh for instance. We successfully escaped all the Buzz and Fuss and spend a few great days in the NINH BINH area, cycling around the fields and enjoying the nature.

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ICELAND | 10 days road trip around the island on the Ring Road

KatjaICELAND 2 Comments

I never thought I would end up spending my main summer holidays in Iceland, but it just so happened at the end. I did not know much of the country, since I would in general always prefer to go some place warm and sunny, but I must admit, the more I read about it the more I was intrigued. This land of countless waterfalls, mighty volcanoes and glaciers, geothermal springs, geysers, strange language with names of towns nobody can pronounce, expensive food and moody weather made me totally forget that I traded the pleasant 30 C back home for 9-15C for the next 10 days. Once we were there there was no doubt anymore – this was one of the best trips ever! I was more than positively surprised by these amazing landscapes. There were many firsts on this trip and we could easily spend much more time there without getting bored.

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NAMIBIA | 3 weeks circular road trip with a rented car

KatjaNAMIBIA, SAFARI 4 Comments

When you think of NAMIBIA, what comes to your mind? Not much, hm? Well, I had similar asociations. I knew where it is geographically, but I had no clue what is there to explore, other than wildlife. Once we were there, it was mindblowing, how many DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES and impressions this country has to offer. In about 3 WEEKS we saw Africa´s biggest CANYON, played football with the kids in TOWNSHIPS, followed dinosaur tracks, touched the largest known METEORITE ever fallen on Earth, climbed the red dunes of SOSSUSVLEI, explored the barren coastline, silently observed WILDLIFE in ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK, ate worms and “Apfelkuchen”, walked through abandoned towns and lively MARKETS and much more.

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Malaysia travel with a rented car fmr Kuala Lumpur to Taman Negara and Perhentian islands

MALAYSIA | 10 days road trip with a rented car and beach holiday

KatjaMALAYSIA | BORNEO Leave a Comment

After having a really fantastic time on BORNEO, we landed in KUALA LUMPUR and had another 10 days to explore the MALAYSIAN PENINSULA. We decided to RENT A CAR and drive as much as it was possible, we did have to take a few BOAT rides though. The road took us from the capital to the historical city of MELACCA and further on to TAMAN NEGARA NP, where we spend a few days in the RAINFOREST. Afterwards it was (finally) time to hit the BEACH at CHERATING. We drove the whole way along the coast up to the town of BESUT, where we hopped on a fast boat to PERHENTIAN ISLANDS, to relax at the end of the trip.

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Borneo Malaysia 10 days backpacking things to see and do

BORNEO, Malaysia | 10 days backpacking from south to north

KatjaMALAYSIA | BORNEO Leave a Comment

We STARTED OUR MALAYSIAN TRIP by flying directly to the third largest island in the world, BORNEO. The largest part of it belongs to INDONESIA, the smallest part is a country called BRUNEI and all the rest is under MALAYSIA. The island´s biggest treasure is one of the OLDEST RAINFORESTS in the world, with an AMAZING FLORA AND FAUNA. A real jungle, which made Borneo one of the most exciting travel destinations, we got the chance to visit so far.

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INDIA | from the south to the north in pictures

KatjaINDIA 2 Comments

They all say you either love it or hate it – in my case, it was clear I love it already when I was about 5 years old. Even though I was never actually there back then, I was crazy about all the shiny, rattling and glittering gifts my aunt brought me and I always wanted to visit this mysterious country where elephants ruled the streets and you were allowed to eat with hands. Besides, Mowgli was also living there and Jungle Book was one of my favourite bedtime stories. Finally, in 2005 it was time to absorb all of India´s smells and colours.

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