After having completed a year in Australia in 2007 on exchange and internship, I returned to Australia in late 2010 to see if I could find a job. After having sent close to a million emails to various companies while still in the Netherlands I was offered the opportunity to work as a designer/developer at a small web company in Bondi Junction.
The two years that followed flew by and I was approaching the end of the 2 year visa. I wasn’t quite yet ready to return home and went to apply for the Australian residency. On viewing the list of occupations that Australia was after, I noticed that my exact field was not quite represented. The occupation that came closest was called “Develop Programmer” and I figured that if I had been mostly working as a developer and some of my uni subjects were about developing I might have a good shot going for this occupation.
I was wrong. The skills assessment came back negative as I didn’t have enough programming subjects in my uni curriculum. I had already submitted everything else so I was now on an automatic bridging visa. Because I didn’t have a positive results for my skills check I now had to withdraw my entire application and I had 28 days to leave the country.
I activated plan B, a one way ticket to Vietnam.
It was my first time to Asia. I’ll never forget the sight of thousands of motorbikes swarming likes bees, the humid air and the smell of the exhausts when I had arrived in central Ho Chi Minh. Asia is truly a sight to behold and it became my home for the next 6 months.
Cambodia
Angkor Wat
After spending the first couple of days in Ho Chi Minh I made my way to Pnomh Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. I soon traversed up to Siem Riep, the springboard city for visiting the famous Hindu temples of Angkor.
One of the many children roaming around the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Mostly collecting recyclables they could trade in for cash.
Sihanoukville
After I overheard mentions of an idyllic sea town in the south called Sihanoukville, I added it to my itinerary.
The sunset in Sihanoukville, in the South of Cambodia, a popular diving site.
Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh
After having spent two weeks in Cambodia, I returned to HCMC before I would start to travel north up the long thin country that is Vietnam.
The view from my hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.
A regular day-in-the-life moment on the streets of Ho Chi Minh.
Mui Ne
Four hours drive east from HCMC, beach town Mui Ne is a popular local holiday destination that happens to be also quite popular with Russians. It also has two sets of dunes that could make one believe to be in a subsaharan continent.
Rain clouds are developing behind the dunes in Mui Ne on the east coast of Vietnam.
After Ho Chi Minh, I took a bus north to Dalat, a small town located in the south of the central highlands. Known for lush hills, I intended to go on a hiking trip. When I found a local tourist company specialising in adventurous trips I was told that the hiking guide wasn’t available. Instead, I could go cycling for no extra charge. I agreed and it was fine.. although halfway I got a flat tire and had to wait for the rest of the afternoon for someone to come and fix it. Upon returning to the shop I was told that the price of cycling was actually much higher, while showing me a price list with the higher price. I was caught by surprise and I genuinely didn’t carry that much money with me. I told them I had to go back to my hotel to get more money.
Upon returning the elderly hotel receptionist asked me how the hiking was and I told her the story. She became furious and immediately picked up the phone to ring the tourist company. Yelling words in Vietnamese I couldn’t understand she eventually hung up and told me not to go back to give them the rest of the money. I didn’t dare.
Nha Trang
Next destination was Nha Trang, a city on the coast.
There were several elderly ladies trying to sell souvenirs along the path to the Long Song Pagoda in Nha Trang. I asked one of them if I could take a photo of her. She agreed but I completely forgot to turn off the flash and almost blinded her, making her jump in the air out of a reflex. I apologised profusely and she agreed with taking one more photo without the flash.
Hội An
Continuing to Hội An, a tiny photogenic town known for its Ancient centre with an 300 year old Japanese bridge crossing the Thu Bon river.
Children along the Thu Bon river in Hoi An sell floating candles to be placed on the river at night.
Various elderly skippers are doing their best to take tourists for a short ride over the Thu Bồn river. Our skipper didn’t speak a word English, but had a huge smile on his face with thumbs up every time we looked at him. Only one teeth left, his smile was contagious and he gracefully paddled us over the water.
Going further north I was often warned by the southerners to be careful. I didn’t quite know what they meant but I started noticing some subtle differences. Arriving in Hanoi, the bus driver got immediately in a physical fight with someone on the street and I was met by an army of people telling me there were no taxi’s. Ignoring them I discovered a queue of taxi’s just a bit further at the back. Not thinking much of it at the time, it turned out it set the tone for what was about to come. I started learning it was impossible to get a fair price for nearly anything. Every shop would inflate prices, every taxi’s meter was rigged and the only way to get a normal price was to go to official government run places, if I could find them, and finally, my phone was pickpocketed.
However, I was also lucky to meet some fantastic new friends and the historic value of so many buildings is priceless. The locals in the north just seemed a little less keen on rubbing shoulders with foreign visitors than the locals in the south were. But at the same time, there was so much to see that sparked my interest; the Old Quarter in Hanoi, the grand hills and rice terraces in Sapa, the remote mountains of Hà Giang etc. My first stop: Halong Bay.
Hạ Long Bay
Hạ Long Bay is known for the thousands of towering limestone islands reaching out of the water.
A tiny boat navigates the karst mountains of Halong Bay.
The karst mountains spread out over Halong Bay covered by a haze.
With a little less haze, the karst mountains rising from the waters in Halong Bay can be viewed more clearly.
Hanoi
After 3 days roaming around the waters of Hạ Long Bay I returned to Hanoi.
Rooftop tiles on top of the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.
Ha Giang
I had the opportunity to explore further north, entering the province of Ha Giang reaching all the way up touching the border with China.
I had previously never seen anything like the mountains in Ha Giang. They were simply breathtaking.
Rice terraces in Ha Giang, Vietnam.
Children often carried baskets on their backs with flowers sticking out.
Laos
After Hanoi, I traveled down south to Hue and from Hue to Savannakhet in Laos. From there I stopped in the capital city Vientiane for few days before I moved up to Vang Vieng.
Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng is a small town north of Vientiane, on the Nam Song River and is surrounded by limestone mountains similar to those in Ha Long Bay.
One of those moments where I had no idea whether a path would lead to somewhere with a nice view or not. This time it paid off big time and awarded me with a sunset that was hard to match.
Luang Prabang
I traveled further north to Luang Prabang, well known for its many temples and monasteries.
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Mount Phousi Monks
Laos
In the centre of the city, Mount Phousi looks over most of the town and the river. The north side of the path walking up this hill is lit with lights.
Kuang Si falls, located about 30 km’s south of Luang Prabang.
Kuang Si falls, located about 30 km’s south of Luang Prabang.
Sunset near Luang Prabang from the Mekong river.
Traditional Lao Khon dancers perform outside in Luang Prabang.
Upon returning to mount Mount Phousi this little ant illuminated by the setting sun caught my attention.
Thailand
Chiang Rai
From Luang Prabang I traveled to Chiang Rai in Thailand. I had to do a quick visa run to Myanmar to extend my visa.
Sunflowers along the road to Mae Sai, a town bordering with Myanmar, for a visa extension run.
Before I moved to Bangkok, my final destination of this trip, I was welcomed for a few days with the family of my ex-boss’s wife in Chaing Mai.
Bangkok
The capital of the land of the smiles.
Distinctive features of several rooftops inside the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
A monk passed by one of the many temples in the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
