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The last 5 weeks on the South Island we took our “White House” not only to the major but also secondery roads. We sometimes felt being the only ones in this country. From Milford Sound we drove along the South Coast and then drove up the East Coast where we stayed in one of our favorite small towns: Omara. Its a cosy, authentic town with historical buildings, nice art galleries and breweries. What was amazing there is that we could see the Yellow Eyed Pinguins. We had to wait 3 hours and were very cold but it was worth waiting and seeing them walking on the beach after a long day fishing, very cute!

Then we crossed the the island via the Arthurs pass to the westcoast and its crazy how the nature changes every half hour and also the weather does.

The last 3 days we did Couch surfing at Marcela and Carlos place in Christchurch. This amzing colombien couple welcomed us to stay with them for 3 nights. After one month sleeping in the car we really enjoyed having a bed, a good shower and a proper kitchen. We even succeeded in making our first bread, yammmy!!

Now we are in the north, discovering that part of island!

Enjoy the pictures!!!

Big hugs

Emi and Patrick

The West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand is stunning and spectacular.

You can drive for hours and you’ll never be annoyed by its scenery and wilderness. Most of the time we camp close to the sea, a river or a lake for swimming and having a shower, bath at the same time. It is great to wake up at night and see the stars and waking up in the morning with seals or Keas ( alpine parrots) in front of our car. We manage to cook outdoors with a small gas stove, the sole problem is sometimes rain, the cold or worse the dracula of the South Island: the Sand Flys….very annoying and itchy!!!!

A couple of days ago it was Emilies birthday and she treated herself with a skydive. For dinner beers and a huge hamburger with Erin and Ian were the party ingredients.

Yesterday we went to the most touristic but at the sametime really beutiful Milford Sound fiord. On a cruiseship we came close to seals and huge waterfalls and were enjoying the steep cliffs and mountains.

By the way: for the ones being interested why the inhabitants are called KIWIS: its not the fruit but the national bird being active at nightime. The Kiwi has a round shape and a long peak.

Here some more pictures we took of the nature, also under PORTFOLIO I pictures have been added.

Cheers, Emilie and Patrick

Welcome to the country where there is more sheep than inhabitants!!

Since two weeks we fully enjoy the south island of NZ, simply amazing! Ten days ago we got a new friend, we call it “The White House”. Its our home and takes us from A to B….our rental car. Up to now we drove 2000km already and started along the east coast up north and now we are driving on the west coast down to the south. It is easy to camp in the middle of nowhere, we have the choice between wild beaches and tropical jungle. If you ask yourself what NZ looks like? We would answer it with: a mix of Avatar and The Lord Of The Rings.

We had many great moments already. We swam with wild Hector and Dusky dolphins, crossed big sand dunes, went kayaking and met seals and pinguins, sooo cute and unforgettable.

Here some pictures of the last 2 weeks:

We arrived 3 days ago to the south of Mauritius, just a 20mn flight from La Reunion. This week we especialy enjoy as my parents are with us! It is great to see them again after 9 months and spending time here with them.

Right now it could not be better!!!

Its good to be home after 4 years. We are very busy visiting all relatives celebrating birthdays, births, national holidays and christmas. Its funny to celebrate christmas in the tropics but at the same time a big party with lots of food, dancing and fire works, really loved being around Emilies family! Te blog has been ad acta for a while dur to all this gatherings and celebrations…..but we are back reporting from our travel.

A couple of days ago Emilie went paragliding and had the perfect conditions for a 40 minutes flight from the mountain to the coast of La Reunion. Its not my favorite so I prefered taking pictures from below.

Here some snapshots:

Do you know a better place to have a drink? Mirissa

Nooooooo…. tomorrow we will leave Sri Lanka! The second half of our journey in Sri Lanka was also amaaaaaaazing! We loved it at least as much as the first part focusing on the beach life in the east and south coast of the island.

We had an unforgettable day during a Whale watching tour in Mirissa where we spent our last 4 days! Together with Ludwig and Lena from Munich we saw Bryde whales, around 50 Spinner dolphins swimming in front of our boat, so beautifuuuul,  the Blue whale (the biggest animal in the world) and the very rare Orca! These Killer whales have been seen only 6 times in the past 6 years as the water in the Indian ocean is much warmer then the northern seas ( Alaska, Canada, Norway) where they usually live. They only come to these waters to hunt the Blue whale babys.

Every evening we spent at the beach and what could be better than fresh fish? On our menu were Yellow Fin Tuna, Dorade, Red Snapper, Sea Chicken ( right it really tastes like chicken), Giant Scampi and Lobster! DELICIOUS.DELICIOUS.DELICIOUS.

If you are not sure if India is the right place for you then Sri Lanka may be the one!

We really enjoyed it and do strongly recommend visiting this stunning island!

Stay tuned, the updated travel map will be available shortly!

Tea plantation, Haputale

What a wonderful surprise Sri Lanka is!!!

We were expecting little India but except of the similarity of the people, the island has nothing to do with it’s close neighbour. Sri Lanka is more developed and structured making travelling very easy, safe and pleasant.    Again, also here, the people are amazing, we love their happy faces smiling at us….Emilie is the smaller sister of them all.

Within 10 days we watched wild elephants chasing us ( soooo cute anyhow), took amazing steam trains through lush, unforgettable nature with tea plantations, waterfalls, bridges and mountains and are now in the middle of the country, Ella, in a family homestay where monkeys, giant squirrels, bats and mosquitos surround us…..just magical!!!

Last we think that the food deserves to be mantioned ( French gourmet on board:) as the country offers very deliscious and unforgettable spicy dishes, a true delight.

Here our first pictures plus the pictures under PORTFOLIO I – njoy! If you wonder what Patrick has on it’s head, it’s two stichtes as a result of changing the mosquito net in the guest house last week. He is feeling good after a visit to the goverment hospital, treated like a VIP!

Shwedagon pagoda, Yangon

Arriving in Myanmar after only one hour flight, coming from high tech, fancy, chaotic Bangkok, is like traveling back in time. The first thing to notice arriving at night is the lack of light, the simplicity, an immediate “Indian”like flair with different smells….a country with lots of charm! Especially the poeple are incredibly nice, sweet and helpful in Myanmar. We as touristis felt like welcoming attractions!

One thing is for sure: if Myanmar is on your “to do travel list” don’t wait too long to visit as the country is changing really fast. Due to increasing tourism it may lose its authenticity quickly. The good news: probably WIFI will improve :)

Our highlights were:

1. Shewdagon Pagoda in Yangon. We spent 3 hrs admiring this 100m high golden Pagoda ( coated with 750kg of GOLD, 5000 diamonds and 2000 rubies). Breathtaking also because the pagoda was surrounded by thousands of candles, magical!

2. Teak U Bein Bridge: the longest teakwood bridge in the world. Our most beautiful sunset so far, really kitsch but sooooo romantic.

3. difficult to decide so two destinations:
A. Trekking in Hispaw where we slept in a traditional family home and visited different villagers.
B. Inle Lake on a small boat where we could see the traditional fishermen, water villages and temples.

We spent only 2 weeks in Myanmar as especially the accomodation was expensive considering being around the world travelers. If you compare the quality of rooms and the USD they cost its a very bad exchange rate :)

Nevertheless Myanmar is worth a visit and we are happy that it was on our travel route.

After all this text, enjoy the pictures below and under PORTFOLIO I

Keep visiting, the updated world map with our next destination coming soon.

Hug, Em & Patrick

Vietnam is definitely a country we highly recommend to visit in South East Asia. Its diversity make it very special. We enjoyed and loved Vietnam very much and this time we believe that the photographs express our journey the best. Reading the notes under each picture give you a better insight.

What about the people? Check PORTFOLIO I: “FACES OF VIETNAM”

Hugs, Em & Patrick

We crossed the mekong delta coming from Cambodia and here we are in Vietnam! An interesting journey being the only 2 people as passangers on a large boat…quite a private tour!

Chao Doc in the far south of Vietnam was our first stop, then Can Tho where we spent 7 hrs on the mekong river visitng floating villages and markets.

The next stop brought us to Ho Chi Minh City also known as former Saigon, the economic pulsing heart of the country. It’s a big city with over 3 mio. motorbikes making every street crossing a real adventure. It has its charm and as everywhere in Vietnam the street food was diverse and excellent. After a couple of days we decided to move north and spent one day in Muy Ne, a beach town created for tourists. We didn’t like it there.

A really relaxing place, a UNESCO world heritage site, is Hoi An, a town full of lanterns and lights, sooooooo romantic during the night! Apart from  its ancient houses and temples, Hoi An is famous for tailor made clothes and shoes! We now are continuing our travel to the north, left Hoi An two days ago and had our first Thyphoon experience (strong winds and heavy rain) during our trip.

Below the first impressions of Vietnam, enjoy!