We went to Burma with the goal of viewing the ancient city Bagan from a hot air balloon, and we were lucky to complete it.
We had three full days in Bagan, and after reading reviews online we were worried we wouldn’t make all the things we had planned on our itinerary, but it turned out we worried for no reason. It all fit perfectly.
We landed in Yangon on an early morning, making it most logical for us to travel on the evening bus instead of wasting a whole day on a bus. We quickly decided we would hire a taxi for the whole day to take us around the sights that Yangon had to offer us. We also made him take us to the bus station to get tickets so we were secured a spot on the bus. We travelled with Bagan Minthar Travel and ended up costing us around 28USD for a round trip ticket. The trip takes around 10hours, so you get a nice sleep and arrive in Bagan early morning. When you arrive you are met by lots of Baganese taxi driver who wants to take you to your hotel.
Temple on tempels in Yangon, one day is more than enough there. Oh, and also remember to cover your legs AND shoulders while walking on temple grounds. This goes to both men and women.
We luckily met this guy named Ko Lin who became our driver and tour guide for the rest of the trip. We checked into the hotel early morning, and planned for Ko Lin to take us to Mount Popa later in the day. We asked for him to show us somewhere extra on the way home and he took us to a palm sugar plantation and the people working there were so sweet. We didn’t really end up buying much, but the guy who worked there was very dedicated at showing us the making process of both alcohol and sugar. He also invited us to have some amazing tea salad and green tea.
Sometimes you just have to use a selfie stick.
Last day we went on a hot air balloon ride over Bagan, and it was breathtaking to the se sun rise over the temples. Remember to book the trip beforehand as it tends to fill up quickly. It’s not guaranteed you get to go, as it depends on the weather. The day before was too cloudy so we were really on lucky this trip. We also did some sightseeing on the ground with Ko Lin after too. He actually grew up in Bagan, and has plenty of stories to tell you about the place.
Contact: Ko Lin +95 9259558517 abcdkolin@gmail.com
My travel partner as always was Tom. To see more photos and read his write-up click here.
Crowded streets, dirty air, unbelievable low prices, friendly people, sweaty treks, great climbs, spectacular views, freezing peaks and tasteful food… these are some of the things that can be said to describe our trip to Nepal. We went on some amazing trips last year, and most of them I’ve shared here with you guys. I can actually go so far as saying last year was one of the best years of my 22 years on this planet. Not only did I get to experience new and exciting things and places. But I go to share it with one of my most favorite people ever.
We travelled a lot last year; we actually had one trip booked for every month. Everyone seem to be wondering how we can afford all of this, well let me tell you, sometimes the places we go to is not places on our bucket lists, but places we find at incredible prices, find in travel fairs, win and some of them bought through some crazy Air Asia or Nok Air deal.
This time, we found an incredible deal through Groupon. I’ve heard Groupon doesn’t do well here in Thailand, but seriously guys; there are a lot of things to find there. And if it wasn’t for groupon we might not have ever gone to Ghorepani Poon Hill, which is an experience I never want to forget.
We booked this 11 day 10 night trip in March this year, not really knowing what to expect, other than that we were going to one of Nepal’s most popular treks, mostly because of its scenery but from our guess also because of the difficulty level. (It is a hard trek, don’t get me wrong… but compared to Annapurna circuit and Everest base camp which is a lot longer and higher altitude, I would say this one is easier.)
I’ll tell you guys about this trip step by step, so if you guys would like to do the same trip you know exactly what to expect. This whole trip was arranged by Himalaya Social Journey and I can’t say enough positive things about them. If you ever go, this is the company to travel with. They help you with everything, I mean everything. Nepalese people are pretty awesome in general so they might all be great, but at least this one I can vouch for from experience.
Walking the roof tops of Kathmandu.
The trip starts with two nights in Kathmandu. If you haven’t been there before, you will be fascinated about how different it is from home. Especially if you come from Norway or Bangkok as I do. The streets are overly crowded with honking cars and motorbikes always trying to get in front of each other. The air is very polluted, so make sure you bring something to cover your nose and mouth because you might get a little sick from the air- better to be safe than sorry. It’s a cultural city so there will be plenty of things to see.
On the second day we visited four of the main sites, Pashupatinath Temple, Boudhanath Stupa, Durbar Square and Swayambunath.
For 1 USD you can have your photo taken with the babas. I must say, it was worth it. Their story is very interesting, so if you don’t know about them, click here.
Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu.
On the third day you will be going on an eight hour bus ride through beautiful nature to arrive at the peaceful Pokhara. If you ask me which place I liked the best, I would say Pokhara. Actually EVERYONE prefers Pokhara to Kathmandu, he-he. You get to stay there for a night before the trekking starts. There are loads of shops and things to buy and eat in there. They have everything of trekking gear and clothing at a fraction of the price at home, so if you want to save some money or just don’t bother travelling with any luggage, just buy it here.
Our first stop on the way up to Tikhedhunga
From the fourth day you will be spending 4 nights in the mountains, starting from Nayapul to reach the peak of Poon Hill to then descend through the two villages Tadepani and Gandruk.
Tikedhunga The hike up there takes around 3 hours if I remember correctly. It’s pretty easy but it gets really hot so you should start with a shorts and a t-shirt. (We trekked in November) It’s a jungle atmosphere up there and a great place to have your first rest. If you didn’t bring a stack of cards, get it there. You’ll use it a lot up in the mountains, and the guides (at least ours) have many tricks to show you.
Ghorepani Poon Hill
Spectacular view of the himalayan range.
The hardest trek of them all is the one from Tikedhunga to Ghorepani. I think Tikedthunga lies around 1450m above sea level and Ghorepani around 2800m. It’s pretty much uphill the whole day and it takes around 6 hours. They start of telling you the hard part is the 3200steps up to Ullevi, and when you think it’s over its at least 3000 more. But trust me, once you start seeing the view you’re going to forget all about it. The view from Ghorepani is stunning and when you climb up to Poon Hill for sunrise or sunset you will be gob smacked. The view is absolutely breathtaking. You get to see more than 10 peaks of the Himalayan range, with Annapurna south and fish tail being two of them. Fish tail/Machhapuchhre was my favourite peak of all of them and I think we were its favourite too, because it did follow us all the way down to Ghandruk.
We had to get a picture at the Ghorephani Poon Hill sign. We looked super dorky in the hats we got in Kathmandu.
The third day you hike “a little bit up and a little bit down” as they say in Nepal, and then you arrive to Tadepani, where you stay for one night. The following day the Trek goes downhill to Ghandruk the home of the Gurung people.
After the trek you get to stay two nights in Pokhara, the first to chil and the second to explore.
We were taken on the lake and up to the peace pagoda. You have to climb up to the pagoda, but again… the view is absolutely gorgeous. If you tell them you’re up for exploring even more, your guide will be happy to show you. Our guide (Shankar) took us to see Devi’s/Davis fall and the inside of the fall, Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave.
A part of Phewa Lake and the nature.
View from the peace pagoda in Pokhara.
Last night is spent in Kathmandu, with a special dinner with a cultural show, and of course Dhal Bat is on the menu. <3
This trip was absolutely amazing, and one of my biggest adventures so far. I had expected us to stay in dirty rooms in the cities, and sharing room with others in the mountains, and I was OK with that, but instead, we got our own separate cleans rooms, and sometimes our own bathrooms, and the food was amazing. We were actually pretty shocked about how great it was, it didn’t matter what type of food you ordered, they mastered everything, I actually gained a couple of kilos for this trip so I wouldn’t lose too much, but ended up gaining even more while staying here. If you like flavorful food you’re going to love Dhal bat, it’s seriously power food, and they have a saying here, Dhal Bat power- 24 hours. (Don’t worry; you’ll get it when you go there). Oh, and remember to get the Mars roll when you’re in Ghandruk!
In the end I want to extend a big thank you to our guide Shankar from Himalayan Social journey, our trip wouldn’t have been the same without you. (Even though you cheated in pretty much every single card game, hahaha)
We are definitely coming back!!
PS! Try contacting the company directly instead of getting it from Groupon in the future. You might get the same prices as on the app, but more of the money will actually go to the people that are offering you the service.
It’s been a month since we came back from Norway. It feels so good to be able to wear short and comfy clothes again and most of all, to actually have days with sunlight. I love Norway, but I honestly don’t think I can survive there for more than a couple of months max when it’s not summer. I know I often say this, but gosh, it’s been months! Since I last wrote here we’ve moved, gone trekking in Nepal, travelled around Norway, hehe, to make it short, so many things has happened. I will become better at sharing our travel pics and experiences with you guys, because I know just how useful it can be at times. Bagan and Nepal will be up soon.
But for now, I’m off to the gym, see you guys later <3
Today’s been pretty chill, just reading up on metabolic regulation and baked in the sun. I love days like this. Haven’t rained at all today! Soon we’re off to terminal to find the rest of our Halloween outfit. I know… talk about doing it last minute. (We tried platinum, palladium and the costume shop on Petchaburi soi 18 earlier, they have limited selection and a couple of good costumes for rent) Hopefully we’ll find what we’re looking for. After that we’re off to one of favourite burger places in Bangkok. There’s limited seating so shhhh, don’t tell anyone about it. Hehe.
Oh and for BKK people who don’t know where to go tomorrow, we’ll be here.
Who are you going to be on halloween? x
I’ve had some requests about our most recent trip to Bagan. I’ll finish up the post soon, but for now you’ll just have to do with my instagram pics, and Tom’s blog, he did a great write-up about the trip.
So it all started with us going to the travel fair in February this year. For those of you who don’t know about the the travel fair, it takes place in Queen Srikit center in Khlong Toey and have many great deals, not only travel ones, but food and clothing ++ aswell. It’s absolutely worth a visit, even if it’s just for travel inspiration. That’s mainly what we did, seeing the prices wasn’t that much cheaper than searching on agoda for the dates we wanted, but it does save you a lot of time. We actually went there for three days straight collecting ideas, and we only bought one trip. I’m so glad we ended up buying it, not only did we save 6000 bath, but we would have never have found this unseen paradise if we didn’t. Now I guess you guys are wondering where we went? The answer is Tohsang Khongjiam resort in Ubon Ratchatani.
Normally the price was 8000 bath (when we checked it) but we got it for 5000 a night. Though I have to say, paying 8000 bath for the stay is worth it. (You will agree when you’re done reading this post) We are already talking about going back even without a deal. As you guys might know Ubon is located in the north eastern part of Thailand, Isaan. (aslo known as Issan/Esarn/Isan) So you can imagine how pretty the drive up there is. Our goal for this trip was to visit Phanom Rung on the way there and use the rest of our time in Ubon. We started pretty late, but managed to arrive Buriram before night time and found a cute little 400bath hotel in Nangrong, which is where Phanom Rung is.
We started sightseeing pretty early in the morning so the sun was blazing. Good thing we had some umbrellas in the car otherwise it would’ve been unbearable.
The site is pretty nice, but you’re most likely not going to bother staying there for more than an hour.
Buriram is only half way to Ubon, so we had another 4 hours before we reached our destination. The drive up there is a total of 700km from Bangkok. We didn’t expect too much since it wasn’t a lot about the resort online. When we arrived we were amazed. The view was stunning, and we got the best villa out of them all, the beautiful river villa. When you see it, you’re not going to believe that all that is yours for 5000thb.
The resturant was super cute and very thai, both food and waiters. We loved it.
We made great use of our jacuzzi. The sunset is breathtaking from there.
Beautiful colours from our balcony during night time.
We ended up staying at the hotel most of the time, mostly because the villa was awesome and the view was beautiful all day around. Seriously… the sunset from the Jacuzzi on the balcony…….
I just received this outfit from Zalora’s own line EZRA, and I’m in love. It’s both classy and chic and absolutely perfect to wear to go out shopping, for lunch or as I am here; a chill out with Goku at The Barkyard. The line has so many gorgeous items, either you want something basic or something for a night out, and best of all it’s affordable.
It’s all in the details. I like how it’s such an adult and proper dress, but at the same time has these sexy little slits. I’m also very happy to see the sizes are standardized which is not always the case in Asia.
I put together a little outfit from some of my favourite items, I say some of; because it was so hard to choose.
