OVER and OUT

77.856 km, 33 flights and 15 countries later... the time has come... my trip is OVER :(
I still cant believe how fast 6 months went by... it was an experience of a lifetime!
I saw stunningly beautiful places, overcame my weaker self many times and will take home unforgettable memories!

I am leaving with a heavy heart, but I am now also ready to return home to family and friends..
Read here some of the things I will miss and some of the things I am looking forward to:

What I am looking forward to when returning home:
- my own bed
- my own clean bathroom with HOT water and constant water pressure
-24/7 availability of electricity
- price tags on ALL goods and no more bargaining
- the fact that everyone pays the same prices no matter what religion, nationality or gender
- calm car, bus and plane rides without honking, screaming, vomitting or spitting
- going to a fresh food market and seeing the meat without any flies and refrigerated
- washing machines that actually clean the clothes and dont just spin 10 times around with cold water
- the comfortable and safe feeling of being home and surrounded by your family and friends
- buses, trains and all sorts of public transportation run on a schedule and you can actually check and see the time of departure rather than just stand there and wait the the stop and hope that the bus/train will show at some point

What I will miss after returning home:
- waking up when I want to and not when the alarm is telling me to
- the feeling of not knowing what I will do for the rest of the day
- meeting interesting, adventurous and inspiring people every! day
- each day seeing a tiny bit more of our beautiful planet
- tasting local food and new spices every day
- the feeling of not knowing what's going on in the rest of the world because you are on a deserted island or in a secluded National Park without any cell phone reception or wifi signal
- leaving your comfort zone every day and try new things
- being in places where you are not judged by your appearance and/or apparel (sorry Munich...)
- the travellers atmosphere... talking for hours, sharing laughs, exciting travel stories and sometimes also tears without even knowing the other persons name (but you still feel like you've known this person for ages "just because you are in this together)
- the open-mindedness, the immediate trust and the unconditional help amongst fellow travellers






I will probably never find the right words to write down as my last words, so I will just say this:

DONT CRY BECAUSE IT IS OVER, SMILE BECAUSE IT HAPPENED!

OVER and OUT... Until the next trip at least :)
Thanks for accompanying me along the past 6 months, its been a blast! I hope you enjoyed my pictures and travel updates...

jambo from Zanzibar!

I know I have been to some nice beach places by now, but guys, really, this place tops it all!
The color of the water is just not from this world.... Pristine white sand and clear turquoise water!
AMAZING....
Due to my problems with my back, I decided to skip the Safari (bumpy roads, sleeping in tents.... all not very good if you have back pain) and go straight to Zanzibar! And no regrets... 2 weeks of doing nothing but chillaxing in the hammock, swimming in the ocean, jumping into the infinity pool once it got to hot sunbathing :) ............

view from my veranda

Crystal clear water

the infinity pool

quite a drastic sunrise (view from my room) for such a peaceful Island!

one of my fav places :)

blinded by the sun :)

Singapore, the Expats paradise

Pictures to be added soon!

The Golden Land - Mingalaba from Myanmar

"Mingalaba! It's a blessing"
This is the way you are greeted in Myanmar - formerly known as Burma. In my opinion, Myanmar is one of the last traditional-buddhist countries, a (still) hidden gem in Asia full of cultural and natural treasures... It was one of my highlights of the whole trip.....

We started in Bagan, the "Temple City" with more than 2000 temples still present (of formerly 12000).
At Inle Lake, we had quite an "experience"... we always asked for the "real" adventure experience, and well, there we found it.. in form of a snake...
In Yangon, the capital, we gazed in amazement at the "Shwedagon Pagoda", the biggest pagoda in the world...
My friend Claudia had to fly back home, so after all the travelling, I relaxed for a couple of days at the west coast, at Ngapali Beach.


Pictures will follow soon :)

One night in Bangkok...

on our way to Myanmar, we had a stopover in Bangkok for one night...
we stayed, of course, close to Kao San Road, the epi center of tourism.
After a little huzzle we arrived at the Kings Palace 20mins before it closed, but we made it :)

in a tuk tuk

with 38 degrees, you still had to cover shoulders and knees, pheeew

From Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi - all across Vietnam

I was very much looking forward travelling to Vietnam, because after almost 5 months a familiar face from home would come visit me in Hanoi.

But first, i had to travel all the way up North from Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon) and I had 3 weeks to do so.

I started exploring the buzzling city and did a Food Tour with a scooter. This was so much fun and as it turned out the best way to explore the city.. you get to see places that not all the tourists get to see and you get to meet the lovely Vietnames locals.. and, of course, the delicious Vietnamese food!

 

in Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon

 

 



on the foodie tour with my lovely guide Nguyen

some of the yummy food we had

Beach time in Da Nang

 

sometimes you just need to relax :)

 

Hoi An



Yes, I made this myself :)

cooking class :)

 

In Hue, the former emperor`s city

 

In Phong Nha National Park (they discovered the biggest cave in the world there)

 

In the village of Phong Nha... as these caves were just discovered recently, many people in Phong Nha have never seen a tourist before...

Halong Bay

 

 

 

 

 

in Sa Pa

 

 

 

 

in Hanoi

yummy bbq at ma mai street