beyond-the-heimat

On July 26, we landed in Manila and, after a few hours there, flew straight on to Puerto Princesa on Palawan. There, we finally reunited with Christian and Jhed and their

The final days of our first trip to Vietnam are upon us—a good time to squeeze in one last excursion. Last week, we drove to the Marble M

In Hoi An and Da Nang, we got to try all kinds of new dishes—as well as variations on foods we were already familiar with. The bánh mì wa

We decided to take a few days off from our vacation. Above all, though, we wanted to explore a few nearby places, so we booked two seats on a bus to spend a few days in t

The Kim Bong Carpentry Village is located on Cam Kim Island, south of Hoi An. Here, you can watch artisans create traditional woodwork, carvings, and boats. As early as t

The UNESCO World Heritage Site includes not only the city of Hoi An, but also the artisanal villages surrounding it. Our lodging is locat

We booked two spots (3.50 euros per person) through GetYourGuide at “Duck Leader”—a small farm where you can feed ducks.

After a flight of just two and a half hours, we landed in Da Nang, Vietnam, on June 26. Although we didn’t need to apply for a visa with our German passports, we still ha

In the city center, we of course didn’t skip Little India and were amazed by the huge food court - there are countless stalls offering a wide variety of Indian dishes. We

We also hiked through several parks and trails. In the north, we set out on the Pierce Reservoir Trail, which is divided into several sections. At first, a beautiful path

There are countless markets on Koh Phangan: some are permanent, covered markets, while others take place on a daily basis at various street stalls. It was a real treat to

Singapore welcomed us with warm, humid weather. On the day we arrived, we went for a long walk and admired the architecture of the skyscrapers—accompanied by the ever-pre

Our day started much earlier than planned today: Just after five o’clock, we were roused from our sleep by the loud crowing of the neighbor’s rooster—and he was still cro

On June 7, we set out early in the morning for a small stretch of beach near the pier. There, just a few meters below the water’s surface, lies the Mae Haad Shipwreck, a

Using Komoot, Simon had planned a hike of about seven kilometers through the southern part of the island. Some sections and waypoints had already been mapped by other use

Today we took the ferry from Koh Samui to Koh Tao. It was a relaxing 2.5-hour trip with a stopover in Koh Phangan.

Today we went all out on the tourist experience and visited the local cat café, Cat World, in the morning. At the entrance, we had to sanitize our hands, were given slipp

On May 22, we took a taxi from Dambulla to the airport in Colombo in the afternoon. However, the three-hour drive turned into 4.5 hours because of heavy rain and flooding

A few days ago, we drove from Trincomalee to Dambulla. On the way, we saw another elephant by the side of the road. The next time we travel to Sri Lanka, we’ll definitely

Over the past few days, we’ve spent a lot of time splashing around in the ocean and did a bit of exploring in town.

After spending the last few days relaxing in Trincomalee—with a bit of swimming in the morning followed by some coffee and reading—we visited Deer Park today and then For

Today we planned to hike the entire first stage of the Pekoe Trail. Our host was kind enough to drive us there. We didn’t want to walk all the way up the road to the Tea

Since we were slowly running out of ideas for places to visit in and around Kandy, the owner of our accommodation gave us a few more tips. So today we drove to three temp

Today we visited the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya, parts of which have existed since 1371. You can tell by the tall trees and other large plants. It is an 80-hec

Today we went to the Temple of the Tooth, where we also attended the ceremony that takes place three times a day. It had been recommended to us, but to be honest, it was

Today we had a hike planned from our lodging to a tea museum, and then on through the tea plantation along the Pekoe Trail to the Hanthana viewpoint.

We have finally set off on our journey from Germany through Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam to the Philippines. Our Swedish friends are already looking forwar

It’s done! After a long period of preparation and plenty of instant soup over the last few days, we’ve taken another big step forward and were able to hand over the apart

For about two weeks now, our furniture has been limited to the kitchen cabinets, a couch, a lowboard, a bed, three chairs, and the washing machine. A lot of it was picked

The apartment is emptying out and our excitement is building. The year has finally arrived where we can finally get started. The cold and wet weather is adding to the ant