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Here is our Newsletter #19!
We have changed our vehicle! Willie is on his way to Australia, and we are exploring Vietnam's back roads by bicycle!
Read all about the last weeks of our trip in this newsletter.
As usual, you will find one of our favorite photos - one of the tons of beautiful scenes in Vietnam - as a full resolution download at the end of the newsletter.
Have fun!
Goodbye Mongolia

After more than six amazing weeks in Mongolia, it was time to say goodbye. It was getting cold and the shipping date from Vladivostok came closer.
We crossed Siberia within a couple of days. We had long driving days but the arboreous scenery was, despite its monotony, beautiful. Thanks to autumn and its colors.
Pressure washer, foam and toothbrush...

Our days in Vladivostok flew by. We had known before that we won't have the best time of the trip there. The strict Australian quarantine regulations made us become two full time car cleaners. Willie had to get as clean as possible. Any foreign mud, seed or small insect will cost us money, usually quite a lot of Australian dollars...
So, most of our 20 days in Vladivostok looked almost the same: Breakfast, cleaning, lunch, cleaning, dinner, cleaning, shower, sleeping.
We were more than lucky to find the best place for that - the garage and car wash Fit Service, with friendly workers and a generous manager. We could stay there, use the pressure washer (and water and shower...), got space for all our stuff and they didn't ask for anything. The Pizza party, we threw when we were finished, was only a small "thank you" for everything we had received.
We gave our best, destroyed the skin on our hands, cleaned the smallest corners with toothbrushes, had a couple of fights and brake downs. But in the end, we made it. Willie was as clean as it was possible for us. We put him into a container mid of October. Now, he is in Shanghai, waiting for the second ship to bring him to Melbourne, where he should arrive early December.
Let's keep our fingers crossed, that everything goes well. Do you know how many containers fall into the ocean from a ship every year? Many! :D
Millions of impressions in Vietnam

Our first flight in two years, tons of tourists, heat and humidity, jungle, fruits, and no camping. Vietnam is a totally new experience for us on our trip. After around three weeks in the first country in Southeast Asia we've ever been to, we really feel like being on holidays. But it's still the way of holidays we prefer. Maybe, we are too old for the hardcore backpacking world. Or we're just too used to being independent with our own vehicle.
However, we decided to travel on our own wheels again. After a very touristy and very relaxing trip to beautiful Halong Bay, we bought two mountain bikes in Hanoi. We got pannier bags and everything else there, as well. And the fun was about to start!
By night train, we drove up North. There, we explored the area with a scooter for two days before getting on our bikes.
For the following two weeks, we headed south. We slept in cozy homestays with delicious food and in some crappy hotels. The longest distance was 120 km in a day, the shortest around 50 km. It was hilly in some parts and relaxingly flat in others. We crossed many villages with smiling people, ate a lot of local food and had mostly good weather (except for two rainy days).
Two days ago, we've arrived in Phong Nha. This area in Central Vietnam is famous for its National Park with many caves, including the world's biggest cave!
We are back to a tourist hub and we enjoy it. We can have a burger for dinner if we like, or Pizza, a smoothie in the afternoon, or some chocolate cake, and we sleep in a clean and soft (Vietnamese beds are hard as rocks!) hotel bed.
We decided to take an organized tour into the jungle. Yesterday, just the two of us with a guide explored two caves and trekked and climbed through the deep jungle. We jumped into a blue lake and floated in a river. It was an adventurous and exhausting day (with legs still tired from cycling). It was a ton of fun and an unique experience!
Latest blog post - Yes, again about beer :)

Mongolian beer: Heiner's guide to worldwide beers

The second edition in this post series is due. After dealing with Kyrgyz brews, I will stick to another nomadic country in this post, ... Read more>>

Now, it's time for some relaxing. This morning, we've rented a scooter and visited the famous Paradise Cave. But for the rest of the day, we're going to sit in this Cafe, have another coffee, cake, milkshake or whatever.
Tomorrow, it's time for biking again! And we are going to drive towards the coast! Let's hope the recent typhoon calmed down.
FOR YOU

Here it is! Our regular gift! The best picture, made by us, for you! One scene in a homestay with a typical stilt house in Northern Vietnam, the boy on its way to kindergarten - just click HERE!
See you on the road!
Anna and Heiner
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