Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. It is located in the north of the country, in contrast to Saigon. Approximately 8 million people live here. The city is located within the red river delta. Old Quarter is probably one of the most famous districts and probably also where you will stay.
Logistics: Fly to Hanoi, for example VietJet offers a lot of flights within Asia to Hanoi. Try to arrange a cab pick-up from the airport. The hotel you are staying at will usually offer this service against a charge of 18$
Currency: 1 € : 25.000 VND (Vietnamese Dong)
Hotel: I recommend staying somewhere in Old Quarter.
Transport: Hanoi is very walkable. Due to the traffic I would also prefer walking. Plus, crossing the roads in Hanoi is one of the highlight activities; there are plenty of videos on youtube showing you how to do exactly that.
Food: Ahh, we have come to my favorite section. Hanoi offers incredible street food. My suggestion to you is to walk around old quarter and join those places with lots of crowds; you are looking for a place with a lot of people seated on yellow and red plastic stools on the street.
Huong Lien: This is the place where Barack Obama and the late Anthony Bourdain had their famous lunch together. You will see a picture of them on the wall in the ground floor. After they both had lunch there, the owner created the Obama dish, making it easy for any visitor to order the exact same thing Obama and Bourdain did when visiting.
Huong Lien restaurant, the place where Obama and Bourdain had lunch together back in 2016
Tourist Attractions: I recommend doing a guided walking tour in Vietnam. The city is very walkable and you will gain a lot of historic insights into the city.
I highly recommend visiting the surrounding areas as well. If you have time go to Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay. Both places deserve an extra blog post.
Marina Bay Sands as seen from Merlio Jetty at night
If you are travelling to Southeast Asia it is likely your flight will be via Singapore. Especially if you decide to travel via Singapore Airlines, you are likely to have a transit at Singapore airport a.k.a. “Changi”.
There are many reasons why you should visit Singapore, here are a few:
Food: I hardly know any places in the world where you can have a delicious chicken curry at 1 a.m. on a monday at night and not be the only customer (“Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice”). One of the hallmarks of Singapore are it’s so called hawker centers: They are basically multiple street food stalls under one big roof, where you purchase your food, in order to consume it in a common seating area. Oh, and don’t forget to put back your plate in the proper place as instructed by the signs. You will find a variety of food from China, India and Europe as well. When I visited Singapore in August 2022, one of the most popular stalls was a pasta outlet from Mirko Febbrile, Nudedles.4, at Chinatown Complex. The waiting queue was approximately 15m long, and it was dissolved by around 11:30 a.m. because the food was sold out.
Safety: Singapore is probably the safest place in Asia, if not in the world. Consequently, it is a good place to start exploring Asia, if you have not been there before. Most banks like Deutsche Bank and Citi have offices in Singapore, consequently there is a great number of expats who live and work there. And a lot of the infrastructure just feels like what you are used to from Europe (buses, metro systems etc.)
City state: Singapore is a city-state. Yes, besides Monaco and Vatican city, it is one of the few places in the world that fall into this category. Another tick off in your bucket-list.
Logistics: Take a flight to Changi (Singapore Chanig airport). From there either grab a cab or take the “East West Line” to get to city center.
Currency: 1 € : 0,75 SGD (Singapore Dollar)
Hotel: I recommend staying in Chinatown. It is centrally located, reasonably priced and you will find everything you need to start your trip like SIM-cards etc.
Transport: MRT Singapore is your first choice for getting around. Additionally you can use buses or cabs, which are reasonably priced.
Food: This section can be filled with enough content for the next year, and it would still not pay due recognition to the food culture in Singapore. However, I will just list the places I went to during my short stay there:
Maxwell Hawker Center – Tian Tian Hainanese, Hajmeer Kwaja & Fu Zhou Oyster Cake: Chicken rice is a classic dish in Singapore, try it at Michelin awarded Tian Tian Hainanese. After that make sure to visit Fu Zhou Oyster Cake, and get a bite of that cake; the owner is super-friendly. Both places have also been visited by the late Anthony Bourdain. If you are looking for a good breakfast option have a Prata at Hajmeer Kwaja, and don’t forget to buy a coffee to accompany the Prata from neighboring SMH stall.
Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake: This place opens at 3:30 a.m. Yes you read it right, 3:30 a.m. in the morning, and the pancake sells out by 10:00 am. I took a cab at 7:00 a.m. in the morniging, when I visited, and trust me it was worth it 🙂 The shop has a loyal customer base, some have been visiting for 50 years! Be sure to crab a coffee from one of the neighboring stalls. Coffee in Singapore just tastes different; I don’t know what it is, try for yourself and fall in love.
Little India: I only visited Little India once, due to time constraint, however the food offering there is comparably good with that of Chinatown. Whampoa Prawn Noodles have a very good reputation; you will find the store at Tekka Food Centre. Be sure to walk down Serangoon Road to catch the vibe of Little India – jewellry shops, temples & clothing stores with Bollywood music playing. Not far from there you will find Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice – remember the place where you can grab food even at midnight 🙂
Tourist Attractions: Marina Bay Sand hotel is a must-visit. If you cannot afford a night there, costs about 450 € last time I checked, do not worry. It is possible to access the upper deck and enjoy the view of Singapore. I am still impressed by the amount of ships that can be seen at Singapore Straits; also it gives an idea of the economic relevance of Singapore. Oh, and nearly everyone here speaks perfect English; easy!
I hope you enjoyed this read. Until next time.
Scissor Cut Curry at 1:00 a.m.Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pan Cake
Welcome to the capital of Germany, Berlin! After the cold war, and reunification of West and East Germany, Berlin was declared the capital of Germany once again in 1990. I don’t mean to bore you with historic facts, however if you know your bit of German history class, you will understand the city better, and it’s significance! From 1990 to now Berlin has evolved to become an insanely attractive city, not within Germany, but also within Europe; it is very rare in Germany to walk into a cafe or restaurant and be greeted by the waitress or waiter in English rather than German. This has a bi-directional cause; on the one hand the employees are often not German-natives and on the other hand the high influx of tourists just makes the likelihood of a common communicative denominator much higher when talking in English. Berlin is made of 12 governmental districts, also called “Kiez”, e.g. Mitte, Neukölln, Kreuzberg & Friedrichshain. It is said that some people never leave their “Kiez” if not required. Be sure to inform yourself which “Kiez” suits you most; starting Berlin from Mitte is probably your best choice as a newbie.
Logistics: Take a flight to BER (Berlin Brandenburg Airport) or come by ICE train.
Currency: €
Hotel: Start your Berlin tour in Mitte. Motel-One is usually a good deal considering price, location and cleanliness.
Transport: Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) operate the public transport network. I recommend downloading their BVG App; from their you get travel information and can also purchase your tickets using e.g. Paypal. They offer different tickets incl. a 24-h ticket, which cost 8,80€ last time I travelled. Additionally Berlin offers plenty of electric scooters in case you intend to travel semi-long distances.
Food: Berlin has evolved to become a food town offering a wide spectrum of foods from Vietnamese Pho soup that you eat while sitting on a plastic stool to a solid Rostbratwurst that you buy & eat on your way to the next tourist attraction.
During my visit to Singapore I chatted with a restaurant employee. After I told him that I am from Germany we got to talk about Berlin, of course. He asked me if I have been to a cafe called “Five Elephant“; I had not. Next thing you know I saved the location of their branch in my Google maps. If somebody from food capital Singapore recommends a restaurant or cafe, you can be sure the recommendation is rock-solid! During my visit I did not try their cheesecake, however that seems to be one of their most popular offerings. But I can assure you that the other pastries are festival for your taste buds 🙂 It goes without saying that you order a coffee to accompany your food treat.
For a nice Italian dinner go to Muret La Barba in Berlin-Mitte. The place is a bit pricy, but they have a great pasta and a good selection of Italian wines. And, in contrast to other places you will be served by a professional waiter, who knows his stuff – let the dolce vita begin.
Tourist Attractions: Brandenburger Tor is a must-visit. I recommend you do a day tour from e.g. GuruWalks. They will cover most relevant places and give you outstanding background information to put every place in it’s historical context. I liked very much!
Berlin TV tower (“Berliner Fernsehturm”) is the tallest construction in the city. It will literally follow you around the whole town, whether you are partying in Friedrichshain or on your way to the central station; this landmark is unmissable, and also gives you the assuring feeling that you are still in Berlin. It is kind of comforting to know, that no matter where you are in the city, the TV tower is always in sight.
Special Attractions: Now this is a very personal recommendation considering the plethora of things you can do and see in a place like Berlin, but I will just name some of the places I liked – feel inspired 🙂
I like rooftop bars, hence I recommend Klunkerkranich in Neukölln. It is located at the top of Neukölln Arcaden shopping mall. Take the elevator to the fifht floor, “P5”; do not get confused with the “P6” button in the elevator, you really need to go to the 5th floor, because that it were the entry is. After you have entered you will walk up to the sixth floor, where you will be rewarded at the top of the mall with a very cozy and wide view of Berlin and soothing electronic music.
Have breakfast at Father Carpenter. This is probably the most hipster and popular coffee place in Berlin-Mitte, and rightly so: The coffee, food, location & staff all create a very authentic experience. Pro-Tip, arrive their shortly before the opening time before 10:00 to avoid queuing afterwards.
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Five Elephants in Berlin-MitteKlunkerkranich Berlin-Neukölln
Bali is Julia Roberts final destination in “Eat, Pray, Love”. The book and movie have done a decent job putting Bali on the map of many travellers. The fact that I visited Bali twice within 2 months during my vacation speaks for itself – once you have been to Bali, you either do not want to leave, or you will come back for more: Watching sunsets at Echo Beach, swinging through the rice fields of Tegallalang (see photo) or simply enjoying a flat white at many of the stylishly decorated coffee shops. Bali just has a vibe that is unmatched in Indonesia, Asia and the World. Come visit.
Bali island is made of different areas. The most frequented by travellers are Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu and Ubud.
Kuta: This is one of the first tourist areas of Bali. So you will see a lot of typical venues like Hard Rock Cafe, McDonalds etc. Despite being less popular than Seminyak and Canggu, Kuta is in my opinion the best place for food. Since a lot of tourist from Asia come here you will find plenty of authentic Indonesian, Thai and Japanese food for reasonable prices.
Seminyak: This is the most up-scale place to stay in Bali. It is very good for first-time visitors, since it offers all the amenities you are used to if you are from Australia, Europe or the U.S. That being said, a lot of people fly to Bali, stay in Seminyak and go back missing out on the full beauty of the island. Visit Seminyak and then be sure to move on to explore further parts of the island.
Canggu: This is arguably the place to stay right now in Bali. Party, surf beaches and stylish cafes with the in-crowd. Despite becoming busy, Canggu is still one of my favorite places to stay in Bali. I am interested to see how this are develops, especially since the traffic can become very busy with Jalay Raya Canggu connecting all the orthogonal streets pointing towards the beach.
Ubud: Ubud is the only place in the list without a beach. This is because it is in the middle of the island. So why should you visit this place? Well, most of the attractive sites are in and around Ubud like the Tegallalang rice field, Tegenungan waterfall and Tirta Empul temple to name a few. I will do a special blog post on Ubud with a deep dive on waterfalls etc. Stay tuned 🙂
Logistics: If you are coming from America or Europe I recommend Singapore Airlines. They offer non-stop flights to “Changi” (name of Singapore airport). From there you have many options to cover the last mile to Bali (AirAsia, Singapore Airlines etc.). Alternatively I recommend Thai Airways, since a lot of people travel to Thailand – make use of their economy of scale. I highly recommend a 1-2 days stay at your transit location. Singapore offers some of the best foods in the world (more in one of the next blog posts) and Bangkok is simply one of the most experience-rich cities I have ever been to – must-visit.
Currency: 1 € : 15.000 IDR
Hotel: Start with a hotel in Seminyak, then move either south to a hotel in Kuta or north to an Airbnb in Canggu.
Bangkok has become known from movies like “Hangover 2” and “The Beach”. But there is much more to the city than Khao San Road and Sky Bangkok – though both are worth visiting! From posh malls like “Siam Paragon” hosting all the world’s luxury brands to “Chatuchak market” where you get everything from Air Jordan sneakers to a foot massage. And, oh yeah, the food is probably one of the best in the world – I had my first oyster omelette at “Nai Mong Hoi Thod” and realized how short my taste spectrum had been so far. In short, Bangkok is a must-visit for any traveller.
Logistics: Thai Airways usually offers the best deals. For travel within Thailand choose local airlines e.g. Bangkok Airways
Currency: 1 € : 35 TBH – Thai Bhat
Hotel: Stay somewhere on Sukhumvit Road 18+, number bigger than 18 or you might end up in the wrong district 😉
Transport: MRT and Skytrain is your best choice. Outside of MRT/Skytrain network use taxis and scooters. Be sure to negotiate the price upfront.
Food: Laab Ubon – enjoy a spicy salad mix with beef along with a Chang beer and watch soccer matches live. Go to Chinatown to try some of the best curries at Jek Pui Thai Food.
Tourist Attractions: Wat Pho, Wat Arun & Grand Palace
Special Attractions: Visit Chatuchak weekend market, try different foods at Taling Chan Floating Market, enjoy the skyline view of Bangkok at King Power Mahanakhon or Vanilla SkybarWhat is your favorite street food spot, rooftop bar or cafe?
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