hockeygirl19

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BACKPACKING

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BACKPACKING

Over the years I have been asked many questions about my travels and backpacking in general, so I have decided to compile all the most frequently asked questions and answer them all in one place for you below.

Backpacking is the answer for an affordable yet fulfilling adventure. You’ll see so many incredible places, meet new people and make memories that will last you a lifetime. It’s an…

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Why being Wanderlust isnt an illness

Why being Wanderlust isnt an illness

People say I have ‘caught the travel bug’, but I don’t really like that term. When we think of a ‘bug’ we think of something negative and gross. As if my love for traveling the world and exploring new places is some sort of illness, some sort of sickness which I can’t recover from.

People ares so quick to judge, as always in life. They discourage what is not ‘normal’ (whatever normal is) and…

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How to cope being a Traveller in Quarantine

How to cope being a Traveller in Quarantine

Being a traveller stuck inside a house during this pandemic is not an easy thing. Not being able to live the free lifestyle we are used to. Feeling stuck? Feeling unmotivated? You can still make the Coronavirus Quarantine a productive, and even positive experience. Just stay focused on travel and culture. From top TV series, to books, here are some travel-related things to do at home in the…

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Travel is a Drug and these are some steps to help Recover from it

Travel is a drug, and these are the Rules for recovering from it. 

As a seasoned backpacker and therefore a practiced returnee, let me tell you that coming back home after long-term travel is never easy.

Time and time again it is hard for us global wanderers to land back where we began – a sense of dread often flourishes as we seem to be venturing back to the familiar ground rather than…

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5 Ways to Make Travel Less Stressful

5 Ways to Make Travel Less Stressful

Travelling has become a huge part of my life (obviously). I feel like I’m always on a plane nowadays. It’s taken me a while to get into a groove, but I think I finally have this travelling thing down. Well, most of the time! And even though travel can still seem stressful, which it totally can be if you’re not careful, I’ve narrowed down a few things that really help me. Of course, there’s a long…

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Surviving Jet leg

Plan ahead of time

1. Score a window seat

If you can reserve a window seat, do it. You’ll be able to lean over and rest your head on the side of the plane. It’s a lot easier than trying to fall asleep on a neck pillow while basically sitting upright. Bonus: You can also control your light exposure.

2. Pack some comfort items 

Remember your favorite teddy bear as a kid? Think of this…

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10 Affects you will Experience after Long-Term Travel

10 Affects you will Experience after Long-Term Travel

One day, like most travellers, you’ll think it’s time to go back to your home country, because you think you have to, or you think it’s time. So, you’ll pack all your memories in your backpack, then book a one-way ticket to that place you call home. On the plane, you’ll picture the reunion with your family and friends in slow motion. You couldn’t be more excited. Until you realize what it…

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Five Reasons Why Solo Travel Can Really Suck

Five reasons why Solo travel can really suck

It’s no secret that solo travel has its benefits, being able to do what you want, when you want, not having to wait for someone to travel with, but going out on your own and facing your fears on your own makes it sweeter.

Solo travel can help you to become more independent, to find out more about yourself, push you out of your comfort zone and help you figure your life out (sometimes).

But…

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I have spent the last month living in Da Nang city and in just a few short days I will be saying goodbye to this crazy but amazing up and coming city. I was only planning to stay here for a few days but I ended up getting sucked in and staying for much longer. 

Below I will list a few Pros and Cons about living in Da Nang city. 

Living in Da Nang PROS

The colours

To me, Da  Nang is a city of bright colours. During the day it is blue and green. Then, in the evening, it changes the colours to pink, yellow, red and dark blue. All of the bridges that connect the eastern part of Da Nang with the western part are illuminated in different colours. The most famous feature is the Dragon Bridge, which is beautifully lit every night and on Saturday and Sunday evenings at 9:00 pm spits fire and water over cheering crowds.

The Dragon Bridge

The city centre

The area around the southern beaches might not be the most attractive one in Da Nang. When I first came here I thought that it was how the whole city looked like. I was so wrong! The centre of Da Nang is lively and interesting. Life happens on the streets. Women selling fruits and vegetables from tiny street stalls, or straight from their motorbikes. Men sit at coffee shops and tea houses drinking coffee, playing cards and do business. Shops stay open until late, little restaurants cook food all day long and serve their hungry customers.

The beaches

Beaches in Da Nang are the cleanest I have ever encountered in South East Asia. You won’t find garbage lying around or floating plastic bottles. The water is clean and has a nice, dark blue colour, which is a beautiful contrast to white sand and green palm trees.

My Khe Beach

The area

Da Nang is conveniently located, only 30 km from Hoi An and at the foot of Son Tra Peninsula and Hai Van Pass.

Hai Van Pass

Good coffee shops with fast internet

Highlands was my favourite spot to go for excellent wifi, good banh mi and delicious drinks. I spent hours on hours here and loved every minute.

Cheap Banh mi 19,000VND ($1CAD)

Living in Da Nang – cons

Accommodation

I stayed in a hostel called ‘The Vietnam Hostel‘ the whole time here, it was so cheap and really nice. BUUUT.. there is a building being built right next door so if you want to sit on the rooftop you have workers staring at you the whole time and listening to them pour cement all night was very annoying. The wifi is absolutely horrible, we have asked them to reset it a few times but it doesn’t work for very long. If your planning to come to Da Nang don’t expect to work in your accommodation with wifi, just find a good coffee shop with decent wifi.

Availability of good food

I don’t like Vietnamese food. There, I said it. I have never had good experiences with it. I guess there are some restaurants and bars serving tasty Vietnamese dishes, but I have never really stumbled upon them. The only good dish is Banh Mai but its literally only a chicken sandwich on a baguette.

I’ve tried some of the more famous dishes, like com ga – rice with roasted chicken. Chicken is usually so dry that you can’t separate the meat from the bones. In other dishes meat is hard or there’s no meat at all, just bones.

Prices

Everything in Da Nang is more expensive than in Thailand. This might be due to the fact that the government wants to turn Da Nang into an expensive holiday destination, or Vietnam is expensive in general?

For comparison: a plate of rice with chicken will set you back $4 CAD ($1.50 in Thailand), renting a scooter for a day is around $10 CAD ($4-$5 in Thailand) and a body massage is $10 CAD  ($6 in Thailand).

Overcharging

I wouldn’t call these scams as some tourists do but rather overcharging. Vietnamese people always try to charge foreigners more. They will try to overcharge you for everything because they think you don’t know better and that you should have money to just give away.

Traffic

Who hasn’t heard about the notorious traffic in Vietnam? The roads here are crazy. Da Nang is not as bad as Hanoi, but it is also a busy city, where everyone drives like crazy. It took me a couple of days to finally gather my courage and drive a scooter here.

The weather

I got to Da Nang in late November and I was there until early January. November was very cold and dry. Then December was hot, wet and so humid.

All in all.. I really enjoyed my time in Da Nang. I think it’s a great city for foreigners. It’s colourful, exciting, it’s developing quickly and there are so many expats. But I don’t feel too sad that I’m leaving soon. The city didn’t grow on me, but the people really did. I meet so many amazing people I will forever remember.

Da Nang has too many things I found irritating and I missed a lot of conveniences I had in Thailand (like 24/7 shops serving delicious snacks like 7/11). I am sure that I will look back at my experiences here with some nostalgia, but for now, I’m looking forward to my adventures back in Thailand next month.

    Pros and Cons of living in Da Nang, Vietnam I have spent the last month living in Da Nang city and in just a few short days I will be saying goodbye to this crazy but amazing up and coming city.

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The Only Quide You Need For Finding Your Perfect Backpack For Travel

The Only Quide You Need For Finding Your Perfect Backpack For Travel

Picking the right backpack is a really important part of preparing for your trip. When you’re on the road you’re going to be carrying your pack from place to place several times a week and putting stuff in and out of it more times each day than you would imagine. Not only will choosing the right bag make the experience a lot more comfortable but it will also make the process of packing and…

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This will be a very short blog post, but I wanted to come on here and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Thank you so much for all the support in 2019 and I cant wait to see what 2020 brings.

May all your Christmas wishes come true.

A fun little twist, below you will find 20 different ways to say Merry Christmas in a different language.

French: Joyeux Noël

German: Frohe Weihnachten

Spanish: Feliz Navidad

Italian: Buon Natale

Portuguese: Feliz Natal

Dutch: Vrolijk kerstfeest

Romanian: Crăciun fericit

Polish: Wesołych świąt Bożego Narodzenia

Swedish: God Jul

Czech: Veselé Vánoce

Chinese: 聖誕快樂 (Shèngdàn jié kuàilè)

Dutch: Vrolijk kerstfeest

Finnish: hyvää joulua

Korean: 성탄을 축하드려요 (meli keuliseumaseu)

Irish: Nollaig Shona

Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka

Japanese: メリークリスマス (Merīkurisumasu)

Thai:  สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส (S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn khris̄t̒mās̄)

Norwegian: God Jul

Vietnamese: Giáng sinh Vui vẻ

  Merry Christmas to you wherever in the world you are.

      Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you|20 ways to say Merry Christmas This will be a very short blog post, but I wanted to come on here and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

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Meeting People during Solo Travel

Meeting People during Solo Travel

Making friends from all over the world is one of the best parts of solo travel. You meet so many crazy, amazing and like-minded people.

The people you meet can make or break a destination. Having new people to experience new things every day is something you will remember for the rest of you’re life. It can also be really sad because you know in a short time you will have to say goodbye as one…

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Spending Christams Abroad| Solo for the Holidays

Spending Christams Abroad| Solo for the Holidays

Christmas abroad means missing friends, family and your family holiday traditions. But it also means sunshine, adventure, parties, beaches and learning new local holiday customs. Here’s the ultimate guide to surviving and thriving on your first overseas Christmas.

Use Skype, Facetime, Whatsapp, Ect.

These are your new favourite apps, they keep you connected with your friends and family at…

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Gift Guide for the Traveller in your Life

The hardest person to shop for is, a full-time traveller who lives out of a small backpack. They only carry the bare essentials. So, finding something they need and willing to pack around and fill up the tiny left-over space they have in their bag is very hard. 

To help you out I have complied all the essentials I pack (some being Christmas gifts from others) for every trip I take and would…

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12 Questions All Solo Female Travelers Are So Tired of Answering

Remember when you couldn’t resist your urge to travel anymore?

So, you turned to your friends, boyfriend, second cousin, and your best friend from first grade to go with you, but they all said that nasty word that has two letters in it… “NO”

Finally, you came to the conclusion that if you wanted to travel, you’d just have to go it alone. Maybe those around you expressed concern or tried to talk…

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Items you need to be a hostel pro

Items you need to be a hostel pro

For those who have never stayed in a hostel before it might seem a little bit scary or downright crazy. Thinking about the fact that our parents taught us to not talk to strangers, but now we are paying money, to share a room with 12 strangers.

What are the rooms really like? Will I meet friends quickly? Will the bathrooms be gross? The truth is that you can know this stuff in advance if you…

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5 Hacks for finding cheap flights

5 Hacks for finding cheap flights

Cheap flights. Obviously, it is the main goal for any travels, but how do I find them?

I wanted to write this because I get questions all the time asking how I find really cheap flights, and a few family members have even got me to look for flights for them. So here are my top 5 hacks on finding cheap flights

Hack #1: Search on incognito 

Put your internet browser on private. If you look at the…