Travelling Finns

A Finnish couple travels around the world for a year or more

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    • United Arab Emirates
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  • blog
  • travel tips
  • Destinations
    • United Arab Emirates
    • India
    • Sri Lanka
    • Myanmar
  • Our story
  • Work with us

  • An epic safari adventure in Sri Lanka’s Udawalawe National Park

    February 15, 2019 /

    Sri Lankan elephants are one of the sight to see when visiting Sri Lanka. We read that the best place to see these wild gentle giants is in the Uduwalawa Natural Park which is located on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva provinces.

    Read More

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Laura & Risto🌍 Travel Bloggers
Fall in love with your solitude - Rupi Kaur⁠ .⁠ How's everybody doing today? Our stay here in this small Bangkok apartment will be the longest we have had in 16 months. That is combined with the fact that we have only gone out to buy some food and take out the trash. We are sure the life we all are having right now is nothing like we expected at the beginning of 2020.⁠ .⁠ Had our life gone like we had planned, we would be exploring Vietnam right now, preparing for island hopping in the Philippines. We, humans, adapt to everything, and after nearly 500 days of traveling, the very thing you have dreamt of for years becomes a new normal. We were expecting our time in Vietnam and especially the paradise beaches of the Philippines, but honestly, the tour wouldn't have felt anything special.⁠ .⁠ But as you start losing the things you have learned to take for granted, you learn to see the world differently. When we finally noticed, that the borders have actually started closing, we rejoiced about every new alternative, where we could go and wait, until this crisis is over one day. But country after country, the travel restrictions came into effect before we managed to get there. Each canceled plan did hurt a lot. The hardest one was with Japan, where we actually had bought the tickets already.⁠ .⁠ Now we just feel entitled to have managed to come to Bangkok and have a small apartment, where we spend all day every day. Traveling feels like a distant dream, wherever we may go will be a bliss.⁠ . ⁠ .⁠ 📷 #namxay #vangvieng #laos⁠
Sweet memories 🌿 Our visit to Phnom Penh was cr Sweet memories 🌿 Our visit to Phnom Penh was crowned with a stay in Penh House & Jungle Addition. Save this for future travels!⁠ .⁠ After exploring Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, it was time for us to visit the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. This time we were invited to stay in @penhhousephnompenh, which is well located in the heart of the capital, next to the Royal Palace and the Botum Pagoda Park. Locals really seem to love football in Cambodia, for we saw many groups playing it in the park. We fell in love with our jungle-themed room, where we just hang out at the couch and balcony and watched the views over Phnom Penh. For Risto, it was hard to imagine this is actually the same city as the one he visited in 2008, as the city has developed so much during the last 12 years.⁠ .⁠ After a walk in the park, it was great to come to the hotel's rooftop bar and hang out by the pool just watching the sun set. The place turns into a delicious breakfast buffet in the morning, where we just happened to eat way too much.⁠ . What's your best hotel memory? .⁠ 📷 #sponsoredstay #penhhouse #phnompenh #cambodia⁠
Tell us what will make you the most happy after th Tell us what will make you the most happy after this pandemic is over!⁠ .⁠ History has shown us, that desperation can lead to the rapid rise of populism and utter chaos - no examples needed. But rough times can also lead to a better world. Think about the world after WW2, which left tens of millions of people dead, hundreds of millions injured or traumatized, the infrastructure in ruins, and widespread malnutrition. A cycle of vengeance didn't follow. Instead, this horror show led to European integration, solidarity, globalization, huge aid from the US to war-torn areas, and morale that helped build the society where we are privileged to live in, and it was a deathblow to European populism.⁠ .⁠ We believe this pandemic will lead to a better world. Why? Because in this crisis, populism, cults or superstitions won't be of any help. As the results of actions can be easily noticed and measured, stupid ideas will eventually die off. This will be a crisis, where science and logic will gain a dominant role. And as we are all working together to fight this common enemy, the vaccines and medications will be ready at an unprecedentedly fast pace. In the meantime, government policies will be able to slow down the spread of the virus, which can also be noticed by the people. Even more, we are shown, how amazing our regular life actually is. The crisis has made us appreciate so many things we have taken for granted.⁠ .⁠ Stay safe people, help those in need and make sure you won't help spread the virus even if you think you are healthy.⁠ .⁠ .⁠ 📷 #riisitunturi #lapland - We chose this picture from back home, as Finland was crowned the world's happiest country for the third year running last week. 🙌 ⁠
Our little oasis in Siem Reap, The Ring Boutique H Our little oasis in Siem Reap, The Ring Boutique Hotel. Inspiration for the future, whenever you can travel again.⁠ .⁠ What is the best activity, when it's scorching hot outside? For us, it's definitely swimming. We had such a luxury of having a room literally 5 steps away from an amazing pool. Nothing can beat that.⁠ .⁠ Laura has never visited Cambodia, but Risto was here 12 years ago. During that time Siem Reap has turned from a bit of a challenging spot to a convenient holiday destination, where people are very friendly and hospitable. Our greeting in @ringboutiquehotelofficial was the warmest, the staff is incredibly nice and professional and they made sure we have an amazing stay.⁠ .⁠ We loved the unique rooms with cylindrical pipe bedrooms and custom made murals on the wall, which gave each room its distinct vibe 🌌⁠ .⁠ 📷 #sponsoredstay #ringboutiquehotel #siemreap #cambodia⁠
Goodbye Laos! We felt so entitled to visit. 🙏⁠ .⁠ We have now been in Cambodia for about a week. A lot of has changed and our plans have gone from A to D as most countries have been closing borders. Originally we were planning on going to China as they have managed to get the situation under control but dropped the idea after considering it might not be easy to get in. Then we had a plan to hunker down in Taiwan, but they decided to close the borders the same day we started looking for flights. Then we bought a flight to Japan through Singapore, but last night (about 1 o'clock) we found out, that Japan has now suspended the visa exemption program with Finland, and we would need to apply for a visa. ⁠ .⁠ Today we booked another ticket to Bangkok for tomorrow, as the country is closing on Sunday. We just hope the information we can find on the internet is correct, Thailand is not a bad place to isolate ourselves. And even staying here in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh wouldn't be the end of the world.⁠ .⁠ Did you manage to get back home or are you stuck somewhere?⁠ .⁠ 📷 #kuangsifalls #luangprabang #laos⁠
The calm before the storm. Admiring the sunset in The calm before the storm. Admiring the sunset in Don Det, just about when the panic started spreading in Europe.⁠ .⁠ Laura's claim is that Don Det is the most laid back destination we have visited (even though Risto happened to disagree a bit). This sleepy island in the middle of the Mekong River offers little to do but that's its charm. The best way to explore the 4 km long island is by bicycle (about $1/day).⁠ .⁠ Where is your most relaxing place?⁠ .⁠ 📷 #dondet #4000islands #laos⁠
Have you heard about Angkor Wat's small cousin Vat Have you heard about Angkor Wat's small cousin Vat Phou?⁠ .⁠ As usual, Laura had Googled us a new sight, Vat Phou, which we have never even heard about before. So after one tightly squeezed songtaew (local bus) ride from Pakse to the nearby town of Champasak. After a restless night, we rented two bicycles and visited the temple site about 13 km away. ⁠ .⁠ The first #happylittleaccident was that Risto thought the two main temples were actually the entrance and just walked past them. Be prepared to the fact that Vat Phou is quite small compared to the neighboring Angkor Wat. After spending some time in the area, we left to collect our bicycles and were a bit afraid someone would have stolen them as we had no locks for them. Nope, the bikes were just where we left them. But surprise, surprise... Risto's one had a flat tire and it was scorching hot, about 39 degrees Celsius. So we thought about two options, either walk the bike or find someone to change the tire. Luckily few hundred meters away we found a scooter repair shop - and the kindest group of young guys helped us fix the bike and that all set us back 2 EUR.⁠ .⁠ What was your last "happy little accident"?⁠ .⁠ .⁠ 📷 #vatphou,#champasak, #laos⁠
Sending you some smiles to brighten your day!⁠ . Sending you some smiles to brighten your day!⁠ .⁠ This little Laotian girl seems to be happy even though she doesn't have as much as we do in the western world. We get always a bit sad, when we see poor people during our travels, as we feel there is nothing we can help. But the fact is, that especially here in South East Asia you can see the standard of living developing very rapidly.⁠ .⁠ This is a totally different place than 10 years ago. Almost everything has gotten better, but the most dramatic shift has been the combination of smartphones and mobile internet. Today over 4 billion people have nearly all the information and entertainment mankind has been able to accumulate in their pockets. When we were kids, nobody did. And even 10 years ago only 2 billion had it - with connection speeds of 20 times slower than today.⁠ .⁠ Today we crossed the border from Laos to Cambodia. We don't know, where we will be heading from here, as we heard rumors that we might not get Visa to Vietnam. But we feel quite privileged as we don't have a tight schedule.⁠ .⁠ Have you ever revisited a place and noticed how much it had changed?⁠ .⁠ 📷 #bolavenplateau #laos⁠
Chasing waterfalls in Bolaven Plateau.⁠ .⁠ Aft Chasing waterfalls in Bolaven Plateau.⁠ .⁠ After Vientiane, we started our bus journey to Southern Laos. As we had made our new rule not to do over 8-hour bus trips, we had stopovers in the cities of Thakhek and Pakse. Laura wanted to go to the Bolaven Plateau, which is the region filled with small local villages, traditional coffee and tea farms, and some of Laos' most stunning waterfalls. So we bought a tour and did a day-trip from Pakse with the loveliest driver ever and a group of 7 amazing tourists.⁠ .⁠ Usually, the tours we attend include the sights and scamming attempts, where the organizers and local mobsters work together to sell overpriced crap to tourists. The worst experience so far has been a trip to the pyramids, which included a "free" lunch with a possibility to buy incredibly expensive drinks, overpriced and underwhelming Nile river "cruise", relaxation in a fragrance "lounge", pyramid entrance (some tiny one), and a visit in the papyrus "museum".⁠ .⁠ So we were very surprised to find out that this trip, which included some notorious sounding stops, was filled with real content. What a cool day! ⁠ .⁠ TIPS & TRICKS - Bolaven Plateau⁠ ✦ You can do a day trip (150,000 kip) from the city of Pakse or rent a motorbike and do the short or long loop.⁠ ✦ Located in the crater of an ancient volcano, this plateau is about 1000 to 1200m above sea level⁠ ✦ There is a lot of waterfall in the region - the most famous ones are Tad Fan, Tad Yuang and Tad Lo⁠ ✦ A new road has been made so the trip for us was very smooth.⁠ ✦ You can visit the local plantations and taste the famous coffee.⁠ ✦ Explore traditional ethnic villages (we stopped by two local villages)⁠ .⁠ What do you think about guided tours? Stay safe and healthy everyone!⁠ .⁠ .⁠ 📷 #tadyuang #bolavenplateau #laos⁠
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