Our stories/Blog – Free as the Ocean

OUR STORIES

From the silence of the ocean
into the wild world

The world is full of stories, stories of simple moments and stories of great adventures. Here, on this page, you will find ours. A good part of it belongs to the past already, but it is only the beginning of a greater story that continues today and tomorrow and we hope that many more “tomorrows” will be added to it. We want to tell you as much as possible about it, so please come back soon on our travel blog to find out where we’ve been and what we learned about the world.

Argentina

Ushuaia, at the end of the world

In 2016 I was part of the crew of the cruise ship Costa Luminosa which left the Mediterranean sea at the beginning of that year for an around the world cruise. The cruise itself has been an unforgettable experience and the places that we visited…

Laos

Traveling overland from Laos to Vietnam

I must say that Laos was one of our favorite destinations in Asia, although we knew little about this country and the time that we spent there was indeed short. But there were too many experiences that we wanted to squeeze in the two months…

Laos

Chasing sunsets in Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw was our last destination in Laos and the place where once again we felt in love with this country. Deep green valleys surround the small village hidden between mountains and hills, offering hikes to spectacular view points. Things…

Laos

The wonderful Luang Prabang in Laos

Luang Prabang is best known for its well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage which made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracting more and more tourists each year. Located at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers,…

Laos

Cruising through Laos on the Mekong River

After the long journey in Asia, we thought that we’ve seen enough and had little expectations when we booked our flights to Southeast Asia. Of course, each country always had something different to offer and we experienced new flavors in each…

Myanmar

Yangon, our last stop in Myanmar

Yangon felt very different from Mandalay and Bagan. It is the biggest city in Myanmar and, apparently, also the busiest. The urban landscape is dominated by tall concrete structures, a few large pagodas and colonial buildings that clearly don't…

Myanmar

Bagan, the city of thousand temples

While having to choose few travel destinations from the generous number of beautiful places that a traveler could add to his bucket list, I knew since the beginning of our big adventure that Bagan will be one of our stops. I knew it because…

Myanmar

Mandalay, the religious and cultural center of Myanmar

We left Thailand and we started a new adventure in the old royal capital of formerly Burma (today Myanmar), Mandalay. Myanmar was for a long time on our list, but as our time in Asia was coming slowly to an end we only reserved two weeks for…

Thailand

Chiang Mai – the Festival of Lanterns

Thailand

Phuket – Our beach escape in Thailand

It was late in the afternoon when we left Bangkok and arrived at Phuket Airport. From the window of the aircraft, we could already admire the beaches and got excited, while wondering what the following days would bring. It is always a strange…

Thailand

Bangkok – the world tour continues

After returning home from Asia for a short break when we visited our families and friends, we traveled together for one week in Romania, where we had a few beautiful and warm late summer days that allowed us to enjoy our stay to its fullest…

India

Incredible India?

We've heard all kinds of things about India long before deciding to explore it by ourselves. We listened to the stories of our Indian friends during the time that we spent on cruise ships and we spoke to travelers who visited India and who felt…

India

New Delhi – the Capital City of India

New Delhi impressed us since the moment we got close to the city while traveling by bus from Agra, with its modern buildings and the complex infrastructure. But the closer we got to the old streets and the touristic areas, the less charm we…

India

The city of Agra and the beautiful Taj Mahal

Ever since we arrived in Jaipur, we could feel that we were traveling on a more touristic route. We took the train from Jaipur to Agra, arriving late in the evening in a crowded station and soon after at our hostel, somewhere in the vicinity…

India

Jaipur – the Pink City of India

After visiting "The Golden City" Jaisalmer and "The Blue City" Jodhpur, we couldn't have left the Thar Desert without stopping in the "Pink City", Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan and one of India’s largest cities. It is also one of the…

India

Jodhpur – India with a shade of blue

It was early in the morning when we left our beautiful room at Fifu Hotel, where we spent an incredible time during our Workaway project in India. Soda, the driver with whom we did also the safari in the desert, dropped us with the jeep at…

India

A night under the sky of the Thar Desert

Every day of our stay in Jaisalmer was a great experience, for the food, for the people and for the chance to discover always something new and exciting in this beautiful city. But the most exciting experience of all was spending the night in…

India

Fifu Hotel in Jaisalmer – our third Workaway project

As we planned a longer stay in India, we decided to dedicate some of our time to volunteering in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, choosing as destination the closest city to the wilderness of the desert, Jaisalmer. We didn't find…

India

The Golden City Jaisalmer

What makes India truly special is its incredible diversity. From the seaside to the high Himalayan Mountains the landscape and the people change dramatically, leaving place for an endless number of experiences. But the best of our experiences…

India

Mumbai – the mega metropolis of India

Home to more than 18 million people, Mumbai is one of the mega cities of the world. Known as the economic capital of India, it offers access to most destinations in the country and a set of particular experiences to travelers that are curious…

India

Goa – India’s favorite beach destination

It was at the end of monsoon time when we arrived in India and most of the west coast was affected by the rain. We've been told that Goa looks more beautiful during the monsoon and while the sun isn't necessarily the first thing we search for…

India

Bengaluru (Bangalore) – our first stop in India

Before our arrival in India we were warned by many travelers and, mostly, by the local people in Sri Lanka that India is not a pleasant destination to travel to. We've been told about the dirt, the garbage and the animals in the streets. But…

Sri Lanka

Curious Facts about Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was the place that conquered my heart. Already before we went to this country I felt a special excitement that I haven’t had before for any other new place. After our 6 weeks in the country I understood what triggered the need to…

Sri Lanka

Hatton – the green heart of Sri Lanka

At the beginning of our journey through Sri Lanka we agreed on a short list of places to visit, which got longer and longer as our increasing curiosity made us want to see more of the natural wonders of the country. One of the main attraction…

Sri Lanka

The beautiful fort of Galle

The small city of Galle became for us a point of interest only during our journey to Mirissa. When the train brought us from Colombo to Galle, before continuing our trip with the bus towards Mirissa, we decided to make a quick coffee stop in…

Sri Lanka

A guide to Sri Lanka’s beach experience

Like many other islands in the world, Sri Lanka is well known for its beautiful coastline and access to beautiful beach experiences. And with so many options it is not easy to choose where to go. Deciding which beach is better than others is…

Sri Lanka

Our second time in Colombo

We didn't plan a return to Colombo very soon, but our travel plans during the journey through Sri Lanka changed already so many times and, since traveling in this country is made so easy by the cheap and convenient transportation options, we've…

Sri Lanka

Visiting Dambulla and Sigiriya in Sri Lanka

While the rail network that spreads across Sri Lanka covers some of the most important destinations, it is still very limited in connections between the main touristic spots. We initially decided to travel from Elle to Arugam Bay but due to…

Sri Lanka

Our second time in Kandy, Sri Lanka

As our first stay in Kandy was very short, we left a bit sad for not having stayed a bit longer, but at that time we did not know that we would come back soon again. Why did we come back then? Well, our plan was to go to Arugam Bay, on the…

Sri Lanka

Ella – tea plantations and beautiful mountain peaks

During our trip in Sri Lanka we visited many beautiful places, but Ella was one of our top highlights. We spent only 4 nights there, which we thought was enough to explore the surroundings, but if time had allowed us, we would have stayed for…

Sri Lanka

Kandy – our best food experience in Sri Lanka

We finally arrived in Sri Lanka. We got our visa extension and were already excited about exploring this beautiful country. So, after spending only one night in Colombo, we went straight to the train station early in the following morning. A…

Sri Lanka

Colombo – the capital city of Sri Lanka

Our first stop in Sri Lanka was Negombo, a city close to the airport and not far from the capital Colombo (40 km far). We arrived very late at night and were happy that our host picked us up and brought us to his beautiful home. Unfortunately,…

Indonesia

Some curious facts about Indonesia

Indonesia is a country that surprised us in many ways. I thought I knew how Indonesia was, as I have been in Bali years before, but Bali is very different from the other places we visited. Indonesia is the 4th biggest country in the world with…

Indonesia

Yogyakarta – culture, history and coffee

As an island nation, Indonesia offers access to a large number of beach paradises and spectacular natural landscapes. It is by far one of the most impressive travel destinations in the world. But apart from its natural wonders, history and culture…

Indonesia

The blue flames of Mount Ijen

Experiencing the sunrise over Mount Bromo has been indeed one of the highlights of our journey in Indonesia, but our trip in east Java would not end with it. A five hours train ride distance from Probbolingo is Mount Ijen, just another volcano…

Indonesia

The magnificent Mount Bromo in East Java

Sumatra is the second-largest island of Indonesia and just one of the 17000 that form this nation, which makes it hard to decide which one to visit and which one to give up on. Our previous planned itinerary included also the island of Bali,…

Indonesia

Lake Toba in North Sumatra

After the adventure in the jungle in Bukit Lawang111, our trip in Indonesia continued to new extraordinary places. The northern landscape of the island of Sumatra is dominated by the largest lake in the country and the biggest volcanic lake…

Indonesia

Bukit Lawang – an adventure in the jungle

Our journey in Indonesia started with an adventure in the jungle in the north of Sumatra, where we wanted to meet the rare and extraordinary orangutans. We reached Medan on a hot afternoon and took the public bus from the airport to the city…

Malaysia

Some curious facts about Malaysia

In total, we spent 28 days in Malaysia and we have visited Kuala Lumpur, Borneo (Kuching), Penang (Georgetown) and Langkawi. Our main purpose was to do a „little travel break“, meaning that we wanted to use some time for ourselves, travel…

Malaysia

George Town Penang – street food and street art in Malaysia

One of our highlights in Malaysia was the visit of the city George Town on the island of Penang, which covers a surface of 292km² that includes the island part and the state which extends outside the island on the west coast of Malaysia. The…

Malaysia

Langkawi – paradise island of Malaysia

Langkawi is a small island paradise on the northwest coast of Malaysia. With beautiful beaches, a large jungle area and incredible hikes, it offers a large range of activities that can probably satisfy any traveler. But, while possibilities…

Malaysia

Bako National Park in Borneo

The island of Borneo is home to some of the most fascinating and diverse faunas in the world. The biggest island in Asia is covered by thousands of square kilometers of beautiful green jungle and is divided between Indonesia and Malaysia, the…

Malaysia

Kutching and the island of Borneo

The island of Borneo is one of the biggest in the world, home to diverse fauna and flora and beautiful beaches. It is divided between Indonesia and Malaysia. After a week in Kuala Lumpur, we took the flight to Kuching, one of the main access…

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur – the beautiful capital city of Malaysia

Our time in Nepal was short and even if we wish it could have been a bit longer, the first signs of the upcoming monsoon convinced us to plan an early escape. The last week of May would find us walking on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Our expectations…

Nepal

Some curious facts about Nepal

Our 3 weeks journey in Nepal was mainly dedicated to our Workaway project in Kathmandu Valley, so we did not really get to know the country close enough to become aware of many facts and habits. However, there is a lot to say about this incredible…

Nepal

Welcome to the jungle – Chitwan National Park

At the beginning of our stay in Nepal, we wanted to spend our time mainly in Kathmandu, but once again things happened to be different than we previously planned. Inspired by the "Very Hungry Nomads" (two brave women traveling to every country…

Nepal

On the streets of Kathmandu

The biggest city in Nepal and the capital of the country, Kathmandu is not just the political, historical, artistic and cultural center of the little country hidden at the base of the Himalayan Mountains, but also the access gateway to Nepal's…

Nepal

The Sunrise Farm – our second Workaway project

The Sunrise Farm in Kathmandu Valley is a really tiny one. It covers only the space around a house where, many years back, a Nepalese family of farmers started practicing permaculture. Their desire for a sustainable lifestyle motivated them…

Nepal

On the way to Kathmandu

We admired breathtaking landscapes and met beautiful people during the 30 days that we spent in China till the day when we reached the other end of the Himalayas. And everything was left behind us, as we passed through the customs control at…

Tibet

Seven days in Tibet

Lhasa felt like an incredible place to be in, which we always wanted to discover. But exploring the ancient capital of Tibet was not the only big wish of ours. There was much more that we wanted to see and Lhasa happened to be just the start…

Tibet

Lhasa – the ancient capital of Tibet

It was late in the afternoon when we left Xining behind, embarking on a 20 hours train ride to Lhasa, through the spectacular and wild landscapes of the Tibetan plateau. During old times, traveling to the "Roof of the World" was always a long…

China

Some curious facts about China

When speaking of curious things in China, the first question that comes into my mind is: What is not curious about China? It is one of the largest and most diverse countries in the world. During our one month in the People's Republic of China…

China

Xi’an – the former capital of China

China has some of the fastest trains in the world, like the one that brought us from Beijing to Xi'an. While Xi'an is an important stop on every traveler's map through China and therefore needs time to be explored and discovered, we had only…

China

Trekking the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China can be visited at many places along its length of over six thousand kilometers. Its condition ranges from excellent, at the sections that are closer to Beijing, to ruined or almost destroyed. The same goes for walking…

China

The Great Wall of China – Mutianyu section

While many of the historical treasures of China are of little importance to the outside world, others are well known across the country's borders. The most representative remains the Great Wall of China, a landmark that Chinese citizens are…

China

Beijing – the historic center of China

The second-largest Chinese city after Shanghai, Beijing is home to more than 20 million people and it has been the capital of the Chinese Empire for much of its history. After the Chinese revolution at the end of the Second World War, it became…

China

Shanghai – the Pearl of the East

After being surrounded for more than a week by wide green landscapes during our time spent in Guilin and Zhangjiajie, we thought that the upcoming trip to Shanghai will bring less joy, as the mountains and trees were about to be replaced by…

China

A visit to Pandora – Zhangjiajie National Park

After another train adventure in China, we finally arrived in Zhangjiajie, a town located in northwestern Hunan Province, home to Wulingyuan Natural Park (Zhangjiajie National Park). While telling people about our trip to Zhangjiajie, we realized…

China

Trains in China – from Guilin to Zhangjiajie

One of our highlights in China was the visit at the National Park in Zhangjiajie. The 264 km2 park is located in the south of China, in the region of Hunan and holds several world records. But before we arrived in Zhangjiajie, along with the…

China

The Longji Rice Terraces – a land of beautiful nature and long preserved traditions

The second morning in Guilin our daypack was fully loaded for the next day trip that we planned, the Longji Rice Terraces, situated north from Guilin. A local bus brought us to the Hong Kong hotel, from where a direct bus was leaving for the…

China

Guilin, the Li River and the spectacular Yangshuo region

As our time was again short, due to the limited time granted by our visa, we had to cross some of the places from the list we had in mind when we started planning our journey in China. The list got even shorter when we decided last minute to…

Hong Kong

Hong Kong – love on a second look

What should I say about Hong Kong? It is a city that I wanted to visit for a long time. Actually, it is the first big city I ever dreamed of. When I was 13, I read a book about the adventures of a girl in Hong Kong and since then I always wanted…

Hong Kong

Hong Kong – between skyscrapers and lights

After a whole month in Japan, arriving in Hong Kong felt like a big change. Suddenly we knew that we will miss the Nippon lifestyle, the beautiful and quiet places and the extraordinary people. We prefer being closer to nature but we also enjoy…

Japan

Taste of Japan

For us, besides seeing places, trying the different foods of each country that we visit plays an important role during our journey. We love to immerse ourselves in the culinary world and experiences new flavors that our taste buds can enjoy.…

Japan

Train system in Japan

The train system in Japan is enormous. In 2015, the route network connected over 27,311 km. That means you can reach almost every place in the country by train. Japanese trains are almost never late, unless there is a serious problem. For example,…

Japan

Some curious facts about Japan

Japan, land of the rising sun. In this incredible country, we spent 1 month and sometimes we were really surprised how the world runs over there. We have summarized a few interesting facts. Some things are probably new for you too. Fact #1 The…

Japan

Hiroshima

The final destination of our stunning trip to Japan was Hiroshima. The city is home to more than 1 million people and is worldwide known for the terrible tragedy that has occurred in 1945. We reached the city in the afternoon. The bus stop…

Japan

Nara

During our time in Osaka, we dedicated one day to visit the beautiful Nara. With the train we left Osaka and led the city behind us, and approached the hills in this landscape. After about an hour by train from Osaka, we reached Nara. Nara…

Japan

Kyoto and Osaka

We were already thinking that we won’t return soon to Tokyo, after spending 18 days away from it and planning to continue our trip in the south part of Japan. But suddenly we found ourselves forced to return to one of its main stations if…

Japan

Hadano – our first Workaway project

Seven days later after our arrival in Japan, we took the train from Yokohama to Hadano, in the Kanagawa Prefecture, the place where we were planning to start our first, two weeks long Workaway experience. But before telling you about our experience…

Japan

Hakone Onsen, Lake Ashi and Mount Fuji

Hakone is placed in the mountain area, offering easy access to one of the five lakes surrounding Mount Fuji and a spectacular view of Japan’s most iconic mountain in days with a clear sky. From Hadano we took the train to Odawara, and changed…

Japan

Yokohama

At the end of three days of rushing thru this incredible city, we felt it’s time to leave Tokyo behind and stop in a place where heavy traffic, large masses of people and the explosion of colorful lights are not anymore the main part of the…

Japan

Kamakura

Kamakura is a small city, not far from Yokohama and Tokyo, surrounded by beautiful nature and temples, known also for the high number of seasonal festivals. Kamakura was designed as a small city only during the last century, but it’s existence…

Japan

3 days in Tokyo

We will tell you how you can enjoy the most beautiful sights without hurry and to the maximum, even if you are in Tokyo just for a long weekend or for a stopover. Here is our itinerary: Arrival: Depending on when you arrive at the airport,…

Japan

Welcome to Tokyo!

Our time in the Russian Federation came to an end, when we boarded the flight from Vladivostok to Tokyo with the Russian airline S2. What we expected in the biggest city in the world? Rush, air pollution, industry ...? Our first impression happened…

Russia

The Trans-Siberian, a journey to remember

Trains are somehow magical. They fit so well in some of the most beautiful stories. Or at least that’s how I always used to perceive them. Some of the most enchanting journeys in the world are done by train and some trains go where other transportation…

Russia

Vladivostok, at the end of our Trans-Siberian adventure

After three days in the Russian capital, other three in the middle of Siberia, exploring the mesmerizing landscape offered by the wilderness of forest, plains and cold semi-desert that surrounds the Baikal Lake, and another seven days onboard…

Russia

Irkutsk, the capital of Eastern Siberia

At the end of our 4 days trip onboard the Trans-Siberian we arrived at a busy train station. It was cold and dark outside. Traveling by train across the Russian Federation is entertaining enough to compensate for the limited space and comfort,…

Russia

Listvyanka, the village on the Baikal Lake

While Irkutsk is one of the most important Russian cities in western Siberia, it is a popular destination mostly because it offers easy access to the famous Baikal Lake, the oldest, deepest and largest freshwater lake by volume in the world…

Russia

Some curious facts about Russia

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world by area. The 17,125,200 square kilometers wide country is home to more than 144 million people. During our 14-days trip through Russia we have learned many curious facts about this country. Fact…

Russia

Magical Moscow

Our trip around the world started on a cold morning with a road trip to Memmingen, near Munich in Germany, from where we took the flight to a much colder destination, Moscow. But Moscow felt cold only because of the weather. Instead, we felt…

Ocean

How everything started

Miriam and I started working on cruise ships almost at the same time, but we met much later and only at the end of our adventures at sea we decided to walk on a common path. But long before that, there were other stories about discovering the…

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