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Juli

@juli_frd

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🌍 there is not enough life time to see everything the world has to offer, but I'm trying to explore as much as possible
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this is what 6 months in southeast asia looks like 🥢🌿🐘🛺

I dreamed about this for years — the freedom, the food, the feeling of just going. And now it’s finished.

Six months of crossing borders and comfort zones. Of eating meals on sidewalks and finding moments of peace in chaotic streets. Of being alone but never lonely, of getting lost and somehow always finding something better than what I was looking for.

I’ve learned how little I need, how much I can handle, and how beautiful the world (and its people) really are — even when things go wrong, or especially then.

It’s not just a trip I’ll look back on. It’s one that changed how I move through life. 🪷🧘🏽‍♀️

Thank you Southeast Asia — for everything. 🛵🦧🌴🌏

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#6monthsabroad #SoutheastAsiaAdventures #wanderlustasia #SoutheastAsiaTravel #ThailandTravel #indonesiatravel #vietnamtravel #cambodiatravel #LaosTravel #solofemaletraveler #backpackingmemories #southeastasiadiaries #journeyofalifetime taken in Southeast Asia by @juli_frd

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a year ago

Travel makes you comfortable with being by yourself. Have dinner by yourself, get coffee by yourself, take the night bus by yourself, see the country by yourself. You don't need anybody, take the jump and go for it!

best food in 📍 Hanoi, Vietnam

- fermented pork rolls
- pho rolls
- kumquat tea

📍 Cửa hàng bánh gối Lý Quốc Sư (next to Vân Mít Bánh Mì on Google Maps), Hanoi, Vietnam 🇻🇳
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#traveltips #BackpackingAsia #hanoivietnam #vietnamesefood #travel taken in Bánh Gối Lý Quốc Sư - Gốc Đa Quán by @juli_frd

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3 months ago

things to do in Hanoi, Vietnam 🇻🇳

🥖 Bánh Mì
A delicious blend of the French crisp baguettes and paté mixed with the local flavors of grilled meat, herbs and chili that can be breakfast, lunch and dinner.

☕️ Café-hopping
Vietnamese coffee is a must-try - from creamy egg coffee, refreshing coconut coffee, to the unique sweet-salty salted coffee. Each one offering a different taste of Vietnam.

⛩️ Walk around Hoàn Kiếm Lake
Hoàn Kiếm Lake is the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, surrounded by historic streets, temples, and cafés. It’s the perfect spot for a morning walk, people-watching, and experiencing the local atmosphere.

🛕 Visit Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake
It is Hanoi's oldest and most beautiful Buddhist temple with an iconic red stupa and peaceful gardens. Located on a small island in West Lake, Hanoi’s largest lake, it is known for a peaceful vibe, sunset views and cafés away from the busy Old Quarter.

⛓️ Learn about Hoa Lo Prison
Hoa Lo Prison, often called the “Hanoi Hilton,” is a historic prison in Hanoi that witnessed both French colonial rule and the Vietnam War. Today, it stands as a museum offering a glimpse into Vietnam’s complex past.

🚂 Experience Train Street
The city's most exhilarating experience where trains pass just inches from your chair.
Pro tip: For a unique little souvenir, grab a Hanoi beer and keep the bottle cap. Place it on the train tracks so when the train passes, it flattens the cap into a tiny keepsake.

🍜 Eat Bún Cha
A local Hanoi dish made with grilled pork patties and slices of pork served in a sweet, tangy fish sauce broth, alongside rice noodles, fresh herbs, and greens. It’s a must-try Vietnamese dish, best enjoyed on the side of the street.

🎎 Watch the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater
It is a traditional Vietnamese art performance dating back centuries where wooden puppets dance on water, accompanied by live music and storytelling of folklore and local village life.

🫘 Try Ché
The traditional Vietnamese sweet dessert, often made with ingredients like beans, jelly, fruit in coconut milk. Served with shaved ice, it's the perfect respite from the heat.

#vietnam #hanoi #traveltips taken in Hanoi, Vietnam by @juli_frd

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3 months ago

3 week itinerary for Vietnam 🇻🇳

Ha Giang Loop (4 days/3 nights)
Probably the most talked about thing when traveling Vietnam - the Ha Giang Loop 🛵⛰️. A region in Northern Vietnam where you zoom past green mountain tops on tiny roads. You can do it yourself or with a company.

Hanoi (3 days)
This was my favorite city - the capital of Vietnam - Hanoi 🇻🇳☕️🍜. Hanoi is a bustling city full of life, cafés and the constant danger of being run over by a motorbike. You can wander the streets, visit endless pagodas or join the locals eating on the side of the road.

Ninh Binh/Tam Coc (2 days)
The contrast program to Hanoi is Tam Coc. A peaceful place surrounded by rice paddles and rolling green hills. Famous for the Tam Coc boat ride 🛶🏞 which takes you down small waterways, through caves and leaves you in awe of nature.

Phong Nha (1 day)
A lesser known stop in Vietnam but not less exciting. Seen the duck place 🦆? That's in Phong Nha as well as the biggest cave in the world and several other smaller but not less impressive caves.

Hue (2 days)
Often skipped but worth the stop to visit the abandoned water park that looks like a dragon, see the Imperial City of Hue ⛩️ and eat your way through local specialties.

Hai Van Pass (1 day)
You haven't had enough after the Ha Giang Loop and love 'Top Gear'? The Hai Van Pass is a 21km long mountain pass in Central Vietnam that takes you down small pathways along the coast and shows you a more rural, authentic side of Vietnam 🛵🏞.

Da Nang (1 day)
Take a day here to relax on the beach and watch the dragon bridge 🐉 spit fire at 9pm.

Hoi An (5 days)
The cultural hub of Vietnam must be Hoi An 🪭. The cute colorful, colonial houses and lantern boats that light up at night, make it a charming place to visit. Rice paddies, coffee runs, bike tours, diy classes or the beach - you choose, there is no shortage on things to do.

Dalat (2 days)
A smaller village close to coffee farms, waterfalls and Buddhist pagodas, makes it a peaceful stop before the crazy.

Ho Chi Minh (2 days)
Skyscrapers, floods of motorbikes and a beer street that gives you whiplash. Its big, it's crazy, it's overwhelming taken in Vietnam by @juli_frd

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3 months ago

the only red flag I need in my life 🇻🇳

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#vietnamtravel #BackpackingAsia #vietnamtrip #solotraveler #southeastasia taken in Vietnam by @juli_frd

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4 months ago

the feeling of freedom is indescribable 🌾🛵🇻🇳
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#hagiangvietnam #epicviews #travel #freedom #backpacking taken in Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam by @juli_frd

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7 months ago

Sorry, can't talk... I'm busy! 📵

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#travel #backpackingmemories #solotravel #traveltips #backpackingasia taken in Muang Ngoi by @juli_frd

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7 months ago

Ha Giang Loop – everything I wish I knew before going (with @mamashomestay) 🏍️⛰️

I did the 3days/2nights with Mama’s and was really happy:

What’s included:
• Simple breakfast, lunch & dinner + happy water (aka rice wine 🍶)
• 2/3 nights at a guesthouse (you can choose between dorms and privates)
• motorbike + driver or semi-automatic motorbikes for self-drivers (even if you self-drive, I’d still recommend going with a company to avoid police checkpoints)

🫂 Group setup:
When registering online, groups are often sorted by nationality 👉 If you don’t want that, explicitly say so in the message field when signing up.
• You’ll be riding and stopping with your group all day and meeting all other groups at the guesthouse in the evening to socialize.
• In my group: 4 self-drivers, 7 with drivers

🎒 Packing & logistics:
• I arrived the night before (busses from Sapa and Hanoi) and stayed at Mama’s Homestay where in the early morning they pick you up with all your stuff and bring you to Mama’s Resort (unless you’re already staying there)
• You’ll only bring bare necessities in a small bag on the bike while your big backpack/suitcase stays at the resort where you return to and pick it up after the loop.
• Nights can drop below 10°C since it's colder in the mountains to bring appropriate clothes (stock up on warm clothes in Hanoi or Sapa — Ha Giang town has very limited options)
• Gloves (Essential if you self-drive) – you can’t hide your hands from the cold wind while driving 🧤

🎤 Drivers & vibes:
• Be nice and joke with your driver – it makes the experience 10x better
• The drivers are incredibly lovely but Google Translate is a must (most don’t speak much English)
• Bring headphones with wires to listen to music without worrying about loosing them. 🎧 🎶
• There is Karaoke every night until 11pm🎤

💰 Cost: around 160 € (3D/2N)
👉 Please tip your drivers – they work insanely hard with barely any time off between tours.

#hagiangloop #hagiangvietnam #mamashomestay #mamashagiangloop #vietnamtravel
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⛰️🏍 Is the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam on your bucket list? taken in Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam by @juli_frd

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10 months ago

Breathtaking landscapes, too much happy water, a bruised butt, constant laughs and Google Translate conversations are what made the Ha Giang Loop unforgettable. ⛰️🏍

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#hagiangvietnam #hagiangloop #backpacking #vietnamtravel #travel taken in Ha Giang Loop, Vietnam by @juli_frd

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10 months ago

Me planning a chill backpacking trip to ‘find myself’ — holy fck airball 🎒⛰️🛵 thought I was signing up for Eat Pray Love... got Honking Humidity Hopelessly Lost and a side of cockroach named John instead.

#holyfcknairball #backpacking #TravelGoals by @juli_frd

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a year ago

How to get from Laos 🇱🇦 to Vietnam 🇻🇳 - the 3 main options (and which one I chose)

When it came time to leave Laos and head to Vietnam, I found myself deep in research mode, trying to figure out the cheapest, easiest and most comfortable way to make the journey. Sounds simple enough, right? Not quite. Here's what I found:

✈️ Option 1: Flying from Vietiane to Hanoi
Probably the most convenient option - a short flight, done in a couple of hours. But with convenience comes cost - and I'm traveling on a budget. On top of that, I've been trying to avoid flying when I can, for both environmental and personal reasons. Logistically easy, but financially and ethically not my vibe.

🚍 Option 2: The 24h-bus from Luang Prabang to Hanoi
This is the most talked-about and advertised overland route - and for good reason. It's cheap, direct and sounds easy... until it's not. I met people who took it and had nothing but horror stories to tell: broken-down and/or overcrowded bus, the bumpiest roads (typical Laos) and journeys that turned into 32h. It might be budget-friendly, but sounded like the least comfortable and potentially traumatic, so safe to say I passed on this one.

🛶 Option 3: The lesser-known boat route (the one I chose)
In the end, I decided to leave Laos the same way I came in - by boat. This route is hardly talked about but it ended up being the most scenic and rewarding. It starts in Nong Khiaw, it's cheap and relatively comfortable but requires you to be flexible as it takes 2 days (but for me: it was 100% worth it).

The peacefulness of being on the water surrounded by the beautiful views of Laos' untouched nature felt like a perfect way to transition out of a country that has given me so many slow, beautiful and authentic impressions.

Sometimes the long way is the best way! 🛶🌱

💬 If you have any questions, let me know in the comments down below and I'll try to help you out (since I understand that there are not many information online) 👇🏻

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#laostovietnam #overlandtravel #budgetbackpacker #travelwithoutflying #slowtravel #BackpackingAsia #traveltips #OffTheBeatenPath taken in Nong Khiaw by @juli_frd

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a year ago

where I feel most alive ⛰️

📍NongKhiaw Everest Camping & Viewpoint 🇱🇦⛰️

💬 Anyone else loves chasing epic viewpoints on mountaintops?

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#NongKhiaw #NongKhiawViewpoint #TravelLaos #ExploreLaos #LaosHiddenGem #HikingAdventures #MountainViews #EpicViews #OffTheBeatenPath #BackpackingAsia #SoutheastAsiaTravel #NatureLover #AdventureSeeker #RoamThePlanet #TravelGoals taken in Nong Khiaw by @juli_frd

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2 years ago