It was sad to say goodbye to some of the group after a few nights in Ho Chi Minh City but we got some new people to join us into Cambodia. After a relatively easy border crossing, we were in a new country. We spent 2 nights in Phnom Penh and 3 nights in Siem Reap.
Here are some photos from this iconic city. I got a new camera just before I went and I’ve been playing around with editing. Let me know your thoughts!
Ho Chi Minh city was our final stop in Vietnam. It is the most westernised city in Vietnam I think and I enjoyed my time there. We did a few day trips, mainly to the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta. Here are some photographic highlights of my few days in HCMC.
At the end of October, I had a short break in Lisbon. This was a hen do so I didn’t do anywhere near as much sightseeing as I hoped. However, I fell in love with Lisbon and have plans to visit again! It’s such a beautiful city. The buildings, the pavements, the architecture… I love it all! It’s also fairly compact and cheap for a Western European capital city.
I had grand plans to go to Sintra and see Belem Tower but ended up doing none of that! Below are a few of the photos I did manage to take!
Hoi An was my favourite place in Vietnam, and probably from the entire trip. I think it’s a lot of people’s favourite place. It’s very different from everywhere else we visited. It’s much more laid back and hippyish. We had 3 nights in Hoi An and there was a pool at our hotel. It also helped that it was one of the few places where the weather was hot and sunny the entire time. It felt like a proper holiday.
The town itself it beautiful. The centre is pedestrianised, which is nice, and it is built around a river. The buildings are old but charming. It’s also well known for it’s lanterns, which help make the place look pretty.
I only spent about 24 hours in Hue. We got the overnight train from Hanoi to Hue, then went on a motorbike tour around the city and surrounding area. The tour was one of the highlights of the trip. We finished the tour with a meal at a local house.
The second night of the tour was spent on board a junk boat in Halong Bay. I’m not going to lie, Halong Bay was one of the places that I was desperate to see. We’ve all seen the Pinterest and Instagram images! I was super excited to be spending 24 hours here.
Even though we didn’t have the best weather, it was still beautiful. It really is impressive. Luckily, when we visited the  island that people are allowed on, where the beach and viewpoint are, the sun made an appearance. I spent some time just appreciating that I was there and soaking in the view.
Hanoi was the first stop on my trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand this summer. It was a great introduction to Vietnam. My hotel was in the old quarter of the city and the only way I can describe the area is ‘a warren’. It’s noisy but full of character.
I only spent a day or two in Hanoi but fell hard for the city’s charm.
It was that humid, my camera steamed up as soon as I got it out my bag!
The famous red bridge over Hoan Kiem Lake
As it’s Friday, here is a collection of landmarks I’ve visited around the world.
Big Ben – London
Neuschwanstein Castle – Germany
Marienplatz – Munich
Nyhavn – Copenhagen
Opera House & Bridge – Sydney
Times Square – New York
The 3 Sisters – Australia
The Tower of London – London
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore – Florence
Chain Bridge & Hungarian Parliament – Budapest
Heroes Square – Budapest
Fishermans Bastion – Budapest
Colosseum – Rome
Basilica de St Peter – Rome
Inside the duomo – Florence
Pompeii – Italy
Which have you visited? Where is your favourite?
My love for Instagram grows and grows. I lose hours of my life trawling through photos, getting inspiration for travel, food, home decor… It’s an excellent procrastination tool! My Instagram following has grown slightly towards the end of last year (thank you!) and I think part of this is because I’m taking a bit more care with my photos.
Last year, I posted this same post and I thought it would be fun to look at which photos were most popular in 2016.
10. Manchester Town Hall at Christmas
I’m so pleased a UK photo made it into my top 10! I snuck this one in on something like the 29th December!! I have a lot of love for this city as it’s were I went to uni so have a lot of good memories. Manchester is definitely my favourite UK city.
9. Hofgarten – Munich
I took this picture on my camera rather than my phone and am so pleased with how it turned out. I was trying to get a shot of the path when it was empty and then those two people just wandered in. I think it adds to the picture though! How beautiful are the colours in autumn?
8. Roofs of Munich from St Peters church
This picture was taken from the tower of St Peters church in Munich. It overlooks Marienplatz from this side but you can get a 360 degree view of the city. I was so lucky it was a clear day!
7. Marienbrucke – Neuschwanstein Castle
Every time I look at this picture I think it could almost pass for the mountains in China. Maybe! It’s actually Marienbrucke, which is the bridge where you get the picture perfect photos of Neuschwanstein Castle. The bridge is named after Ludwig II’s mother.
6. Old Town Hall – Munich
I was surprised that this picture was so popular but Instagram seemed to like it! I’m not complaining though!
5. Belvedere Palace – Vienna
This is possibly my favourite picture from 2016. I love how symmetrical Belvedere Palace and gardens are. I also think it looks beautiful in the snow. It helped that it wasn’t busy at all in December, especially in the gardens so I was able to get this perfect picture.
4. Fisherman’s Bastion – Budapest
OK, so this is a bit of a cheat seeing as I visited Budapest in 2015. I loved it though and had a bit of a reminisce about the place. Plus this is a good picture!
3. Belvedere Palace – Vienna
This place does well on Instagram! I can totally see why though! It’s just so perfect!
2. Hofgarten – Munich
Another picture that I wasn’t expecting to be so popular and it turned out be the 2nd most popular pic last year! Who knew that autumnal trees at an angle would work so well?
I’m not at all surprised and I’m actually glad that Neuschwanstein Castle made the top of the list. It was one of (if not, THE) my travel highlights from 2016. It’s picturesque and photogenic. This was taken from Marienbrucke and zoomed in a bit!
Which is your favourite? What was your favourite photo of last year?
Emily's adventures 