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14th February 2026 Happy Lunar New Year, Nha Trang, Vietnam Wlelcome to the "Year of The Horse". I have had an extended break - I actually shut down all my business directories and even this site. But after a year of getting more and more bored I decided to restart this site. The old domain is dead but the old content still exists on this site. The name is still "World Tourer" but the domain is now www.worldtourer.world ---- 30th December 2024 Bangkok, Thailand I am still in Bangkok playing tourist whilst renewing my Vietnam visa. I fly back to Nha Trang on 1st January and will probably not travel anywhere away from Nha Trang for the entire 3 months of my new visa. My next visa renewal trip will almost certainly be to Vientiane, Lao as it is a favourite of mine. After that I am still planning a trip to Europe next year concentrating on Eastern Europe (Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Albania, but will also include, Italy, Czechia and possibly Poland). ---- 21st December 2024 Nha Trang, Vietnam My new apartment is good and all is well with me. Whilst the apartment is double the rent of the previous it is also double the size - it is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom on the 34th floor of OC1B of Muong Thang Oceanus at Hon Chong Beach. The Oceanus complex is like a vertical town as it comprise 5 towers, each with 40 floors. Within the complex there are 3 supermarkets, several restaurants, coffee shops and atm's. I used to live a few hundred metres north at the Scenia Bay complex but I prefer it here mainly due the the proximity of the beach and the access to supermarkets etc. I am flying to Bangkok on 24th December for 8 days mainly to renew my Vietnam visa. 
 ---- 2nd December 2024 Nha Trang, Vietnam I have had to move out of my studio apartment as the owner sold the property and it is being completely refurbished. I did get some compensation for the lease ending early but would rather have stayed. Luckily I found another apartment in the same complex and moved in today. My new apartment is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit and is twice the size of my previous studio (also twice the rent). I have signed a 12 month lease and hopefully I will get to stay that long. ---- 28th November 2024 Nha Trang, Vietnam 75 today and going OK. I have not been doing any travel recently mainly because I am running out of places to visit. I have added a bit of variety to my visa renewal trips by going to different countries. My next trip is yet another visa renewal trip. I am going to Bangkok for 8 days and have decided to look at the apartment rental options whilst I am there. I have seen a couple of Youtube videos featuring new condo projects in Bangkok and some of them appear very good and not too expensive. I am still planning to go to Europe next year but have not finalised anything yet. ---- 24th September 2024 Bangkok, Thailand I am in Bangkok, Thailand to renew my Vietnam visa - the current rules mean that I can only renew my visa whilst out of the country and it takes 3+ working days which means essentially a week out of the country. As I have previously lived in Thailand for 4 years I am starting to look for other destinations for my "Visa Runs". I have tried Malaysia, Laos and Indonesia. Countries I have lived in or visited sorted by duration of stay: Australia - 40 years England - 12 years Vietnam - 4.5 years Thailand - 4+ years Cyprus - 3.5 years Laos - 7 months United States - 6 months Malta - 6 months Costa Rica - 2 months Isle of Man - 2 months Germany - 1 month Indonesia - 1 month Malaysia - 3 weeks Sri Lanka - 2 weeks France - 2 weeks Egypt - 2 weeks Greece - 2 weeks Italy - 2 weeks Japan - 2 weeks China - 2 weeks Czechia - 2 weeks Borneo - 1 week Cambodia - 1 week South Korea - 1 week Hawaii - 1 week Philippines - 1 week Myanmar (Burma) - 1 week Spain - 1 week Sweden - 1 week Switzerland - 1 week Poland - 4 days Hungary - 4 days Panama - 4 days Portugal - 3 days Holland - 3 days Belgium - 3 days Austria - 3 days Scotland - 3 days Singapore - 2 days Hong Kong - 2 days Wales - 2 days Canada - 2 days Mexico - 2 days South Africa - 1 day Gibralta - 1 day Ireland - 1 day Monaco - 1 day New Zealand - 1 day More to come. ---- 8th September 2024 Nha Trang, Vietnam I am now back in Nha Trang staying at the Muong Thang Oceanus complex, where I stayed last time I was here. I have signed a 12 month lease on a studio apartment. ---- 16th August 2024 Da Nang, Vietnam After several months in Da Nang I have decided to return to Nha Trang. Whilst both cities are very similar beach focussed places I have a slight preference for Nha Trang. I have reserved an apartment in the Muong Thanh Oceanus complex where I stayed last time I was in Nha Trang. I am flying to Nha Trang next Friday with Vietnam Airlines as they are the only airline that offer direct flights from Da Nang to Nha Trang. ---- 22nd June 2024 Luang Prabang, Laos The trip so far has been good but I noticed in Vientiane that there were no tourists - that may be a seasonal thing (but I have not seen it before). Luang Prabang is not as empty as Vientiane but still rather quiet. I had been thinking to look into apartment rentals in Vientiane and Luang Prabang on this trip but have decided not to (500 klms to the beach!). I will probably stay in Da Nang for 6 months or more and then return to Nha Trang. ---- 6th June 2024 Da Nang, Vietnam I have now settled into my apartment and sorted local shopping and transport. I had been considering (and planning) a trip to Europe in June but have now cancelled that idea. I will be doing a "Visa Run" mid June and have decided to make it into a short holiday. I fly Da Nang to Bangkok on June 15th, stay 1 night then fly to Vientiane, Lao for 5 nights followed by a flight to Luang Prabang, Lao for 2 nights and back to Vientiane and Bangkok before flying home to Da Nang. Trip includes 9 nights accommodation and 6 flights. ---- 24th March 2024 Da Nang, Vietnam I am now back in Vietnam and today I moved into a serviced studio apartment in Da Nang. The apartment is within a hotel called "My Hometel" although I don't think it operates as a hotel anymore just permanent rentals. It is about 300 metres from the beach and about 1 kilometre south of the main beach/expat/tourist area. My rent includes high speed Wifi, drinking water, linen change, cleaning and electricity. 
Lounge-Bedroom Kitchen-Dining Bathroom Swimming Pool Rooftop-View ---- 16th March 2024 Cairns, Queensland, Australia I am now in Cairns and will be here until 20th March. I am enjoying my time here although it is very quiet with an obvious shortage of tourists. I have just received a new 90 day visa for Vietnam (I had problems) and have booked flights etc. to return to Vietnam: 20th March fly Cairns to Brisbane and then Brisbane to Ho Chi Minh City Arrive early am 21st March Ho Chi Minh City and later that day fly on to Da Nang Booked for 3 nights at the Celina Hotel whilst I look for an apartment. ---- 11th March 2024 Kuta Beach, Bali, Indonesia I was unable to get a new Vietnam visa (long story) so I had to leave. I went to Kuala Lumpur for 3 nights and then on to Bali. I arrived here on the 7th March and leave for Cairns on 14th March. I have booked 4 nights in Cairns and also re-applied for a Vietnam visa. I am hopeful my visa will be approved as I have not done anything wrong. Assuming my Vietnam visa is approved (3 months single entry) I plan to live in Da Nang. I have visited Da Nang several times and have considered moving there before. Nha Trang (where I lived for 4 years) has lost it appeal for me (mainly due to COVID) and I do not think it will recover any time soon. Today in Bali is the public holiday of Nyepi - it is a Hindu religious holiday and erveryone (yes everyone) is required to stay indoors at home and be silent. The holiday lasts from 6am today to 6 am tomorrow (even the airport is closed for 24 hours). ---- 10th February 2024 Nha Trang, Vietnam Happy Lunar New Year!  The Year of the Dragon ---- 12th January 2024 Nha Trang, Vietnam Yesterday I signed a 12 month lease for a 2 bedroom apartment on the 27th floor of the Oceanus Complex in northern Nha Trang - I also moved in yesterday. I have an ocean facing apartment with great sea views from the main bedroom as well as the balcony. The Oceanus is about 300 metres south of Scenia Bay where I lived for 12 months prior to moving to Laos. On the ground floor there is a supermarket, a great deli and lots of small restaurants. I had been undecided about where to live this time around as rents have increased a lot over the past 12 months (up to 50%). My decision came down to location and cost. The Oceanus is beachfront on Hon Chong beach and also on the bus route to town (about 5 kilometres south). I could have rented places for less but not with the location - the more expensive places were not in better locations but simply slightly better quality. I am paying 10.5 million vnd a month which sounds like a lot but equates to around 150 AUD a week (a similar place in Australia would probably be $700+ per week). The photos below were taken 4pm this afternoon (note the shadows from the buildings) - the first 2 were taken from the main bedroom through the window which confused my camera's autofocus so they are bit fuzzy) the other 3 were taken from the balcony. 
 Hon Chong Beach From My Apartment ---- 10th January 2024 Nha Trang, Vietnam Back in Nha Trang after some drama getting here. First my Airasia flight was cancelled (they did give me a total of $60 in food vouchers plus a night at the Holiday Inn at the airport (+$30 hotel credit) and $60 credit voucher in my Airasia account). The following day my flight was cancelled again but I managed to get transferred to another flight. Finally arrived yesterday afternoon and checked into the Smile Hotel which is wonderful - I do not understand how I did not know of it until now - it is a 3 star hotel (with rooftop pool) in the Tourist Area near the beach - my first impression is that it may well be the "Best Value" hotel I have ever stayed at (anywhere in the World) at $18/night!! This morning for breakfast I had a premium Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich), 25,000 vnd ($1.50), changed some cash - $1030 Australian dollars became 16,436,740 Vietnam Dong. I then went to Viettel and got a new SIM card for 650,000 vnd ($40) 3 months access with unlimited phone calls and texts plus 8 gb of data Per Day. Next stop was the barber for a haircut (50,000 vnd - $3). I have arranged to inspect an apartment at the Muong Thanh Luxury Hotel on the beachfront in the central Nha Trang tourist area. I will not be able to move in until the 1st February but if I like it I will just stay at the Smile Hotel until then. 
 Smile Hotel Swimming Pool Banh Mi ---- 1st January 2024 Bundeena, Australia Happy New Year! |
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