Vietnam
Room with a view - Ha Giang Province, Vietnam.
We were so sad to leave Luang Prabang, one of the most enigmatic places I’ve visited and a place I would love to return to. An impromptu decision saw us heading to the northern mountains of Vietnam. I felt that our trip would not be complete without a visit to the mountains and explore some of the lives and culture of the ethnic minority villages. We had no idea how this was going to pan out.
Read MoreChau Doc in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam is close to the river border of Vietnam and Cambodia. Which is exactly why we are here. This is where we catch a high speed boat to Phnom Penh. The Cambodian Border is only about 1 hour away, then after border control we travel on a further 4 hours by boat.
Read MoreSo the reality is actually quite different. Our guide kept insisting that it was the biggest market, Yes it was getting smaller but it’s the best and biggest. Well there were not many active merchant boats or sampans, no bustling, no music and no atmosphere. It felt as though it was well past its sell by date.
Read MoreBen Tre provides a large number of coconuts for exporting to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, India and China.
The ecolodge we are staying at provided us with a boat and guide, so off we chugged to explore the land of the coconuts.
Read MoreRoom with a view - Saigon.
As soon as we arrived on a hot wet grey day, I immediately fell in love with Saigon. It’s big, it’s friendly, it’s full of orderly traffic, it’s a cosmopolitan city with a mix of old and new and it’s developing rapidly. Skyscrapers are emerging across the skyline. I wouldn’t say it was a particularly attractive city and it certainly doesn’t have a huge list of tourist attractions but it has bags of local life, intriguing quarters made up of webs of alleyways and bags of friendliness and no hassle.
Read MoreHoi An - Room with a view.
I thought it might be like Venice and be a little emptier and quieter once the tourist coaches had left and the cycle buggies had stopped wheeling people around but no - the crowds of people are just more condensed to the river area. The river is crammed full of boat rides and the bank on the opposite side has a horrible tourist night market that sells nothing more than the tat you’ve seen in the shops.
Read MoreOur visit coincided with the the full moon lantern festival which was unique and fun to see the trees lit up with beautiful lights as well as yellow and red dragons dancing clumsily through restaurants getting tangled up in ceiling fans and wires. We unfortunately brought the rain with us, not ideal for a lantern festival.
Read MoreWishing for something completely different, we located Hue Abandoned Water Park. It sounded interesting on-line but wasn’t quite the secret it was made out to be. Once a bustling aquatic playground, nestled amidst the pine hills of Hue, this water park spans an area of 50 hectares.
Read MoreRoom with a view.
Our homestay comprised of a group of bungalows on stilts nestled into the rock face. There were animals everywhere. It is very beautiful, but very, very wet.
Read MoreI really like the Non La - the cone hats, they look so simple but are beautifully made. We tried to locate a hat maker, it took forever - asking everyone who passed us as well as negotiating a big car down teeny tiny lanes. It was mad… Our driver did so well and the next thing we knew we were both riding pillion on a hat-maker’s motorbike and arrived at a little square.
Read MoreThe guarded section of Train Street
It then became one of Hanoi’s most visited places. Now, having been closed for a while following a near accident', the main entrances are guarded and limited people are allowed in. Many of the coffee shops have closed due to the Government’s clamp down as well as the lack of tourists. We were not allowed onto the tracks at a couple of guarded sections so we quickly hopped onto another section just in time…
Read MoreHanoi 4.45AM
Getting up at 4.20 AM was no laughing matter, but needs must. By 4.50 we were on our way to witness Hanoi both waking up and finishing its night shift.
Our first stop was Long Bien Bridge and then onto Long Bien market. They are located next to each other and both unique in their own way.
Read MoreWe learnt pretty fast that you just go with the flow - when you cross the street, you walk like an elephant - slow and steady, don’t stop, look forward, keep moving, and trust that scooters and cars will either stop or move around you. Except Buses - they don’t Stop. You run.
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