Mark’s Take on Vietnam

I always described our start point of Vietnam as travelling straight in at the deep end and I suspect I was right! Life in Vietnam is so different to our western lives and as somebody who has barely left Europe it really was an eye opener. But I am proud of us for being brave…

Mekong Delta

We have now arrived in Cambodia by way of a 2 day boat “tour” via the Mekong Delta near Ho Chi Minh and up the Mekong river to Phnom Penh. The Mekong is the world’s 10th longest river and starts in China then runs through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I say “tour” in…

Brief Update

We have arrived in Phnom Penh in Cambodia by boat and are now settled in to our rather posh Christmas hotel. A summary of our final 3 days in Vietnam will follow shortly. In the meantime I hope you are all ready for Christmas and enjoying the snow! It’s a horrid 30c here.

Nha Trang

Our trip down to Nha Trang began with our third and final Vietnamese train journey. This was to be a long journey at 11 hours but as it was a daytime journey we opted for seats in “first class”. Luckily we got a table seat so we had room for our large bag, but we…

Hoi An

It is fair to say that the World Heritage Site that is the town of Hoi An is simply stunning. We arrived yesterday under a cloudy sky somewhat downbeat, as Hoi An is set on the South China Sea and we were looking forward to some time on the beach in the sunshine. But the…

Hue to Da Nang by Train

After our first experience with the Vietnamese trains we considered making this journey by coach, but as soon as we heard how good the scenery would be on the train journey we booked our tickets. This leg of the main line between the north and south is only 2.5 hours so we sat in first…

Hue

Upon departing the night train at Hue into what was a welcome 28c we made what can only be described as a schoolboy error. We were lazy and did very little. I wasn’t feeling too good after the train ride so after arriving at our hotel (which is pretty good) we strolled into town and…

Night Train to Hue – Musings of a Sleepless Train Travelling Man

I have never been to Glastonbury, but if I had it probably would have prepared me in some small way for the toilet facilities in carriage 19 of the night train from Hanoi to Hue. We had a few hours to spare upon our return from Ha Long so after a quick bite to eat…

Ha Long Bay

Hi it’s Claire here. Luckily I recovered quickly from my bout of illness, thank you to all the well wishers. From the confines of the hotel room I tried to embrace Vietnamese culture (of sorts) by watching Vietnam Idol, which I’m not sure made me feel better or worse! Our Ha Long Bay tour was…

Back in Hanoi

We have just got back to Hanoi after a fantastic 2 day tour of Halong Bay. A full report will follow but we are now hoping to grab a quick bite in a restaurant which is part of a charity set up to get kids off the street and taught culinary and life skills. Then…

Hanoi No Joy

Poor Claire isn’t well. Her body has decided to protest about something…I need say no more. You can all use your imagination. But as this is our last full day in Hanoi I decided to head out myself in little hour sessions so as not to leave Claire all alone for too long. My first…

Hanoi Day 2

Our first full day in Hanoi has been fun. We set off into the rain to follow a walking tour which Claire found on a website. Our hotel is right near the start point luckily. First stop was Hoan Kiem Lake which is in the centre of Hanoi. One can take a pleasant walk around…