Blogs from Northeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 33

So we left Halong Bay (really spectacular scenery) after a few more days of chilling out at Cat Ba Island and visiting the National Park, we left to go back to Hanoi to get a train down the South of Vietnam. Well, that was the plan and after a 8 hr journey that was supposed to take 5hrs; (time management is not the Vietnamese’s strongest skill but who cares we are not in a rush!) arriving back in Hanoi at 5pm on a Friday evening was manic. We finally arrived at the train station after another hour, only to be told that there were no more tickets available for that night. Pissed off, tired, hungry and after a few arguments, we headed back to the hotel we had stayed in previously. The owner was so glad ... read more

As promised we have now put photo on as we're back in Bangkok and faster internet. We are now in Hanoi, Vietnam. I was warned about the mopeds here but never dreamed it could be this crazy!!! 5 million mopeds wherever you look and then more behind waiting to mow you down. The only way to cross the road is to just go, walk slow and hope they steer around you which miraculously they seem to!Not to mention the cycles, taxis and street sellers with huge baskets full of bananas and pineapples. Oh, and of course the people cooking on the kerbside. All manner of food, fish chunks of rancid meat and huge pots of vegetables bubbling away. We're staying in a nice place with a balcony overlooking the lake for 12 dollars, shame about the ... read more

After landing in Hanoi, we cheekily hopped into a booked taxi with two lads from England – one friendly scoucer and one stocky guy with crazy long hair that made him resemble Tarzan or an American Wrestler from the 90s! We shared a few stories in the back seat of the cab with the scouser, the wrestler wasn't quite as chatty, maybe he was worrying about his title fight with Hulk Hogan! The scouce lad told us his favourite place from his entire trip was Nha Trang. Apparently he was there a couple of days before us and the weather was perfect – gutted! We dropped them first and then asked the cabbie how much more to our hotel – he quoted us 100,000 dong (a fiver) when we knew we were really close. We bartered ... read more

6 months. Where has time gone? Disappeared into a coma An emotional blur. Where’s the light that once shone? So radiant and so bright Touching the hearts of many Suddenly taken to another world Now only visible in dreams at night Anger; loss; emptiness; hope; pain No real words can describe the feelings that haunt the soul Maybe for the near future, maybe forever. Waiting and waiting, forever dreading the rain..... It feels like the rain, the emotions that is. Sometimes it feels so close, brimming at the surface, like when you get that strange instinct of the coming rain…then it may pour – everything comes out. But other times it just stays there brewing up and up, never coming except the anger. Other times it comes in dibs and drabs. One minute everything is ok ... read more

Hanoi to Halong Bay Today again after another substantial breakfast, we met the Guide in the lobby for a 8am start to Halong Bay. We had had to condense our luggage into an overnight bag to take onto the junk, but our bags were to stay in the bus in the bay. We had a different driver today, as the last one was ill. This one favoured his mobile phone, as in Vietnam it is not an offence to phone and drive. On our journey, we passed more remnants of the French influence. There were ladies on the side of the road selling fresh baguettes and rolls. More exciting i might add was our passing of a cow strapped to the back of a motorbike. It was alive, having just been purchased from the market, and ... read more