Blogs from Northeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 5

Having returned to the hotel from the overnight train journey, we had breakfast, a shower and repacked ready to go to Halong Bay at 8.30. It took about four hours to get there, not a particularly comfortable ride, in a minibus with lots of near misses! We were quite surprised to see so many hotels and apartments when we arrived but were delighted to find that our boat was relatively new and luxurious compared to some we saw. The weather was quite overcast on the 2 days we were there, although it was still warm, so we did not see the emerald waters it is known for but that did not spoil our enjoyment of the trip. Halong Bay has a collection of limestone rock formations that rise up out of the water at regular intervals. ... read more

On our usual trek to the "party hostel" which usually had a handful of people in, 4 of them being us, this one night we heard from the corner a strong southern Texan accent. It took all of 5 minutes for this person to approach us and ask where we were from, he introduced himself as Moses, at this point we didn't know what an impact he would have on our trip! He was originally from Vietnam but moved to Texas with his parents. We got on like a house on fire, he had so many stories and had travelled Vietnam on his motor bike. He told us that he had hit a bear when he had borrowed his friends truck and had photographic evidence, it was huge! He showed us all his videos on the ... read more

Thursday 12th November 2015 Today we booked to spend 2 days and overnight on a boat in the beautiful Ha Long bay. After an early 7am breakfast, the minibus arrived to collect us from our hotel at just before 8am and we joined the other 14 people that would be on our boat and our tour guide, Binh. The journey to the port took 4 hours with a designated 'tourist toilet stop' at the halfway point, with the main aim being to encourage you to buy whatever was on offer in the attached gift shop. Strangely this gift shop specialised in huge ceramic sculptures, naked women, chinese dragons, lions, etc, not the most convenient souvenir to get home?! On arrival at port in Ha Long city, we were transferred from the minibus to a small boat ... read more

Well, I had to squeeze that last one out (of the way)....it was from my 'perfumed' garden...chooks, wet dogs, roosters, bodily waste.....not the real one in Beijing...but you've got to choose a location...and it's really all about the past....blog is a rearview mirror, so frustrating, trying to catch 'now'... and zing!...it slips right past you.... I just got back from a 3 day epic road trip with the boss and some of his old friends. Up to the most Northern part of Viet Nam, along the Chinese border. I'd been thinking how amazing a flight would be and then I got it....not airborne but driving, around the ribbon lip of vertical mountains. Another twist in the road and a heart stopping vista, a bit like Copper Canyon where the enormity of the scale just leaves your ... read more

Holiday. Loved Hanoi. Busy but so much to see. My favourite was the Revolution museum. And walking around the streets. And the merchant house. And the lake in the early morning. Got annoyed by fellow tourists talking all through the water puppets performance and sticking cameras up in front of the stage. Feel proud to have figured this city out a bit.... read more