Blogs from Red River Delta, Vietnam, Asia - page 7

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Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi » Đống Đa District March 16th 2018

24 hours ago I was standing outside Harrison's departure gate in Auckland International airport wondering to myself, why and what the hell am I doing? Unfortunately the waves of being homesick hit hard, and right now, I don't understand what made me want to fly to S.E Asia all by myself. I'm hoping that a decent nights sleep and some local street food (I know, I know) will ease my anxiety. Little things that I have come to realise so far - I packed WAY TOO MUCH - Walking around isn't as scary as people say, condensed milk in coffee is amazing. My first personal motto is 'This is my trip and I can do what I want'. Let me explain; After dropping my outrageously big bag in my hostel locker, I put on my brave ... read more
Hoan Kiem Lake

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi March 1st 2018

After a busy first couple of weeks in Vietnam we moved onto Hoi An where we’d decided to stay for a week. We’d only heard good things from other people who had been there and were excited to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about. We stayed at a home stay away from the main old town area called Red Home Guesthouse and we were spoilt with a great breakfast every morning which included a platter of fresh fruit picked straight from the garden. It was nice to stay in one place for a while and Hoi An, whilst being a bit of a tourist trap, was very chilled out with a very slow pace of life and once all the lanterns were lit in the evening very easy on the eye. We did ... read more
Mr Hung of Red Home Guesthouse
Scooter Convoy
View of Ha Long Bay

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta February 7th 2018

Ankomsten i Hanoi var præget af jetlag og tilvænning til de nye omgivelser hos os alle. Hanoi er en typisk asiatisk storby (så vidt vi ved), hvor scootere, tæt trafik og kaos er en daglig del af livet. Lua fik dårlig mave sidst på ugen og spiste stort set ikke noget de sidste par dage og vi andre var også super trætte efter næsten ingen søvn på flyveturen. Hotellet var udmærket og personalet rigtig venlige. Vi var dog lidt trætte af at være ”lukket inde” på hotellet det meste af tiden der, da det var meget overvældende for Lua at være i den tætte trafik i for lang tid. Desuden var der noget koldere en vi lige havde regnet med hjemmefra, så viså frem til at komme væk fra storbyen.... read more
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Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Ninh Binh » Tam Coc January 23rd 2018

We took the public bus from Hanoi to Ninh Binh, which took us about 2.30 hours. The bus was very full. Shaun ended up at the very front while Victor and I were at the very back. There was music and videos on a small screen... We were surprised (to say the least) to see that, on the screen were displayed pictures of naked women... We had never seen anything looking a lot like porn in a PUBLIC bus before and it was pretty disturbing! We arrived in Ninh Binh, where we took a taxi to Tam Coc, where we had decided to stay. We stayed in the first hostel we saw, which was cheap but not very clean and were the owner's son was interestingly rude... It was still quite early so we had a ... read more
Grey skies but amazing background!
On the boat
Having fun on the boat!

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi January 20th 2018

Nous avons pris le bus local à l'aéroport et avons facilement trouvé notre auberge de jeunesse. Après un dîner de papier de riz et oignons frits, nous sommes allés nous coucher. Le lendemain, nous avions un tour à pieds de Hanoi gratuit avec notre auberge de jeunesse. Au bout de 10 minutes, nous étions dans la cathédrale Notre-Dame (que les français ont construit après avoir détruit un des temples adorés des vietnamiens lors de la colonisation) et lorsque nous sommes sortis de la cathédrale, la "guide" et le reste des gens étaient partis ! Vu la guide, une jeune ivre de la veille qui n'y connaissait rien, c'était pas une grosse perte. On était quatre, Shaun, une péruvienne, Nicolas, un français et moi. Nous avons fait notre propre tour à pieds et sommes allés au café ... read more
Notre-Dame d'Hanoi
Harriet Potter!!

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi » Đống Đa District January 9th 2018

Early start on Sunday. At Changi Terminal 2 for 7:20 am for the 9:20 am flight from Singapore to Hanoi. Couple of minor hiccups trying to check in automatically as Caitlin and I were fine but Reuben's Vietnam visa for some reason wouldn't register. Took a few minute to sort then through. Departure formalities here very easy and straightforward. Really good flight with Singapore airlines. And for the trainspotters it was a Boeing something 200. Seemed to have a little more room. Service was excellent. Arrived Hanoi around midday. Disembarked and formed a queue for border control. This was old school. Long lines moving slowly, but moving. Got bored and worked out they processed 2 people in an average of 56 seconds. Doesn't sound long but put 60 plus people in the line and you do ... read more
Temple on the lake...
Walking to the French Qaurter...
Hanoi Opera House

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi January 8th 2018

I ate some ants the other day. I thought they were just ant eggs with rice. And I eat chicken eggs so I thought it’d be okay. And maybe they were just eggs but I could see the fully formed ant, legs reaching for the sky amidst a bowl of rice. Embryos? I ask the table of co-workers. They don’t know. I stop with the ants and Sarah and I order some tofu. We are sitting cross-legged at a long bam... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi December 27th 2017

We pile our fifteen suitcases into a small black taxi. Our driver is slight and friendly and doesn’t speak but turns the AC up he when hears us complain about the heat. We pass by rows of houses smattered along the road. Their balconies rise up four or fives stories, not more than ten feet wide. Motorbikes pass us but n... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Ninh Binh November 28th 2017

Another brilliant day. Mixed views on sleep, me good, Ruth not so good. Thankfully started the day with a short drive out from our homestay back out of the valley up a massive hill to be greeted by a line of bikes at the top ready for a steady 10 km downhill run before turning into a single lane path for a further 40 kms through the valley past paddy fields and intense agriculture, water buffalo at work and surrounded by towering limestone mountains. The paddy fields have been harvested so browned off & not at their best. After lunch we had another 25 km flat along the access paths connecting villages to the main roads. These paths are mostly level but raised well above the surrounding paddy fields & make perfect cycle paths with photo ... read more
Homestay garden
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Asia » Vietnam » Red River Delta » Hanoi » Đống Đa District November 27th 2017

Ich steige in den fahrenden Bus ein. Mitten auf der Straße war jemand ausgestiegen um mir beim Einladen meines Rucksacks zu helfen. Anschließend wurde ich die Treppen in den großen Bus hochgeschoben. Ich laufe durch den vollen, klimatisierten Bus und setze mich auf einen der freien Plätze auf der Rückbank. Der Bus ist voll mit Chinesen. Wir fahren durch die Stadt und es steigen noch einige wenige Europäer zu. Gequetscht sitzen wir im kalten Bus und fahren Richtung Halong Bucht. Wir halten nach 90 Minuten an einem touristischen Shop mit überzogenen Preisen bevor es weitergeht. Nach 3 Stunden trifft der Bus in der Bucht ein. Die einzigen wenigen Reisenden in meinem Alter steigen aus und werden einer neuen Reisegruppe zugeteilt. An der Bucht tummeln sich Menschenmassen, die warten auf ihre Boote gebracht zu werden. Ich sitze ... read more
Tropfsteinhöhlen
Kajakfahren in den Weiten der Halong Bucht
Aussicht vom höchsten Punkt auf Monkey Island




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