ChellesFootsteps

The trip from Hue to Hoi An is a long one, approximately a 2.5 hour drive. On the way our guide invited us to see the most beautiful part of Vietnam, as stated by Jeremy Clarkson on TopGear (so therefore it must be true hehe), and it was pretty. As we got closer to Denang, we were invited to a Cham museum, a group of people that had settled in Vietnam, one lucky guy decided to follow us around and got a free tour When we arrived in Hoi An, we had lunch with the guide who volunteered to take us on a walking tour of Hoi An where he would show us good restaurants and a good tailor. As there was to be a full moon festival the next night, he booked a balcony table ... read more

After our last trip to Vietnam, Chris and I decided a return was on the cards. And not just a simple return trip to Vietnam, a huge trip that would ensure we would see everything in Vietnam we wanted to see. This is how I found myself on a rickety sleeper train heading up through the Vietnamese mountains to a small tour called Sapa, less than 2kms from the Chinese border. We had left Perth on Saturday night and by the time I set foot on the train on Sunday night, all I was hoping for was good nights sleep. Alas this wasn’t to be the case, although Chris slept perfectly, I found myself lying away through the jerky movements on the train to the sudden stops and what I am still convinced was the sound ... read more

We arrived in Moscow late, approximately 10pm after a 6hr train ride from St Petersburg. Luckily we’d manage to secure transfers before we left and there was our driver waiting at the end of the platform. It could’ve been very interesting trying to secure a taxi and also nerve-racking seeing the number of police and officials around and trying to get a taxi would’ve put the bright neon “tourist” sign over our heads. We arrived at our hotel the Aerostar, while in the middle of nowhere, was gorgeous, definitely the flashiest we’ve stayed in. After asking the price of the internet, we both looked at each other abit worried about what we were gonna do for dinner. Luckily and very surprisingly, dinner prices were very reasonable, thankfully since there is nothing else around. Walking towards the ... read more

I arrived in St Petes almost expecting the worse, slow and rude bureaucracy, little English and police officers wanting bribes and pickpockets as far as the eye could see. I must say so far, there has been none of these issues. We were clever enough to secure a private city tour before we left Perth and we woke on our first full day in St Petes, filled with anticipation. St Petersburg as a city is only 300 years old and has gone through several name changes before arriving at the city we know it as today. In 1924 it was renamed Leningrad after the great ruler Lenin and after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 it was again renamed, this time to St Petersburg, after Saint Peter, who is said to be the holder ... read more

Except there were no real hills in Antwerp... And I did not see an ant... Mosquitoes yes... The trip to Antwerp nearly wasnt.. After catching the Eurostar to Brussels, we proceeded to find the connecting to Antwerp, after much confusion we were ushered onto a train, only to be put in the first class cabin. We did not have first class tickets so I jumped off the train to have a better look.. Next thing I know the bells are ringing, Chris is screaming at me and the train was about to leave! Luckily, I managed to jump back onto the train and we rode to Antwerp in first class style.. After being picked up at the train station by Chris' Antwerp contact, we were lucky enough to be offered a tour around Antwerp that showed ... read more