Hi all, I'm glad to report that we are both fine here in Vietnam. Probably like most of you we have been glued to the TV watching the tragic scenes from South East Asia. Luckily, we don't think we know of any backpackers who we met that were going to be in the Phuket or Phi Phi area. Phi Phi island seems to have been completely destroyed so it looks like we won't be going there afterall, although we will see what the situation is in South Thailand when we get there next month. We left Nah Trang last Friday (Xmas [View Full Entry]

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As I was saying.... After that legend feast of Shark etc, we went for drinks and the obligatory Jenga (which we are now all experts in!). That bar closed at midnight but we got wind of some dodgy place a few KMs outside town so 5 of us went there until 4am. Tuesday was hazy, but managed to send out clothes safely, and board a bus to Nah Trang at 6pm. Bus journey had a bit of a problem.......at 11pm we made our scheduled 30 minute stop to 'freshen up' in some little cafe in the middle of nowehere.....however, we were [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, hope you have got your shopping done and the presents wrapped........if not just get down the pub and have a few festive drinks instead.....you know it makes sense....! Life is good here. We staying in Hoi An for 5 nights, could easily have managed a month there as it's a really great little town. Got plenty of clothes tailor made there.....final bill was 655 US Dollars. $400 of that was mine, but I got: 2 suits 1 Tuxedo 9 Shirts 4 Trousers 3 Shorts 2 Winter Coats 1 pair of shoes 1 pair of 'Personalised' Trainers (!!) 4 ties [View Full Entry]

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We decided to give DaNang a miss and are now here in nice little Hoi An. Our 8am bus this morning didn't show up until 10:30am so we didn't arrive until almost 2pm. Lovely hotel with a small pool, $10 for the room. For our last day in Hue yesterday we went to the DMZ (De-Militarised Zone). Trip left at 6am and returned at 6pm, and we worked out that we were only off the bus for a total of 3 hours (and that included lunch & breakfast!!). Exploring the tunnels that the Vietnamese lived in for 4 years was the [View Full Entry]

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14 hours later and we have arrived in Hue, which is 650 km south of Hanoi. Sometime during the night the weather took a turn for the worse and it is now very overcast with the odd splash of rain.......imagine! Bus wasn't too bad as it was only half full so we had 2 seats each to relax on. Managed to get about 6 hours sleep altogether. Our last day in Hanoi was great, did loads of stuff including our first Xe Om ride. This is basically a motorcycle taxi where you cling on to the driver for all you're worth [View Full Entry]

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Arrived back in Hanoi after our trip on Thursday. Halong Bay was amazing......!! Arrived there by minibus at about midday. Boarded our gorgeous boat and set sail. The Bay has about 2000 islands and is just brilliant. We cruised for a couple of hours and had a 6 (!!!) course seafood lunch, then got off to visit 3 stunning caves with our guide. Then it was back to the boat for relaxation before dinner (unbelivable Prawns, shrimps, and stuffed fish) , then drinks and laughs while we anchored in a bay with about 25 other boats for sunset. Cabins on the [View Full Entry]

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Happy Monday to all, especially those sitting in work !!! We left boring Vientiane yesterday and took a 50 minute flight to Hanoi in North Vietnam. So sad to leave Laos, the people are amazing. It is ranked 14th poorest country in the world and you can see why when you pass through some of the towns, but the people are so happy and work 7 days a week. Most of them have never left the country......never seen a beach or the sea.......makes you think! Arrived in Hanoi late last night and got a minibus into town. The city is huge [View Full Entry]

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The Laos Experience continues.... Well after the great success of tubing in VanVieng (despite the injuries), myself and Ruth went off tubing again the next day! No beer this time though, just floating along. Weather was 'scorchio'.....plenty of factor 15 did the trick though! The next day (Thursday) we rented bikes and took a cycle to the local market to make some minor purchases. Went to these bars down by the river that night, was so cool as you can watch the sun set etc while grooving to some tunes. We drank quite a substantial amount of Lao Lao Whiskey that [View Full Entry]

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Dear Diary, Our 2nd last day in Luang Prabang was spent climbing up this big hill in the middle of town (called Phou Si), great view from the top and all that malarky. Then in the afternoon we rented our bicylces and did a bit of exploring which was grand as the weather was not too hot at all. The following day we set off for Van Vieng (VV). Our 9am minivan ended up collecting us at 9:40 and by the time we had collected everyone, got some documents from the transport office, and refuelled we didn't actually leave LP until [View Full Entry]

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Howdy all! Didn't do alot in our last 3/4 days in Chang Mai. We did get ourselves organised though and sent some unneeded (or so we thought!!) clothes off to our man in Brisbane, cheers for that Dave !! Sent on monday 22nd and due to take 2 weeks.....we'll see!!! On Tuesday we left Chang Mai and 5 hours in a minibus later we were in the border town of Chang Khong. Guesthouse there was part of the total cost (23 euro) of the trip to Luang Prebang in Laos. Basic accomodation in PJ guesthouse with rock hard bed!! Up early [View Full Entry]

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