Arrived in Ho Chi Minh City early morning and after a bit of searching found a good room, albeit up about 10 flights of stairs, good exercise tho....... Had a quietish day, and wandered around the markets. Still looking at cameras.... at this rate i'll probably get one when i get back!! Went out on the first night and had a few drinks in various bars, met a few people and watched a couple of guys playing some crazy sport on the street. I've noticed people playing it all over. It's basically badminton, using your feet, with a really heavy shuttlecock! [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Hoi An by bus, taking about 5 hours.... We got there midday and checked into a good hotel with a couple of other people we knew from Hue.... Hoi An is a really nice place, very old looking town with narrow streets and a big river running through it....gets a bit lively at night tho....... Spent the first day exploring, despite the heat. People mainly come here for the shopping, the best place to have clothes custom made, lot more choice for women tho, blokes can have a suit made, not really a suit man, so didn't bother! Had [View Full Entry]

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Nha Trang will soon become a top resort..... You wouldn't think you were in Vietnam if you were stood on the front. 6km golden sandy beach, crystal clear water, 6km of perfectly manicured gardens with loads of sculptures seperate the beach from the 6km palm tree lined road. Then you step back from the beach, hit the side streets and you're back in Vietnam, with all the food stalls and cafes.... Its perfect for a family 2 week holiday. We found a great room, big, 2 double beds, satellite TV, fridge, Air Con, big bathroom, spotlessly clean and over the road [View Full Entry]

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So, after being back in Hanoi, i caught the overnight train way to to Hue, getting in about 8am...... Found a great room in the middle of town with air con, cable tv, fridge and a computer with internet in the room for $10 between us. Had a good walk the first day to get our bearings. Really nice place, lots of green again and a huge river running through the middle. Had a couple of the local beers during the day, always good to try the new ones, and found the best place to watch the football in...United v Fulham.. [View Full Entry]

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From Hanoi we decided to take a cruise around Halong Bay. We looked at the different options and decided to go for it, 2 night, 3 day trip, upgraded to the deluxe package..... not much extra, and so worth it. We caught a 3 hour bus to Halong Bay then boarded our old junk boat, it was much better than i thought. Top deck was full of sun loungers, middle deck had a bar & restaurant and the bottom was the cabins. We were given welcome drinks and lunch was served. Endless platters of fresh fish, really excellent food. We got [View Full Entry]

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***** SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN UPLOADING BLOGS, SITE WENT DOWN, SO THEY'LL BE A FEW NEW ONES BEING ADDED, SO PLEASE READ THEM, IT WAS A MAJOR BALL ACHE TO SORT, CHEERS ***** So, flew to Hanoi on Friday 13th, very early morning during a typical heavy Malaysian storm. Needless to say, as we got up to cruising height we were chucked around like peas in a can, not fun, poor woman next to me was full on freaking out. Landed ok and managed to get our pre-arranged visa, and found a really good hostel. Went for a walk around [View Full Entry]

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The plane was delayed by an hour, but they didn't mess about getting us on. I watched it land, and as it landed they called us to board, plane came straight from the runway, pulled up and within 5 minutes we were on. Kuala Lumpur is HUMID, seriously humid....... Got a bus to china town and found a decent place that was in the Lonely Planet. Roy was after air-con, so he got a double, and i got a little single room, really cheap too. Was a tiny room, but i enjoyed it, not as much as the young couple did [View Full Entry]

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So, a shortish bus journey to the capital of Laos, Vientiane, supposedly the worlds most laid back capital city, and it really is. We found a decent guesthouse, checked in, and i went for a look around. Roy was still rough from Vang Vieng, so stayed in. Had some good Vietnaese food, and went back to get ready for the night. We heard about a good rooftop bar, so ventured there, and it was pretty decent, Roy came out, but felt rough, so went back to sleep it off. I decided to stay out, and walked along the river in search [View Full Entry]

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Made it to Vang Vieng in one piece after the hairpin bus journey, and found a good guesthouse, cheap too. Its a stunning place, surrounded by cliffs. The main strip is really busy, full of backpackers and the usual bar after bar playing re-runs of Friends all day & night. We went to a restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet called Nokeo (big mistake)... The food was ok, so we went to a few bars afterwards, and as midnight approached it was getting quieter. Realised there was a little island in the Nam Song river. We crossed a fragile bamboo bridge [View Full Entry]

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So, Luang Prabang really is a great place, defo worth its Unesco World Heritage status. After arriving we looked around for a room, and discovered it was pretty expensive, i hope this is not the same in the rest of Laos. We ended up staying about a 10 minute walk from the main drag, and the owner gave me a lift on the back of his moped. Really nice room, and cheapish. I went for a walk round the town, and was pretty impressed. Very French place, stunning architecture, and lots of bread... Something i've not had a lot of on [View Full Entry]

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